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‍Chapter 14b – The Mormon Temples: The Need for Temples Today

If God restores all things… would that include His temples?

INTRODUCTION

In the last chapter, we saw clearly:

👉 Temples were commanded by God
👉 Temples were used by God
👉 Temples were sacred to God

So now the question is:

👉 Did that end with Christ?

Or…

👉 Does the Bible say temples will exist in the last days?

LAST DAYS TEMPLES

The prophet Isaiah answers this directly.

Isaiah 2:2–3

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains…
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord… and he will teach us of his ways…”

This is not past tense.

👉 This is prophecy.

Micah repeats the same thing:

Micah 4:1–2

“But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established…”

RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS

Now listen carefully to what the New Testament says.

Acts 3:19–21

“Repent ye therefore…
And he shall send Jesus Christ…
Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things…”

And Christ Himself said:

Matthew 17:11

“Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.”

👉 If God restores all things…

Would that include:

• Priesthood?

• Ordinances?

• Temples?

CHRIST AND THE TEMPLE

Now consider this prophecy:

Malachi 3:1

“Behold, I will send my messenger… and the Lord… shall suddenly come to his temple…”

👉 Ask yourself:

When Christ comes…

👉 Where is that temple?

PURPOSE OF THE TEMPLE

The Bible doesn’t just say temples exist.

It explains why people go there.

THE PROPHET’S PURPOSE

God meets His prophets in the temple.

2 Chronicles 1:6–7

“And Solomon… offered a thousand burnt offerings…
In that night did God appear unto Solomon…”

THE MEMBER’S PURPOSE

The people—the “Elect of God”—also enter the temple.

Why?

1. TO MEET WITH GOD

Exodus 29:43

“And there I will meet with the children of Israel…”

2. TO SEEK HIS FACE

Psalms 27:4

“One thing have I desired of the Lord… that I may dwell in the house of the Lord… to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.”

3. TO RECEIVE HIS SPIRIT

Psalms 84:10

“For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand…”

4. TO SEE VISIONS

Luke 1:21–22

“And the people waited for Zacharias…
And when he came out… they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple…”

5. TO MAKE COVENANTS

2 Kings 11:4

“…and made a covenant with them… in the house of the Lord…”

6. TO RECEIVE A NEW NAME

Revelation 2:17

“To him that overcometh… I will give… a white stone, and in the stone a new name written…”

CONCLUSION

The Bible never says temples would disappear in the last days.

Instead…

it says the opposite.

• Isaiah saw the House of the Lord established in the mountains.

• Malachi declared that the Lord would suddenly come to His temple.

• And the apostles spoke of a restoration of all things.

• Joseph Smith believed those prophecies were real.

Joseph Smith taught that the Lord had directed him to restore not only the temples themselves…

but also the sacred ordinances and covenants associated with them.

And what is remarkable is how closely those restored temple teachings follow the biblical pattern.

• Temples.

• Sacred covenants.

• Worthiness.

• Washings.

• Anointings.

• Holy garments.

• New names.

• Instruction from God.

• Even baptisms for the dead.

The deeper one studies the Bible, the more difficult it becomes to dismiss these temple themes as merely inventions of Joseph Smith.

Through Joseph Smith, Jesus Christ established His temples once again upon the earth…

not merely as buildings…

but as sacred Houses of God.

• Places where revelation is received.

• Places where covenants are made.

• Places where the faithful seek the presence of the Lord.

And if these biblical prophecies are true…

then Joseph Smith may have understood the role of temples far better than the modern Christian world does today.

And if Christ truly did “suddenly come to His temple,” as Malachi prophesied…

then perhaps far more has already been restored than most Christians realize.

CALL TO THINK!

Malachi did not merely say Christ would return.

He said:

“The Lord… shall suddenly come to his temple.”

Joseph Smith claimed that happened.

Not metaphorically.

Literally.

And if it did…

then one of the greatest prophetic fulfillments since the New Testament has already occurred.

A great deal was revealed afterward.

The question is:

👉 Why don’t more Christians know about it?

CLOSING QUESTIONS

So now ask yourself:

👉 Does your church have a House of the Lord?
👉 Are you being taught God’s ways in a temple?
👉 Will your church be there when Christ comes suddenly?

TRANSITION

In the next chapter, we’ll examine:

👉 Baptism for the dead
👉 Temple worthiness
👉 Why not everyone is allowed inside

And what the Bible actually says about these things.