What does 'Household of Faith" mean when Consecrating Oil or Giving a Priesthood Blessing?

 

   WHAT is “The Household of Faith?”

Mentioned in Doctrine and Covenants 121:45 and Galatians 6:10, a wide view of the term is it is all members of “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (according to churchofjesuschrist.org).

And, to other Christian faiths, it is usually God’s “spiritual children.”

Priesthood blessings in the LDS Church decades ago, used to almost always state this phrase, when consecrating oil or giving a blessing of healing:

“ … anointing and blessing the sick and afflicted, in the household of faith.”

Today, according to the Church’s website, “in the household of faith” is not listed on its guidance for priesthood blessings.

A friend of mine believes that is for the sake of brevity in today’s world – and he may be right.

But what does “in the household of faith” mean in this context, of consecrating oil, and giving blessings?

There have been several LDS General Conference talks given over the decades that included “Household of Faith” in their titles and yet nowhere in those discourses was a definition of the term specifically outlined.

Searching deep a few pages of results on Google, one Christian faith stated that it was a reminder to Christians to not forsake their fellow Christians – meaning those outside their own family.

When my Google search hit the 9^th page of results, this came up: a November 2006 talk by Elder Craig A. Cardon of the Seventy, titled, “Moving Closer to Him.”

 In that discourse, Elder Cardon quoted Doctrine and Covenants 121:45:

“Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.”

Then, Elder Cardon stated: “It is significant that after inviting us to have charity toward “all men,” the Lord added the phrase “and to the household of faith.” Why? Doesn’t “all men” include the household of faith? Consider the implications when this added phrase is understood to mean more specifically “your very own household of faith.” Unfortunately, there are a few within the Church who exhibit greater charity toward nonfamily members than toward their own spouses and children, siblings and parents. They may show feigned kindness publicly while privately sowing and cultivating seeds of contention, demeaning those who should be closest to them. These things should not be.”

So, perhaps this is the meaning of “Household of Faith” in blessings and consecrating oil – it is a caution to NOT neglect your own immediate family in a quest to serve and bless others (and the opposite view of another Christian Church’s belief on its meaning).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How the Gospel Returned to Supai, Arizona After a 19-year Absence

 

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                A red rock skyline surrounds Supia, Arizona                     Photo by Ravell Call

 

  SUPAI, Arizona is perhaps the most isolated village in the lower 48 states. One either hikes, rides on horseback, or helicopters into this village, that lacks paved roads or automobiles – and it is an 8-mile haul into the Grand Canyon.

  Lynn Arave, this blog Author, led a group of nine people (including three of his children) into Supai on a trip back on April 6-7, 2004.

  From his first look at the village of about 500 people, the Author was fascinated with the remote town. Even after he had seen the roaring waterfalls, located about two miles extra from Supai, the resident Native Americans were his biggest fascination.

  The Author spent 15 minutes talking to the minister of the Bible Church, the lone church in town.

                                                          The Bible Church in Supai.          Ravall Call photo.

  The Author eventually co-wrote a long travel/outdoor story about the group’s trip to Supai and it was published in the Deseret News on May 9, 2004, under the headline: “Havasupai Canyon and the Village of Supai.”

  (Ray Boren, co-wrote the story and another Deseret News colleague, photographer Ravell Call, took pictures of the trip.)

 About two weeks after the publication of the story in the Deseret News, Arave got a telephone call from the Kingman, Arizona Stake President, Scott H. Charon. He said that the LDS Church had basically abandoned dozens of Church members in Supai, shortly after President Spencer W. Kimball died, on November 5, 1985.

  (In fact, many Native American programs in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dried up and quit altogether soon after President Kimball's passing, as one of his accents had been such programs.) 

  Surprisingly, President Charon said that it was the story in the Deseret News that had reminded area Church leaders about Supai – and the lack of an LDS presence there for more than 19 years.

  He said that the Church had now rented a building in Supai and were now holding Sunday services there. Also, it was a coveted High Council assignment to be the member each month who gets to hike the eight miles (and 2,135-foot elevation drop) down to speak at the church service.

 

       Part of the hiking group to Supai on April 6-7, 2004.                Photo by Ravell Call.

   During the next three years, the Church was able to secure a building and add a white steeple to its top. (That small church chapel is one of the first structures travelers see today as they enter Supai.)

  The First Counselor in the Bishopric of the Peach Springs Branch, Doug Angle, also became very interested in the Church members living in Supai. From 2004-2007, he identified about 60 church members there; organized numerous service projects; and was instrumental in the branch organization there. By 2007, Supai had its first full-time missionary couple in town, and they lived in the rear of the meetinghouse.

  While it is sad that the Church abandoned members for almost 20 years in Supai, it was equally strange that the Deseret News story was the spark that put the church back in town.

  AND, that is not the end of the story, at least for the Author of this blog, as he received a "reward," of sorts:

Greg Witt, a Salt Lake author and hiking enthusiast, also became intently interested in Supai after reading the Deseret News story. He not only went there often, but wrote several hiking guides for the area and even assisted in service projects for the village (as it suffered periodic flooding damage).

In 2011, Wilderness Press was looking to expand its extensive “Walking” city book series to Salt Lake City. They contacted Witt about doing a “Walking Salt Lake City” book, but he said he thought Lynn Arave and Ray Boren were better suited for that endeavor.

In 2012, that book was published and it launched the book writing career for Arave and Boren. The pair would co-write two more books together and Arave would separately write another 7 books, as of 2026, with a contract for two additional books in the future (12 books total).

  Today, Supai and its waterfalls are an extremely popular outdoor mecca and reservations to visit have to be made in advance and sell out quickly.

 

            Havasupai Falls and Lynn Arave's hiking group, in 2004.  Photo by Ravell Call.

 

 

 

Jesus Christ is physically NOT in the Spirit World

                 Jesus Christ will appear in all-red attire when he returns for his "Second Coming."

    

  THE Spirit World seems to a confusing doctrine for many Latter-day Saints.

 Latest example: A High Council member speaks in my ward and he is not 30 seconds into his talk when he states that Jesus Christ will look very familiar to us when we see him in the Spirit World.

What?

  Although there's little doubt Christ's spirit and influence can be felt in the Spirit World, he is NOT there physically.

Why?

  After all, the Spirit World is a realm created just for spirits. Jesus Christ himself spent just three days there after his death, but could only be there because he was in spirit form there, before his resurrection.

   Spirit World residents still have to live by faith there, as we do on Earth. Prayer is also likely our communication tool in the Spirit World, as it is here.

  It just seems strange that members can't seem to grasp this doctrine.

  Other church members hold to the inaccurate "he was called home" idea too, regarding the Spirit World. How can it be "home," when one has never been there before and it is certainly not a permanent place of residence in the afterlife. Other than deceased friends and family are in the Spirit World, the "called home" idea is not correct either.

 

Wards used to have more young people, than they do now?

 

CHECK out this vintage, 1965 photograph ....I

It is a picture of the entire young men of the Aaronic priesthood (and some leaders), of the Hooper, Utah First Ward, taken in front of the chapel to commemorate a span of perfect attendance.

That alone is a worthy accomplishment.

However, what stands out a lot in the year 2025 is just how large this group of young men, age 12-18, is back then. Here are 40 young men in a single ward.

Were wards larger in total members back then? Perhaps.

But families were also larger back then too.

Contrast that 40 young men, with the 14 young men who are in my current ward, in 2025, with only about half of them active. (My ward is an "older" congregation, but still...)

The LDS Church’s Evolution to Smaller Temples

                                                    The Star Valley, Wyoming Temple.

   ACCORDING to Fred Baker, former head of Church Physical Facilities, it was President Spencer W. Kimball who first started the idea of the Church having small temples, not President Gordon B. Hinckley. Yes, President Hinckley may have announced publicly the smaller temples, but it all started with President Kimball. President Kimball and Emil Fetzer (Church Architect, 1964-1984) had designs made for as many as 20 small temples, of all different sizes. (And, Brother Baker said Brother Fetzer had also made a plan for stake centers to have an annex added on for a limited temple, as another possible small temple possibility, though that plan was apparently never utilized…) 

  Brother Baker also recalled this: “President Kimball said in my presence one day, ‘We’re totally spoiled about temples. You think you can take your suitcase, go down to the Salt Lake Temple at anytime, and do whatever. That’s not going to happen forever. One day the temples will operate twenty-four hours a day, and you will have to call and say, ‘I would like to come on Thursday.’ And they’ll say, ‘Let’s see. We have an opening at 4:00.’ ‘I’ll take it.’ ‘Okay. You’re in seat fifty-two in room six. Be there.’” That was his conception of what is going to come when we finally get to that point.’”

   (It is worth noting that President Brigham Young never allowed the sealings for deceased people in the Endowment House – he believed that ordinance should only be done in full-sized temples.) Yes, Brother Baker said there was never any concern like that in more modern times. 

  Brother Baker also stressed that it was always decided by the First Presidency ultimately on every temple design and action – and Church Building employees had to be careful not to reveal future temple plans, BEFORE a First Presidency announcement was made. 

  Brother Baker recalled this: “Now that put us in an interesting situation, because the Presidency would give us instructions, ‘We want to build a temple here, but it’s confidential until we make a public announcement.’ We were told, ‘Not even the General Authorities can know.’ So if a Seventy or a member of the Twelve called up and said, ‘Do you have anything planned for Arizona?’ We’d say, ‘Not to our knowledge,’ because we were told it was confidential. But the decisions of when, where, size, and public announcement came from the First Presidency’s office directly to us.”

  -Fred Baker, of Ogden, was the director of Church Physical Facilities from 1965-1991. He passed away in 2015 at age 89. He was the author’s stake president at one time, as well as a family friend. 

   -The above photograph is of the Star Valley, Wyoming Temple, from Wikipedia Commons. 

 NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

Why do Modern Latter-Day Saint Temples Lack Outside Symbols?

                                           The Ogden, Utah Temple.

  THE Salt Lake Temple is loaded with religious symbols on its exterior. Some other early LDS Temples also have some outside symbolism, but modern temples lack that feature (Angel Moroni statues excluded). The question is why?

 -Here’s one possible answer: Fred Baker, for the former head of Church Physical Facilities in the late 20th Century said this about constructing the original Ogden and Provo temples:

   “No, we didn’t have any symbolism in mind. In fact, that’s a really interesting question, because after several other temples were opened, someone stopped by my office one day and said, ‘You people have totally missed the boat on temple design, because you don’t have symbols on the exteriors of the temple. Every temple should have those symbols.’ And they gave me a copy of a DVD that takes you through the symbols and everything. “The truth is that we were so focused on what happened inside the temple, it never entered our mind if there was supposed to be a star or a big dipper or something on the outside. What happened on the inside was so magnificent, it overcame everything. But we may have been completely wrong, and people who love the symbols may be right. I don’t know. I’m not enough of a buff of those kinds of things that I would care one way or the other. It doesn’t matter. But what’s going on inside . . . That’s important. I guess Emil (Fetzer, Church Architect) and I forgot the outside. So we’re guilty.” 

   Is the answer that simple? 

  The Church left symbols off the outside of temples, saving funds, for the inside of temples (and for more total temples), because that’s where the real important work happens – inside a 

   The Salt Lake is perhaps an exception, as the flagship temples, with enough exterior symbolism to fill a book.

  -Fred Baker, of Ogden, was the director of Church Physical Facilities from 1965-1991. He passed away in 2015 at age 89. He was the author’s stake president at one time, as well as a family friend. 

 NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

Tokyo Temple: The Church’s First “Quake Proof” Temple?

                                                     The Tokyo Japan Temple.

  THE Temple in Tokyo Japan opened in 1980. It was perhaps the Church’s first “earthquake proof” temple, with reinforced concrete. It was considered a special temple, built stronger than usual.

  (That layman’s architectural term was later renamed to “earthquake resistant.”) 

  Fred Baker, former head the physical facilities in the Church during the late 20th Century said the Tokyo Temple was designed to withstand a Richter 7 quake and a Force 5 typhoon. He said some steel had to be taken out of the temple’s exterior, to allow for more concrete. 

  He also said this: “Do you understand what earthquake proof means in terms of construction?” People would say, “Well, it means that the building would just stay there.” And I’d say, “Well, not quite. It means that the building wouldn’t fall in on the people working in it. But outside it would be really deadly especially on the street where the cars were driving.” And depending on the strength of the earthquake, the building would likely be a total loss. But it wouldn’t fall in on the people inside.” 

  Almost 25 years after opening, the Temple was tested with a significant quake, on July 23, 2005, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck Tokyo. The shaking caused the trumpet in the hand of Moroni to be knocked to the ground. 

  However, the temple itself had no major damage And, in September of 2017, the Tokyo Japan Temple closed for renovation for almost five years – and it received both seismic and mechanical upgrades.     Furthermore, the Salt Lake Temple reopens in 2027 with an even greater emphasis on being earthquake resistant, with its special shock absorbers and shifting ability.

  -Fred Baker, of Ogden, was the director of Church Physical Facilities from 1965-1991. He passed away in 2015 at age 89. He was the author’s stake president at one time, as well as a family friend.

  -The Tokyo Temple photograph is from Wikipedia Commons. 

 NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.