Do LDS Temples “Follow the Biblical Pattern”?
Mormon temples have a “molt@.’ or “brazen” sea on the backs of twelve oxen in the basement which is used for baptisms for the dead, but not baptisms of the living. But the “sea” in Solomon’s temple was not in the basement nor was it used for baptisms for the living or the dead. It was “for the priests to wash in” (11 Chron. 4:2-6), just like the laver in Moses’ tabernacle (Ex. 30:18-2 1). Both the tabernacle and the temple were used for burnt offerings and bloody sacrifices (11 Chron. 2:6; 7:1-12; 29:20-35). If LDS temples and temple ordinances “conform literally and completely to the Bible,” why do they not have such offerings and sacrifices in their temples? Not one LDS temple rite is found in the instructions God gave for the tabernacle in Ex. 2 5-40, nor for Solomon’s temple in I Kgs. 5-8. Nor did Jesus or His disciples build temples or practice temple rites like the Mormons. The only wedding in which Jesus participated was in Cana of Galilee where there was no temple (In. 2:1-10).
