Temples Rising: A Heritage of Sacrifice

In their poverty, the early Kirtland Saints were commanded to build a temple, “a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God” (D&C 88:119) so that the Lord could endow His people “with power from on high.” (D&C 95:8). After abandoning Kirtland and that holy house, they built again in Nauvoo, only to watch the temple burn as they left it behind. Upon arriving in the Great Basin, they quickly laid plans for more temples in Salt Lake City, St. George, Manti, and Logan. Time after time, they faced opposition and sacrifice, yet they continued to build, dedicate, learn, and worship. Why did these temples remain so important to the Saints and to the Lord in spite of roadblocks?

In Temples Rising, respected LDS historian Richard Bennett explores the line-upon-line development of temple worship, built under extremely difficult circumstances and at great personal sacrifice, including the sacrifice of plural marriage, in order to save temples. Written for the general membership of the Church, this engaging account of historical events shares the story of how temple worship unfolded in a gradual process of revelation and restoration.

Richard E. Bennett is a professor and former chair of the Department of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University. Born in Ontario, Canada, he holds a PhD in American history from Wayne State University. Before joining the BYU faculty in 1997, he was head of the Department of Archives and Special Collections at the University of Manitoba for twenty years. He and his wife, Patricia, are the parents of five children.