Remember when going to the temple meant getting all dressed up for a trip to an Oz-like castle perched high on a hill above some of the most desirable real estate in town? Remember how the awesomeness of that pilgrimage actually lent an air of reverence to the strange rituals performed inside that Oz-like fortress? Well…seems that business model is a thing of the past.
Behold! Elko, Nevada’s Holy Temple of the Lord:
The good news is its proximity to the Whiskey Room as well as some of the “loosest slots in town” gives Latter-day Saints an option for a better return on their tithing money.
And I think of those poor souls, often Pacific Islanders, who used to save up for decades for their one trip to the temple. It’s all kind of like finding out the gold watch you received isn’t even just gold plate but fake brass.
Good point, Johnny. Now, presumably, people won’t need to travel far for the temple. But will a trip to a refurbished stake center or a pop-up in a local strip mall provide anything close to the same experience? I understand the film is better produced these days…
Haha, I remember when I was a teen in Minnesota what a big deal it was that there was finally a temple built in nearby Chicago! Our first youth temple trip was such a big deal!
Somehow I don’t think doing baptisms for the dead in the local strip mall would have quite the same impact…
Yes! I grew up in Alabama and we did tons of fund-raising to drive to the DC temple, which was so grand and overwhelmed my 13-yo self. When the smaller Atlanta one was built, the trip was easier, but the experienced diminished.
I just wish I thought that Church leadership had a sense of humor about this
For me, the temple seemed the lone effort by LDS, Inc. to inspire any spirituality for its members. Hence, the excitement surrounding temple trips and weddings. Sure, the ordinances were strange and the architecture hardly rivaled Notre Dame, but there was at least a hint of that. Especially when compared with the weekly Sacrament Meeting snorefest/childcare disaster.
Not sure how Mormons feel about these new mini-temples. I know I would be disgusted that the church doesn’t seem to care about providing any sort of experience for its members. Just pay your tithing or you’ll be denied access to the strip-mall pop-up.