Mormon Temples: Is Jesus Christ a Narcissist?

When I was a child, I remember standing outside the temple — struck by awe at its beauty and luxury, but also unsettled by the words engraved on its side: “The House of the Lord.” How could the Jesus I’d been taught to love — poor, homeless, the son of a carpenter — require such a building as his home?

In this video, I wrestle with that question.

I explore the idea of conspicuous consumption — a phrase coined by Thorstein Veblen in 1899 to describe when rulers and elites waste resources, not to meet needs, but to display power and status. Palaces, harems, imported luxuries, costly temples: history shows that when societies pour their wealth into spectacle, collapse is never far behind.

The Book of Mormon itself carries this same warning. From King Noah’s extravagance to Jacob’s rebuke of costly apparel, to the fall of the Nephites and Jaredites, the pattern repeats: conspicuous consumption, pride, and inequality bring destruction.

And then there’s the deeper question: Who is Christ, really?
Is he the narcissist-god enthroned in marble palaces, demanding endless displays of wealth? Or is he the humble healer of 3 Nephi — blessing children, healing the sick, and asking only for a broken heart and a contrite spirit?

This is the struggle at the center of my faith today.

If you’ve ever wondered why churches pour hundreds of millions into temples, or asked what kind of “house” Jesus would truly desire, this is for you.

Here are some links to free online sources of the 1830 Book of Mormon I use in my study:

https://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/...

https://archive.org/details/book-of-m...

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