Steeple unnecessary to get closer to God

It is unfortunate that lessons of old have not been learned today

(“Height of Mormon steeple contradicted,” Wednesday). Is there a

compromise that can be reached over the height of the proposed Mormon

temple? Rather than residents, city staff and church officials

warring over this question, wouldn’t it best be answered by God,

through Jesus Christ, from whence the name “Church of Jesus Christ of

Latter-day Saints” comes from?

About 7,000 years ago, man labored in vain to build a tower that

would reach to the heavens so that one king could rest his throne

closer to God, to be as God, and to better oversee and rule over his

subjects. God destroyed this tower of Babel and dispersed mankind

into races each with new languages to prevent the folly of man from

attempting to rule as God.

Jesus Christ taught “that the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke

17:21. This was later revealed to mean that, to be close to God did

not mean erecting the highest, most glorious “building” in which to

worship in; it meant humbling oneself to allow the spirit of God to

enter one’s own temple (man’s body, mind and soul through his heart)

to allow God to commune and fellowship with man personally, through

the perfect sacrifice of his son Jesus Christ, by recognizing that

sin, not the height of our throne is what separates us from God.

Yet today, we still have “kings” enslaving men to build glorious

man-made “idols,” teaching that believing in and worshiping them will

bring mankind closer to God, and some go as far as to promise to

become Gods. To believe that building a great temple will bring you

closer to God is just pure foolishness, and proves that the greatest

downfall of modern man is illiteracy.

Those seeking to get closer to God need not stones or steeples,

they only need to take refuge in the living word of God and forsake

the foolishness of man and the things made by man.

RUSSELL NIEWIAROWSKI

Santa Ana Heights