There is a Mormon temple built just outside of Chorley in Lancashire, it is the largest Mormon structure in the world outside of Salt Lake City, I'm going to have to take and post a picture of it sometime, on top of the spire, is a 12ft high statue of the angel Moroni, the statue is solid 24 carat gold, made from wedding rings melted down. now this has some significance to the Old Testament story of the golden calf and how the Children of Israel broke off their gold adornments (earrings) and got Aaron to make the golden calf. In other words personal treasures given them by the Egyptians as they left Egypt became an object of false worship, This statue again may be an impressive image, but like the golden calf, it has been made from peoples personal treasured effects, and turned into an Idol, an angel that is not mentioned in the scriptures.
Went down there today, first time I've ever been up close to this place, got some shots, they're on film so its going to be a while before you can see them.
What a weird feeling I came away with, the place is stunning, all this polished marble, the temple itself looks like it could withstand a nuclear attack, in fact there is a road going down into sub level that looks like there could be a whole living area down there.
However the place feels dead, sure there were a few folks knocking about, but the whole place feels sterile, it actually felt like a level of a computer first person shooter game, where you come into a peaceful looking courtyard, and then you are suddenly surrounded by monsters.
What a job I had getting there, I thought, "I'll go for a brew and a sandwitch up at St Barnabas' church in Blackburn, then make my way over to Chorley on the bus." Well I got back into Blackburn just as the Chorley bus was pulling out, decided to catch the Preston bus, and get to Chorley, on the 125 Preston to Bolton service, well I got off at the wrong junction and as the next Preston bus wasn't for half an hour, thought, "Blow it might as well go home," then a bus turned up for Bamber Bridge, where I could connect with the 125 service.
That bus detoured round severa housing estates. Finally got to Bamber Bridge, needed the toilet, spotted one at the back of a shopping center, closed, and didn't look as if it had been open for weeks, neither did the supermarket have one either, so out of necessity used the toilets in a nearby pub, anyway I finally got into Chorley, the bus stopped outside a little path that took you into the grounds and got some late afternoon shots of the spire and some of the architectural details.
Apart from the gold and materials that went into Solomon's temple, I don't think that even that could compare with marble edifice. That brings me to my final point, if a Building could be so beautiful, then what God is perfecting in us as living stones, and living temples, what are we going to be like when we appear in glory?
Well, S, it seems to me that you brought up a really good subject - what we shall be when our Lord finishes His "Temple." In another place, you may recall, it is said, "We know not what we shall be, but we know that we'll be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." (1 Jn. 3:2). Our Lord is a wise Masterbuilder, and His temple will indeed be beautiful - as He is beautiful. He is beautiful in moral character (see the fruits of the Spirit in Gal. 5:22, 23). His love is like that of no other; His holiness is like that of no other; His wisdom is like that of no other, . . .
So I think that, being like Him, we too shall indeed be a beautifu temple.
Well the slides came back this morning and I have posted two of them here, the first shows the side of the temples marble sides reflecting the glow of the setting sun, and the second shows the spire with the gold image of Moroni atop of it. The whole set of slides are one and a half stops underexposed, can't understand it at all. as the previous set of slides were perfectly exposed, same film, same conditions, same ISO meter settings, same day when I loaded the film, and yet they are ever so dark, had to brighten the pictures up in Photoshop. Checked the camera, shutter speeds seem to be Ok, meter readings are correct with an Olympus OM 1, I'm baffled, unless there's something gone wrong in processing, oh well you live and learn.
If you check on a Mormon website, you will see that all these temples are more or less identical, this one maynot be the biggest one overall, but may well be the biggest outside the USA.