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Firesides/28 November 2010 - Sweden/13
Response to questions about temple concerns
1: BoM translation—2: Polygamy and Polyandry—3: Polygamy forced?—4: Book of Abraham—5: "Lying for Lord"—6: Mark Hofmann—7: Blood atonement—8: First Vision—9: Sanitized history—10: "Not all truth is useful"—11: Angelic affidavits—12: Blacks and priesthood—13: Temple concerns—14: Evidence of Vikings—15: Adam-God—16: Kinderhook
The attendees of The "Swedish Rescue" fireside ask the following question:
*When I went to the temple the first time, it was 1970 in Switzerland. And after being in there the first day, I was terrified. I couldn’t sleep at night. I thought, what is this, you know? There was a black hole in my heart and I had nightmares the whole week. I thought, what is this? Have I been deceived?
- Question: Why would one react to the temple in a negative manner?
Answer: Everyone reacts differently.
Again, short answer, the way people react to the temple experience depends on their culture. There are some people in some cultures who go to the temple and they react very positively and there are others who do not.
- —Brother Turley's response to this question at the Sweden fireside
- Question: Is the temple experience disturbing? (Given the timeframe, this refers to the time prior to changes made in 1990.)
Answer: Sometimes people are not adequately prepared for the symbolism in the temple.
- This experience is distressing, and it is possible that the speaker was ill-served by those who should have prepared him/her for the experience of the temple. One can hope that such preparation is now more effective, more than forty years later.
- Elder Jensen responds to this question:
I remember sitting with our first daughter, actually, who went on a mission to Germany, after her first temple endowment which I attended with her.
(Question: When was that?)
Pre-90. And I was her stake president, so I did my best to prepare her. Since then the church, as you know, has produced “Endowed From on High” which is the seventh lesson course for temple preparation, which I’m sure you must have in Sweden. But the temple, because we have a very practical and utilitarian religion, we don’t have the rich liturgy that the Catholics have or the Protestants. So the temple for most people initially is a very different experience, Hans, as it was for you....Well, I know. I think my little daughter was quite worthy, but she was so disturbed, I’ll say. So surprised by the nature of what happened there that I’m not sure the Holy Ghost had a chance to really help her that day. I remember sitting with her in the celestial room while she cried and said, Dad what’s this all about? And I wish I had done a better job. But, she has persisted and I said to her if you’ll keep coming and keep learning and keep praying about it, you’ll…mother of four little boys…and loves what she feels there. But it’s taken some time. It isn’t a tap we can always turn on.
- —Elder Jensen's response to this question at the Sweden fireside
- Question: Are those that are not prepared for the symbolism in the temple "deceived?"
Answer: No.
- The answers to such questions—such as Have I been deceived?—must be found where the Church has always taught they should be sought: from God Himself via a personal revelatory experience. No historical or academic analysis can answer the question.