The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as the Mormons, has filed its plans for a proposed Farmington temple and gave its first presentation to planning officials Monday night.
The extensive plans include hundreds of pages, detailing every aspect of the proposal, from parking spaces to the placement and type of each shrub and tree.
The Mormon temple would be 35,500 square feet, set at an angle, with the entry facing the corner of Farmington Avenue and Melrose Drive, according to the plans. The building, which would be nearly 30 feet tall, would be surfaced in white granite and ringed with walkways and formal landscaping. The entryway appears flanked by pillars and a steeple is topped with a statue of the Mormon prophet Moroni.
The plan also calls for two other buildings on the property – a 2,094 square foot house for a caretaker couple and a 753 square foot utility building. Buildings and parking lot would cover just over 36 percent of the 11-acre site – less than the 40 percent required in town code.
Flanking the temple site on the plans is a proposed “New Town Road,” which would eventually connect Melrose Drive to Bridgewater Road – across from the Wood N Tap. The Church plans to build the road, running parallel to the river, from Melrose Drive to a temporary cul de sac. Peter Fishman of PKT Development, which owns the development on Bridgewater Drive, plans to build the other half of the road, to connect the two streets.
The land behind the temple site is owned mostly by Roger Toffolon, under the name Farmington River Development. The area was being mined by Connecticut Sand and Stone but is no longer and Toffolon is agreeable to allowing the new road to pass through his property, Town Planner Jeffrey Ollendorf said.
To go forward, the plan will have to gain approval from both the Inland Wetlands Watercourse Conservation Commission and the Town Plan and Zoning Commission.
From the zoning commission, the group would need a zoning change, from Business-Retail with the offices currently on the property, to R-30, which allows religious institutions.
Mormon representatives presented the plan before the town's Inland Wetland and Watercourses Commission Monday night. The presentation was made by a team that included a soil scientist, landscape designer, civil engineer, project manager and several others.
The property is subject to the wetlands commission because it is close to the Farmington River and to several small and one large wetlands areas – all but one outside the property. Project Manager Kerry Nielsen told the commission that the project would improve the water quality of the property, have no effect on the wetlands alluvial soils (those near the river) and the Church will work to create a landmark on the site.
“We build sites that are meticulously planned out and maintained,” Nielsen said.
The commission tabled the matter until its next meeting. In the meantime, the Town Plan and Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing on the proposed temple May 23.
"Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. (Isaiah 44:6 KJV) The Mormons believe that there are literally millions of Gods. From their own doctrine "If we should take millions of worlds like this and number their particles, we should find that there are more Gods than there are particles of matter in those worlds." (( Mormon apostle Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses Vol. 2 p345) You see this is NOT Christian! I want to be very clear, I do not in any way dislike Mormon people as a matter of fact I would like them all to know real salvation in the real Jesus, but their doctrine is not Christian and those who live here need to understand the truth.
- It is remarkable that the Holy Bible has come down to us, at all, from thousands of years. Unfortunately, there are errors, lost information, lost meanings and omitted material. There are also numerous versions of the Bible. (maybe 30 or 40, and many of them are ancient.) http://www.swapmeetdave.com/Bible/BibleType.htm“The Book of Mormon” does a remarkable job of clarifying the material in the Bible. - In the Bible we are told there will be a restoration of the Gospel. With all the different sects, widely different teachings and numerous versions of the Holy Bible, is there any wonder why we would need a restoration of the original Gospel from God. - Yes, we are different from the current Christian sects, because ours is the restored Church. -When someone compares us with the original Church established by Jesus Christ when He was here on earth, we are remarkably similar. People of other faiths have discovered this and even written commentaries such as http://www.firstthings.com/article/2012/01/mormonism-obsessed-with-christ - I can be reached at spx350a@gmail.com
I also suggest that people who have questions, and don't know a Mormon friend or neighbor they can ask, go to the link you mentioned: www.mormon.org, and do some reading/listening. You can even search on names, although most of the members probably have not entered profiles there. Here is an interesting one, of a man named Joe who grew up in CT: http://mormon.org/me/5B80/Joe/
What Christian would ever perceive anything but "all due respect" at being called a non-Christian?! (Wink.) Mormons ARE Christians. The official name of the Church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Those that claim that we AREN'T Christians, are defining Christianity with an extremely specific and narrow definition that most people do not use. This is apparently because we do not subscribe to the creeds (e.g. Nicene, Athanasian) of "orthodoxy" that most traditional Christian denominations do. (Creeds that even Christ and his Apostles didn't subscribe to. I'm guessing you wouldn't exclude them as well...) We consider ourselves Christians because we try to follow Christ. After all, Jesus Himself seemed to establish the true (and perhaps only) test of who his true followers are when he said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:35) Further, I'd point you toward Luke 9. When Christ's apostles encountered someone unknown to them that was also doing good works in His name, they tried to prevent that person from doing so. Christ responded masterfully: "Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us." (verse 50)
Even further, to provide two quotes, each more than a century old, and NOT included in our Scriptural canon, and then to assert that they are "their doctrine" is ignorant at best, and intentionally deceptive at worst. If something isn't in our scriptures (Holy Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, or Pearl of Great Price), it isn't doctrine. Period. Finally, "the Farmington Patch" is not a forum for theological debate. The issue at hand, which Clyde was commenting on, is the Temple in Farmington, not whether the LDS Church is Christian or not. I live in central Massachusetts in an area which will likely be included in the Hartford Temple district. As such, I'll likely be making a trip to the temple every month or two. I am eternally grateful to and proud of those in Farmington that are welcoming with open arms the development of the House of the Lord. It will definitely be a blessing to the whole area.
If what I quoted was not Canon, does that mean you don’t’ believe it? Whether it be canon or not, it is important to understand what you believe as a church. So let me put it to you in questions. Do Mormons believe that God was a regular man on another planet, who through works became God of this planet? Do you believe that Jesus was married and consummated the marriages to the sisters Mary and Martha, as well as Mary Magdalene? Do you believe that Lucifer and Jesus are brothers? Do you believe that when God chose Jesus as the Savior and Lucifer rebelled that… 1) Those who chose Satan became demons? 2) Those who chose Jesus became White people? 3) Those who did not choose either became people of color? Do you believe that if you perform good acts in this life your will be a God on your own planet? Is this or is this not what Mormons believe? The reason I say that you are not Christians is that you do not follow the Jesus of the Bible. We believe not only is he the Son of God, but part of God himself. God is not a former man but always was and always will be. There are no other Gods, period. You call me exclusionary, but this temple will not be open the public once consecrated. You see Eric, the truth by definition is exclusionary, either it’s true or it’s not. If you don’t believe in Jesus, as he existed, then you don’t believe in Jesus. You believe in someone else you call Jesus. Continued...
Christianity is the most inclusive religion. You don’t need to do works to earn heaven, there’s nothing any man can do to earn it. For “all have have sinned and come short of the Glory of God.” Rom 3:23 But the Gospel message is liberating and the most inclusive of any religion. As we merely need to call on the name of Jesus and we will be saved. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Romans 10:8-10
"What we believe as a Church" is in the Scriptures. Statements made by individuals, even Church leaders, do not necessarily reflect Church doctrine. Here is my answer to your series of "Do you believe...?" questions. Is it in the scriptures? If so, yes. If not, not necessarily. I can have personal opinions about questions like this, but until the Lord reveals these things to the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve, and they become part of the scriptures, (or until I ask him in the hereafter), it's pure speculation. Nothing more. I'm confident that I could respond to each of your questions in an honest and meaningful way, and I want to give you every benefit of the doubt, but it doesn't sound like your goal is understanding what we believe. (Not that we're trying to force you to. I was simply trying to respond to inaccuracies in your original post.) However, I don't think this is the right time or place for such a discussion. (For the record, my answers would be: No, No, Yes, No, No, No, and Not Exactly.)
I have to confess that it rubs me the wrong way when I read, "You believe in someone else you call Jesus" because (A), as I've tried to explain above, you don't KNOW what we believe, and I think it's wrong to presume that you do, and (B) we believe in Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, who lived a perfect life, suffered for our sins, died on the Cross, and rose on the third day. (Isn't this the Christ that you believe in?) Theologians have debated works vs. grace for centuries, perhaps even millenia, and I'm not sure either of us is going to concede our position here on the Farmington Patch. However, let me just say, and please believe me when I write that we absolutely recognize our inevitable eternal catastrophe without the Savior Jesus Christ. Although that's the way you word it, we don't believe in "earning" our way into heaven. We simply do our best to follow Christ, try to keep his commandments, and call upon God and his son Jesus Christ to help us bridge the gap.
Please remember that Christ said, "By their fruits ye shall know them." Now, you might think us evil, deceptive, horrible people, which I suppose is your right; but please consider the possibility that we're really just good everyday American folks like yourself, doing our best to follow what we believe. All my best! Hope to see you at the temple open house! :-)
I am not sure I disagree with Mr. Brimhall that this may not be the forum for a religious debate. At the very least, I fear we will cross over the line of respectful exchange of ideas. Please ensure your comments are polite. Thank you.
Other things appear counterintuitive but we know are true. This is the same with the faith in our various religions. For example, without faith etc., how could any sane person believe in the Holy Trinity, or that the Eucharist and water/wine is the actual flesh and blood of Christ. Yet, once a person believes in the unbroken line of succession from St Peter down to the current pope, the above questions become rather immaterial. Since he/she believes that the pope is God’s representative on earth, it follows that what he says is correct. Just who or what do we believe; it is quite a dilemma? Most of us can cite a Biblical passage or two to support our beliefs; this is where people become involved in “Bible Bashing”. The beginning point for belief in a religion has to be, by what authority does the teacher teach. For the Catholics it is the Pope. Mormons believe that God restored the Gospel to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and we believe that the “Keys of Authority” have been passed to our current Prophet. Therefore, the real question is did the Prophet Joseph Smith actually see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in a visiion, or did he not?
God has made a confirmation of the truth of the LDS (Mormon) church by the power of the Holy Spirit available to any humble, open-minded, earnest investigator. Sounds like a real “cop out” doesn’t it? But with all this confusion, and various interpretations of the Holy Bible, how else is a sincere seeker of truth to know what to believe? Because of a witness from the Holy Spirit numerous anti- Mormons eventually become Mormons and are zealous in the cause P.S. With due courtesy, I want to say that some of the things you asked are based on statements taken out of context, and others are incorrect information. I do not wish to start a debate (Bible Bashing) on particular subjects. If you wish to go deeper into this discussion, call our Missionaries at 800-793-6300.
http://www.ksl.com/?sid=20458250&nid=1016&title=lds-temples-open-house-underway-in-brazil-renderings-released-for-2-other-temples http://mormontemples.org/hartford http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/hartford/ will start showing ground breaking and in progress construction photographs submitted by anyone who take photo of the site.
Also, please forgive my lack of thorough editing as evidenced by several missing question marks, etc.
For the record I DO believe in Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, who lived a perfect life, suffered for our sins, died on the Cross, and rose on the third day. He is also God incarnate, part of the triune nature of God who IS eternally God without any beginning or end. As for grace vs works, I would argue that the scriptures point clearly to Grace and works being the fruit of that grace. So both go hand in hand but only grace being required for salvation. Also, I never said, implied or believe you or any Mormon are evil or deceptive or horrible people, just perhaps misguided. Clearly we have now officially hit the limits of the "Patch." I'll give you the last word if you'd like.