A Temple Reared in This Generation

I have wondered about these words of the Lord in 1832 concerning the temple He wanted built: “Verily this is the word of the Lord, that the city New Jerusalem shall be built by the gathering of the saints, beginning at this place, even the place of the temple, which temple shall be reared in this generation. For verily this generation shall not all pass away until an house shall be built unto the Lord, and a cloud shall rest upon it, which cloud shall be even the glory of the Lord, which shall fill the house.” Emphasizing once more that the temple was to be built in their generation, He said again, “The sons of Moses and also the sons of Aaron shall offer an acceptable offering and sacrifice in the house of the Lord, which house shall be built unto the Lord in this generation, upon the consecrated spot as I have appointed” (Doctrine and Covenants 84:4-5, 31). The challenge of course in understanding these words is that the temple in the city of New Jerusalem was never built. Though generation is somewhat an ambiguous term, the phrase that the people would “not all pass away” until the temple was built does suggest that the temple was intended to be reared in the time of Joseph Smith and his contemporaries.  Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon did dedicate the land for the temple, but the Saints were kicked out of Jackson County before the temple was built. And they were never able to get back in. I have previously read these verses as prophecy about what would happen, but I think that they are meant to be read as a commandment about what should happen. The Lord referred to this as a commandment when He said later, “When I give a commandment to any of the sons of men to do a work unto my name, and those sons of men go with all their might and with all they have to perform that work, and cease not their diligence, and their enemies come upon them and hinder them from performing that work, behold, it behooveth me to require that work no more at the hands of those sons of men, but to accept of their offerings…. Therefore, for this cause have I accepted the offerings of those whom I commanded to build up a city and a house unto my name, in Jackson county, Missouri, and were hindered by their enemies, saith the Lord your God” (Doctrine and Covenants 124:49, 51). This suggests that indeed the building of the temple there in Zion was a commandment, not a prophecy about what would absolutely happen.  

Though the Lord in the above verses puts the blame of not building the temple on the enemies of the church, revelations much earlier also highlighted the failings of the original inhabitants of Jackson County in 1831-1833. The student manual highlights the fact that “the Saints learned that their own transgressions had contributed to their expulsion from Zion.” The Lord said, “Verily I say unto you, concerning your brethren who have been afflicted, and persecuted, and cast out from the land of their inheritance—I, the Lord, have suffered the affliction to come upon them, wherewith they have been afflicted, in consequence of their transgressions;… Behold, I say unto you, there were jarrings, and contentions, and envyings, and strifes, and lustful and covetous desires among them; therefore by these things they polluted their inheritances” (Doctrine and Covenants 101:1-2, 6). He also said, “I say unto you, were it not for the transgressions of my people, speaking concerning the church and not individuals, they might have been redeemed even now. But behold, they have not learned to be obedient to the things which I required at their hands, but are full of all manner of evil, and do not impart of their substance, as becometh saints, to the poor and afflicted among them; And are not united according to the union required by the law of the celestial kingdom” (Doctrine and Covenants 105:2-4). Clearly the expulsion of the Saints from Zion—thus inhibiting them from building the temple there—was at least in part their responsibility (which of course does not take away the guilt of the wicked men who drove them out). And so, the fact that the temple was not built was not a prophecy unfulfilled but a commandment unobserved. I believe the words of section 124, which puts the blame more on the enemies of the church, refer more to the efforts of the Saints after 1833 to get back to Jackson County and keep the commandment. Though they ceased not with diligence, including Zion’s Camp, they were hindered; their offering was accepted and the command temporarily revoked.

As Doctrine and Covenants 84:5 suggested, “an house” was indeed built in their generation, though it was not in Jackson County. The Saints in Kirtland in 1836 did behold “a cloud rest upon it, which cloud [was] even the glory of the Lord, which [filled] the house.” Many other temples have since been dedicated to the Savior, and we look forward to the future day when the temple in Zion will be reared. As one church website about the temple lot in Jackson County says, “We do not know exactly how, when, or where these words will be fulfilled, but we do know that that rectangle of land in Independence is sacred. It has been dedicated to the Lord. The Lord’s revelations about that land—and the principles of gospel living that are woven into those revelations—are part of His people’s past, present, and future.”