This is not my normal article about personal finance, wealth management, and creating a Secure Tomorrow for you and your family. It’s about a building that, for a short time, is open to the public to tour and see what is so remarkably special about this building: it has everything to do with families.
On October 3, 2021, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that it would build a new temple in the Dallas Metroplex, namely in the Fort Worth area, which ended up in Burleson. Construction started two years later and now it is finished.
Thursday November 5th it will open to the public for public tours until Saturday November 21st, excluding Sundays.
Bear with me for a little bit while I take you on a brief tour of this new Temple. First, temples are not like what I would call “regular meeting houses” or chapels. While both are houses of worship, they serve different purposes. Chapels are for weekly services and other church activities, youth nights, social events, funerals, etc. Temples are houses of the Lord. They are for instruction about Jesus Christ, and His mission, and centered on the eternal nature of God, His children, and their relationship with Him and each other through ordinances and covenants. Temples are not open on Sundays.
The Fort Worth Texas Temple is a stunning building, as all temples are. The construction and craftsman ship that goes into a temple is literally some of the finest in the world. Like Solomen’s Temple, which was made of the finest materials and workmanship, temples today are no different.
Yesterday, I was able to go on a preview tour of the temple and see firsthand what this temple is like. A few people, including church leaders, gave brief presentations and instructions before we toured the building. One, Elder Michael A. Dunn, quoted Psalm 27:4 wherein King David, says, “One thing I have desired of the LORD, that I will seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.” While building a temple was left to his son, Soloman, one can believe that David understood the peace and rest that a person can receive being in the temple.
The tour started out with us entering the lobby, where people are checked in (often people make appointments to worship in the temple). The next place is a clothing booth. This may sound a bit odd but, very important, everyone who serves in the temple wears white clothing. This is for two main reasons, one to symbolize purity that we are all striving for, and two as God is no respecter of persons, it puts everyone on the same level. No matter your profession, walk of life, or how you support your family, we are all the same, children of a loving Heavenly Father.
The first location we visited was the baptistry, wherein proxy baptisms by immersion are performed on behalf of ancestors who may not have had the opportunity to learn about Jesus Christ, and His grace and mercy. Along with that is a room wherein the gift of the Holy Ghost is bestowed by proxy on the people who were baptized.
I should inject here that every ordinance performed for an ancestor, whether one or two generations back, twenty generations back, or more are all done with the knowledge that that person has the choice to accept the ordinance or reject it. It is simply giving our ancestors the opportunity to enjoy the blessings that come from receiving an ordinance performed on their behalf.
The next room we visited is the Instruction Room, where members repeatedly learn three things, where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going, all centered around the life and mission of Jesus Christ. It’s also a place where members make covenants, to keep the commandments, live the law of chastity, etc. I say repeatedly, because the presentation is the same in every temple around the world. The language may change, but the ordinance is the same.
From the Instruction Room, we entered the Celestial Room, symbolizing entering the presence of God. It is the central place of worship in the House of the Lord. There are no presentations, instructions or anything formal that goes on in the Celestial Room. It is a stunningly beautiful room where people sit, ponder, pray, meditate, and listen for answers to their prayers. It is often referred to as a room of revelation.
The next two rooms kind of go together, the first is the Brides’ Room, and this may sound funny, but be patient and I will explain. The Brides’ Room is a special room connected to the women’s dressing room, and is a large, beautiful room where women may gather, especially mothers, to help a bride get ready for their wedding. They can finish up some makeup, check the hair, dress in the wedding gown, etc. (By the way, there is not a grooms’ room). From the Brides’ Room, we went to the Sealing Room.
The Sealing Room is a special room where couples are sealed in the marriage covenant with each other and with God by the authority of the priesthood. This is the culminating ordinance in the temple, sealing husbands and wives together, not just for this life, but for time and all eternity. In the center of the room is an altar, representing Jesus Christ as the foundation, couples kneel across the alter and take each other by the hand, while the marriage or sealing ordinance is performed.
This is a faith that most assuredly believes in the hereafter. And that families are part of God’s plan for His children here on earth and into the next life. The faith believes that by focusing on Jesus Christ, and centering a marriage covenant on His teachings, and including Heavenly Father in their marriage, their marriage can be for eternity. It was explained as a three-way covenant, husband to wife, wife to husband, and husband and wife to God, with Jesus Christ as the foundation of that covenant.
During the entire tour we were free to ask questions, and our tour guides willingly answered any questions presented. The opportunity to tour this sacred building for many people may be a once in a lifetime opportunity and one that everyone should take advantage of. Burleson may not be in your backyard, and it may be a bit of a drive, but it surely is well worth the time and effort to go and see this magnificent building.
Whatever your plans are for the next few weeks, I hope you include a trip to Burleson, Texas, and the new Fort Worth Texas Temple. You can put “Fort Worth Texas Temple” in Apple or Google maps, and it will give you driving directions. The address is: 1851 Greenridge Drive, Burleson, TX 76028. The tours are available between 9:00 am and 8:00 pm Monday through Saturday; there are no tours on Sunday. I believe you will ENJOY this visit! Let me know how it goes in the comments below.
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