I ran across a recent training video for family history and the temple. Elder Bednar was the main presenter. He mentioned that in the past we focused on the temple and ordinances but we didn’t focus on Christ.

He said we are now putting Christ first and the temple ordinances yoke us to Christ. He then made a comment that temples were important but they should not be our main focus. Just the way Bednar said it made me realize the church leadership are realizing they have created a problem for themselves. There was annoyance and frustration in Elder Bednar’s voice.

Getting a new temple in your local area creates a huge amount of excitement. That excitement is there from the announcement through the construction to the open house and dedication. After a few months the excitement is gone. Then the attendance starts to slide.

The temple is just another building in the area at this point. It’s nothing new. It’s just there. I think the church leadership are frustrated at this attitude. Oh my gosh, the members just care about the building. Once they see the inside and how it’s decorated they lose interest. They find the ordnance’s boring.

So let’s change things to create curiosity. Let’s tell them going to the temple and doing ordinances yokes you to Christ. If you aren’t going to the temple you aren’t putting Christ first. Kind of funny when Christ never did any of this temple shit himself. I don’t think Christ ever wore a green apron.

Anyways the church just started building more temples because they could. The people cheer the announcements but after the temple is built it’s Ho Hum. I guess this put Christ first and the ordinances yoke you to Christ is supposed to make it more than a building and ritual. It’s a desperate attempt. The reality is there just isn’t anything spiritually invigorating about a bunch of canned rituals. The temple is boring to most and creepy to some. Only the most brainwashed seem to like it or maybe even them are just saying the do.

Now the church has all these temples that are hitting diminishing returns.

This isn't my idea, but others have mentioned that the church could have a fleet of custom/tricked out RVs that would go on tour to a stake center near you!

Every 3-4 months they could travel to your area to do the baker hat RV experience. Each RV would have its own theme.

It would generate the shock and awe that the church so desperately seeks.

Yes, I think Bednar's comment is a subtle way of excusing the lack of Temple attendance. It is perhaps intended to be subliminal.

I think church leaders have used, and do make use of subliminal messages or 'suggestions' as used in hypnosis, to modify behavior of the followers, slowly, quietly.

They are stuck with the 'one true church' story, which people are waking up to as phony. They can't back out of that without looking foolish and losing lots of active members.

One example of a subliminal message is referring to apostles as 'special witnesses'. They let you 'figure out' the rest.

I think Bednar's emotions came through. It was frustration the members get more excited about buildings instead of ordinances.

I haven't seen the video, but just imagining it in Lord Bednar's voice and attitude, I see him blaming the members for anything that makes The Church™ look bad.

And as far as temples go, I know the feeling: I buy more model train stuff and get all excited, then it goes back in the box and disappears... :-)

No one can have too many model trains :)

Same thing.

At one time the Temple had a meaning, it took time to get to, you had live sessions that lasted 5 to 7 hours. Many times I ended up standing in a isle, since all the seats were taken. So when you left, you felt like you had sacrificed. You left feeling you had accomplished something.

When I was a teen, I stood in line wrapping around the movie theater for two hours to see Star Wars. Once in that spacious theater, the curtain rolled back, the sounds boomed, and the movie started on that huge screen as the Star Destroyer moved into your line of sight, you could hear all gasps in the theater. My friends and I were on front row, 90 feet back from that massive screen. It was an event!

Today Temples are like the small theaters dotted across the landscape. You live next door to one, and what is given you is the worn out Marvel Universe of cookie cutter movies that carry the same theme over and over again. After a while, it is just plain boring and no longer makes you get slightly interested. And it is certainly not worth 10% of your income.

LDS Corp. has reduced themselves to the cookie cutter Marvel Universe themes, presented in small theaters and has taken away all the stuff that made Mormonism interesting. The theme of Christ does not work, because you do not need a church to behave like, believe in, and follow Christ.

When I lived in New York everyone looked forward to the yearly Stake temple trip to Washington DC. Everyone rode chartered buses down there and for some the road trip was better than the temple thing but for some the temple thing was special.

I never was a temple person. I hated it the first time I went and I hated it every time since. I would only go if there was a wedding or if I got dragged there. I went to all the pioneer temples out of curiosity. Once I checked those out I just didn't go much. I doubt I've been inside a temple more than 15 times.

I’ve got U ( and many others) beat, I’m a 5 times max, I was Mo for about 40 yrs.

Once the ‘Seattle Temple’ (Its Not In Seattle) Temple was open, my TBM DW expected us to go 2 x monthly, wear garments 24/7/365 (+ occasionally during nookie) … Good Luck on those :)

Where is the revelation that restored the Temple Ceremoney - like Adam and all the great dispensation leaders did it in the past?

A lot of teaching has to be thrown out/ignored to get to what they have now.

Kind of like dumping Urim & Thummim and Gold Plates for a magic rock in a hat?

So it only takes the leaders 100+ years to listen to god in order get his house in order?

I have no dog in this fight- I hated the temple from my first youth trip, but this is beyond silly.

A couple years ago (pre-pandemic) Holland was blathering about Sacrament meetings being the most important ritual in member's lives.

Gee, might -could Bednar teach actual Christ-like living as #1 priority?

Of course I’m referring to ‘Real’ Kindness and Honesty, Respect for all others, not the LDS rendition…

Waiting & Hoping

We are realizing more and more that the excitement over temples is more about a yoke to economic development for select Mormon businesses!

It's about the ordinances all right...the city ordinances that allow them to keep building.