🌿 The Temple, the Nemenhah Records, and the Question That Changed Everything
🌿 The Temple, the Nemenhah Records, and the Question That Changed Everything
For most of my life, I thought the purpose of the temple was to learn the ordinances.
Then I thought the purpose was to understand the symbols.
Then I thought the purpose was to understand the history.
Now, at 74 years old, after years of studying the scriptures, attending the temple, and reading the Nemenhah records, I find myself asking a much simpler question:
What is the temple really for?
The older I get, the more important that question becomes.
🌿 My Journey With the Temple
Like many members of the Church, I entered the temple with very little preparation.
I remember being overwhelmed.
There were symbols.
There were ceremonies.
There were things I did not fully understand.
Over the years I attended faithfully.
I learned more.
I studied more.
I appreciated more.
But eventually I realized something.
The symbols themselves are not the destination.
They point to the destination.
And the destination is Jesus Christ.
🌿 Ancient Temples and Modern Temples
Recently I listened to a presentation showing many parallels between ancient temples and modern LDS temples.
The presenters discussed sacred clothing, washings, anointings, altars, covenants, sacrifice, prayer, holiness, and sacred space.
Much of it was fascinating.
And I believe there is truth in it.
God has always used sacred places to teach His children.
From Moses.
To Solomon.
To the Nephites.
To modern temples.
Sacred space matters.
But the question remained:
Why?
What was God trying to teach through all of it?
🌿 Then I Found the Nemenhah Records
Years ago, after spending a lifetime studying the Book of Mormon, I discovered the Nemenhah records.
I was not looking for another church.
I was not looking for another religion.
I was simply looking for truth.
What surprised me was not how different the records were.
What surprised me was how often they pointed me back to Christ.
Again and again I encountered themes that felt familiar:
- Repentance
- Humility
- Sacrifice
- The Holy Spirit
- Hearing God's voice
- Caring for the poor
- Becoming one people
- Building Zion
But there was something else.
The emphasis seemed different.
🌿 The True Endowment
In much of modern Christianity, including Mormonism, we often focus on ordinances.
The Nemenhah records certainly contain ordinances.
But they continually point beyond the ordinance.
They point toward what the ordinance is supposed to produce.
A changed heart.
A broken heart.
A contrite spirit.
The baptism of fire.
The companionship of the Holy Ghost.
The voice of Christ within.
The Nemenhah records seem to ask:
Have you actually received the Spirit?
Not merely:
Did you receive the ordinance?
That question hit me hard.
Because the Book of Mormon asks the very same thing.
🌿 What Did Nephi Teach?
When Nephi described the path back to God, he did not stop with baptism.
He taught:
"Then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost." (2 Nephi 31)
That is not merely a ceremony.
That is an experience.
That is a transformation.
That is heaven touching earth.
The Nemenhah records repeatedly bring the reader back to that same experience.
The true endowment is not merely receiving something in a sacred building.
The true endowment is receiving the Spirit of God.
🌿 The Temple and Zion
Another thing surprised me.
The Nemenhah records rarely separate temple worship from community living.
The goal is not merely individual salvation.
The goal is Zion.
A people with:
- No poor among them.
- Equality.
- Consecration.
- Common consent.
- Mutual service.
- Charity.
In other words:
The temple is not only preparing people for heaven.
It is preparing people to live heavenly principles here and now.
That idea reminded me of the Book of Mormon more than anything else.
🌿 The Keeper of the Gate
One scripture keeps returning to my mind.
It has become one of the most important temple scriptures I know.
"The keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there." (2 Nephi 9:41)
Think about that.
The keeper of the gate is not an institution.
Not a committee.
Not a scholar.
Not a critic.
Not a blogger.
Not a bishop.
Not even a prophet.
The keeper of the gate is Jesus Christ.
That does not diminish the value of sacred ordinances.
It simply reminds us where they are pointing.
🌿 What If We Have Been Looking at the Finger?
There is an old saying:
When a wise man points at the moon, a fool studies the finger.
Sometimes I wonder if we spend so much time studying the finger that we forget to look at the moon.
We study the symbols.
We study the ceremonies.
We study the history.
We study the architecture.
We debate authority.
We debate traditions.
We debate interpretations.
Meanwhile Christ quietly waits where He has always been.
At the center.
The destination.
The reason for every temple ever built.
🌿 What I Believe Today
Today I am grateful for every witness God has given.
The Bible.
The Book of Mormon.
The Doctrine and Covenants.
The temple.
The Nemenhah records.
And many other witnesses that point toward Christ.
But if all my study does not bring me closer to Him, then I have missed the point.
The question I now ask after every temple visit is not:
"What did I learn?"
The question is:
"Did I come closer to Jesus Christ?"
Did I hear Him more clearly?
Did I feel His Spirit more deeply?
Did I leave with more love for others?
Did I become more willing to forgive?
Did I become more like Him?
Because in the end:
Christ is the sacrifice.
Christ is the veil.
Christ is the gate.
Christ is the temple.
And Christ is the destination every temple was meant to point toward.
🌿 Learn More About the Nemenhah Records
The Nemenhah records are available in print through major online booksellers, including Amazon. They contain teachings on Christ, Zion, the Holy Spirit, sacred ordinances, and the gathering of God's people.
If you would like to study these records with us, we also have a weekly Sunday reading group where we read together, ask questions, and seek Christ in all things.
And as always, if you're reading this on the blog, don't forget to use the magnifying glass search at the top of the page to explore other articles on Zion, the Holy Spirit, the Book of Mormon, and the Nemenhah records.
🌿 The older I get, the more convinced I become that every true witness ultimately points to Jesus Christ.
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