Tour of the Community of Christ Temple in Independence, MO with Joey Williams
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- Опубліковано 19 лис 2024
- Thursday, August 12, 2021
Tour of the Temple, Independence, Missouri, with Joey Williams.
Joey Williams is the Mission Centre President for the Western Europe Mission Centre and the Eurasia Mission Centre, where he has served since 2014. He was a committee member for the current hymnal, Community of Christ Sings, and has served the Church in a variety of roles, including Youth Minister for the Central Mission Centre in Independence (1998-2002) and for Europe (2002-2007) and a translator in the International Resources Department (2007-2014).
Joey is passionate about justice and peace, and believes music and the arts are at the heart of how we begin to reimagine the world in which we live. When the pandemic began, he jumped into a social media project called Temple Tuesdays, posting a video each week exploring what it means to be a people of the Temple and to live out the ministries of the Temple in our local contexts.
Vist Temple Tuesday videos on UA-cam at • Temple Tuesday
What a wonderful tour! The joy on your face at 50:07 as you say "that wasn't in my temple manual" is priceless. Parts of this tour brought me to tears. Parts filled me with joy and hope. I've never been one of those "bucket list" type of people but dang... I want to hear that organ in a worship service before I die. Peace.
So much beautiful artwork - it would be a lovely gift if on your website photos of the art would be available to download 🙏
I grew up in this church and I went to high school with Joey.
How neat! Glad you dropped by.
Thank you for all the tours and good will over the years, I've enjoyed my Community of Christ tour guides and acquaintances, peace and hugs!
I actually like the symbolism of the door frame leading into the sanctuary, thats powerful and, in my opinion, the most noticable and meaningful and powerful symbolism of this structure.
I lovely building
Great video, I love your vibe Joey
It’s just a building, I respect your religion,but it left me a sense of purpose on the temple.
Boring! A kitchen and water fountain included in tour??
Very interesting!
Glad you think so!
What is the purpose of the temple if you don't believe in any of the ceremonies? Is it just there to pray in?
I wonder that also
So it's kind of like the Baha'i temples, if you know anything about those. Or possibly it's like a particularly special Cathedral. The point of the temple is to be a place where Heaven touches Earth. It's a place of special serenity and communion with God and with all of humanity. It's not a place where special rituals are done, sacraments/ordinances are done in regular chapels. It's supposed to be a center of prayer, meditation, reverance, education, and gratitude for the work of salvation. It's in the model of the Kirtland temple, which was commanded to be a place of "prayer, learning, and order," rather than the Nauvoo temple which was a house of ordinances. Two different types of temple, and CofChrist would say that those ordinances were made contingent upon the finishing of the Nauvoo temple by a certain point, which didn't happen. So instead of Nauvoo temple theology, CofChrist uses Kirtland temple theology, which stresses unity with God and with the Saints around us.
They do believe in A ceremony. Remember that Joseph Smith had two endowment interpretations. The first of which held on the second floor of his family business and the Kirkland Temple (the latter of which still being owned by the Community of Christ) was not the same one at Nauvoo. This original ceremony was much simpler and only had the anointings, ritual washing of feet, and conferring spiritual gifts onto someone like we see in Acts with the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost or with Timothy receiving gifts through the laying on of hands. This was the endowment until Joseph Smith was brought in as a freemason and adopted their tokens and attire and brought it into the Church. This second Endowment given at Nauvoo added upon Kirkland endowment for what we have today.
That's a rather interesting question and you learn the importance of what The Restoration means. We learn from Joseph Smiths life that it was line-upon-line and precept-upon-precept meaning that the Church is still a progression and we see that even with the Children of Israel. It was all given to them in an incredibly similar matter, thus further solidifying each dispensation following an Apostacy. Moses was a convert, he was a Jew raised in a Egyptian home under pagan beliefs. He was converted, liberated a people from Spiritual bondage and darkness, received a law, errected a temple, and passed on the authority to a successor. Joseph Smiths story is similar but in a different order. Joseph Smith was a convert as well in a time of spiritual darkness. As time went on more and more was introduced as he had questions. God revealed things to him as he was humble and open enough to receive it. A law was received and even a health code, just as Moses had received. The Jews were required to eat Kosher, today we have the Word of Wisdom received in time as the saints were ready. Abraham practiced polygamy and many of the prophets practiced polygamy throughout the Old Testament. We don't hear much about the New Testament and a lot of those writings were probably lost. But, I'm getting too far off track now.....
The point is, Kirtland was built as a line-upon-line and precept-upon-precept process as well. Jesus needed a holy place to appear to restore the priesthood keys and needed a Holy House, just as Israel did with a Most Holy Place. The Saints had to do this little-by-little. So the Kirtland temple, to us means a lot, but I don't think God himself is too concerned whether it lives or falls at this point. As more was received, just as the progression from the Aaronic Priesthood to the Melchizedek Priesthood, the Nauvoo Temple came about as more was learned.
The shocking thing seems to be that the thought is that Joseph Smith took Free Masonry and borrowed that. Then the belief was that Free Masonry was an apostate group, etc. But the more the Latter-day Saint side of the Restoration movement study and dissect, not only the Book of Mormon, but other texts revealed through Joseph Smiths receipt to translation, there's this shocking revelation that Joseph Smith was receiving temple endowment experiences throughout his life a little at a time and in various methods that relate back to Old Testament times and practices and how that's changed with the completion of atonement that under the Aaronic Priesthood, the priests had to go through the process on behalf of Israel, but with the crucifixion of the Savior and the Great Sacrifice, the Gospel was opened up in the Spirit World and temple work suddenly changed and Latter-day Saints learned through Jospeh F. Smith more on the subject, again, line-upon-line. Archaeology is also uncovering ancient structures and are learning how apostate the Church really has become following the death of the Apostles funding ancient structures that resemble Nauvoo Temple similarities. Even within ancient America, archeologists are finding Nauvoo Temple similarities so, Joseph Smith didn't take anything from Free Masonry, really, he was learning and having temple experiences throughout his life that built up to what we now have and the more it's studied, the less it has ties to Free Masonry and has more in common with ancient and lost texts. Reading through the Book of Mormon with a temple endowment mindset and understanding gives you a totally new perspective with what information we have now, but you would only see that with a temple endowment knowledge, and thus makes you wonder how when the Book of Mormon came about before the Josephs introduction to Free Masonry. All he and Brigham Young really learned from Free Masonry was the flow of the presentation, but everything else is Biblically based, it's amazing but can't be described in 4,000 characters. So, with Community of Christ, that's missing. Joseph Smith knew that, but this temple is based on Kirtland which was the introductory temple to jump start things. Everything else the Book of Mormon teaches and other texts both we have and have been discovered, are the Nauvoo so, the Community of Christ doesn't have those..... rituals? Because they were rejected and maybe seen as Free Masonry but they're really not. So the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Fundamentalists carried on that higher law with the work of Redemption of the Dead mentioned by Paul to the Corrinthians (which I've learned a great deal of legitimacy through the study of Pagan beliefs and practices and having Pagan friends myself and how that relates and gives credibility to what Paul taught them) and Community of Christ is lacking that understanding because it was rejected, but fits perfectly in Latter-day Saint practice and was lost with FLDS because they have no prophet with authority, that was lost with them. So the temple here is simply a beautiful building to sing and pray in and read the Bible as the Book of Mormon is slowly fizzling out of the Community of Christ and seems to be more of an afterthought instead of the key reason Community of Christ exists. Community of Christ has become so focused on being part of the world and accepting the world in such a liberal manner, that they seem to have forgotten that even Jesus stood up to his critics in his time, that he called out their behaviors and apostate practices and even flipped the tables of the money changers in a mosaic temple that may have been thought to be a relic. True, Jesus brought the higher law and he himself, instituted initiative practices with Baptism, the Sacrament, washing of feet, and even practices he taught and mentioned in the New Testament as telling his Apostles to hurry back, that there were things he needed to teach them that couldn't be revealed to the world and the New Testament goes dark and it's not recorded until centuries later when more documentation surfaces that, not only teaches more of what Jesus taught, but was found after Joseph Smith that gives creedence further to the Nauvoo Temple, you just have to have that basis and everything else branches out and makes more sense.
So, while this is a beautiful building, it focuses primarily on just being nice and excepting but forgets about moving the Gospel forward and what the mercy of the atonement and what Jesus did during those three days between his death and the resurrection really meant and what it was for that Peter taught, but was further clarified by Hyrum Smiths own posterity Joseph F. Smith who saw that vision and thankfully recorded it and therefore Paul's teachings to the Corrinthians makes more sense as well. This temple, while beautiful doesn't seem to echo God's word of "I Am the same yesterday, today, and forever." The mosaic dispensation isn't evident in this structure. It was in Kirtland, though it was crude, still was, and as time goes on and we dig up and learn more of history, we find Abraham and Adams dispensations as well as Moses' rolled into one in the Nauvoo Temple that started with Kirtland and has since carried on into the Rome Italy and Okinowa, JP temples which is amazing! This is a beautiful building but it's just that, it's a sanctuary, it's an escape from the world if you can leave that all at the door, and that's about it. It's not exactly a temple, in the Christian or Hebrew sense. Even the Jews don't have their temple, just Synagogues because for them, things have to be in place and the right circumstances to build their third temple to the God of Israel
I'm not even mormon and know this isn't traditional mormomism.
I'm lds, and I would argue that we've all been guilty of picking and choosing our parts of the temple as opposed to doing it the way God has said.
Some examples:
Last chapters of Ezekiel reveal the temple that will be in Jerusalem in the last days yet we as lds will look at most of what Ezekiel says and pretend it's all law of Moses stuff and brush it aside as fulfilled and not going to happen again
Example 2
There are specific ordinances related to the school of the prophets revealed in Kirtland in Section 88 of the lds Doctrine and Covenants that we don't even do.
Example 3
Brigham Young taught that when the Salt Lake temple was completed, there would be an endowment for the Aaronic Priesthood and one for the Melchizedek, and the reason the endowment they were doing at that point was for the Melchizedek only was because they were performing it in the endowment house. Since temples have been built, they've continued the Melchizedek Endowment and have since lessened the significance of the Aaronic portion even more in recent years.
Example 4
Cornerstone ceremonies, which were always a part of temple ritual, have been gutted completely in just the last year
Example 5
Joseph Smith restores the baptism of healing as part of the temple, and that has faded from the church since President Grant's time.
I could go on, but I won't
Yeah...no
I see some fine things you are doing, but see very little of what Joseph Smith restored , you seem to have gone back to that which was before the restoration. You seem to do you some fine goals and I’m sure do a lot of good but lost so much of the importance of the restoration. Carol
1:05:46 i couldnt sit in any seat where i look up and see that spiral. im pretty sure its bigger in person but i happen to be a megalophobe
Having been there in person... it's not that big. I mean it's an auditorium, but it's not massive. Not like the LDS Conference center which is quite large.
Will Satin be there because that’s his Church (Right)
Silk, we use silk. It's a natural fiber.
Gotten be so confusing to visiters trying to figure out the
Mormons and the community of christ history
I felt sad that you didn’t call the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint by its proper name. As a church leader I fell out of respect you would use its proper name .the rest of the information was good. I got to know some of your fine people as I served in the Nauvoo Temple. It would be nice if you would respect us enough to call us by our proper name.Carol
You need to get over yourself😊
@@FourofSixso what is the proper name? You don’t specifically name it either is it th cof jcof later-day sts? Don’t know, obviously i am not connected.
@@miric6224 it’s gone by many names been ok to call them Mormon for almost 150 years, they even had the “I am a Mormon’ campaign. Now because one man feels that’s not ok and has to be a long form name and the whole world should use it or members of their small group will be offended. Well that’s ridiculous. The next president will likely change it back. And yes I’ve been a lifelong member and watched the changes.
petty….are you sure you represent Jesus? So pathetic
A cross on this temple
Is enough to show
This is not a Mormon
Temple mormons don't like crosses
Wow. woman apostles, huh.