Importance of Temple Work and Tithing

IMPORTANCE OF TEMPLE WORK AND TITHING By Joseph A. West In a former article on tithing I spoke of the favorable change of religious opinion toward this law of the gospel, and the efforts of some of the churches to adopt it, although lacking in method of payment and a divinely authorized agency through which to collect and distribute the same, I referred to temporal blessings resulting to those not of our faith from its observance as set forth in different issues of the Literary Digest, for it must be remembered that the Lord rewards all men, of whatever sect, race, age or nationality, according to their works, more especially so, if they live up to the true light when it comes to them. Tithing was shown to be a law given to both ancient and modern Israel, in which the manner of its payment and distribution, and the purpose for which it is used, is clearly defined. I also called attention to the wonderful fulfilment of the prophecy and promise of President Lorenzo Snow to the people of Dixie, and to the Church and Saints in general, if they would pay their tithing, and to the temporal and spiritual blessings individually obtained by the Latter-day-Saints who observe this law, and how tithing gives vitality to the various activities of the Church, mentioning temple work, especially in its application to the salvation of the dead who have had no opportunity to receive the gospel in mortality. This latter subject I wish to further discuss. Salivation for the Dead. None of the religious denominations of the world, except the Latter-day-Saints, make any provision by which the salvation of the mighty hosts of unnumbered dead can be accomplished. To judge them by a law of which they have no knowledge, would be manifestly unjust. I will here briefly state God's plan for the redemption of the dead. According to this, man has four estates, viz: the pre-existent one, the life through which we are now passing, life in the spirit world, and the resurrected life in which man will live forever. After life, what we call death is but a continuation of life here, in which the spirit, the life and intelligence of man, lives on with the wisdom, knowledge and experience of this life indellibly stamped upon it; "the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one who believes (Rom. 1:16) and obeys its precepts, both in this life and that which is to come, and those to whom it has not been accessible here, must have it declared unto them in the spirit world," so that they may "live according to God in the spirit and be judged according to men in the flesh." (1 Peter 4-6.) Our great Redeemer

154 IMPROVEMENT ERA went and preached to the spirits in prison which * * * were disobedient in the days of Noah. (1 Peter 4-6.) And not only opened a great gospel dispensation to them, but to all of God's children who might enter there without a knowledge of the plan of salvation. The Savior had this in mind when he said, "The hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the, Son of God and they that hear shall live." Lest he might be misunderstood he em- phasized it by saying: 'Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all who are in their' graves shall hear his voice." (John 5: 25, 28.) All the faithful members of the Church in ages past, and in this dispensation, who have entered the spirit world, have been busily engaged preaching the gospel, and now have countless millions!, con- verted thereto who only await the vicarious work of the living to become members "of the Church of the First Born" and enjoy all the benefits thereof. "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are ye then baptized for the dead?" (1 Cor. 15:29.) Water, into which all must be im- mersed in likeness of Christ's death and resurrection, being an earthly element, baptism necessarily becomes an earthly ordinance and must be vicariously performed by those who dwell in mortality. To those who may object to vicarious work for the dead, we need only remind them that the whole plan of salvation is based upon vicarious work — Christ's great atonement, the work of one, being for the redemption of all mankind both living and dead. Work for the Dead Can Only be Done in Temples. While in the days of their proverty, the Saints were permitted to baptize for the dead in the Mississippi river, the Lord now requires that such work be done in temples especially built for, and dedicated to this sacred service; hence he has said in modern revelation that in all dispensations he has required his people to build temples to his holy Name. Divine Authority During the early ministry of the prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord not only revealed to him the plan of the dead's redemption, but also gave him divine authority to build temples according to God's design and to administer all the ordinances therein that are necessary for the salvation of both the living and the dead. This authority was conferred, by him, upon his successor, Brigham Young, and has since been transmitted to each of the succeeding presidents of the Church and now resides with President Heber J. Grant. Temples Built by the Latter-day-Saints. On the 27th of December, 1832, the Saints were commanded of the Lord in the following words, to build a temple at Kirtland, Ohio: "Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a

TEMPLE WORK AND TITHING 155 house .even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God." Doc. and Cov. 88:119, 120. "It may be done according to the plan which God has given unto us." Doc. and Cov., Sec. 94, and which he says, in an- other revelation, "Mv people are always commanded to build." Doc. and Cov. 124:39. This was less than three years after the organization of the Church. It was completed at an approximate cost of $200,000 and dedicated on the 27th. of March, 1836, and still stands as a monument of the faith, obedience and unity of the Latter-day-Saints. In it were given some of the most glorious visions that were ever given to any age or people. In the preface to the divine manifestations which occurred on Sunday, April 3, 183 6, the prophet says: "In the afternoon, I assisted the other presidents in distributing the Lord's Supper to the Church, receiving it from the Twelve, whose privi- lege it was to officiate at the sacred desk this day. * * * After rising from prayer, the following vision was opened to both of us." He then describes, in beautiful language, the wonderful appearance of Jesus Christ, followed by that of Moses who committed unto them the keys of the gathering of Israel in the latter days; the visit of Elias, who committed unto them the keys of the gospel of Abraham; and the visit of Elijah who committed to them certain keys relating to the work for the dead, heretofore referred to, a full account of which will be found in the 1 10th section of the Doctrine and Covenants. The next temple to be built was at Nauvoo, Illinois, although two other temple sites previously had been dedicated, one at Independ- ence and another at Far West, both in the state of Missouri. The Nauvoo Temple is estimated to have cost a million dollars and was dedicated on the second day of May, 1846. Soon after it had to be abandoned, because of persecution; not, however, until all the temple ordinances appertaining to the living and the dead had been conferred upon many of the leading brethren and sisters of the Church Soon after the arrival of the Pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young, in walking over the present site of Salt Lake City, came to a spot where the Salt Lake temple now stands, and, striking his cane to the ground said, "Here will we build a temple to the Lord." We are told that he beheld the temple there several times, and that the one completed on that very spot is like the one he saw; it was dedicated forty years afterward at a cost of four millions of dollars. It has six towers instead of one as had the former temples. Prior to the completion of the Salt Lake temple, however, three other temples were built, one at Saint George, Utah, one at Logan, Utah, and one at Manti, Utah, all costing in the aggregate, $2,800,000. Since then a temple has been built in the Hawaiian Islands, another at Cardston, Canada, and another is now being constructed at Mesa, Arizona, all at a cost of hundreds of thousands. Thus we see that the commandment which the Lord says, "He always gives to his people to build a temple to his Holy name has

156 IMPROVEMENT ERA been many times fulfilled in the history and experience of the Latter- day-Saints, for their paths in Utah and the lands they have occupied have been plentifully dotted with them. Temple Work Being Done In ordinations to the Priesthood, Baptisms, Endowments, and Sealings, mainly for the dead, a total of 952,854 ordinances were performed in 1924. This record has been steadily increasing from the time the work first began. Ordinations to the Priesthood in behalf of the deceased are made in the temples. By the endowments, the fulness of the Priesthood is conferred, and by the sealing ordinance, husbands and wives, who in life have only been married for time, are bound together in an eternal union. Their children are also sealed to them in like manner and the family relationship, the source of our greatest earthly happiness, are forever perpetuated. These ordinances being performed for the living and the dead by those having divine authority, constitute the welding link between the fathers and the children that the prophet Joseph said was so important and without which neither they nor us could become perfect. Fulfilment of Prophecy. In the building of the many magnificent temples, in which alone the Lord says this work can be done, and the great vicarious service therein performed, we witness the fulfilment of the promise of Malachi that "Elijah would turn the hearts of the children to their fathers." For surely the Latter-day-Saints, in the great work they have accomplished at the cost of so many millions of dollars, have remembered their fathers in a glorious and most commendable manner, and their hearts have turned to them with over-flowing love and inexpressible joy as the work has been performed. We may also be fully assured that the hearts of the fathers have been turned in loving gratitude to those of their children who have performed for them this precious and wonderful work. Their hearts have also been turned to their children, not of our faith, and their influence exercised in inspiring them to prepare and publish, since the visit of Elijah, the many excellent genealogies, without which, little of the work for the dead could be done. But with all this service thus performed, the co-operation of those behind the veil and the help of our heavenly Father, I would ask how much of it could be done without the tithing of the Latter- day-Saints? Should not the very contemplation of its far reaching importance and grandeur inspire the Saints with renewed diligence in the faithful payment of their tithing. If not let them read the sublime closing words of the prophet Joseph Smith, written from retirement just before his martrydom, as contained in the 128th section

TEMPLE WORK AND TITHING 157 of the Doctrine and Covenants from which the following extracts have been taken: "Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness; A voice of mercy from heaven; A voice of truth from the earth; A voice of gladness for the living and the dead; Glad tidings of great joy, tidings of good things, and that say unto Zion: Behold, thy God reigneth! As the dews of Carmel so shall the knowledge of God descend upon them. "Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on to victory. Let your hearts rejoice and be exceeding glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained before the world was, that which will enable us to redeem them out of their prisons, for the prisoners shall go free. * * * Let all the sons of God shout for joy, and let the eternal creation declare his name forever and ever. And again I say, how glorious is the voice we hear from heaven, proclaiming in our ears, glory, and salvation, and honor, and im- mortality, and eternal life; kingdoms, principalities, and powers * * * * Let us therefore, as a Church and a people * * * * offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness; and let uS present in his holy temple, when it is finished, a book containing a record of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation." The temple work of the Latter-day-Saints is the most important work intrusted to them, and it cannot be done without their tithing. Most of the temple workers receive no compensation, but the cost of these beautiful temples, and their elegant furnishings and adornments, amount to millions of dollars, to say nothing of the cost of operating and maintaining them, which last year, including cost of construction, amounted to nearly a half million dollars. Other Church Activities. There are also other important Church activities for which the tithing is used. They are enumerated in President Grant's report at the April (1925) conference, showing the previous year's expen- diture for stake and ward purposes; for education and the maintenance of Church schools; for the care of the worthy poor, including Hos- pital treatment; for the maintenance and operation of the missions, and for the erection of places of worship, and other buildings in the mis- sions, aggregating a total for these purposes of $3,398,785. In all of these most worthy activities, and many more too nu- merous to mention, every tithe payer becomes an actual participant and is thereby entitled to the promised blessings resulting therefrom. Logan, Utah. Autumn Autumn, and a maple tree upon the hill. It's leaves of red and orange, Lighted by slanting rays of evening sun, Flame gloriously. It is another burning bush from which God speaks Joseph J. Cannon.