In the end, people matter more than paintings
We should be more concerned about gathering and preserving the lives of all God’s children, on earth and in heaven, and making the necessary changes that help us do so.
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On Friday, March 12, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a statement updating the public on the ongoing and future-scheduled renovations of the Manti and Salt Lake temples. Included in the statement were details outlining the Church’s decision to remove historic murals and end live-acting endowment sessions within the temples, a move many members are understandably upset about.
The paintings and performances are a bridge to the past; evidence of ancestral sacrifice and inspiration, and living, visual echoes of our early pioneer parents.
Losing them stings our collective soul. Their removal may feel like a removal of personal, special memories and experiences made in their presence.
The entire situation is heartbreaking, but we will be better for it. The blessings being added by the new plans should have our hearts leaping for joy and kneeling in gratitude.
Since their 1888 and 1896 constructions, the Manti and Salt Lake temples have only offered endowment sessions in English. This setup was surely fine for the mostly American and European settlers of the Utah Territory, but for a Church whose majority now exists outside of the United States, members who don’t speak English have never been able to adequately worship inside these two landmark houses of the Lord.
The reconfigured space will include a number of multilingual film endowment rooms, allowing for non-English speaking Saints the chance to finally participate in every and any Latter-day temple.
The building upgrades will also allow members of all physical capabilities the chance to worship as they wish. For too long, dedicated Saints have been denied access to the holiest parts of the temple because they physically could not get there. The original designs simply do not meet the needs of every worthy Latter-day Saint today. No matter your physical condition, if you want to be in the temple and you’ve received your temple recommend, you deserve the opportunity to participate in every important ritual and ceremony offered in the building.
Because of the renovations, the First Presidency estimates that annual attendance between the temples will double, so as tough as the changes are, the added benefits outweigh the losses. The Manti and Salt Lake temples will no longer be English-only places of worship, and those with physical limitations will be able to comfortably, and rightfully, commune and covenant completely with God.
“The primary purpose of temples is for members to participate in sacred ceremonies rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ,” says the Church, and instructs its members “to redeem the dead by performing vicarious ordinances of the gospel for those who have lived on the earth.”
Yes, we should gather and preserve as much of the historic Manti and Salt Lake temple art and history as we can (and serious preservation efforts are being made, despite what some have unfairly inferred).
But if we truly believe the ordinances performed inside temples are required — not just nice for or good for, but required — for the salvation of every person who has lived, does live, and will live, we should be more concerned about gathering and preserving the lives of all God’s children, on earth and in heaven, and making the necessary changes that help us do so.
