Families can be together forever.
Is this doctrine?
Well, yeah, sure.
However, it is more of an attempt to communicate a doctrine in the form of a marketing message.
For years, we as a church community have attempted to convert people to the restored gospel by using this tagline.
And I admit that it has worked for many people.
However, I worry we have over-invested in this tagline and lost the transformational message of this doctrine.
This over-investment in this watered-down marketing message was obvious as I recently sat in the church building next to the Saratoga Springs temple.
I was sitting next to my Evangelical friend Jeff McCullough of Hello Saints fame, and we were anticipating the temple tour.
As expected, the sister missionaries told our small group that we would first watch a video about the temple before beginning the tour.
The video was very familiar to me.
Many of the clips I had seen before.
What struck and disappointed me was that the video was completely focused on eternal families and why being sealed to our families makes us hopeful and happy.
Now, I agree with that message.
However, it stopped short of being redemptive.
The 9-minute introductory video didn’t seem to mention Jesus Christ at all.
And to me, the temple is all about Jesus Christ.
Here’s the thing…
The temple’s core message isn’t about our relationship with our loved ones.
The temple’s core message is our relationship with Jesus Christ, which then ties into our relationship with our loved ones.
“Families can be together forever” makes for a sweet primary song, but let’s put it aside and focus on the new and everlasting covenant.
The temple doesn’t represent an eternal relationship between husband and wife as much as it represents a covenant relationship between couples and Christ.
That was my message to my pastor friend at the end of the tour.
Just like I needed a ceremony to make official the union between my wife and me, I need ceremonies or ordinances to make official the union between Christ and me.
We build a temple not to represent an eternal family, but we build a temple to represent Jesus Christ.
I can walk into Him and commune with Him.
I can make a deeper commitment to my relationship with Him.
That is the redemptive message of the temple.
Let’s make a 9-minute video about that.
Sincerely,
Kurt Francom
Executive Director
Leading Saints
P.S. This is an older newsletter message. Get the up-to-date message weekly by subscribing for free HERE.
