Taipei Taiwan Temple
All Mormon temples are designed with the same purpose – to help faithful Mormons worship the Lord in a way that brings them closer to Him.
To Mormons, a temple is a building dedicated to be a house of God. The Mormon temples differ from a church meetinghouse, in that the church is used for weekly worship services, and the temples are used for special forms of worship. The importance of temples is emphasized in the Mormon Church and strongly encourages its members to become worthy to attend the temple often.
Worthy members participate in sacred ordinances and make covenants with God. Like baptism, these ordinances and covenants are necessary for the salvation of man and they must be performed in the temple. The temple is a learning center where those that enter gain a better understanding of our purpose in life and our relationship with God and His Son, Jesus Christ.
Only in the temple can a family be sealed together forever. Marriage in the temple joins a man and woman as husband and wife eternally if they honor their covenants. When a man and woman are married in the temple, their children also become part of their eternal family.1
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the LDS Church or Mormons, is by far the most prolific builder of temples. At this writing there are 122 operating temples across the world and 9 that have been announced or are under construction. The country of Taiwan was first introduced to the Mormon Church in the mid 1950's. Servicemen would hold Church meetings and then, in 1956 missionaries from the Southern Far East mission arrived. Those that came marveled at the beauty of the island, the dark green vegetation and the mountains, which shot 'abruptly out of the blue waters with their peaks'.2
The printing of the Book of Mormon in Chinese in 1965 was a great boon to the local members, who had waited for years to have the book available in their own language. It was the announcement and building of the Taipei Taiwan Temple, however, that the Taiwanese Saints had waited for and proved to be the greatest development in the history of the Church in that land.3
After the announcement of the temple in 1981, the Church leaders decided to build on the site of the mission home in the center of Taipei. Church leaders hoped that the beauty of the temple would attract the attention of passerby's who would notice the drastic difference between the surrounding buildings and that of the Temple. It did! In years to come, the temple was acknowledged as one of the most beautiful buildings in Taiwan.
On November 17, 1984 President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Taipei Taiwan Temple. The temple is built on one-half of an acre and has over 16,000 square feet with an exterior of white ceramic tile. Many have come to marvel at the beauty of this extraordinary building.
Ever since the Taipei Taiwan Temple was dedicated in 1984, it has had a great impact on the nation. One of the main reasons for that influence is the importance the Chinese place on families. The relations the Mormon Church has with the Taiwanese government is good in part because of this emphasis on family and family history.
- "Gospel Principles", 1978, p 256
- "Southern Far East Mission History"
- "The First 100 Temples", by Chad Hawkins, p89
See also
External links
- Official LDS Taipei Taiwan Temple page
- Taipei Taiwan Temple page
- Taipei Taiwan Temple page
- Mormon Temple Worship - BBC Religion & Ethics
- Mormon Temple Ordinances - ReligionFacts
- Mormon Temples - Lightplanet
- Mormon Temples - Wikipedia
- Temples and Mormon Temples - Answers.com
- Resources about the History and Symbolism of Mormon Temples
- Mormon Temples and Secrecy
- Mormons Open Temple Doors to Share Beliefs - USA Today
- History of Mormon Temples - Lightplanet
