In the LDS book Temple Worship Simplified by Terrance Drake it says,

“It would be an oversight to discuss effective ways to increase temple activity and not offer this word of warning: with every effort to build temples or to increase temple attendance, forces of evil will inevitably arise to destroy these efforts…

“The ‘bells of hell’ will ring to rally evil against any effort to establish a holy temple on the earth or to carry out the sacred ordinances performed therein.” (61)

When I read these words I immediately thought of a passage from the Old Testament. In 1 Samuel 5 the Philistines had captured the ark of God. They brought it into the “house of Dagon,” their god, and set the ark next to their idol.

“And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him… The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory.” (1 Sam 5:3-4, 6)

The Philistines might have understood this as “the bells of hell” ringing to rally evil against their god Dagon. In fact, though they recognized that the God of Israel was responsible for the afflictions that had come upon them and Dagon, they did not turn away from their false god but merely sent the LORD God of Israel away from their land (1 Sam 6:7-8). They did not heed the warning God so graciously gave them. The Philistines continued to make war against Israel and her God, and the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel the prophet (1 Sam 7:13).

While Mormons tend to think opposition to Mormonism and LDS temples is the work of Satan, couldn’t it be something quite different? Couldn’t it be the gracious hand of the LORD outstretched toward the Mormon people, calling them to put away their false gods, and to turn to Him and be saved (Isaiah 45:22)?

Would that the Mormon people would respond to the LORD as the Israelites did when Samuel called them to repentance:

“And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, ‘If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.’ So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the Lord only.” (1 Sam 7:3-4)