Temples Made With Hands

In Stephen’s great speech before the Jews before they stoned him, he made this comment: “Solomon built him an house.  Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?”  (Acts 7:47-50).  “The prophet” referred to by Stephen here appears to be Isaiah who said, “Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?” (Isaiah 66:1).  The statement overall by Stephen gives cause for reflection, especially for us to whom the building of temples as a “House of God” is so paramount to our faith.  The only other time the statement about the Lord not dwelling in “temples made with hands” is found in the scriptures is in the words of Paul to the Athenians: “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands” (Acts 17:24).  So what exactly is meant by this phrase, and how do we understand it in the context of our great temple building efforts? 

                I think that the way we can think about this teaching is that the Lord does not dwell on earth but physically resides in heaven.  We build temples so that the Lord has a place He can come when He needs to do something on the earth, but we don’t expect Him to come to the temple and stay there.  Brigham Young put it this way: “When we talk of building a temple, let us not forget that we can add nothing to Him. (He then quoted Acts 7:47-50)....  It may be asked why we build temples.  We build temples because there is not a house on the face of the whole earth that has been reared to God's name, which will in anywise compare with his character, and that he can consistently call his house” (see here).  In other words, building a temple does not change anything about Him, rather it provides a place for Him to come and bless His children on earth.  In a prayer delivered in 1853 at a cornerstone of the Salt Lake Temple, Elder Orson Hyde said, “Almighty Father—Thou who dwellest in the heavens, and who sittest upon the throne of thy glory and power, we beseech thee to behold us, in great mercy, from thy celestial courts, and listen to our prayers which we this day offer to thee, in the name of Jesus Christ, thy Son.  Although thou art exalted in temples not made with hands, in the midst of the redeemed and sanctified ones, yet deign thou to meet with us in our humble sphere, and, as we have laid, help thou us to dedicate unto thee, this Corner Stone of Zion's earthly Temple” (see here).  Again we have emphasized that the Lord doesn’t need the temple because He needs a place to dwell; rather, we build temples in the hope that He will come down to “meet with us in our humble sphere.”  Temples provide a place where the Lord can come to instruct His saints, and though each temple is literally His house for Him to come to, His permanent dwelling is still in heaven. 

                At the end of Stephen’s speech he had a vision of the very dwelling of the Father: “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56).  He saw the very throne of the Father in heaven, thus confirming his teachings that He had just given.  God has commanded in all dispensations to build temples that are indeed His house, but these temples were not required because of God’s needs for a place of residence.  Temples are for the salvation of man so that “in her courts [God’s] sons and daughters may rejoice to meet their Lord.”