4 Comments

  1. Thanks. Great insights on your blog too. Much of the Christian world today believes that you cannot truly know God, as he is “unknowable” as defined by the creeds, and so they give up trying. God becomes an bodiless essence which fills the universe, without form, parts, or passions. But Christ said, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). How do we come to know Him? By following the commandments and ordinances of His gospel, especially those found in His house.

  2. Bryce, thanks for this post. I have lately been very interested in Christianity, specifically the restored Gospel, as a “mystery religion”, and the ordinances as related to the “mysteries of Godliness”. I’m curious about your last paragraph. Are you saying that the mysteries practiced by early Christians are the ones that are practiced in our temples these days? That the “mysteries…practiced by the early Christians…are none other than the ordinances and ceremonies revealed and restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith and are found today in their full and perfect form in the temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”? What resources do you have on that that would allow me to see this (I have Bickmore’s book)? I’m very interested!

  3. You’re welcome, Jason. Yes, I believe that the mysteries that were practiced by the early Christians are the same mysteries that we practice today in our temples. It is the same gospel of Jesus Christ today as it was then. Christ came to restore the fullness of the gospel in his own time, and then again through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Some particulars may differ, but the overarching themes are the same. One of the problems with trying to find explicit examples is that the mysteries were sacred, and not often written down, same as they are today. For this reason we only catch glimpses here and there of early Christian practices that are quite familiar. For example, baptism for the dead mentioned in 1 Cor. 15:29. The Mount of Transfiguration, where it is believed Peter, James, and John received their endowments. There is much evidence of garments, in writings and artifacts. The Book of Revelation is replete with temple imagery, reflecting early Christian practice. There are many more examples on this website, too many to note here; feel free to look around. The books noted in the store are also great resources on this subject. Some other clear examples are initiatory washings and anointings found in the catechetical lectures of Cyril of Jerusalem, which I wrote about here: http://www.templestudy.com/2008/04/23/cyril-of-jerusalem-on-washings-and-anointings/

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