by kona88 on March 31st, 2007

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Those who don't follow the Word of Wisdom aren't allowed to enter the Temple, but wouldn't Jesus allow someone into his home who smokes or drinks coffee? Jesus invites the sinner in.

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by Glenn Blaylock on May 5th, 2007
I am not trying to be offensive here, but to my mind this question shows a lack of an understanding of the nature of a temple. If you look back at the practices of the ancient Israelites, you will see that not everyone was allowed to enter the their temples. Only those that were of the covenant people were allowed to enter. Even then there were restrictions on just who could go where in the temple. Those that did enter the temple were required to undergo a ritual cleansing before they could enter. So, the temple was not just another house of worship. It was a special place with special requirements of those that entered it.

This is still true today. Those who have not become one of the covenant people by joining the Church are still not allowed within the temples. We are no longer required to undergo a ritual washing before we enter. Instead, we are expected to obey a higher law that requires us to do our best to follow the commandments that God has given us and to protect the temples that are our bodies by not abusing harmful substances. Yes, Jesus does invite the sinners to come unto Him. They are not to be excluded from the general worship services. However, the temples have always been special places with special requirements for entry.
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- Excellent answer.
  
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  by Mike Astill on January 20th, 2012
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by rachelloveswade on October 12th, 2008
He invites the sinner in, yes, but he also kicked out the money changers in the Temple in the OT. Christ new the sanctity of the temple then, just as it is sacred now.
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- excellent answer sister and welcome to AB
  
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  by asweetguy4u2know saya R.I.P Nelson on October 12th, 2008
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by Empress of Everything Ever on March 31st, 2007
I was always taught that was the idea. Jesus wasn't there to keep the 'nasties' out he was there to invite them in to show by His example that His FAther was (and is) the best way to go.
By denying people access to God you are denying God.
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- All are welcome to Sunday services which are held in chapels. No one is denying access to God, or to LDS worship services. Please do not mistake temples and chapels. Their purposes are not the same.
  
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  by bytebear on March 7th, 2009
- Regardless of which way you choose to follow access to God is immediate to all and any who ask it, anybody who tells you different is most likely wrong, as is any religion which seeks to impose a barier between a person and God.
  
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  by Empress of Everything Ever on March 8th, 2009
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by Bohemian is back on October 12th, 2008
Well, I am fed up with waiting for my comment to Mr Blaylock to be posted so I'm afraid I have had to use the answer box. Please excuse me fellow baggers.

Mr Blaylock, you are talking absolute poppycock! Sometimes I think you do it just to get a rise out of some of the baggers. 'To shun sin'. Yes, of course, you shun sin for yourself but you should not shun sinners. That is not your place.

Most of the people who are part of these 'Holier than thou' Christian groups are 'messes' or 'ex-messes', by that I mean ex-drug addicts, people with a vast array of psychological problems, people who cannot cope with the outside world, ex-alcoholics, anorexics, bulimics, ex-cons, very lonely people, the elderly, near suicidal cases, etc. And the 'holier than thou' members prey on these vulnerable people shaping, cajoling and bullying them into what they believe to be 'holy' and above reproach in the eyes of God.

You mention, Mr Blaylock, that those who do not like being judged by the 'holier than thou' group are 'not living their lives as they should'. Well, Mr Blaylock, I do not fall into any of the categories above, nor do I disobey the 10 commandments, so I have no need to be judged by the likes of you and the 'holier than thou' group who are merely presumptuous, egotistical, brain-washed, interfering, lost souls and a number of other things that I do not like to use here. They should all get on with their own lives and not interfer in others. I have never met such a nosey, ignorant group of people as I did when I decided to join our local church. Never again.
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- I only noticed this answer today. Thus, I have not responded to it sooner. First of all, your answer comes across as awfully angry. You accuse us of being judgmental, but are you not being judgmental yourself here? Are you not taking the same holier than thou attitude of which you accuse us?
  
  Second, you complete ignore the actual scriptural accounts concerning who was and was not allowed in the biblical temples. I will cite just one example. Upon returning to Jerusalem after one of his missionary journeys, Paul went through the ritual purifications needed for entry to the Temple along with some other men. As he was about finished with this, some of his enemies falsely accused him of taking Gentiles into the temple. This mere accusation caused a riot and the Jews attempted to stone Paul for desecrating the temple (Acts 21). If the Lord's temples have always been open to anyone, then why would this accusation have cause so much of a stir? The fact of the matter is that the Lord has always placed restrictions on who was and was not allowed in His temples. Go back and read the books of Mose and see the restrictions that He placed on this. You accuse us of being judgmental. However, what we are doing is following the example that the Lord laid out.
  
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  by Glenn Blaylock on January 20th, 2012
- I am not about to sit back and take the nonsense that the holier than thou group dish out Mr Blaylock. Judgemental? No. Oboervant? Yes.
  
  As for restrictions, you are seriously deluded. One of America's most infamous murderers was a so-called upstanding member of the church. Not to mention the child abuse and homosexuality cases commited by church leaders. I am sure you are a very well meaning person Mr Blaylock but your blind belief in everything connected with the church is more than naive.
  
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  by Bohemian is back on January 29th, 2012
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by Anonymous on March 31st, 2007
The principles involved seem obvious enough from the standpoint of someone who is qualified to go into the Temple, but I am not sure it can be explained to — or understood by — one who is not.

Certainly we would very much like for every person in the world to be a member of our church, to live their lives in perfect accordance with the teachings and practices of the church, to hold a Temple recommend, and to go to the Temple regularly.

All of us fall short to various degrees of this perfect ideal. There is not one among us who does not occasionally stray into sin and error.

If you're not a member of the church, then we'd really like to teach you about it, and hopefully convince and prepare you to become a member. If you are a member, but you're not qualified to hold a Temple recommend, then we'd really like to help you do what you need to do to bring your life sufficiently into accord with the teachings of Christ to qualify you for a recommend. For those of us who do hold recommends, there are always ways in which our lives could be brought closer to our standard of perfection; and the church would like to help all of us to make such improvements in our lives.

Whatever level you're at spiritually, the church would really like to help you to improve upon it.

Just as it wouldn't really do you much good to be baptized into the church if you're not prepared to at least accept the teachings of the church and to make some basic effort to live your live accordingly; it really would not do you much good to go to the Temple if you're not living your life in accordance with the higher standards that are required for Temple attendance.

We are not like some other churches that expect no more effort from you than to vocally proclaim your acceptance of Jesus as your Savior.

We are a church that has very high standards. We know that nobody will ever achieve perfect conformance with these standards, but we certainly expect you to try. This requires some actual effort on your part.

The more you try, the more you will be able to live according to our standards, and the more you live according to our standards, the greater will be the blessings and rewards. The Temple represents a point in this progression that is above the starting baseline.
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- It just seems like an act of exclusivity. Regardless of how much or how often people fell short of God's Grace, Jesus still invited them in, befriended them. Right? So what gives Temples the authority to turn God's children away from this, or any, place of worship?
  
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  by kona88 on April 1st, 2007
- and why do people have the right to judge when God is the only judge...
  
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  by gypsey on May 5th, 2007
- If only God has the right to judge, then we better dismantle the entire justice system because we don't have the right to run such a thing.
  
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  by Glenn Blaylock on May 5th, 2007
- Glenn you know good and well what gypsey is talking about. Don't try to blow her statement out of proportion just to try and defend your side.
  
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  by kona88 on May 22nd, 2007
- kona88, It is not our place to make judgments with respect to who is going to heave or hell. However, God has charged his people with making other judgments. He has charged us with shunning evil. There is something that I haven noticed about many, if not most, of those that complain about people making judgments. These tend to be the ones that know that they are not living their lives as they should, but don't want anyone telling them that they are doing something wrong. Take a look at Gypsey's activity for the short time that she was here. The majority of her activity was an attack on my religion. She tried to claim to be just innocently asking questions while using provocative and insulting language. She condemned us for being judgmental while being judgmental herself. Personally, I don't have much patience for that kind of hypocrisy. She made an overly broad statement. So, all I did was point out the error of that overly broad statement.
  
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  by Glenn Blaylock on May 22nd, 2007
- "We are a church with very high standards", and the Temple is a point in this progression? What about then Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, or Christians of other stripes who are outperforming Temple goers in the righteousness department? If you don't think the unclean should enter, I think I understand that to an extent, but out of curiousity, why are they not let in?
  
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  by ThePrognosticAgnostic on October 12th, 2008
- Because these judgemental 'holier than thou' people think they can play God. They no longer drink, steal, commit adultery, take drugs, have put their anorexia, bulimia, and psychological problems under wraps for the sake of the church and are now 'better' than everyone else and so are in a position to judge, shun, exclude, bully into submission, extract money from the vulnerable as atonement for their sins and all the gobbledy-gook that they spew out in the name of God. They are, in short, 'the chosen ones' who will zoom up into the sky on the day of reckoning with no clothes on (What a sight!) and come down to rule the earth with the Messiah. Illusion or Delusion? Delusion, undoubtedly.
  
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  by Bohemian is back on October 12th, 2008
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by whew4 on March 11th, 2009
Jesus said "for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Matt.9;13) Yes Jesus came to this earth to call sinners to repentance. However, your question involves what Jesus would do in his house. His house is in heaven, so I doubt he would invite sinners into his house now. He has already fulfilled that calling on this earth, of inviting sinners to come unto him.

And as far as the Temple is concerned..If the Temple is the Lords house on earth, as we claim, then the Lord has the right to allow whomever He will into His house.

If the Temple is not the Lords house on earth, as many of you claim, then the Lord will not be there, so what are you missing by not being allowed in our Temples? whew4
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by bytebear on March 7th, 2009
This question seems to imply that sinners are not allowed to worship. But Sunday services held in chapels are open to everyone. Temples are not for weelky worship, so do not mistake the two. Seems like people seem to think that sinners or non-mormons are not welcome to worship. That is not true.
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by Joseph Smith was a fraud and Eisegete on October 12th, 2008
Glen. I am very surprised at some of the comments you come out with.

"If only God has the right to judge, then we better dismantle the entire justice system because we don't have the right to run such a thing. "

This has got to be one of your best stupid ones. You try so hard to twist things. We are to follow Gods law at the same time we are to follow the law of the land. If I tithe to my church, I have completed my portion of the contract and will be judges by God. If the minister mis-uses the funds, he also will be judged by God. Accordingly, we follow the law of the land and we will be judged as to how we adhere to that law. And the lawmakers/judges will be judged as to how they set the laws and judge them as well.

I can not believe that you (glen) would be so ignorant as to not agree with me. And not agree that this (your comment) is an apples and oranges analogy.

If you are at the point that you believe in the [so called] word of wisdom (LOL), than you are at the point were the LDS feel safe to let into the Temple. If the average person were to go into the temple, they would either laugh or get freaked out by the satanic/Masonic marking and behaviors with in the temple. If the Mormons keep this information blinded from the general public, than there sherade can continue. This is the only reason that non LDS are not allowed in the temples.

Before Christ, only Rabbis were allowed in the temples. This was the law. If an average person were to enter, they would be smitten by God and there life would be taken away (struck dead).

Jesus Christ removed this law, and anyone who wants to go into the temple (as it were), need only have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, through the Holey Spirit dwelling within you. This is the new temple that Christ spoke of and has built.

There is nothing to hide, nothing to with-hold. Plane and simple. Anything else should raise suspicion
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- You are entitled to your opinion, but the way you express it here is inappropriate for AB. Calling people ignorant and their answers stupid is not acceptable. You seem to have a bone to pick with Glenn in particular. Please refrain from doing this. Thanks :)
  
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  by Andy Is Wicked Married to Penal Colony on October 12th, 2008
- Thank you, Andy. Unfortunately, this is pretty much lola’s modus operandi, wherever she goes. :-/
  
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  by the Otter on October 12th, 2008
- Yeah, she complains when various members of AB don't treat her with respect while going around calling people names, and misrepresent what they believe.
  
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  by Glenn Blaylock on October 17th, 2008
- Sorry about that, Glenn. Can't we all just get along? :)
  
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  by Andy Is Wicked Married to Penal Colony on October 17th, 2008
- I'm perfectly willing to. As long a people are respect what I believe and my right to believe as I wish, then I respect them. It's the people who come here with chips on their shoulders and start attacking the beliefs of others that get my dander up. I have even been known to stick up for other religions when I feel that they have been unfairly attacked even though I may disagree with what they teach. Personally, I think that much of the strife in this world would be eliminated if every one would simply accept the fact that we are going to disagree on religion and simply stick to preaching what they believe rather than attacking the faiths of others.
  
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  by Glenn Blaylock on October 17th, 2008
- Exactly! I have no doubts that you can "get along", Glenn. If the problem continues, let me know.
  
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  by Andy Is Wicked Married to Penal Colony on October 17th, 2008
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by Mister IT is trying to Liahona outta here on February 8th, 2010
You are very astute.

We have free access to even the Holy of Holies through Christ's atonement as the scripture says:

Hebrews 4:15-16 (King James Version)
15For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

16Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

And the Bible graphically illustrates this point by telling us the the veil of the temple was rent from top (representing God) to bottom (representing man) eliminating the "unworthy" barrier via the blood of Christ:

Mark 15:37-39 (King James Version)
37And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.

38And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.

In fact, Mind Control Cult researchers inform us that this "worthy" v. "unworthy" dynamic is a behavior control technique that cults use. In the case of Mormonism, ExMormon and now Mind Control Counselor Luna Flesher explains:

5. Rewards and punishments (behavior modification techniques- positive and negative).
Official punishments include being barred from the temple, disfellowshipment and excommunication. Disfellowshipping includes the inability to partake in the Sacrament, inability to pray publicly or give talks, and inability to hold a Church calling. Excommunication is a complete eradication of all membership privileges with extreme social and spiritual consequences.

Social pressures can be very strong. This topic is a mixed bag, as some members are sincere, good-hearted people, and others are judgmental and shaming. The overall vibe, however, is to appear righteous, or you are unworthy, inferior. It is a part of the culture.

Members and families who seem to be following the commandments very closely are highly respected. Those who have visible problems are considered inferior. This is never expressly said, for the doctrine is "Love one another", and we're all equal in the sight of God, nevertheless various levels of status exist in the culture very strongly.

One could be considered of lowered status if: a child in the family is rebellious or has left the Church, one of the parents is inactive or a non-member, any member of the family is observed visibly disobeying a commandment (drinking/smoking, dressing immodestly, criticizing leadership, not wearing garments, turning down a calling, cussing, missing a lot of meetings, etc), if the family is poor (though not always), if no one in the family has ever held a leadership calling (President or Councilor of an adult group, Bishop, or higher), or even if they just don't seem "valiant".

The threat of social ostracism is implied by how people talk about others. The language is loaded with negative words for people who sin, criticize, or leave. "Apostate", "wicked", "sinner", "blind", "hard-hearted", "unrepentant", "deceived", "mocking", "rebellious", "contentious", "misguided", and "spiritually weak" are just a few.

Some phrases use guilt to punish, i.e. "By sinning, we crucify the Savior anew".
http://www.concernedchristians.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=42&func=view&id=80003&catid=532

So in the end this is yet another area where Mormonism is clearly not aligned with the Bible and is also demonstrating it's true nature as a Mind Control Cult.
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Those who don't follow the Word of Wisdom aren't allowed to enter the Temple, but wouldn't Jesus allow someone into his home who smokes or drinks coffee? Jesus invites the sinner in.

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