FAIR

Blog

The Temple 3: A Light to the World (The Church in the DR Congo: A Personal Perspective, Part 10)

by

The DR Congo Kinshasa Temple Shining At Nightfall

In a presentation at the 2018 FairMormon Conference, I shared stories of some of the faithful Saints in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa) [1]. In this new series of presentations, I would like to speak from a more personal perspective, reflecting on the meaning of that experience for Kathleen and me, and pondering some of the dynamics of numerical and spiritual growth of the Church in that country.

The series is organized into eleven parts:

1. Prologue: What brought us to Africa?
2. Snapshot of the Church in the DR Congo
3. The missionaries
4. What attracts people to the Church?
5. Building from centers of strength 1 — Kisangani
6. Building from centers of strength 2 — Wagenya
7. Taking the Gospel to the “ends of the earth”
8. The temple 1: “Turning the hearts of the children”
9. The temple 2: “Holiness to the Lord”
10. The temple 3: A light to the world
11. “The labourers are few”

In this episode, I discuss why the temple is a light to the DR Congo — and to the world.

It was said anciently that God’s light filled the place of His presence in the heavenly temple. On earth, that light is symbolized by the Holy of Holies in the House of the Lord. In the symbolism of the temple, the Holy of Holies, corresponding to the celestial room of modern temples, is not only a place of light, but also the source of light for the entire universe.

Some may wonder, if temples are places of light, why the window openings of the Salt Lake Temple are relatively small and narrow, giving its exterior the appearance of thick battlements. As it turns out, there is a scriptural explanation for both the thick walls and the narrow windows. It seems clear that the purpose of the reversal in temples versusordinary homes in Old Testament times must have been meant to be symbolic rather than practical. Designing ancient temples that differ in obvious waysfrom buildings of ordinary construction would have allowedthe Israelites to reflect on why such an anomalous design was required.

After providing the context for these architectural features, we will describe what they specifically have to do with the DR Congo Kinshasa temple, and what counsel Elder David A. Bednar implored the Congolese Saints to remember during a visit to the temple site.

We conclude the episode by an impromptu version of “Jesus of Nazareth” by Elder Rafarahavotra of Madagascar.

[1]The video version of the entire FairMormon presentation is available on the FairMormon YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJl9FvLKmjw. The seven segments of this presentation, in an edited and somewhat expanded form, are available for reading at Meridian Magazine(www.ldsmag.com) and the website of The Interpreter Foundation(https://interpreterfoundation.org). For more articles and videos by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, see www.templethemes.org.

FairMormon Conference Podcast #20 – Brittany Chapman Nash, “An Act of Religious Conviction: Mormon Women and Nineteenth-Century Polygamy”

by

Podcast: Download (92.8MB)

Subscribe: RSS


This podcast series features past FairMormon Conference presentations. This episode is a presentation from 2015. If you would like to watch the presentations from our most recent conference, you can still purchase video streaming.

Brittany Chapman Nash, An Act of Religious Conviction: Mormon Women and Nineteenth-Century Polygamy

Transcript available here.

Brittany A. Chapman Nash is a historian at the Church History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She received a BA in Humanities from Brigham Young University and an MA in Victorian Studies from the University of Leicester. She specializes in nineteenth-century Mormon women’s history and is co-editor with Richard E. Turley Jr. of the seven-volume Women of Faith in the Latter Days series, which features the life writings of Latter-day Saint women. She serves on the executive committee of the Mormon Women’s History Initiative Team (MWHIT). She and her husband, Peter Nash, live in Salt Lake City.

Audio and Video Copyright © 2015 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.

The Temple 2: “Holiness to the Lord” (The Church in the DR Congo: A Personal Perspective, Part 9)

by

Construction Crew – DR Congo Kinshasa Temple

In a presentation at the 2018 FairMormon Conference, I shared stories of some of the faithful Saints in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa) [1]. In this new series of presentations, I would like to speak from a more personal perspective, reflecting on the meaning of that experi-ence for Kathleen and me, and pondering some of the dynamics of numerical and spiritual growth of the Church in that country.

The series is organized into eleven parts:

1. Prologue: What brought us to Africa?
2. Snapshot of the Church in the DR Congo
3. The missionaries
4. What attracts people to the Church?
5. Building from centers of strength 1 — Kisangani
6. Building from centers of strength 2 — Wagenya
7. Taking the Gospel to the “ends of the earth”
8. The temple 1: “Turning the hearts of the children”
9. The temple 2: “Holiness to the Lord”
10. The temple 3: A light to the world
11. “The labourers are few”

In this episode, we discuss the holiness of the temple and of the people who are preparing for it.

At the temple groundbreaking, Elder Neil L. Andersen reminded his listeners that everything has to be “near perfection” in temple construction. A strenuous effort to meet that high standard was made by the construction crew. Over and beyond this professionalism, the essential construction skills learned through patience and persistence, there was a soberness of loving submission in the task of building a temple, a quality of the soul that added an intangible, spiritual element to the work being performed.

Eventually, we witnessed the culminating work begin around the temple doorway in preparation for the inscription plaque, a reminder to everyone who would be worthy to enter to continually cultivate holiness in their hearts: “Holiness to the Lord. The House of the Lord.”

Significantly, so far as we know, the phrase “Holiness to the Lord” never appeared on buildings in Old Testament times. It was, however, applied to high priests who had been consecrated to the Lord’s service through sacred ordinances. This did not mean that the high priests were themselves already holy and pure in every respect, for they had not yet completed the process of sanctification. Rather, it meant that they had been “chosen” or “set apart” to take upon themselves solemn covenants, covenants that put them under divine obligation “to live up to the holiness to which they [had] been set apart.”

The Congolese saints have been preparing through their faithfulness for a temple for more than three decades. The construction of the temple is a witness that the Lord has found them ready for it.

 

[1]The video version of the entire FairMormon presentation is available on the FairMormon YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJl9FvLKmjw. The seven segments of this presentation, in an edited and somewhat expanded form, are available for reading at Meridian Magazine(www.ldsmag.com) and the website of The Interpreter Foundation(https://interpreterfoundation.org). For more articles and videos by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, see www.templethemes.org.

FairMormon Questions: Is it true that most historians that look into the life of Joseph Smith eventually leave the Church?

by

FairMormon has a service where questions can be submitted and they are answered by volunteers. If you have a question, you can submit it at http://www.fairmormon.org/contact. We will occasionally publish answers here for questions that are commonly asked, or are on topics that are receiving a lot of attention. The question and answer below have been edited to maintain confidentiality.

QUESTION:

I have heard that most historians that look into the life of Joseph Smith wind up leaving the Church. Is this true?

ANSWER FROM FAIRMORMON VOLUNTEER CRAIG L. FOSTER:

My comments are my own and do not reflect either the Church or Fairmormon. I read your email and felt strongly that I needed to respond given my background. While I am certainly not a Joseph Smith expert, I have done a significant amount of research on the Prophet. As I have written numerous articles and several books dealing with aspects of Church history, I consider myself an LDS historian. Therefore, I feel I am in a position to respond to the assertion that most historians who look into the life of Joseph Smith wind up leaving the Church.

I am aware of a few who studied Church history and did end up leaving. However, they were very few. In fact, for most historians I have known, it has strengthened their testimony – and I have known and been friends with almost all of the major Mormon historians from Leonard J. Arrington to Thomas G. Alexander, James B. Allen, Richard Lyman Bushman, etc. These men were/are staunch defenders of the prophetic mission of Joseph Smith.

Recently, a friend of mine named Don Bradley posted a Facebook post about Joseph Smith and the First Vision. He has given me permission to include his comments. He emphasizes that he had come to consider Joseph Smith a liar and a fraud. He had his name taken off of the membership of the Church but continued to do research. Because of his research on Joseph Smith, he returned to the Church, was rebaptized and is a strong, believing member. We spoke the other day and he again bore testimony to Joseph Smith’s prophetic mission. Here are his comments: [Read more…] about FairMormon Questions: Is it true that most historians that look into the life of Joseph Smith eventually leave the Church?

FairMormon Conference Podcast #19 – Elder Kevin W. Pearson, “A Sacred and Imperative Duty”

by

Podcast: Download (50.7MB)

Subscribe: RSS

This podcast series features past FairMormon Conference presentations. This episode is a presentation from our conference earlier this year. If you would like to watch all the presentations from the 2018 conference, you can still purchase video streaming.

Elder Kevin W. Pearson, A Sacred and Imperative Duty

Written talk available here.

Elder Kevin W. Pearson
August 2018

Elder Kevin W. Pearson was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 5, 2008. At the time of his call, he had been serving as the president of the Washington Tacoma Mission. He previously served as a counselor in the Europe East Area, President of the Pacific Area, and as an assistant executive director of the Missionary Department. He is currently serving at Church headquarters as an area assistant with the North America Southwest Area. Elder Pearson also serves on the Communication Services Committee and Strengthening Church Members Committee.

Elder Pearson received a bachelor of science degree in finance from the University of Utah in 1981. In 1983 he received a master’s degree in business administration in corporate finance from Harvard Business School. Prior to his call as a mission president, he was working as the chief executive officer at Ingenix, Inc.

Elder Pearson has served in a number of Church callings, including full-time missionary in the Finland Helsinki Mission, stake missionary, elders quorum president, ward Young Men president, high councilor, counselor in a bishopric, bishop, and mission president.

Kevin Wayne Pearson was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on April 10, 1957. He married June Langeland in June 1980. They are the parents of six children.

Audio and Video Copyright © 2018 The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. Any reproduction or transcription of this material without prior express written permission is prohibited.

Anger Without A Cause? – President Oaks and a False Narrative

by

 

The debate surrounding LGBT issues is one high in emotion and passion, with all sides having strongly held beliefs and entrenched views. Often, the flash point of these debates revolves around the religious beliefs of those who question the morality of LGBT behavior. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is no exception to this rule, being one of the more conservative religions when it comes to this topic. One church leader in particular has himself become a lightning rod on the subject.

“Harmful rhetoric” and “discrimination” were alleged to have been a part of President Dallin H. Oaks’ recent General Conference talk entitled Truth and the Plan. These claims were made by Lori Davis, a Board Member of a group called Mama Dragons, a group whose stated purpose is to provide support for Mormon and former Mormon mothers of LGBT children. A brief review of social media and other contemporary news articles will quickly demonstrate that the Mama Dragons were not alone in their feelings that some wrong was committed by Elder Oaks. Others actually implied that people may have to call a crisis line following the talk. Such drastic condemnation would certainly lead the reasonable reader to ask what horrible thing President Oaks said to possibly elicit such a strong response.

Unfortunately, despite the strong rhetoric, many who made the condemning statements on social media and elsewhere failed to cite what words were actually offensive. General indignation seemed to be sufficient for those people. Some, fortunately, were more specific. I’d like to look at several of them, and analyze what they might tell us about this issue, how those from different viewpoints are approaching it, and what we can learn from it. [Read more…] about Anger Without A Cause? – President Oaks and a False Narrative

The Temple 1: “Turning the Hearts of the Children” (The Church in the DR Congo: A Personal Perspective, Part 8)

by

Primary children from the Buima branch in the city of Matadi, DR Congo

In a presentation at the 2018 FairMormon Conference,[1]I shared stories of some of the faithful Saints in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa). In this new series of presentations, I would like to speak from a more personal perspective, reflecting on the meaning of that experience for Kathleen and me, and pondering some of the dynamics of numerical and spiritual growth of the Church in that country.

The series is organized into eleven parts:

  1. Prologue: What brought us to Africa?
  2. Snapshot of the Church in the DR Congo
  3. The missionaries
  4. What attracts people to the Church?
  5. Building from centers of strength 1 — Kisangani
  6. Building from centers of strength 2 — Wagenya
  7. Taking the Gospel to the “ends of the earth”
  8. The temple 1: “Turning the hearts of the children”
  9. The temple 2: “Holiness to the Lord”
  10. The temple 3: A light to the world
  11. “The labourers are few”

In this episode, we touch on the excitement that is running high in the DR Congo this week in view of the elections scheduled for December 23rd. Since its independence in 1960, the country has never known a peaceful transition of power through elections. Last week, an arsonist set fire to 8,000 of the 10,000 voting machines that had been stored in Kinshasa. We contrast this disaster to the positive influence of the local “Light the World” campaign of the Church that kicked off a few weeks ago.

The story will be told of the unfolding of an inspired project that was close to the heart of Sister Kriss Gates. With her husband Ed, she had been called as a temple construction missionary. Sister Gates wanted all Primary children and their families to not only know about the temple but also to feel that they were a personal part of it. At the heart of her plan was the Congo River, the vast artery that runs between the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

[1]The video version of the entire FairMormon presentation is available on the FairMormon YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJl9FvLKmjw. The seven segments of this presentation, in an edited and somewhat expanded form, are available for reading at Meridian Magazine(www.ldsmag.com) and the website of The Interpreter Foundation(https://interpreterfoundation.org). For more articles and videos by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, see www.templethemes.org.

It’s the Final Four in the Bookstore!

by

It’s the Final Four! (Days to ship for Christmas Delivery, that is!)

Remember the FairMormon Bookstore as you round out your gift giving!  

Special deals include:

Most other titles available in our bookstore are also below retail price, so take some time to find other great selections, as well! And giving a gift from the FairMormon Bookstore gives TWICE – all Bookstore proceeds directly support FairMormon!

Taking the Gospel to the “Ends of the Earth” (The Church in the DR Congo: A Personal Perspective, Part 7)

by

Emmanuel Issamba, an investigator from the remote city of Bunia, DR Congo. Left to Right: Elder Luzayadio, Emmanuel Issamba, Elder Lokpo, and Elder Ga.

In a presentation at the 2018 FairMormon Conference,[1] I shared stories of some of the faithful Saints in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa). In this new series of presentations, I would like to speak from a more personal perspective, reflecting on the meaning of that experience for Kathleen and me, and pondering some of the dynamics of numerical and spiritual growth of the Church in that country.

The series is organized into ten parts:

  1. Prologue: What brought us to Africa?
  2. Snapshot of the Church in the DR Congo
  3. The missionaries
  4. What attracts people to the Church?
  5. Building from centers of strength 1 — Kisangani
  6. Building from centers of strength 2 — Wagenya
  7. Taking the Gospel to the “ends of the earth”
  8. The temple 1: Turning the hearts of the children
  9. The temple 2: A light to the world
  10. “The labourers are few”

In this episode, I will tell the story of how a new branch came to be formed in Boma, and the situation of isolated members and investigators of the Church who live in cities where groups and branches have not yet been organized. Illustrating the challenges and opportunities of these individuals, we will share the story of Emmanuel Issamba, who traveled at great personal sacrifice a distance equivalent to halfway across the United States to learn more about the Church, only to be told that he could not be baptized because he was 436 miles away from the nearest organized Church unit. [2] We explore current efforts in social media to help such individuals stay in touch.

In his call for a “home-centered, Church-supported” approach to Gospel living,[3] President Russell M. Nelson has signaled the urgency of an oft-repeated theme while significantly expanding its rationale. He has made it clear that rebalancing our efforts to ensure a “home-centered, Church-supported” approach will not only increase the simplicity and effectiveness of Church programs, but will also be a key development that will enable the Gospel to be taken to the “ends of the earth.”

Complementing the policy of building up centers of strength geographically, we summarize the teachings of Elder Joni L. Koch of the Seventy, who explained to our missionaries how they should focus their finding efforts in light of the fact that we could currently teach only a fraction of those who were interested in the Gospel in the DR Congo. Echoing the promises of scripture and modern apostles and prophets, he testified that the day will eventually come when “the Gospel will have been preached everywhere, to all people; and this will occur before the second coming of the Son of Man.”[4]

 

[1]The video version of the entire FairMormon presentation is available on the FairMormon YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJl9FvLKmjw. The seven segments of this presentation, in an edited and somewhat expanded form, are available for reading at Meridian Magazine(www.ldsmag.com) and the website of The Interpreter Foundation(https://interpreterfoundation.org). For more articles and videos by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, see www.templethemes.org.

[2]Ibid., p. 7. See, e.g., D&C 1:11; 65:2; 72:21; 90:9; 105:39; 109:57;112:4; 133:3.

[3]R. M. Nelson, Opening Remarks (October 2018), p. 7.

[4]B. R. McConkie, Revelation on Priesthood.

 

Building from Centers of Strength – Wagenya (The Church in the DR Congo: A Personal Perspective, Part 6)

by

Photo of a Wagenya fisherman taken by Irish photographer Andrew McConnell in 2010. To get a glimpse of the Wagenya fishermen in action, see McConnell’s video at https://vimeo.com/45188921

In a presentation at the 2018 FairMormon Conference,[1]I shared stories of some of the faithful Saints in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa). In this new series of presentations, I would like to speak from a more personal perspective, reflecting on the meaning of that experience for Kathleen and me, and pondering some of the dynamics of numerical and spiritual growth of the Church in that country.

The series is organized into ten parts:

  1. Prologue: What brought us to Africa?
  2. Snapshot of the Church in the DR Congo
  3. The missionaries
  4. What attracts people to the Church?
  5. Building from centers of strength 1 — Kisangani
  6. Building from centers of strength 2 — Wagenya
  7. Taking the Gospel to the “ends of the earth”
  8. The temple 1: Turning the hearts of the children
  9. The temple 2: A light to the world
  10. “The labourers are few”

In this episode, the theme of “building from centers of strength” is concluded. Among other things, I will discuss the creation of a second branch in Kisangani, near the traditional home of the famous Wagenya fishermen. As was the case with Jesus’ disciples, fishermen were among the first members of the Church in Kisangani. Through photos and videos, their unique lifestyle, their challenges, and their faith will be highlighted.

We will also introduce the story of Brother Wilfrid MALEO, the current president of the Wagenya branch. After his baptism, he resigned his position as a teacher and later refused a post at the university of his former church, one of many sacrifices that he and his family have made in behalf of his fellow branch members.

[1]The video version of the entire FairMormon presentation is available on the FairMormon YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJl9FvLKmjw. The seven segments of this presentation, in an edited and somewhat expanded form, are available for reading at Meridian Magazine(www.ldsmag.com) and the website of The Interpreter Foundation(https://interpreterfoundation.org). For more articles and videos by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, see www.templethemes.org.