Dear Gramps,
Why the need for Temples, when the Bible clearly tells us that our bodies are temples and that JESUS lives inside us?
Torre, from Fallbrook California
Dear Torre,
In the first place, where in the Bible does it clearly say that Jesus lives inside us? It is true that his Spirit influences every person, giving them the power to distinguish between that which is good and that which is evil. It is often called our conscience. But Jesus of course was, and still is, a person of flesh and bone, occupying space in time and in eternity, just the same as everyone else. That role of Jesus does not obviate the need for temples. Even Jesus taught in Herod’s temple, and he, as the pre-mortal Jehovah, commanded Solomon to build a temple. He also commanded Joseph Smith to build a temple. That command was so important, and the Lord’s timetable for its building so exact, that He specified the very day on which construction of the temple was to begin (See Doctrine & Covenants 115). Isaiah even prophesied of temples to be build in our own day—
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 shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it (Isa 2:2).
Gramps
