My First Temple Research Paper

Ever since I was six years old, the year I was baptized, I have been on fire for the Lord. I attended a Christian school for eight years and have always been very involved at my church. My first experience outside of my “Christian bubble” was when I went to a public high school. For the first time in my life, I was out of my comfort zone. Being at a public school challenged my faith, strengthened my leadership skills, and forced me to branch out and meet people I would have never encountered otherwise. However, even though being at a public school helped strengthen my faith in ways I would have never guessed, I believe attending a Christian university—like Liberty—is the best choice to further my education. Going to college is new and exciting, but it can also be a demanding and intimidating experience. Being so far away from home, in a different environment,

While I waited this elderly man came and put up a sign on the doorknob that read Al-Anon. At that moment, I found myself surprised that they publically pointed out what type of group was held in that timeframe. Finally, I went in to the auditorium which was this big space and right in the middle of this space was a circle. Within the circle there were cardboards that read different quotes or saying used a lot in the program and a small basket. As I got closer to where the people were standing it felt strange because nobody acknowledged my presence. I was looking kind of lost when I was received by the facilitator who was a friendly woman who called upon the group so that she could introduce me and gave me the opportunity to explain that I was a MSW student from Simmons College and my purpose of being with them that night. The facilitator explained to them that I was aware of the importance of confidentiality and that I was not allowed to take pictures or takes notes. She then led me to a seat in the circle and gave me a book so that I could participate in the reading of the 12 steps and traditions with the rest of the group.

It was my first time visiting this church, I was nervous yet anxious. The pews had beautiful burgundy cushions and plenty of space. I was just thinking in my head, ‘I hope this church is great and not boring’. Ramah Grove Missionary Baptist Church was my grandparents’ church so I was being introduced to everyone. It seems as if as soon as we sat down the choir started singing behind the pulpit. They sung a few songs that didn’t genuinely interest me so I started to daydream about starting a new school the next day and then I heard something that caught my attention.

Everyday we walked to different churches. These walks were long and unique. Every time the children saw us they would come running towards us and grab our hands. As soon as we arrived at the church we would set up the puppet theater and tables with provisions. We first welcomed the people through songs and a puppet show and then we had them stand in line to receive donations. The puppet show filled the air with laughter and our tables with provisions filled empty stomachs. Days before it was time to leave my pastor asked to speak to me. She gave the opportunity to preach to the people of the church we were rebuilding. I could not believe it! For the next couple of days I spent the night thinking and writing about everything I wanted to share with the people. Sunday arrived and I stood in front of the church and shared how blessed I felt to be there and meet them.

There was nothing to do. I saw her and that was that. I met her and then she was gone. She walked out of my life like a gust of wind that passes by, unnoticed. I loved her, at least I thought I loved her. I couldn’t stop thinking about her curly dark hair, the way she talked, and the way she moved when she walked swinging her arms so freely. Who will tell her how my heart feels? She told me things that I didn’t want to hear. She said that she didn’t belong to no one. A drug dealer had been her boyfriend since she was eighteen. He had given her everything, everything I couldn’t give her. “Then, he was shot, murdered, dead. The cons had taken over the plaza where he distributed drugs.” she said. “The remains of his body were found inside a black construction plastic-bag. When powerful drug cartels take over, everyone else dies. Not just a normal death, a cruel death. They make sure no one else dares to mess with their territory. That’s how it is. That’s fricking Mexico.” She blew a cloud of smoke and looked at me with those black-miserable eyes.

A hot and blistering day, no clouds insight as the sun beams my face. So excruciating, my face smells like burnt trash. As I am waiting for the bus to pass by, there are several children playing on the swings across the street. The bus arrives and off I go heading to a town known for "Hope". As I arrive to the town of Plateros. I marched like wild fire to the temple. The journey, not an easy journey because I had to push and shove people out of the way just to get to the temple. It seems if I was back in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Finally, as I stand at the front gates which happens to be massive? So massive they appeared to be touching the sky. I strolled through the gate and notice all the stairs just to get to the top. I remember the time of the Aztec 's pyramids where they would do human sacrifices for their Gods. As I make my way up the stairs like a captive. Once at the top of the stairs I stood this beautiful temple and what caught my eye was the outer structure.

The first cultural event I experienced was going to the non-denominational church with my girlfriend and her family. My expectations were to be going to a church that was more of a cathedral look. I expected to see religious statues and carvings within the church. To my surprise, it was completely opposite. We drove up to the campus and it was huge like a basketball stadium. When we entered the church it was huge with a very modern look. It looked nothing like a church. Then we entered the auditorium where there were floor seats and balcony seats that which looked like you would sit in at a sports event. This was the day I met my girlfriend’s family so not only was I nervous attending a church service in a place so big and different from what I expected I was meeting her family. I met the family everyone was really kind and welcoming. The church service began and it was like a concert. They had drums, guitars, keyboards, and singers. The dynamic was not similar to what I have experienced in the services I had attended back home. It was loud, fun, and people were so comfortable being there. The pastor spoke

When my two older boys were five and seven, I signed them up for a karate class. We liked the instructor, Vicki because she was encouraging, disciplined, and made the class. However, I didn’t feel like I had much in common with her. One day we talked for a moment in the parking lot and she asked if I was Mormon, the question surprised me since she didn’t seem Mormon and we had never discussed religion. When I said, ‘yes,” she replied that she could tell. Then she told me that she used to be Mormon and that two of her three kids were active in the church. She started talking about missions, priesthood, and the primary organization which gave us an instant connection. Immediately we had things in common to talk about and from that time since we have been good friends. My boys thrived under her training.

Voluntarily entering a sacred space of another religion at first was imitating. I did not know what to except or how I would be perceived as an outsider. However, the community welcomed me and were supportive of me attempting to participate as I remained quiet, just as everyone else, which made me feel extremely comfortable. As I sat in the back I was captivated by just how attentive people were. There was not one second were I felt bored by the ritual it was like an entire new world. I had never been to a Mosque before only other Christian churches, some of which have a tendency to shun newcomers rather than embrace them. The aspect that made this a unique experience for me was the emotion in the service that many Catholic and Christian rituals lack. If the congregation was taken to the UCC I think that they would lose interest quickly because of the way Mass can be extremely monotonous. Being able to observe a ritual that embraces so much more emotion and fluidity helped me understand the sacredness of religious rituals that are not my

Temple Grandin is a biopic. It is a story about a woman named Temple Grandin, who is an autistic and she overcomes the conflict of her disorder. She rejects her mother and gets annoy by hearing word “mom”. Temple earns her bachelors in animal husbandry. Temple does not like to be hugged by anyone and she is unable to make an eye contact with anyone even if she is talking with someone.

Meeting with my small group was frustrating at first, simply because I thought that my group didn't show up. I sat at Heritage confused and slightly frustrated that my group had forgot to meet. But after waiting about twenty minutes, I checked my calendar and instantly realized that I was the one who went to the wrong place. My group was patiently waiting for me when I walked up to meet them at Common Grounds. At first the conversation was slow, because we all avoided asking the provided questions. Soon the small talk ended and we started asking each other the provided questions in a circle. Although I was not nervous to share, I was uneasy to discuss certain topics. I was unsure about how much I should reveal about my life, simply because I do not trust my group yet. They have done nothing to make me distrust them, I just barely met them. The deeper questions were more difficult, such as sharing my testimony with

The Watergate Scandal, McCarthyism, Oil Embargo, and the Vietnam War caused so much social upheaval in 70’s America, many looked for answers to these problems and shied away from answers from their government, instead finding help with one another in their communities. Religion was one direction Americans took for finding the answers they were looking for, and Rev. Jim Jones of the People’s Temple took advantage of this and changed the lives of many. People saw him as the answer to all their problems, and maybe even the world’s problems, a beacon of hope you may say. The People’s Temple was seen as a religious group or symbol, but it was nothing else but a group hiding its traits as a cult.

Therefore, before I arrived that Sunday I did attempt to mentally prepare myself for what was ahead. Though I knew what the meeting entailed it was still quite challenging to focus my thoughts for an hour without former practice. Though I tried to think about specific topics and succeeded in my concentration a handful of times my mind frequently wandered. I found myself opening my eyes to see who was moving or walking in the door, and gazing around the room contemplating its set up. When my eyes were closed, which was most of the time, my mind would turn its focus to the weight of my head on my neck and how extremely heavy and awkward it felt. The experience was very eye opening and extremely personal. Seeing where my mind went in an hour of silence showed me what my thoughts are drawn to and how long I can sit still with no real active stimulation before I get restless. I don’t feel that my experience was all that spiritual though. At times during the hour I did pray and focus on the energy and presence of God, but it wasn’t extremely moving. I feel that for my first time, my body and mind were just trying to understand and adjust to the process. I realized how focused and trained your mind must have to be to stay engrossed in the meeting with no visual or auditory reminders of your purpose there. I believe that if I revisit the meeting I

While attending the worship service at Temple Beth synagogue seen many different things but very interesting. It took me a while to get use to everything because I was in a whole different environment. The structure of the church , the Jews wardrobe, and the language was all different from my church tradition. The things I seen and heard are way different. In the service everything was written and said in Hebrew, which I had a hard time understanding. The program that had been given to us had no English so I couldn't really understand. It contained scriptures on long parchment rolls.

: The structures that make up the Temple of Heaven are meant to signify the relationship between heaven and earth, more importantly the connection between the emperors and God. The through in It was believed that offerings made by the emperor to the Gods, would bring a flourishing harvests, as he was believed to be the closest being to god. The structure itself was built so majestically to represent it descending into heaven. The main ceremonies that were held within the hall were all on the basis of worshipping heaven and so it was believed by doing so, it would be seen as favorable to the gods, enough to be blessed with an abundance supply of harvests such as grain. The ceremonial interior of the hall was built in such a way as to emphasize