I do believe that you might not be welcome. A friend of mine who got married to a mormon girl invited us to the wedding but when we got there we were told we had to wait outside because we were not mormon. This may just be an isolated incident, but a friend of mine whos daughter married a guy who is mormon was not allowed to enter the temple where she got married.
You you go there you will be made very welcome to visit the grounds (which are always very beautiful and well maintained), and see the visitors center (if there is one); but you won’t be able to go inside the temple itself. That is reserved only for worthy members of the Church. The only time you can do that (as a non-member) is when a temple has just been opened (before dedication), and the Church holds an open house where the members of the public can go inside the building and have a look. But once it is dedicated it is closed to the general public and is only open to Members of the Church who have a special permit to go there.
You can enter the grounds of any temple without hindrance—except that the Church has nowadays become more security conscious, because of various security threats that have sprung up in recent years; and there may be security personnel on the lookout for troublemakers. The only part of the temple that the general public are not allowed to go into is inside the temple itself. But the grounds are open to anyone who desires to enter; and there is often a visitors center and other facilities that one may go and look at.
Is the Salt Lake City HQ temple operated differently than the dispersed temples? Reason I ask is, me and the fiance rode up to SLC a couple years ago and spent a day on the temple grounds. They were operating guided tours, and we took one of those, and saw a fair amount of the innards of the buildings. I had assumed from that that there are portions of building innards that are accessible to non-Mormons, but others that are not.
Mormons equate many of the symbolisms of the temple with the days when King Solomon’s temple was on the earth. In those days, there was a “Court of the Gentiles”, in which non-members of the faith were allowed into. However, non-Gentiles were not allowed into other areas, so this is not a new concept. The Visitors center, accompanying many of the temples around the globe, and the grounds outside the temple could be equated with that “Court of the Gentiles”.
Okay, just curious - what is it in Mormonism that makes you think they are a cult? Mormons have around 12 million members worldwide, they are established entities of religion with the government, they believe in Jesus Christ as you and all Christians do, and recognize him as their Savior and Lord, and would die for that belief. Mormons shun Satan, abhor his influence, and are some of the strictest believers in following Christ, and shunning the influence of Satan I know.
“Worthy Members” are those that truly follow the teachings of Christ, and the commandments. Mormons don’t drink or smoke, take drugs, remain chaste until marriage, don’t murder, steal, lie, and do their best to live the 10 commandments. Those that remain true to their beliefs are issued “recommends” by their church leaders that allow them in. Call it incentive to live a righteous life.
Mormons really aren’t that naive. While there are some (I get very annoyed by those - they deserve to know why they believe what they believe), most, especially those that convert to the Mormon faith from other religions believe because their religion bring them joy and happiness. It makes them better people and brings them closer to Christ. There are some really smart people in the Mormon church - Mitt Romney, Orson Scott Card, Gladys Knight, Fonsworth (inventor of the TV), Glenn Beck, among many others. I don’t think many of those people would just join without truly questioning the things that people find so peculiar about the Mormon faith. The fact is their religion has brought them happiness and joy and brings them closer to Christ.
No, not at all - your questions are valid. It is only the Mormon temples where non-members and unworthy members are not allowed to attend. Mormons are not shy in sharing what goes on in those temples though. The visitors centers nearby will tell you all about it, and all are invited inside the temple so long as they follow Mormon teachings and get a recommend to go inside.I see your point, and I am not questioning that…I do know some very nice people who are Mormons, and my own sister was almost sucked into a Mormonish cult. But what I don’t understand is the basic premise that people would accept that a CHRIST led congregation would exclude other Christians. It’s a foreign concept.
If I can’t get to see what’s going on, why would I stay or come back? Does that make sense? Or am I just being stubborn?
Hi jstayii.
Wrong.