Episode 216: The Ultimate Big Deal Part 4 | Spiritual Separators
These days it seems Latter-day Saints talk about the importance of temple attendance in almost every meeting and lesson. It makes sense: in 2001, then-Elder Russell M. Nelson explained, “Every activity, every lesson, all we do in the Church, point to the Lord and His Holy house.” But might this relentless focus on a thing not all members participate in work as a separator in our congregations, communities, and relationships? In Episode 216, Susan and Cynthia return to the topic of the temple for a fourth time. It’s a discussion that touches on everything from recommends to what Jesus shows and tells us about it in the Bible. Spoiler: It’s complicated.
Notes & Quotes:
ALSSI Ep. 12, The Ultimate Big Deal Part 1
ALSSI Ep. 51, The Ultimate Big Deal Part 2
ALSSI Eps. 100 & 101, The Ultimate Big Deal Part 3
Spiritual Separators, by Susan Hinckley, Say More: At Last She Writes It | No. 33, March 2025
Personal Preparation for Temple Blessings, by Russell M. Nelson, April 2001
ALSSI Eps. 138 & 139, with Afton Southam Parker
Jesus’ Alternative Plan: The Sermon on the Mount, by Richard Rohr
Rage, Violence, and Jesus: The Cleansing of the Temple, by The Evangelical Liberal, 4/2/2015
The Whole Thing is a Temple, by Rob Bell, The Robcast, Ep. 212
Beyond Belief, by Russ Hinckley
The Wisdom Pattern: Order, Disorder, Reorder, by Richard Rohr
The “covenant” conference, LDS Data Analysis
“Every activity, every lesson, all we do in the Church, point to the Lord and His Holy house.” —Russell M. Nelson
“If one space is named holy, then the other space that isn’t that space, isn’t holy. If one space is designated sacred, then what that does by default is name other space common. [...] The power of a temple is it helps you conceive of something sacred and holy. But what that does is it divides things up, and if you stay there too long, you’ll end up with a divided view of the world. [...] You need the form (temple) to access spirit, but then at some point if the form gets in the way of spirit, you need to leave that particular form.” —Rob Bell
"Humans are the place where the Divine dwells. This is an elevated understanding of what it means to be human.” —Rob Bell
“Trying to confine our spiritual lives to only sacrifice, place, ritual, activity, etc. was never the plan. A tabernacle or temple is a useful stop, we are the destination.” —Russ Hinckley
“Put no trust in delusive words like the temple, the temple, the temple! [...] Monuments need to be regularly deconstructed and rebuilt. Thus Thomas Jefferson believed that revolution had to be repeated in some form every 20 years!” —Richard Rohr
“Jesus comes to free us from the idea that the Divine is somewhere else.” —Rob Bell
"Ripe for Big Change", Susan... if I hadn't felt that same way, I would have stopped participating much sooner. Yet, there is still a part of me that insists it MUST happen. Because if it doesn't change, this Church will never be the Savior's Kingdom on Earth.
Ladies. I was dressing while listening to this episode and heard you read my message. It was a day with some heavy sadness for deeply spiritual and dedicated siblings. I looked up in my mirror and just stared at myself. The idea that as a person on the 'outside (inside?) of the outside', I might have something useful to say, let alone be told it was beautifully written, brought tears to my eyes. I felt I belonged and for that I thank you. And by the way, I believe no 'shoe will ever drop'. It felt very risky in the beginning but I was exhausted, and just fed up enough with being afraid, to hazard stepping outside of using someone else's spiritual Velcro to hold on to God. No Velcro needed.