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.

Temple of Solomon Reflection 1 (week 2)

Randall Q. Lawrence
Faith Bible College
Temple of Solomon
Bro. K
2/8/2011

Temple of Solomon Reflection 1 (week 2):

It has been interesting to read about why studying the Temple of Solomon is important, what and who it reflects (Jesus, heavenly tabernacle/temple), reading about various interpretation principles, and then reading about the various temple—Tabernacle of Moses, Tabernacle of David, Temple of Solomon, Temple of Zerubbabel, Temple of Herod, Temple of Ezekiel’s vision, etc.

I decided that I wanted to focus on what temples mean to me. My church (Community of Christ/R.L.D.S.) had a first temple in Kirtland, Ohio, 80-90 miles north of where I grew up in New Philadelphia, Ohio. This temple or “House of the Lord” was dedicated in 1836 with mighty prayer, anointed singing, and even apostles speaking in tongues with interpretation given—an outpouring of the Spirit due to sacrifice in the building of this Temple. At the time (1836), most church buildings would have fit in the Kirtland Temple with their length smaller than its width. The “saints” that built were very poor and sacrificed greatly to build it. I am also challenged to see an anointing/endowment (Luke 24:49, Acts 2, Joel 2) on our Independence Temple with the Community of Christ HQ that’s just down the street from us.