Description

From back cover:

Temple worship has long distinguished the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from mainstream Christendom. Even the denominations that trace their roots to LDS Church founder Joseph Smith have largely defined temple doctrines and ordinances as relics of the past; others have adopted and restored them to what they deem to be their purest form. To understand the LDS people is to grasp the impact the temple has had on church members as they embraced both temple-related teachings as essential to exaltation as well as the brick-and-mortar structures that stand as symbols of faith and sacrifice.

Christian Larsen has assembled a collection of essays that illuminate the role of the temple and its rocky relationship with controversial subjects such as race and marriage. Some temples were built, abandoned, and given new life; others were either constructed for temporary use or never built at all. The nature of LDS temple ordinances is such that what LDS members deem sacred, others dismiss as secret. This volume covers a range of topics.

Table of Contents

Editor's Introduction

1. The Anointed Quorum, 1842–45
   Devery S. Anderson
2. "Not To Be Riten"
   The Mormon Temple Rite as Oral Canon
   Kathleen Flake
3. "Saviors On Mount Zion"
   Mormon Sacramentalism, Mortality, and Baptism for the Dead
   Ryan G. Tobler
4. "The Upper Room"
   The Nature and Development of Latter-day Saint Temple Work, 1846–55
   Richard E. Bennett
5. Black Saviors On Mount Zion
   Proxy Baptism and Latter-day Saints of African Descent
   Tonya S. Reiter
6. "Come, Let Us Go Up To The Mountain Of The Lord"
   The Salt Lake Temple Dedication, 1893
   Brian H. Stuy
7. A Contest For "Sacred Space"
   The Independence, Missouri, Temple
   R. Jean Addams
8. A Time Of Transition
   The Kirtland Temple, 1838–80
   Christian Craft Mackay and Lachlan Mackay
9. "So We Built A Good Little Temple To Worship In"
   Mormonism on the Pedernales—Texas, 1847–51
   Melvin C. Johnson
10. "To Cover Your Nakedness"
    The Body, Sacred Secrecy, and Institutional Power in the Initiatory
    John-Charles Duffy

Contributors