December 19 — Encyclopedia of Mormonism, p. 1229 “Reverence is expected to pervade public places of worship as well. Because Latter-day Saints tend to be vibrant and sociable and because they often worship with their children, the Church leaders periodically emphasize the importance of reverence.
Addressing the issue, President Gordon B. Hinckley stated, “We encourage the cultivation of friends with happy conversations among our people. However, these should take place in the foyer, and when we enter the chapel we should understand that we are in sacred precincts…. All who come into the Lord’s house should have a feeling they are walking and standing on holy ground” (Ensign 17 [May 1987]:45).”
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Matthew 22:37- 40 “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
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Hebrews 12:9 “Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?”
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I can still see myself the day I got saved – what God must have thought is something I cherish to this day. Going into the little church where women wore everything from dresses to jeans and men without ties shocked me. And then came the children laughing and enjoying the company of their friends and asking their parents if they wanted coffee…it wasn’t long before God began changing my judgmental attitude and I wasn’t on guard all the time.
I’ve never been to a Christian church where the pastors had to tell the people not to talk. As soon as the worship team begins playing music or the pastor steps up to the pulpit adults already know they need to stop talking.
In scenarios like the one mentioned above by Mr. Hinckley it makes me think the Church isn’t happy until they’ve controlled every single tiny little thing Church members are allowed to do or say or think.
Do you really believe this is how God operates? Where is the freedom of living in the Lord when you’re told what to do, when to do it and how? Where is the free agency spoken of so many times in Mormonism?
The Christian is endowed with the Spirit of God inside of them (1 Cor. 3:16) so technically every step the believer takes means he or she is standing on holy ground.
How did this room (chapel) used for Sacrament Meetings become holy ground?
If this is God’s residence, why aren’t sacrifices being made to him inside the chapel?
How did their chapels become holy ground if they don’t believe the Lord’s Spirit resides inside the believer?
Ask a Mormon for their definition of reverence and let them know you’re praying for them!
With Love in Christ —
Michelle ✟
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