Temple of Solomon Reflection 7 (week 9)-Disappointment

Randall Q. Lawrence
Faith Bible College
Temple of Solomon
Bro. K.
3/22/2011

Temple of Solomon Reflection 7 (Week 9)-Disappointment

I want to write this reflection on disappointment and frustration. I am going to get a little personal so this is the warning. Peggy and I are trying to conceive. We have the promises of God for children, prophetic words, and more. I just want children so bad that each time that it is evident that we are not having one yet is like a “dagger to the heart” and “poison to the mind”.

You might ask what this has to do with the Temple of Solomon? Well, I cannot connect it with the Temple of Solomon so much as connect it with its descendent—the Temple of Joshua and Zerubbabel—temple built following the Babylonian exile. I cannot find the Scripture right now (Ezra, Zechariah, Hosea?), but there is some Scriptures about the dedication of this second Temple which was smaller and less grand and did not have the Ark or other things associated with the Temple of Solomon. The Shekhinah glory in the form of a cloud came down in encompassed the Temple of Solomon. This was not repeated with the 2nd Temple so that some persons were crying over missing out on this evidence of the Glory of God.

What’s this got to do with Peggy’s and my disappointment over not conceiving a child yet? Well, I will try to connect it. In my faith, the Glory of God came down for the dedication of the Kirtland Temple (1st Reflection) in 1836—Kirtland, Ohio. This was a powerful experience with tongues and interpretation of tongues, Spirit-filled preaching, and prophetic dedicatory prayer. Well, in less than 2 years, the “Saints” were run out of Ohio. My faith built the Community of Christ Temple in Independence starting in 1990 and completed in 1994 completely debt free. We did this at some sacrifice. The issue is that the Temple is not endowed (anointed) the way the Kirtland Temple was and has been at times since the dedication. These are my disappointment (not conceiving yet, not having the Glory of God on this Temple in Independence—latter not being like the former), but I praise God because I know that following His commandments can turn these disappointments into fulfilled promises in Jesus Christ.