On the second last day on which it was open to the general public, I visited the new Boston Massachusetts Temple of the Mormon Church. In doing so, I was one of an estimated eighty thousand people who came from nearby and far away to enter the imposing building that looms up alongside Route 2 in Belmont. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, to use the official name, showed pride in its new place of worship and welcomed warmly those of us who came to visit.

My motive in coming was not merely to satisfy curiosity about the architecture of the new structure but to discover more about the spirituality of the people who will use the building from now on. Those people are faithful Mormons, those who can show that they are members in good standing within this community of belief in Christ.

I had the advantage of being guided by a friend, Roger Porter,  who has taken a leading role in this community as a bishop. A Harvard professor and a former White House policy director, my friend offered me much information about the beliefs and practices of his church. Even more important, he shared with me some insight into his own commitment to this tradition.

When I asked him what his church means to him, my friend answered “I find inspiration from my faith in virtually everything I do.” It was impressive to hear a man who has been so successful in his profession, as an expert in the field of government and business, testify to the importance of spirituality in his life.

The other Mormons whom I met on the visit also impressed me with their cheerful commitment to their faith. One of the chief  reasons for the dynamic expansion of the Latter-Day Saints, both in this country and abroad, is that they do not hesitate to make demands of members. The Church has some sixty thousand men and women, both college-aged members and people in retirement, who are currently serving as missionaries all over the world.

The Mormons trace the origins of their community back to 1820 when Joseph Smith, a boy of fourteen living on a farm in New York State, received a divine revelation. As Mormon history records it, “God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph.” After that, “the Lord worked through Joseph Smith to restore His Church and priesthood.” Smith was killed by a mob in 1844, at which time Brigham Young became president of the church and led members across the United States to the Salt Lake Valley in present-day Utah.

The Boston Temple ranks as the one-hundredth to be build by the Mormons, a sign of their world-wide growth. Two facts about this temple and those elsewhere came as a major surprise to me. First, it does not look like a cathedral inside, since it has no single large space. Instead, it is broken up into a series of smaller rooms suitable for individual prayer rather than communal worship. The two exceptions to this rule are for baptisms and weddings, both of them rites that involve a group of people.

Secondly, the temple does not open on Sundays. That is the day on which members go instead to the meetinghouse for group worship, religious instruction, and other social events. In Belmont, the meetinghouse is located on property nearby.

Mormons put great emphasis upon marital fidelity and the care of children. The wedding rite is called a Sealing, by which the partners commit themselves to a union that will last even beyond the present world into the next.

Baptism, too, differs from what is standard in other Christian churches. In Mormon belief, you can be baptized to the benefit of people long dead. Those who did not receive baptism during their life on earth can receive this sacrament by transferring its power to someone who never received it while living down below.

Perhaps the most dramatic of the temple spaces is the Celestial Room. This room rises two and a half stories, has twelve chandeliers, and is light in color and texture. In the words of the church, “The celestial room symbolizes the peace and happiness we can experience as eternal families with our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.”

The temple is now closed to outsiders, but I will not soon forget the hospitality of the members and their readiness to witness to their faith.

Richard Griffin