Temples of the Most High

by N.B. Lundwall

Temples of the Most High is a compilation of rare, inspirational, and inaccessible writings of such great men as Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Orson Pratt, Parley P. Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, John Taylor, Lorenzo Snow, Joseph F. Smith, Heber C. Kimball and others. The quality of this compilation will speak for itself and needs no comment. It is hoped that its pages will inspire many souls and that the downcast may be cheered by its message.

"I wish to notice this. We read in the Bible, that there is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars. In the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, the glories are called, telestial, terrestrial, and celestial, which is the highest. These are worlds, different departments, or mansions, in our Father's house. Now those men, or those women, who know no more about the power of God, and the influence of the Holy Spirit, than to be led entirely by another person, suspending their own understanding, and pinning their fate upon another's sleeve, will never be capable of entering into the celestial glory, to be crowned as they anticipate; they will never be capable of becoming Gods. They cannot rule themselves to say nothing of ruling others, but they must be dictated to in every trifle, like a child. They cannot control themselves in the least, but James, Peter, or somebody else must control them. They never can become Gods, nor be crowned as rulers with glory, immortality, and eternal lives. They never can hold scepters of glory, majesty, and power in the celestial kingdom. Who will? Those who are valiant and inspired with the true independence of heaven, who will go forth boldly in the service of their God, leaving others to do as they please, determined to do right, though all mankind besides should take the opposite course. Will this apply to any of you? Your own hearts can answer." –President Brigham Young

Genres: Lds, Religion, Church, Nonfiction, Mormonism

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1941

Reviews

[Michelle Llewellyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was an online article from LDS Living "When Lorenzo Snow Saw the Savior in the Temple" (July 2019) that led me to this jewel of a book-a literal treasure trove of faith inspiring stories like this one.

First, we get the histories of the first fourteen temples of the church including descriptions of the architecture of each temple. St. George has a particularity special place in my heart and after reading the Salt Lake Temple chapter, I found myself downtown at temple square to study its architecture more carefully-I bet YOU never noticed all the different stones and carved representations on that magnificent edifice either! If you live here in Utah, go downtown yourself, and do it soon, before the BIG RENOVATION takes place over the next four years. Time is running out.

My favorite parts were the accounts of seeing and conversing with those from the other side of the veil, both heavenly and those from the "other place." Fascinating! Also, there are several excellent discourses from such great minds as Orson Pratt and Brigham Young sharing some pretty deep, mind blowing wisdom on eternity, the temple endowment and the intelligence of spirits-this book has it all! Anything you want to know about temples, it's in here.

I was so impressed, I went online and bought myself a used copy. Yes, "Temples of the Most High" with its blue cover and glowing white picture of the Salt Lake Temple, originally published in 1966 for just $3.75 hardback is still in print but, like those out-of-print paperback copies of Bruce R. McConkie's "Mortal Messiah," it is now only available in an expensive hardback collector's edition format only the most elite, 1% members of the church can afford-which does not include me.

Thank God for Amazon.

This book is not meant to be read cover to cover in a few days. There are some deep subjects here and the print is very tiny. You have permission to skip the fourteen dedicatory prayers for each temple which may explain the shortening of Sunday meeting times for the church. But, they are worth reading and will inspire you to brush up your own language of prayer.

The middle part of the book may be the hardest to get through but it has all those deep, excellent articles starting with temples yet to built as of this (2019) review such as Independence, Far West and Jerusalem. In his discourse, delivered in Logan Utah, 1879, about this future time of temple building, Orson Pratt taught, "...before we can go back to inherit this land (where these temples will one day be built) God has promised he would raise up a man like unto Moses..." (page 243).

I can't help but wonder if Orson Pratt wasn't talking about President Russell M. Nelson!
But don't quote me on that.

This doesn't even scratch the surface just how much GOOD STUFF is in this book. And since the Salt Lake City Library wouldn't appreciate me marking up their copy with all the notes I wanted to make, this is why I just had to go online and purchase a copy of my own.

Five stars! Read this book. Borrow mine if you like...but I will need it back. It will strengthen your testimony of temples and temple work. You will also be inspired to increase your temple visits! It has black and white pictures of the prophets and old photos of the temples too. I loved this book. Truly a must for every library.

[whalesister]

I'm surprised how few LDS people have read this. I thought it was sort of basic, required reading material for endowed members. Ok, so I admit I haven't read it all actually, partly because I keep worrying my copy will disintegrate in my hands it's so old, and partly because, honestly, I don't really want to read all of the dedicatory prayers for all of the early temples. But it's fun to flip through and dip in and sample. Great stuff on symbolism and teachings of prophets like Brigham Young on the endowment. I won't rate it because it's a compilation of inspired writings.

[Danny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was contemplating how best to summarize this book when I ran across this description.
“Compilation of dedicatory prayers for LDS temples, descriptions of them, faith-promoting stories about them, and sermons on the eternity of intelligence and the immortality of the soul.”
People forget what access to this kind of information was like before the Internet. This book was written in 1941. That’s 77 years ago. In those days access to information to help someone understand the history and purpose of temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day. Saints was difficult to lay your hands on. Not everyone could get access to a pretty thorough summary like what is contained in this volume.
I must say that I quite enjoyed, especially some of the stories surrounding the building in the dedication of the various temples, especially as some of my pioneer forbearers were involved in that. Of course, out of print. Anybody living within range that could come and borrow mine is welcome to it.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book with stories and historical facts about the first temples built in this dispensation, along with the Dedicatory Prayers that were offered for each. Great historical information that you won't find anywhere else. My only complaint about the book was about the notes and additional speeches at the end....they were typed in such a tiny print that I had to use a magnifying glass to read them....but it was worth it, because they were the best part.

[Christi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a compilation of many writings and sermons from church historical figures (heavily Brigham Young, Orson Pratt, Parley P Pratt, and Wilford Woodruff). It all has to do with temples--dedicatory prayers, comments about them, blueprint designs, sermons about ordinances and covenants, etc. It's a little random--a lot of different stuff in here!, but very interesting. Long and dry though. A good read over time--not one to rush through.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book all around. Incredible, unique, untold accounts scattered throughout each chapter. Ends with a first-hand account from the actual man who lit the Nauvoo Temple on fire with his two conspirators. Incredible talks, facts, stories, and accounts all around.

[Jared · Rating 3 out of 5]

More dry than juicy. But there were some nuggets in there I've been looking for for 15+ years. Those nuggets made the dry parts more than worth it for me.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This lovely book was published in 1939 as a compilation of information on latter-day temples as they existed at that time period, as well as other writings about temples and the afterlife. Physical descriptions of the temples and their architecture are given, as well as dedicatory prayers for each, and teachings or experiences that came about or in each temple.

The information is quite thorough and very interesting. It gave me a much greater understanding of the planning, work and sacrifice required for building all the temples. Most of the accompanying essays give strong doctrinal and historical basis for temple work as it evolved, though some are anecdotal and should not be considered as doctrinal. But it's all interesting as part of the history.

Temples included are: Kirtland, Nauvoo, St. George, Logan, Manti, Salt Lake, Hawaii, Alberta, Arizona
Site and architectural info: Idaho Falls, Los Angeles, Independence, Far West, Adam-ondi-Ahman
Also included: Endowment House

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked learning about the early temples .

[Gena Lott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lundwall creates a narrative about temples and their purposes in the old world and in our modern age. Not the most current writing on the subject, but well written and documented.

[Roberto Galindo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A jewel, found out in a second hand store. At first I was put out by the copy and paste of temple dedications prayers that cover half the book but then I realized back then they didn't have access to temple dedicatories. The book is also rich in architectural details of the first dozen temples, brilliant. It ends with some remarkable historical and doctrinal episodes relating to the endowment. So rich, fun! Granted, it's a collection of works so no real analysis, which it ends the traditional author bias that kills the mood in so many of these books. I'm glad they found a publisher, it was a fun book.

[Chandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible insite

[Joe Spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Miscellaneous treasures, and a good resource, but not exactly thrilling reading from start to finish.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

great stories ! Faith promoting

[Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hard to find book but well worth the effort

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

[Ernie Dawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a compilation and contains very good stuff but nothing original with the author.