02/20/2023
The Bentonville Temple is the first temple in the state of Arkansas. The eighth in the American South. Seventy-fifth in the United States. And at the time of dedication, there will be nearly 180 houses of God dotting the earth. (1) Temples are sacred places. They are places of teaching and training and covenanting and communion, where mankind can be near the Lord.
Temples address the essential problem in life which is-- separation from God. (2) The model for temples and sacred places is the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve walked and talked with Deity. Removed from the Garden after choosing mortality, this divine pair might have said, "We loved living with God. Now we feel far away and want to return. How do we get back?" The temple answers that question. The answer is Jesus the Christ. It is a lifetime and more choosing Him. Following Him with faith. Repenting relentlessly. And keeping covenants that commit us to the patterns of behavior that mirror His perfect life. A lifetime and more of the Holy Ghost's progressive cleansing and refinement and sanctification. This, so that we are clean and can return to God. (3)
Throughout history, we read about Abraham near the great trees of Mamre, Jacob's Mount Moriah, Moses on Mount Sinai, and the ancient Tabernacle. Then came Solomon's Temple, Zerubbabel's Temple, the Temple of Herod, and the Mount of Transfiguration. These were sacred places where people met God, or prepared to meet God. They were temples in their time and blueprints for today. The Bentonville Temple is the ancient becoming modern.
Temples are beautifully represented in Exodus, where we find the Children of Israel camped beside the monumental Mount Sinai with Moses going up and down to converse with the Lord. (4) On one trip, Moses returned with a beautiful invitation to all, "Come out of camp and meet with God." (5) The Lord told the Israelites, "If you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure...a kingdom of priests (and priestesses), and a holy nation." (6) With that promise, the process of bringing the Children of Israel into the presence of God began. It is easy to see that God's intention to save and exalt His children is woven through every dispensation. He is even now inviting us "out of camp to meet with God." That is just what this Bentonville Arkansas Temple is all about.
To whatever degree you can participate today, participate. Come. Come to the grounds. Come to the open house. Come and do baptisms. Come and be endowed and set your course. Come and be married because sociality can be eternal. Come and do ordinances for your loved ones. Just come.
Come. Enter for refuge. Feel the peace. Cherish the instruction. Do the work. Gather the strength. Seek revelation. Treasure the perspective. Feel the love. Come and be in the mountain of the Lord. Come to the Mount of God. (7)
(1) https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/
(2) Corbridge, BYU-I Devotional 2022
(3) 1 Nephi 10:21, 1 Cor 6:9
(4) Exodus 19:1-3
(5) Exodus 19:17
(6) Exodus 19:5-6
(7) Isaiah 2:2-4, Exodus 18:5
Now that the Open House has been announced and as we get closer to that special time, a team from the NW Arkansas Communication Council will be creating the content on this page.
Temple Friends, I love you. It has been the privilege of a lifetime to "build" this temple with you.
