Monson is in Rome ready to break ground for a temple there. Seriously. It boggles my mind that such a thing is happening there. What, do they have maybe 100 mormons there? It's just too unbelievable for me to wrap my head around.

The International House of Handshakes.

UGH!

Yeah, like that doesn't stick out like a sore thumb. I think it will be no more than an oddity amidst the Italians.

I was hoping it would be like the Paris temple--announced but never built. They want to build the temple just off Rome's beltway on the northern side where they bought an old farmhouse. I think it's nuts. They should build a chapel or two first, since they use store fronts. But using store fronts ensures minimal converts, so that's all right with me. "Build it and they will come?" I doubt it. There are some die-hards there, but there's a reason why the country has shrunk from four to only two missions, and if it weren't for the South and Central Americans, both legal and illegal, no one would be running anything there. They depend on the Latinos while simultaneously resenting them.

Not if the mos keep giving them architectural middle fingers like this temple in Rome!

I like your analogy.

Heathen temples in Roma are nothing new LOL.

The Mormons are just one of many who thought they would rule the world and reign forever.

woo woo look at us how we are growing...NOT

http://www.cumorah.com/index.php?target=main&wid=107
Population: 58.06 million with 5,658 active mormons

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Italy
Official LDS Statistics
LDS Members: 22633
Missions: 3
Stakes: 4
Wards: 31
Branches: 71
Total Congregations: 102

Derived LDS Statistics
Approx. Active Members: 5658
Percentage of Members Attending Church Weekly: 25%
Average members per congregation: 221
Average active members per congregation: 55
LDS, as percent of population: 0.0389%
Active LDS, as percent of population: 0.0097%
LDS, as percentage of churchgoers: 0.021%
Current LDS Unit Growth Rate: -3.77%

Just so they don't lell the 99% Catolics there that Mary had sex with her heavenly father to conceive Jesus or there will be one less temple.
I almost wished they build one in Jerusalem and find out what the real temple has and will again look like.

Oh, gemini, you beat me on this, I wanted to post about the ground breaking in Rome last night, but then I didn't (somehow I visit this forum almost everyday, but I am unable to post, unable in that I am kind of shy or scared). This is a nightmare, a temple in Rome, and unfortunately also on the north side of the GRA (the beltway), so every time I will drive to Rome I will have to see it. Probably it is a way to retain members, who will be more "willing" to pay tithing in order attend the temple without having to travel to Switzerland, very expensive for Italian members, who usually don't belong to the financially better off part of society.
In the spirit of freedom of religion, I guess a temple can be built in Rome, as also a mosque has been built there, and houses of prayer for other religions.
What upsets me is that the church PR has told so many half truths and put up such a nice facade in front of local authorities in order to get through Italian bureaucracy and get all the permits needed.
It's like when the church explains how families are important for members and why are they so dedicated to family history, to find their ancestors, because family ties are important..., but they never explain (to governments or institutions, when the church needs to get permission to microfilm archives) that the purpose of family history is to baptize by proxy all these ancestors in mormon temples!
As far as the Paris temple is concerned, the project hasn't been abandoned.

Rome has enough temples to made up gods.

Europe is littered with Mormon temples that 99% of our people never hear of, let alone see, since Mormon temples here tend to hide in residential suburbs.

The mormons here are perceived to be the white American equivalent of the Hare Krishnas: a cult, only more boring than most other cults.

It reminds me of what the childrens Book of Mormon reader said about King Noah: "He made them build big buildings that cost a lot of money."

How can they justify this in a country with less than 6,000 active members? And it's not like they all live on a campus around this temple. As for building it on the Rome beltway, those of us in the DC area know that all that will make it is a local oddity that goes in the "Weird Maryland" book. This is just an ego satisfying project--building a temple of the Lard on the home turf of the "great and abominable church" ha ha! How long has the Cathederal of the Madeline been in SLC?

Hari Krishana,the Jehovah's Witnesses and Scientology are already there, so it's not like they'll be bringing in anything new.

I just went and watched the vid that TSCC has put up showing renderings of the project.

How many active mormons will use this?

Good, god - a GIANT project and a collossal waste of money for NOTHING.

I really am surprised that they would be able to justify this expense.

it is a major project.

What a total waste of resources.

http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/rome/video/

Looks like there is going to be a vistiors center with a statue of The Cletus & everything.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2010 07:58PM by Levi.

I watched the video and my reaction to the music is what stood out the most to me -- it has been so long since I've heard/watched anything LDS that when I heard the music on this video, it sort of grossed me out.

And when Monson announced Rome, Italy, it is hilarious how it gave a little raise of the eyebrow, like, "Yeah, what do you think about that? Impressive, huh?"

All, I can say is that it certainly does NOT fit in with Italian architecture.

Building a temple in Rome is prestigious. Rome, where Peter (the First Pope, I mean a Mormon apostle before the Great Apostasy) met his end. Who cares if there are 5,000 members, it all goes to prove that the Church is true and growing and growing, even in Rome, well, maybe not with Italians, but hell, Italy has grown from 4 to 2 missions! I wonder whether it will be near the Marriot Hotel in Rome so that TBMs get their Mormon-owned hotel-purveyed porn AND a temple session in while visiting Rome.
Don't forget, the Catholics already have a cathedral in SLC and so, by golly, a temple in Rome is a great comeuppance. Take that, Herr Razinger!
I'm going to sit back and have a nice glass of Barolo wine in recognition of this great event.

Will this new temple help recruit new members in Italy?

Generally, do new temples help with the recruiting effort in US and around the world?

Still not as impressive as the Colloseum...

Sorry that you active Mormons (or your spouses) are going to be tithing for such a project. It is truly going to look out of place in Italy. Adn those poor converts will have to travel so far to do the temple work. I think the Italians will mock it. And I say build some great restaurants with outside wine drinking on all sides of it.

Wow... the Mo's are too poor to hire custodians for their meeting houses, but they can build a temple in a city and country that clearly neither wants nor needs one. What a waste!

As a former Catholic, it still kind of bugs me...but then I have to think, well if the building is nice looking, then that will be at least one good thing.

This is called product placement, right?

It says to the LDS membership....See? We're important like the big kids on the block. We're on par with Catholics and Jews!

This is their way of telling their members they are one of the major religions (legends in their own minds) by being in the areas where other religions reign. Appearance is everything to Mormons.

An Invisible Sky Wizard that interferes with you going to Roma or Lazio games will not do too well near Rome.

the visitors center looks like a college quad building and the temple is so...Utah white bread looking. blech, who the hell is gonna go there?

i forgot, traveling mormons. a pal of mine went to nyc for the first time ever recently and spent 3/4 of a day in the temple!!