A few weeks ago, I learned about a fundamentalist temple open house/dedication in Missouri. As one who enjoys learning about Mormon schismatic groups, I had to check this out.
The first question I often get asked is “what group is this?” It’s not a group! I was given GPS coordinates to the temple, which is located in an unincorporated area near Humansville, Missouri, about 2 hours south of Independence. It was dedicated on October 12th. I came the week before and was able to tour the temple before the dedication. The temple was part of an independent, non-denominational religious community of around 400 people, including about 150 students at their K-12 school. While there, they were finishing up the temple with touch-up paint, hanging curtains, cleaning carpets, etc. I discovered an AUB community used to exist in the area, but the branch dissolved. People there included former LDS, former AUB, former Nielsen-Naylor, and former Centennial Park members. The temple will be open to anyone who “believes,” but that wasn’t defined. I asked if I could attend an endowment session, but they said if my only purpose was “historical study,” that wasn’t a good enough reason to attend.
The temple as beautiful inside and out, with impressive artwork and murals. They have sunstones, moonstones, and stars on the outside as one would expect, as well as a font in the basement on top of 12 oxen that can be used for baptisms for the living & the dead. There was a beautiful spiral staircase. On the main floor, I was able to see the creation room, garden room, and lone and dreary wilderness rooms with beautiful murals. Capacity of the room was about 24 people. Upstairs included the terrestrial room and celestial room. They had the constellation of stars in the ceiling of the celestial room and used fiber optic lighting so that you could see stars twinkling in the ceiling. The Celestial Room hadn’t installed an altar when I was there, but they told me it could be used for weddings.
I was also able to see “Holy of Holies” room. They had a beautiful gold/copper colored dome in the room. The door leading to the room had carvings of cherubim & a flaming sword on one side, and the Tree of Life on the other. The floor included some beehive tiles, and was a beautiful room. One person there asked if I wanted to do something so I could say I “worked” on the temple. I helped with some minor tasks like moving furniture, steaming wrinkles out of curtains, and hanging mirrors in the bathrooms.
6 Days in August Movie Review
I was lucky to attend a sneak peek of “Six Days in August” 2 weeks before it became public. I attended a fireside that promoted the movie at the Scera Theater in Orem which discussed the movie with the director, actors, executive producers, and showed clips of the film. It was interesting to hear Daniel Peterson (executive producer) explain that he was tired of people ragging on Brigham Young. He wanted to make a movie showing Brigham Young was beloved. He also wanted to make it historically accurate, discussed the succession crisis and polygamy. The film hasn’t had a huge opening weekend, and I think they are worried it won’t be in theaters much longer.
Overall, I enjoyed the film. It almost seemed like a buddy movie that showed Brigham and Joseph Smith as buddies. On the one hand, I do believe Brigham was a beloved figure during the life of Joseph Smith. One-third of Nauvoo residents came from the British Isles where Brigham Young served, so he was a natural, beloved figure to them. Much of what people dislike about Brigham Young occurred in Utah, rather than Illinois. Since the film ends shortly after the death of Joseph Smith, it seems that showing Brigham as beloved at this time could have been an appropriate film choice.
It was interesting to see Brigham Young speaking in tongues, which he did twice in the film. The director said he had wrote some dialogue for Brigham, translated it into Scottish Gaelic, and had actors attempt to play Brigham. Most did terrible. However, when he came across ,John Donovan Wilson, he knew he had the correct actor. It was my understanding that rather than Gaelic, Wilson spoke Norweigan (where he served his mission) and the director had found his actor.
Polygamy was lightly touched on in the film, in a few interesting ways. Thomas Sharp, editor of the Warsaw Signal, had been invited to the groundbreaking ceremony of the Nauvoo Temple. No record exists of his interactions with Joseph Smith at this meeting, but Sharp became an instigator of the mobs that killed Joseph Smith and is clearly a real-life villian in the story. Any dialogue between Joseph and Thomas had to be invented. I thought it was an interesting choice to have Thomas ask Joseph Smith if he practiced polygamy, which seems like what might have happened. Joseph didn’t directly answer the question, but said polygamy was a biblical practice, thus neither confirming or denying rumors of polygamy.
With regards to Brigham Young and polygamy, it was an interesting choice. It is well-known that Hyrum Smith was persuaded to believe in polygamy when told that he could be sealed to his deceased and current wife. Filmmakers showed Brigham Young at this meeting, who had also lost his first wife. So, it seemed that Brigham and Hyrum embraced polygamy for the same reason. Maybe that’s true, but missing from the film was the famous quote where Brigham claimed he “desired the grave” when he learned of polygamy. It was an interesting way to frame polygamy. It was also evident that Emma did not like polygamy in the film.
Speaking of Emma, it was impressive that they clearly showed she supported William Marks as the new leader after Joseph’s death. Marks was stake president in Nauvoo and an able leader, but he supported Sidney Rigdon’s claim to leadership. While I don’t think they were too hard on Sidney, it seemed that they make Marks look sneaky and conniving, which may have been Brigham’s position, but I don’t think was a fair representation of Marks. I was also surprised to see that the film depicted Brigham Young transforming into Joseph Smith. While there are diary entries discussing this transformation, they were 30 years later and there is nothing contemporary. I thought that Richard Van Wagoner’s article that there was nothing contemporary had done away with the idea of Brigham Young transforming into Joseph, but apparently the Interpreter folks (that produced the movie) thought there was enough evidence to include it in the film.
Were you able to see the film? What do you think of the polygamist temple in Missouri?
Wheat & Tares 
Interesting temple update! I saw the film (there were 2 other people in the empty theater) and had mixed feelings. I liked their casting choices, but thought it focused too much on the speaking in tongues element and was very chaotic with all the flashbacks, and overall tried to cover too much territory. My main concern was that I couldn’t figure out who their audience was. You have to be pretty steeped in church history to know who Lyman and George are, and it seemed to be made for members who have a deep knowledge of early church history but not for the general public (or nonmembers–although why were there four showings at my local theaters on Sunday?). After seeing it, I couldn’t think of a single friend of ward member to recommend it to who would care about the subject matter or really understand it. Personally I loved the transformation moment since my ancestors who were there left depositions and journal recordings of that experience. It felt like the three minutes of the whole movie I came to see, and the one clip I might show my seminary students…
Sooner or later the state of Missouri will step in and shut it down IMO. The same as with Jeffs in Texas. Wait for the child and spousal abuse complaints to begin.
Anita, I told some friends about it and they aren’t really church history nerds. They enjoyed the film.
thhq, Most fundamentalist groups not only despise Warren Jeffs, but believe people shouldn’t be married until at least age 18. I highly doubt there will be any complaints about child marriages, and I would be shocked to hear of a repeat of Texas. Nearly all polygamists think the FLDS are awful, and won’t tolerate the stuff Jeffs promoted.
Even though you couldn’t attend an endowment ceremony, the layout of rooms makes it clear that it must follow the old live endowment to some extent. Do you have any idea of which version? Or is the script their own?
Are there any photos of the temple interior? The interior sounds breathtaking based on your description. Wished the mainstream Church would return to bolder designs and muraled instruction rooms as opposed to cookie-cutter temples with no murals at all.
last lemming, I think they would like to go back to the 1877 endowment but since it is essentially a non denominational temple, a group that wants to use it could do any version they like. I know the Christ’s Church endowment uses elements into the 1920s because the original endowment was more of an outline with some ability to improvise certain parts, so nobody can really do the 1877 endowment because there isn’t enough information to re-create it.
Southern Saint, I didn’t receive permission to publish photos of the interior. I know some people who did get permission but I don’t have permission to share photos of the interior. But there’s are people with interior photos.
The murals are outstanding in my opinion. The most interesting feature inside was in the celestial room. On the ceiling, they used fiber optic lights to simulate the Missouri night sky with the Big Dipper and other constellations. The lights even twinkle. It was really cool.
As someone who used to believe that Joseph never actually practiced polygamy until my wife overwhelmed me with the evidence and data, I now believe that Brigham Young and Warren Jeffs are the true and legitimate successors of Joseph’s legacy.
I never loved Joseph, as I grew up knowing he was a polygamist but because I believed in the BoM and Priesthood, I would rather have believed that the man I followed wasn’t a womanizer. I spent a long time reading the accounts put forth by the RLDS (not COC) and felt like it could go either way but I also believe that where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
After my wife showed me all the evidence and horror stories in Mormon Enigma I had to concede that this was bad. Sadly I also realized that these leaders like Young and Jeffs who treat women like chattel, is how Joseph operated.
Andy, Brigham Young’s polygamy was quite different than Joseph’s. For one, Joseph practiced in secret while Brigham Young was open. That’s a huge difference right there.
Warren Jeffs didn’t even follow his father Rulon’s polygamy. Warren has always been a sociopath, and has systematically destroyed the FLDS. Last estimates I heard, they’ve lost 85% of members due to his sociopathy.
Most polygamists are not abusers, and it is a false stereotype to take the abuses of Warren Jeffs and cast them on all polygamists. I don’t want to become a polygamist, but the men, women, and children I’ve met aren’t abused/abusers. They are normal people with normal jobs. Sure there are abusers in many churches, but we shouldn’t paint with broad brushes. I have good friends in fundamentalist, RLDS, evangelical, catholic, pentecostal, and many other communities that are filled with both wonderful Christians and abusers. I avoid the abusers and focus on the good people.
Hi Rick,
My apologies, let me give a little more context.
I said Young meaning as opposed to Rigdon or Joseph Smith III because of polygamy. Brigham practiced and Rigdon and Smith III ddn’t.
I said Jeffs because if you look at the horror stories behind the Kimbels, the Huntingtons, Lucy Walker, and the stories in the Nauvoo Expositor, in our day, I don’t see anyone other than Jeffs.
I’m not judging the membership in the congregations.
Andy,
Brian Hales, Don Bradley, Brittney Nash, Craig Foster, and others present lots of evidence from the historical record to the contrary. Remember, it was prophesied that Joseph’s name would be known for good and evil. And now that more work is being done on the history of polygamy good arguments are emerging that refute the stereotypical view of Joseph and Brigham as womanizers.
How about sharing the GPS coordinates with the rest of us.
Nevermind Rick, I found it 🙂 google maps works great.
37°45’57.0″N 93°42’44.6″W