A visit to the Cathedral...

A very nice architectural photo, shot properly to bring the verticals close to true. This is the west facade of Washington National Cathedral, aka The Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. The towers are named, left and right, The St. Peter Tower and The St. Paul Tower.

Almost a year ago(procrastination at it's finest...), my roommates and I went on a tour of the National Cathedral!  It was absolutely fantastic!~

It was done by one of the Cathedral Docents, Andy Bittner, who knows the Cathedral and how it all fits together(He lives in the boundaries of one of my previous wards that I served in.)

The north inner aisle of Washington National Cathedral's nave, looking east toward St. Mary's Chapel.

The Seal of District of Columbia... Washington D.C.

There is peaceful, solemn feeling felt throughout the building (except for the occasional tour that passes through). During our tour we crossed paths with people who were praying, meditating, or perhaps just looking at this wonderful building and learning its history.

There were beautiful windows of stained glass throughout the Cathedral, with works of art worthy of the masters of their trade.

The heroic-sized statue of Lincoln is by "Monument Man" Walker Hancock. Lincoln is depicted in a travelling shawl, standing on the back platform of a train, addressing the people of his adopted hometown, Springfield, Illinois, as he departs for his first inauguration. He never returned alive. The speech, carved into the wall, speaks for itself, and may be one of the saddest public addresses I've ever read. I think Lincoln may have had a greater facility for packing more meaning into fewer words than almost any other in the history of written English.

The Cathedral is a place of reflection.  I could see that, I could feel it.

Throughout the halls were many places to stop and think about God's glory(if you so chose) or to pray to Him.

It is full of history, with monuments to our country's Fathers laced throughout the arches.

The very existence of these memorials help us to remember where we came from, as a country and as people.  We know that these things can help us remember so that we can avoid repeating the past.

Andy told us about the stories built into the Cathedral itself, which he called the 'Kajillion-piece jigsaw puzzle', a witness to him that God has a hand in this building.

Each small thing, whether big or small, has a place in the Cathedral, and Andy himself said that he has yet to find all the pieces.

The architectural term for the Cathedral's front hall, between the two towers, is narthex. The narthex floor at Washington National Cathedral is inset with 52 marble seals; 50 state seals from the 50 states, the Seal of Washington D.C., and a larger U.S. Seal. Indiana is the source of Washington National Cathedral's primary building stone. In fact, Washington National Cathedral is the largest chunk of Indiana one could ever walk through that is not in the State of Indiana.

It was beautiful to see.  I know that I could spend hours in Cathedral just walking around, thinking about different things, using it as inspiration for writing.

There is a power there.  I could feel it.  It is something tangible and a cause for reflection.

A quiet reverence was observed throughout the building.

Scientists and Technicians, aka "The Space Window", commemorates those in the field of science and technology. Designed and fabricated in the late 1960s and early '70s, by artist Rodney Winfield, the window asks, "Is Not God In The Height Of Heaven?". The window was installed in 1974 and dedicated on the fifth anniversary of Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon. The imagery shows a deep blue and green orb in the lower right-hand corner, which represents the earth. From that circle a white line of trajectory loops out, up and around the large, red circle in the center top. In the center of that circle is a white ring, and in the center of that ring, a dark spot. That dark spot is a piece of moon rock, brought back from the moon by the Apollo 11 crew.

The netting stretched beneath Washington National Cathedral's ten-story high ceiling, is a post-August, 2011-earthquake safety device. The colored light projecting through Rowan LeCompte's three-story high, clerestory windows, landing on the net, is something of a silver lining. Someone named that effect, "The Cathedral Borealis"

The main window in the Lincoln Bay, dedicated, of course, to President Abraham Lincoln, is called "The Agony of Civil War", and is by the artist Robert Pinart. Although Mr. Pinart has provided a much more complex intent, I simply interpret the window as... What is not flame colored is either blue or gray. Partially visible in the bottom of the frame is a carving addressing a key point in Lincoln's second inaugural address, that the war be ended, "with malice toward none". The carving is of two hands passing an olive branch.

The sun pouring through the Lineage of Jesus window, by artist Rowan LeCompte.

A distant view of the Mormon Temple in Silver Spring, Maryland, from the Pilgrim Observation Gallery at Washington National Cathedral. Distance... a little over 5.5 miles.

When Andy pointed out the Washington D.C. Temple, I started comparing the National Cathedral to the Temple...

To begin my comparison, I looked up the definitions,

Cathedral:

• The principal church of a diocese, with which the bishop is officially associated.

While the LDS definition of a temple is:

• Temples are literally houses of the Lord. They are holy places of worship where individuals make sacred covenants with God. (Full article here)

Next, the purpose of the two buildings are almost completely different.  

As it states on the National Cathedrals about page, they see the Cathedral as being, "...A catalyst for spiritual harmony in our nation, renewal in the churches, reconciliation among faiths, and compassion in our world."

On the other hand, Temples are places where we make sacred promises with the Lord and perform vicarious work for our ancestors because "...millions of people have died without having any opportunity to hear the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ or receive saving ordinances."(Full Article)

Ability to enter:
Those who enter the temple must be worthy, which means that they keep the commandments and are prepared to make and keep sacred temple covenants. In two interviews—one with a member of a bishopric or a branch president and another with a member of a stake presidency or a mission president—Church members certify their worthiness to enter the temple. In these interviews, the priesthood leader asks about the individual's personal conduct and worthiness. Those who are worthy receive a temple recommend, which allows them to enter the temple.

Dress Code:

When individuals go to the temple, they should wear their best clothing, as they do when they attend church. When they are inside the temple, they exchange their clothing for the white clothing of the temple.

Washington National Cathedral from the north, with the formerly-over-three-hundred-foot "Gloria In Excelsis" bell tower, crowned in scaffolding that is currently only stabilizing earthquake damage. Very little actual repair has taken place on the tower. In the cross-shaped floor plan, the portion of the building jutting toward the viewer, with the large, round window, is the northern arm of the cross.

Several notable non-members have commented in regards to their experience in the ensign article,

The beauty of the temple impressed the visitors, including many prominent Filipinos. Writer Celso Carunungan commented on “a feeling of holiness, that when you get inside you are going to confront your Creator.” Colonel Bienvenido Castillo, chief chaplain of the Philippine Constabulary, said the temple is “a place where you can contemplate heavenly things because you are in such an environment.” Two nuns felt the temple “is truly a house of the Lord.” Eva Estrada-Kalaw, a member of the Philippine parliament, told guides, “I wish you would build more temples here." (Article)

The Cathedral is massive, even overpowering, giving an insignificant feeling. You feel the 'power' of God. It is a holy place.

The Temple... everything is close, warm, and nearby. It feels like home.

In the temple, it feels like Heavenly Father could be right around the corner, sitting in one of the chairs.

You don't necessarily feel power, but you can feel His presence.

You do not wonder if it is a holy place or not. You can feel it.

I've come to find that it's in interesting how different religions portray God. That's one thing I've learned to appreciate during my mission.

Distant, Omniscient being.

Loving, Caring Father.

How we see him even shows in the very architecture in which we build.
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Here are some pictures of the inside of the temple!~

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Here are some videos expressing what temples are about!~

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Elder Harston walking onto the driveway for the Cathedral's underground parking garage. From this vantage point, one can clearly see the flying buttresses that are holding up the ceiling of the north transept, from the outside. The security vehicle in the background makes me want to mention that the Cathedral has it's own security division. Some of us like to call them, "The God Squad".

Check out Andy's Blog!~

Picture of Kiev, Ukraine Temple taken from 'here'
Picture of Laie, Hawaii Temple taken from 'here'
Picture of Gila, Arizona Temple taken from 'here'