Below you will find Prince’s research excerpts titled, “Temples, 1895.” You can view other years here.
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TEMPLES, 1895.
1895: 25 Jan.: Previous adoptions voided to allow sealings.
“Zina and I attended the sealings or adoptions for all our Huntington ancestors in a direct line to us; from Christopher Huntington down to my grandfather William H. Huntington. They were all sealed, each to his father, with wife and all his children, then that father with his wife and all his children were sealed to his father and so on to the Christopher who was born in England, and then he was adopted to the Prophet Joseph Smith. Joseph F. Smith standing as proxy for the Prophet and Zina as wife to the Prophet, while I represented the Huntington line.” (Oliver B. Huntington journal, 25 Jan., 1895)
Feb.: This message is given to our ministering angel.
“The words of President Woodruff as contained in a lecture which he once delivered in the St. George Temple are true, and have been verified in the experience of many people who have been engaged in this glorious labor of redeeming the dead. He said:
Our dead are near us on the other side of the vail. The same blessings and ceremonies we here enjoy are found there. When our Elders visit the spirits in prison they converse together there, just the same as we do here, and some of them will say, ‘Though I have no representative in the Church yet I have a friend there who would do the work for me and liberate me from this place if I could get word to him.’ This message is given to our ministering angel and he brings the word to us and whispers in our ear the name of someone we have forgotten. Thus they can communicate with us by a message being brought to us by some personage.”
(Contributor 16(4):259, Feb., 1895)
7 Mar.: Endowment to be a wall of fire protecting us.
“[I] Quoted the saying of Pres Young that our Endowments would be as a wall of fire around us if we kept sacred our covenants and would be a power against the attacks of the adversary.” (Charles L. Walker diary, 7 Mar., 1895)
15 Mar.: Marriages for time.
“We are asked: ‘Is it permissable or according to the order of the Church for a widow who is sealed to her husband to be married by the Bishop? Can she do so without breaking her covenants which she made when in the Temple?’
We answer: A widow can be thus married, if the man is a member of the Church, without breaking any covenant that she has made in the House of the Lord. Her new husband receives her for this life through the ministration of one holding the Holy Priesthood, and the Bishop’s act in thus uniting the couple does not infringe uon the rights or authority of the man who holds the keys of the eternal sealing blessings of the Church. Indeed, a question has arisen in some minds as to whether it is at all necessary for those to be united for time only to go to a Temple to be married, as all the rites and ceremonies performed in Temples naturally and properly belong to eternity, as do all things that pertain to God and the Gospel. The wording of a sealing ordinance that unites a man and woman in the covenant of holy matrimony (or celestial marriage) is evidently intended for eternal union, and it is not as appropriate when spoken to those who will only remain together in this life and will be united with others in eternity.
Indeed there are certain circumstances that make it permissable for even single persons who have received their endowments (or where only one has) to be united by a Church official; where, for instance, they reside at a great distance from a Temple and their circumstances are such that they cannot obtain the means to take them there. But such cases should be jealously guarded no feeling should be permitted to grow in the hearts of our young folks that it is as well or equally proper to be married in this way as in the House of the Lord, and when such a ceremony is performed it should be with the full understanding that the couple thus married will at their earliest opportunity go to a Temple and have the sealing ceremony performed in their behalf.” (George Q. Cannon, JI 30(6):178-179, 15 Mar., 1895)
15 Mar.: Tithing and temple recommends.
“We wish now to offer a few thoughts upon the results following an obedience to the law of tithing and vice versa.
A compliance with the laws pertaining to the Lesser Priesthood is necessary in order to render individuals eligible to the blessings of the Higher Priesthood and one of the results of a non-observance of this law in our day is to refuse such individuals permission to enter holy Temples where sacred ordinances are bestowed.
We have already quoted from the Doctrine and Covenants that it is contrary to the will and commandment of God to have such persons’ names enrolled or to have their genealogy where it can be found on any of the records of the Church, or the names of their ancestors or their children.
It seemed to require the existence of holy Temples in the midst of Zion, and the safeguards that are thrown around sacred ordinances administered therein, in order that we might learn what constituted worthiness and eligibility to enable us to pass the portals of these sacred places and receive for ourselves and our children, as well as our ancestors the blessings pertaining to eternal life.” (Joseph E. Taylor, “Tithing and Free-Will Offerings,” JI 30(6):193, 15 Mar., 1895)
26 Mar.: Sealed to eternal life in Patriarchal Blessing.
“I bless you to be good and to be great and to be faithful in all time to come, and seal you up to eternal life with the holy resurrection, to come forth in the morning of the First Resurrection with all thy Father’s house, to inherit a kingdom of glory that shall never fail thee, for thou art of the pure blood of Israel of the lineage of Ephraim. Even so, Amen.” (Patriarchal Blessing of Abraham H. Cannon, by Wm. J. Smith, 26 Mar., 1895; in A. H. Cannon diary, 26 Mar., 1895)
1 Apr.: Tithing and the Nauvoo Temple.
“At the time of the building of the Kirtland Temple the law of tithing had not been given in detail to the Church. The Lord had said, ‘It was a day for the tithing of His people;’ and just previous to the commencement of the building of that edifice he declared, ‘Verily I say unto you, it is my will that an house should be built unto me in the land of Zion, like unto the pattern which I have given you. Yea, let it be built speedily by the tithing of my people.’ ‘Behold this is the tithing and the sacrifice which I the Lord require at their hands, that there may be an house built unto me for the salvation of Zion.’
The Kirtland Temple was built and dedicated two years and three months previous to the law governing tithing being given in its completeness, and with our understanding of the law as since revealed it would seem that a great deal more than one-tenth was given for that purpose.
It was by no means a strange sight to see the Prophet Joseph, whenever he had opportunity, engaged with his brethren in quarrying rock and performing other labor necessary to forward the work, and that building stands today as a monument of the free-will offerings, as well as the tithing, of the Latter-day Saints in the days of the poverty as compared with now.
The Temple in Nauvoo was erected, not by the tithings of the people alone, for this would have been altogether inadequate unless a much longer time had been spent in its erection than there was. But the free-will offerings of the Saints, amounting to thousands of dollars, which, added to the tithing paid, made its completion possible before the Saints were again driven by their enemies. The Saint George, Logan and Manti Temples are also the result of the free-will offerings of the people, coupled with the tithings used for their erection. More tithing proportionately has been used for the building of the Salt Lake Temple than any other. This is due to the length of time occupied in its erection; but free-will offerings to the amount of tens of thousands of dollars have materially aided in its completion. There is one thing, however, to which I wish to draw especial attention: The free-will offerings made by us since our arrival in Utah have not, except in a very few instances, involved as great a sacrifice of individual interests as formerly; and especially during the building of the first two Temples.” (Joseph E. Taylor, “Tithing and Free-Will Offerings,” JI 30(7):204-205, 1 Apr., 1895)
20 Apr.: 5,000 temples operating during Millennium.
[Provo Stake Conference] “Pres. Snow took for his text the words of the Savior where He tells Peter to feed the sheep. The men who are called to preside over this Stake will need to feed the sheep, to be kind, liberal and to possess all the characteristics of Saints. We should do our temple work, and not leave it till it is too late to redeem our kindred. It is estimated that it will require the labors of 300 persons in each of 5,000 temples to labor night and day during the Millennium to redeem those who are dead, and who never heard the truth.” (A. H. Cannon diary, 20 Apr., 1895)
20 Jun.: 2nd anointings by proxy.
[Meeting of 1st Pres. and 12] “Pres. Snow then presented the following case for the decision of Pres. Woodruff: Some years ago before endowments were given in the endowment house in this city, a good woman was sealed as second wife to one of the brethren. She died in full faith of the Gospel before having the privilege of receiving her endowments. Shall she now be permitted to receive by proxy her second anointings? It was decided that she was entitled to have them.” (A. H. Cannon diary, 20 Jun., 1895)
1 Oct.: Baptism for dead once unacceptable to Saints.
“The Prophet said that the scripture concerning the putting of new wine into old bottles referred to the teaching of the Gospel to old traditionated people, many of whom were unable to stand the new truths. Even baptism for the dead was once unacceptable to the Saints.” (Abraham H. Cannon diary, 1 Oct., 1895)
10 Oct.: “Temple divorce.”
[Meeting of 1st Pres. and 12] “Some talk was had about Church divorces. Joseph F. Smith holds that where the President gives a divorce it disunites the couple for time and eternity, for the same power which unites them together dissolves the bond. No man is justified in putting away his wife, however, save for fornication, and this, as explained in a pamphlet issued in the days of Joseph the Prophet, is alienation.” (Abraham H. Cannon diary, 10 Oct., 1895)
31 Oct.: Wives of Gentiles not to receive endowments.
[Meeting of 1st Pres. and 12] “Women married to Gentiles should not be allowed to receive their endowments, because of the secrecy enjoined upon them, which may arouse the jealous suspicions of their husbands. The President is, of course, allowed to make exceptions to this rule. Wives of apostates, if they retain the faith, are allowed to do work in the temples.” (A. H. Cannon diary, 31 Oct., 1895)
14 Nov.: To whom should illegitimate child be sealed?
[Meeting of 1st Pres. and 12] “John Ashman asked: To whom shall an illigitimate [sic] child be sealed? To the Father who died without marring the mother, or to the woman who is alive and now married? Answer: To the woman.” (A. H. Cannon diary, 14 Nov., 1895)
14 Nov.: Can a child be sealed to grandparents?
[Meeting of 1st Pres. and 12] “Question: A Mormon girl married a Gentile, and a girl was born who is now being raised by the father, the mother being dead. Can she be sealed to her grand-parents who are in the Church? She must wait till she is of age, and then choose for herself, unless the father consents for her to be sealed to her relatives.” (A. H. Cannon diary, 14 Nov., 1895)
5 Dec.: Garments to be worn next to skin.
“Pres. [Lorenzo] Snow asked if it is allowable for people to wear any garment next to their skin except the garment provided in the giving of endowments. The decision was that the garments of the temple should be worn in all cases next to the skin.” (Abraham H. Cannon diary, 5 Dec., 1895)