Temple Square
The first time I went through a LDS Temple was while I was in the Mission Home in SLC. In those days (60s), they didn’t have the MTC; all missionaries went through a week of training in a dormitory-style building that sat next to the Salt Lake Temple. On Thursday of that week, we all went through the House of the Lord. For me, the experience was like being kicked in the stomach. I was certainly not prepared for the experience. It was far from the spiritual encounter that I had hoped for.
After it was over, I needed to be alone, something that was discouraged. (You were always supposed to be with a companion, even in the Mission Home.) I walked up to State Capitol building and sat on the lawn for hours. I was in a state of serious emotion shock. All my life, I had been skeptical about the overuse of symbolism in other religions, particularly in Catholicism. And here it was, the centerpiece of Mormonism. And I didn’t get it.
Eventually, I walked back to the mission home. It was evening and the doors were locked. Luckily, the Mission President’s wife was nearby and she opened the door. She was wonderful about it, and gave me no grief. I returned to my room. One of my roommates had wanted to turn we in for being AWOL. But my delightful companion had talked him out of it.
Recently, I read the fascinating biography of David O. McKay. In the book DOM laments the fact that his first experience in the Temple was hardly positive. According to him:
“Do you remember when you first went through the House of the Lord? I do. And I went out disappointed. Just a young man, out of college, anticipating great things when I went to the Temple. I was disappointed and grieved, and I have met hundreds of young men and young women since who had that experience.”
DOM felt that LDS temple participants were confused by the mechanics and “did not see the symbolism of spirituality.” For me, it was all the symbolism that bothered me, and it didn’t lead me to higher plain of spirituality. And I saw no avenue for that impression to change.
During my mission, my problems were further heightened when I attended the slideshow in the London Temple. It still wasn’t the wonderful experience that I had hoped for.
When my sons decided to go on missions, I insisted that they go through the Temple before they entered the MTC. I couldn’t take them through, but their grandparents agreed. (Families are wonderful.) The boys survived the experience just fine; that was a big load off my mind.
September 2nd, 2010 at 11:01 am
When I went (about 10 years ago) for the first time, I was totally blown away. We had taken the prep classes, but they did not in any way prepare me for what took place. I didn’t get it. I do not wish to sound negative. But it was not what I was expecting. Some members have said, “keep going, and soon it will make sense”. So I kept going, and kept going. Eventually, rather than continue going and participating in something that clearly was beyond me, I stopped. I respect everyone’s right to go, I don’t discuss it with anyone, but I don’t regret the fact that I no longer go. To each his/her own.