Lessons on the Temple
Lesson No. Eighty-Three

The Importance of Latter Day Temple Building

Man’s opinion of the most important events of the last 2,000 years – Many opinion polls are taken on a variety of subjects. One of the most interesting opinion poll is when people are asked what they think are the most important events of the last year, or the last decade, or the last century. When a new millennium arrived in year 2000, experts gave their opinion as to the most important events of the last 2,000 years. Included were important people, discoveries, and other great human advancements.

What does God considers to be the most important events in human history? From Nephi’s vision recorded in 1 Nephi 11 – 14 we learn that the most important event in all of human history is the ministry, atonement, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We also learn what are other important events in the last 2,000 years of world history, from God’s perspective, and temple building is one of them:

1. The mortal ministry, the resurrection, and the atonement of Jesus Christ (1 Nephi 11) – These are the most import events that ever have or ever will take place in both time and in eternity.

2. Lord’s resurrected ministry among the Nephites (1 Nephi 12) – This is recorded in 3 Nephi 11 – 28, and is the most important event in the thousand years of Nephite history.

3. The great apostasy (1 Nephi 13:1-9) – The great apostasy began shortly after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The whole world was in darkness for about fifteen hundred years until the marvelous light of the First Vision took place in the spring of 1820.

4. The discovery, colonization and founding of the United States was directed by the Spirit of God (1 Nephi 13:10-25) – The United States was established so the gospel could be restored. Because the colonists had the Spirit of the Lord and relied on the teachings of the Bible they prospered.

5. Plain and precious teachings were purposely taken away from the Bible (1 Nephi 13:26-32) – The plan of salvation cannot be understood from the Bible alone because of what has been lost.

6. The coming forth of the Book of Mormon and other latter-day scripture (1 Nephi 13:20-42) –These latter-day scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon, are another witness of Jesus Christ, and they restore the many important gospel truths lost from the Bible.

7. The house of Israel is gathered and become a blessed people upon the promised land (1 Nephi 14:1-6) – The Lord shall manifest himself unto the Gentiles, and those who don’t harden their hearts are numbered among the house of Israel; and they shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever. This promise is certainly being fulfilled in our family and in the Church.

8. The great and marvelous work of the restoration of the gospel and the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1 Nephi 14:7, 17) – Accepting the “great and marvelous work” of restoration by joining the Restored Church of Jesus Christ, and by keeping temple covenants separates those who will enjoy the blessings of exaltation from those who will not.

9. The intense battle between good and evil (1 Nephi 14:9-13, 15-16) – The worldwide fight between the forces for good spoken of as the church of the Lamb of God, and the forces for evil spoken of as the church of the devil are intense and will continue to intensify in all nations of the world.

10. Temples and temple covenant people (1 Nephi 14:14) – The last thing Nephi sees in his vision, that he is permitted to write about, is that temple covenant people will be found “upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and the power of God in great glory.” Many thousands of temples will be built worldwide, and the era of temple building has commenced.

Jesus prophesied that temples would be built worldwide – In 1836 the Lord appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple, the first temple in our dispensation, and told them that “the hearts of thousands and tens of thousands will greatly rejoice in consequence of the blessings which shall be poured out, and the endowment with which my servants have been endowed in [the House of the Lord]. And the fame of this house shall spread to foreign lands; and this is the beginning of the blessings which shall be poured out on the heads of my people” (D&C 110:9-10). The Lord promises that His temple covenant people will be endowed with knowledge and power in temples that will be built throughout the earth.