Independence Temple
The Temple | |
---|---|
Religion | |
Affiliation | Community of Christ |
Location | |
Location | Independence, Missouri |
Geographic coordinates | 39°5′28.04″N 94°25′35.33″W / 39.0911222°N 94.4264806°W |
Architecture | |
Architect(s) | Gyo Obata |
Groundbreaking | April 6, 1990 |
Completed | 1994 |
The Temple in
Structure and building
The public is welcomed to the temple, where there is a Daily Prayer for Peace at 1:00 p.m. Central Time on behalf of a selected nation of the world. A meditation chapel with paintings by Jack Garnier of the Sacraments being performed around the world opens onto a Japanese style meditation garden and serves the needs of individuals or small groups of visitors. The temple also contains the church archives, the Temple School, administrative offices of church headquarters, theaters used for visitors and also for meetings, presentations, and classes, a museum and gift shop. The building has become a popular attraction with guided tours available. Approximately 60,000 people visit the temple each year.
Temple ministries
The temple is regarded as a symbol of the church's mission and has long been closely associated with the denomination's developing theology of
Temple lot
If ye are faithful, ye shall assemble yourselves together to rejoice upon the land of Missouri, which is the land of your inheritance, which is now the land of your enemies.
— Doctrine & Covenants (Community of Christ edition), section 52, verse 9e[5]
Wallace B. Smith's great-grandfather and founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, Joseph Smith, visited Jackson County in 1831 and prophesied that a temple to the Lord would be built there.[6] The early Latter Day Saints purchased a 73 acres (30 ha) parcel of land known as the "greater temple lot." At that time a portion of the property was dedicated as the site for a temple, and cornerstones were laid.[citation needed] However, the church members were driven from the county before any construction began. The original temple site proper is now owned by the Church of Christ (Temple Lot).
The Community of Christ's temple is built on the greater temple lot, as is the Auditorium, the headquarters chapel of the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) and a visitor center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Notes
- ^ Doctrine and Covenants, Section 156:5
- ^ Questions and Answers on Church Name Change
- ^ Chiat, Marilyn; North American Churches, Publications International, Ltd.:2004, p. 72.
- The Herald, July 2006, p. 12. "Share the Fullness of the Gospel". Archived from the originalon September 29, 2007. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
- ^ H. Michael Marquardt (1997). "The Independence Temple of Zion".
- ^ Doctrine and Covenants (Community of Christ), Section 57:1d
References
- Laurie Smith Monsees, The Temple: Dedicated to Peace, Herald House: 1993. ISBN 978-0-8309-0648-2
- Marilyn Chiat, North American Churches, Publications International, Ltd.: 2004, p. 72.
- Michael J. Crosbie, Architecture for the Gods. (Watson-Guptill Publications: 2000), pp. 66–72. ISBN 0-8230-0290-X