14- And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
15 – And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap; for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
16 – And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. (Revelations 14:14-16; emphasis added)
The Savior lamented, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.” -- Matthew 23:27
“What was the object of gathering the Jews, or the people of God in any age of the world? The main object was to build unto the Lord a house whereby he could reveal unto His people the ordinances of His house and the glories of His kingdom, and teach the people the way of salvation; for there are certain ordinances and principles that, when they are taught and practiced, must be done in a place or house built for that purpose. It is for the same purpose that God gathers together His people in the last days, to build unto the Lord a house to prepare them for the ordinances and endowments, washings and anointings, etc.” – Joseph Smith, TPJS 307-308
Brigham Young stated, ““we have a work to do just as important in its sphere as the Savior’s work was in its sphere. Our fathers cannot be made perfect without us; we cannot be made perfect without them. They have done their work and now sleep. We are now called upon to do ours; which is to be the greatest work man ever performed on the earth.”
The first modern temple was completed in Kirtland in 1836.
The second, the Nauvoo temple, about a decade later in 1846.
The third dedicated was St. George in 1877, a little over three decades later.
By 1966, the year I was born, the Church had 13 temples in operation, which averages to about 1 per decade.
In 1985, while I was serving a mission, there were 38 temples, an addition of 25 new temples in about 20 years. This pace of about 1 new temple a year continued until 1995 at which point the Church had 47 temples operating.
From 1996 to 2006, under President Hinckley 76 new temples were announced and completed—an average of 7.7 per year.
Today there are 136 temples in the church; 3 under renovation; 15 under construction and 15 more announced.
I am grateful that the Lord has seen fit to hasten his work.
Truly the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are still few. (Matt. 9:37)
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