“And inasmuch as my people build a house unto me in the name of the Lord, and do not suffer any unclean thing to come into it, that it be not defiled, my glory shall rest upon it; Yea, and my presence shall be there, for I will come into it, and all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall see God. But if it be defiled I will not come into it, and my glory shall not be there; for I will not come into unholy temples.” (LDS D&C 97:15-17)
When the Lord’s people build a house unto him, the Lord requires that no unclean thing is to come into it. Therefore, it’s important to understand what is unclean and to see that it does not come into the Lord’s house. So, what is unclean?
During the Lord’s ministry he “cleanses” the temple. In other words, he sees something unclean in the house of the Lord and removes that which is unclean from the Lord’s house. Accounts of Jesus cleansing the temple are in each of the four gospel accounts (see KJV: Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:15-19, Luke 19:45-48, and John 2:13-16).
The practice being targeted in each account involves money transactions being associated with the temple and the performance of temple ceremonies. It appears that serving in the house of the Lord is being monetized. For whatever reason, those in charge of the temple allowed it to be so. How did the money get spent? Was it for a good cause? Is the money being used wisely? We don’t know and apparently it didn’t matter. It was wrong. Jesus views this practice as something which defiles a place which is supposed to be holy. Jesus knew it was wrong and did something about it.
This practice does not appear to be a one-time irregularity. Instead, it appears to be a generally accepted and regular occurance. It’s clear that those in charge of the temple really do not see anything wrong with it and are allowing it to happen. It’s possible that they see it as something that is being used to accomplish a lot of good. Are there other practices going on with the temple that are not aligned with what should be going on in the temple? Can the temple be used to advance unholy practices? We only know about this practice because Jesus does something about it. Otherwise it would likely have been accepted and gone on as being part of temple work as usual. Are there other things that a temple can be used to sanction, which may be unclean?
A problem with an unclean practice being associated with the temple, especially those allowed to persist is that the temple becomes a big marketing place for the practice, whatever it is. There can hardly be a bigger endorsement within the community for the practice than those things successfully associated with the temple. This can be a practice of looking down on certain people, or endorsing some people. It can be used both benefit and harm people in unholy ways. When any unholy practice is associated with the temple, it accelerates the acceptance and success of the unholy practice.
It is notable that the cleansing of the temple is not a matter of Jesus locating some rogue individuals who are particularly sinful and casting them out or removing uncomely beggars from being along the temple path. Though there are plenty of opportunities to do that kind of thing, especially since the Pharisees and scribes are there all the time and Jesus certainly knows about the spiritual uncleanliness they bring with them. Yet he takes no opportunity to target and cast these souls out of the temple. Instead, he targets a practice allowed in association with the temple.
Jesus takes issue with a routine practice which uses the temple to make money. Using the temple for money, defiles the temple, making it a “den of thieves”. It didn’t even matter what the money was being used for, or how noble a cause they may have claimed to justify the practice. The “thieves” involved more than just those particular individuals involved in the practice on the days when Jesus takes action against it. It was all those engaged in this “temple for money” scheme.
The Lord also gave a similar warning about keeping the temple holy when he speaking of the Kirtland temple, “And again, verily I say unto you, let all my servants in the land of Kirtland remember the Lord their God, and my house also, to preserve it holy, and to overthrow the money changers in my own due time, saith the Lord,” (D&C 117:16).
It is also noteworthy that this verse refers to “any unclean thing” (emphasis added). Generally, a person, even a sinner, is not referred to as a “thing”. It is what they are doing that makes it unholy that may be a “thing”. Usually a thing is referring to something more like an idea, teaching or practice. The “money changers” are those engaged in the unholy idea, teaching or practice.
What is it that makes the house of the Lord unclean? Is it an individual who may occasionally enter from time to time but leave very little mark there? Is it a practice that is regularly performed and condoned in association with the temple, day in and day out? If the temple is used to advance a false idea or practice, does this defile the temple? Who can bring an unholy thing (idea, teaching or practice) into a temple? If a practice is routinely performed in the temple that is wrong and it is allowed or even encouraged, could this be suffering an unclean thing to enter into it? What price is paid for suffering such an unclean thing to enter into it?