Moses Seeing Jehovah, by Joseph Brickey

(Continued from Part 1)

In the last part of this post we explored what it means to see the face of God in the temple.  Seeing the face of God is promised to us in the scriptures, and as we showed, it was one of the foremost purposes of the prophet Joseph Smith in building up temples.  Such a witness was key to what was called the endowment.  As Joseph described the endowment,

All who are prepared, and are sufficiently pure to abide the presence of the Savior, will see him in the solemn assembly.

In the first part we discussed one interpretation of seeing the Lord – in a physical sense.  Many early members of the Church literally saw the Lord, Jesus Christ, and even God the Father, within the walls of the temple on several occasions, and have seen Him since in the temples of the Lord.

What else might “seeing God” mean? 

Spiritually

Another related sense that one might see the face of God in the temple is in a spiritual sense, in a vision or dream, in the mind’s eye, and through revelation. Surely, even those experiences which have been described as physical were also supremely spiritual in nature.  A person does not just see God with his corporeal eyes; he sees Him with his whole soul, body and spirit.

This is the reason we talk of transfiguration.  The Encyclopedia of Mormonism defines transfiguration:

Transfiguration for mortals consists of a temporary physical and spiritual change, allowing them not only to behold the glory of God but to enter his presence. It is characterized by illumination of countenance such as Moses experienced (Moses 1:11; Ex. 34:29-35) and comes about by an infusion of God’s power (MD, p. 725). Because God is a being of transcendent glory, it is impossible for men and women to enter his presence without their physical bodies being spiritually “quickened.” The Prophet Joseph Smith explained that God “dwells in eternal fire; flesh and blood cannot go there, for all corruption is devoured by the fire. “Our God is a consuming fire”‘ (TPJS, p. 367; cf. Heb. 12:29; Deut. 4:24). Transfiguration bestows on individuals a temporary condition compatible to that of deity and allows them to see God face-to-face.

To see God, an individual receives a portion of God’s glory, or is “quickened” by the Spirit (D&C 67:11).  As Elder McConkie described it, “Transfiguration is a special change in appearance and nature which is wrought upon a person. This divine transformation is from a lower to a higher state; it results in a more exalted, impressive, and glorious condition".

We have several records of transfiguration in the scriptures.  Most notably, Moses describes his experience:

But now mine own eyes have beheld God; but not my natural, but my spiritual eyes, for my natural eyes could not have beheld; for I should have withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me; and I beheld his face, for I was transfigured before him.  (Moses 1:11)

Note that Moses said he saw God with his “own eyes” but that his eyes were changed to be made of a more spiritual and glorious nature.  He received of the glory of God so that he could behold the face of God (Moses 1:2).  The effects of the transfiguration were prominent:

And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. (Exodus 34:29)

The glory of God had not completely departed from Moses from the transfiguration, such that his face still shined as he came down from the mount (an analog of the temple).

Paul describes being transfigured in words that he could not tell whether it was a physical or spiritual transformation, words echoed by other prophets who have experienced it:

I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. (2 Corinthians 12:2)

Joseph Smith likewise described seeing God and his kingdom in the vision that took place in the Kirtland temple:

The heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof, whether in the body or out I cannot tell... Also the blazing throne of God, whereon was seated the Father and the Son. (D&C 137:1, 3)

Christ too was transfigured, which is where the Mount of Transfiguration gets its name.

And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. (Matthew 17:1-2)

Interestingly, Christ described this very literal physical experience to his disciples that witnessed it with their eyes as “a vision” (Matt. 17:9), and latter-day revelation says that the apostles Peter, James, and John also experienced transfiguration during the event.

The Three Nephites from the Book of Mormon also experienced transfiguration:

And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he touched every one of them with his finger save it were the three who were to tarry, and then he departed. And behold, the heavens were opened, and they were caught up into heaven, and saw and heard unspeakable things. And it was forbidden them that they should utter; neither was it given unto them power that they could utter the things which they saw and heard; And whether they were in the body or out of the body, they could not tell; for it did seem unto them like a transfiguration of them, that they were changed from this body of flesh into an immortal state, that they could behold the things of God. (3 Nephi 28:12-15)

Seeing God, therefore, is an experience that involves the whole soul, and it cannot be strictly determined whether it is a physical or spiritual experience.  Early Church member John Murdock explained his vision of God:

During the winter of 1833 we had a number of prayer meetings in the Prophet's chamber.  In one of those meetings the Prophet told us, if we could humble ourselves before God, and exercise strong faith, we should see the face of the Lord.  And about midday, the visions of my mind were opened, and the eyes of my understanding were enlightened, and I saw the form of a man, most lovely.

In a likewise manner, in the temple we may be caught up in the Spirit and receive such a manifestation of God such that we don’t know exactly how we experienced it, whether in our mind, body, dream, vision, etc.  It is not something that we see strictly with our eyes, but it a much more encompassing and sublime encounter.

(To be continued…)

Seeing the Face of God in the Temple – Part 2

The Israelite high priest sees God face-to-face upon the Ark of the Covenant

The Doctrine and Covenants section 93 verse 1 reads:

Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am; (D&C 93:1)

This superlative promise was one of the foundations of Joseph Smith’s restoration, and whose revelations repeated throughout his calling as God’s prophet:  

Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will. (D&C 88:68)

Furthermore, the promise is extended particularly to those who come into the temple:

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. (D&C 97:15-16)

LDS scholar Richard L. Bushman, in his extraordinary biography of the prophet, noted that a personal theophany was one of Joseph’s most important goals for the Saints.  Indeed, the “endowment,” as the early Saints understood it, involved seeing God:

In the temple, the long awaited endowment of power was to take place.  Joseph hoped his Saints would face God as Moses’ people never could.

Oliver Cowdery told the Twelve, when they were ordained in February 1835, that they were “not to go to other nations till you receive your endowments.”  Because they had not known Jesus in mortality, these modern apostles had to know Him by revelation. “Never cease striving until you have seen God face to face,” Cowdery told them.

Joseph once taught this as key to the endowment:

I feel disposed to speak a few words more to you, my brethren, concerning the endowment: All who are prepared, and are sufficiently pure to abide the presence of the Savior, will see him in the solemn assembly.

Methodist biblical scholar Margaret Barker has recently shown that seeing God face-to-face was one of the original purposes of the temple in ancient Israel during the First Temple period (Solomon’s Temple) and before.  The heavenly ascent to the throne through the temple was rewarded by a face-to-face meeting with God, a fact that was later suppressed and edited from the Bible by a group known as the Deuteronomists.  Indeed, the Bible is correct “as far as it is translated correctly”.

But what does it mean to see God face-to-face, or to see the face of God, or to even “be in God’s presence” when we go to the temple?  Should we expect to see God physically with our eyes when we attend the temple?  While this may be one of the meanings of the phrase, I believe there are several ways we may interpret this, and which may help to give us a fuller understanding of our temple experience.

Here is a short list of possible interpretations of seeing the face of God:

• Literally seeing God’s face, even our face before His face (face-to-face), with our physical eyes and senses
• Spiritually seeing God, through revelation and with our spiritual eyes
• Coming to a greater knowledge of God and his divine nature, being, and plan
• Seeing ourself, as heirs of God, becoming like Him
• Seeing our brothers and sisters, also as heirs of God, becoming like Him

I will attempt to go into more detail about each of these, and there is some overlap.  This will be a series of posts, this first article focusing on the first point of literally seeing God, the Father and/or His Son, Jesus Christ.

Literally Seeing

This is perhaps our first and foremost interpretation of what it means to see God face-to-face, or to be in His presence.  One of the inaugural events of the restoration of the Gospel in these latter days was the vision of God the Father and God the Son, Jesus Christ, to the boy Joseph Smith.  He testified:

When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other--This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him! (Joseph Smith–History 1:17)

Later Joseph said,

I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two Personages, and they did in reality speak to me; (Joseph Smith–History 1:25)

It could be said that Joseph’s purpose ever after this event was to help others, the Saints, have the same revelation.  It was to bring them back into God’s presence, and to see Him.  This was what the temple was to provide, and it did and has so provided.

John Murdock recorded his experience at a prayer meeting with Joseph:

During the winter of 1833 we had a number of prayer meetings in the Prophet’s chamber.  In one of those meetings the Prophet told us, if we could humble ourselves before God, and exercise strong faith, we should see the face of the Lord.  And about midday, the visions of my mind were opened, and the eyes of my understanding were enlightened, and I saw the form of a man, most lovely.  The visage of his face was sound and fair as the sun.  His hair a bright silver grey, curled in most majestic form, His eyes a keen penetrating blue, and the skin of his neck a most beautiful white.  And He was covered from neck to the feet with a loose garment, pure white, whiter than any garment I have ever before seen.  His countenance was most penetrating, and yet most lovely.. And while I was endeavoring to comprehend the whole personage from head to feet, it slipped from me.  But it left on my mind the impression of love, for months, that I never felt before to that degree.

In January of 1836, a few months before the dedication of the Kirtland temple, Joseph recorded a vision while in the temple:

The heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof, whether in the body or out I cannot tell… Also the blazing throne of God, whereon was seated the Father and the Son. (D&C 137:1, 3)

Several other early members of the Church  recorded that they saw Christ in the temple on that occasion:

The Bishop of Missouri, Edward Partridge, wrote that “a number saw visions & others were blessed with the outpouring of the Holy Ghost.  The vision of heaven was opened to these also, some of them saw the face of the Saviour, and others were ministered unto by holy angels.”

On another occasion, Zebedee Coltrin, one of the presidents of the seventy, related this experience as recorded by Wilford Woodruff:

Zebedee Coltrin related a vision in the temple in Kirtland after the School of the Prophets was organized. He said while sitting in council, a personage passed through the room dressed in usual clothing. Joseph said that was the Savior. Soon another personage passed through the house clothed in fire His features and feet were visible, but his body was wrapped in flames. Joseph said that was God the Father…

At the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, Edward Partridge recorded testimonies:

On the first day of the dedication, President Frederick G. Williams, one of the Counselors to the Prophet, and who occupied the upper pulpit, bore testimony that the Savior, dressed in his vesture without seam, came into the stand and accepted of the dedication of the house, and that he saw him, and gave a description of his clothing and all things pertaining to it.

Shortly after the dedication of the temple, the Saints received their endowment.  Joseph wrote,

The Saviour made his appearance to some, while angels ministered unto others, and it was a penticost and enduement indeed, long to be remembered for the sound shall go forth from this place into all the world, and the occurrences of this day shall be hande[d] down upon the pages of sacred history to all generations, as the day of Pentecost.

A few days later, Joseph and Oliver Cowdery received another vision in the temple:

The veil was taken from our minds, and the eyes of our understanding were opened.

We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber.

His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying:

I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father. (D&C 110:1-4)

In the same vision the Lord promised his Saints:

For behold, I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here; and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house.

Yea, I will appear unto my servants, and speak unto them with mine own voice, if my people will keep my commandments, and do not pollute this holy house. (D&C 110:7-8)

Many years later, on the day of the death of President Wilford Woodruff in 1898, Lorenzo Snow was in the Salt Lake Temple, seeking guidance from the Lord.  This account comes from the Improvement Era:

Passing through the Celestial room and out into the large corridor a glorious manifestation was given President Snow which I relate in the words of his grand-daughter, Allie Young Pond, now the wife of Elder Noah S. Pond, recently president of the Northern States Mission:

"One evening while I was visiting grandpa Snow in his room in the Salt Lake Temple, I remained until the door keepers had gone and the night-watchmen had not yet come in, so grand-pa said he would take me to the main front entrance and let me out that way. He got his bunch of keys from his dresser. After we left his room and while we were still in the large corridor leading into the celestial room, I was walking several steps ahead of grand-pa when he stopped me and said: 'Wait a moment, Allie, I want to tell you something. It was right here that the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to me at the time of the death of President Woodruff. He instructed me to go right ahead and reorganize the First Presidency of the Church at once and not wait as had been done after the death of the previous presidents, and that I was to succeed President Woodruff.'

"Then grand-pa came a step nearer and held out his left hand and said: 'He stood right here, about three feet above the floor. It looked as though He stood on a plate of solid gold.'

"Grand-pa told me what a glorious personage the Savior is and described His hands, feet, countenance and beautiful white robes, all of which were of such a glory of whiteness and brightness that he could hardly gaze upon Him.

"Then he came another step nearer and put his right hand on my head and said: 'Now, grand-daughter, I want you to remember that this is the testimony of your grand-father, that he told you with his own lips that he actually saw the Savior, here in the Temple, and talked with Him face to face.'"

So can the Saints literally see God in the temple?  The answer is, absolutely.  As promised in D&C 93:1, D&C 88:68, and D&C 97:15-16, the Lord promises to manifest himself to us.  Joseph recorded a few years later:

When the Savior shall appear we shall see him as he is. We shall see that he is a man like ourselves.

John 14:23--The appearing of the Father and the Son, in that verse, is a personal appearance; and the idea that the Father and the Son dwell in a man's heart is an old sectarian notion, and is false. (D&C 130:1, 3)

Is it a common occurrence?  Probably not.  The early Saints had to prepare themselves substantially before such a manifestation was given them.  In today’s parlance we might say that it is upon making one’s calling and election sure, receiving the more sure word of prophecy, and the Second Comforter, that such a revelation could take place in the temple.  But it is certainly not unheard of, and it was one of the primary reasons the temple was restored in latter days.  It is precisely what Joseph desired for the Saints in building the temple.

It is curious that we do not discuss this aspect of the temple more often today.  We often teach that the temple is where we can go to be in God’s presence, and to feel His Spirit, but not necessarily to see His face.  What are your thoughts about that?  Please share with us in the comments below.

(Continued in Part 2)

Seeing the Face of God in the Temple – Part 1

Ancient Israelite temple ceremonial clothing worn in the Mosaic Tabernacle, and succeeding Israelite temples of Solomon, Herod, et al.

I’m very pleased to welcome another guest post by Matthew B. Brown.  Some of his writings, particularly his book The Gate of Heaven, are what inspired me to study the temple more in depth.  He offers a wealth of insight and learning for the Latter-day Saints. ~Bryce

Matthew B. Brown holds a degree in history from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He is the author of ten books and has published articles with the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at BYU (aka FARMS). Matthew has served as a volunteer researcher, editor, and respondent for The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR) and has spoken at several of their annual conferences. He is one of the directors of the upcoming EXPOUND symposium on May 14, 2011, and will also be a presenter (expoundlds.com).

~~

It is publicly acknowledged that Latter-day Saints who participate in the central temple rites of their faith dress in several layers of ceremonial clothing, consisting of a "white undergarment" (which is worn as part of everyday life) and "other priestly robes" (which are only worn during times of temple service).¹ The undergarment is properly referred to as the "garment of the holy priesthood"² and the robes are likewise referred to as the "robes of the holy priesthood."³ A proclamation written on 6 April 1845 by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in Nauvoo, Illinois clarified that these are the "garments and royal robes of the high priesthood."⁴ The garment bears "several simple marks of orientation toward the gospel principles of obedience, truth, life and discipleship in Christ."⁵ The First Presidency of the LDS Church stated in a 1988 administrative letter that one of the functions of the garment is to serve as "a reminder of the sacred covenants [which temple patrons] have made with the Lord" and another is to serve as "a protection against temptation and evil." Yet, these Church leaders emphasize that such protection is conditional in nature.⁶ The temple garment is bestowed by an officiator prior to the commencement of the main temple ceremonies (in connection with washing and anointing rituals⁷) and is to be worn for the remainder of the recipient's mortal life.⁸ A proclamation circulated by President Joseph F. Smith on 28 June 1906 stated that "the pattern of endowment garments was revealed from heaven."⁹

The priests of ancient Israel were invested (see Lev. 8:7) with layers of "holy," white linen clothing (some of which included other colors) in order to qualify them for service in the tabernacle precincts (Ex. 28:2, 4, 39-40). It is known that the Israelite kings donned similar vestments (see 1 Chron. 15:27). This clothing was bestowed in connection with purification by water and anointing with perfumed oil (see Ex. 40:12-13). All of the priests were commanded by the Lord to wear the white undergarment while serving within temple space so that they would be protected from lethal harm (see Ex. 28:42-43) and the high priest was instructed to put on an additional piece of clothing for the very same reason (see Ex. 28:31-35). The wearing of the priestly undergarment was "a statute forever" for temple ministrants (Ex. 28:42-43). All of the Israelites--whether priestly or not--were required to have four prominent markings upon their clothing in order to remind them to be a "holy" people: to seek not after their own eyes and hearts but to stay within the limits established by the Lord's commandments (Num. 15:38-40; Deut. 22:12). In one respect, these symbols were meant to help the wearer "to bridle the passions."¹⁰ A prominent scholar of biblical texts has taught that the marks on the ancient Israelite garments were constructed in such a way so as to make each one of them "a symbol of both priesthood and royalty, thereby epitomizing the divine imperative that Israel become 'a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.'"¹¹

In the New Testament book of Revelation the Lord Jesus Christ promises that His disciples who overcome will be "clothed in white raiment" (Rev. 3:5). In this same biblical volume it is specified that "white raiment" is given to people in the heavenly realm who hold the status of "kings and priests" (Rev. 4:4; Rev. 5:8-10). The apostle John says at the beginning of his Apocalypse that the mortal disciples of the Savior achieved an identical status--"kings and priests" (Rev. 1:6)--implying that sometime previously they had been invested with the ritual clothing connected with those two offices.

From all of the information that has been presented in this short paper's main text and endnotes it is possible to summarize the points of similarity between the temple clothing of the Latter-day Saints and that of the Covenant People of the Bible.

• Pattern revealed by God
• Bestowed in God's temple
• Bestowed during initiation rituals
• Bestowed by an authority figure
• Associated with priesthood
• Associated with royalty
• Associated with Primeval Man
• Connected with holiness
• White in color
• Constructed of linen fabric
• Worn on a perpetual basis
• Associated with protection
• Consisting of multiple layers
• Markings displayed upon it
• Markings serve a reminding function
• Markings associated with specific principles

There is much more that could be said with regard to the connection between these two sets of sacred vestments but this list should suffice to demonstrate that what Joseph Smith gave to the Latter-day Saints in 1842 has clear correspondences with ancient patterns which are preserved in the Old and New Testaments. As noted in D&C 124, the Lord restored through His Prophet "that which was lost" (D&C 124:28)--things pertaining to the tabernacle constructed by Moses and the temple built by Solomon (see D&C 124:37-38).

———-

NOTES

1. Daniel H. Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism (New York: Macmillan, 1992), 2:534.

2. Ensign, August 1997, 20. On 8 August 1966 Assistant to the Twelve Theodore M. Burton made the following remarks: "Adam was given a garment of the Holy Priesthood as a sign of [an] endowment of power which he received from God [see Gen. 3:21]. Eve, his wife . . . . also was clothed in a garment of power" (BYU Speeches of the Year [Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press], 4). One Jewish midrashim calls Adam's God-given clothing "the garments of the high priesthood" and a commentator on this and related documents points out that "while no single text explicitly says so, the tradition seems to have been that the holy garment [of Adam] went from Jacob to Joseph, to the Israelites who left Egypt, and eventually to the priests of the tribe of Levi" (The Harvard Theological Review, vol. 90, no. 2, April 1997, 172).

3. Ensign, November 1979, 43.

4. James R. Clark., comp., Messages of the First Presidency (Salty Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965), 1:260. In this official text the vestments are described as being "fine linen . . . glorious and beautiful," which is directly parallel to Exodus 28 verses 2 and 39 (Ex. 28:2, 39) where the temple clothing of ancient Israel is said to be made of "fine linen" and is designed to provide the wearer with "glory and . . . beauty." A connection between Hebrew and Mormon sanctuary raiment is thus unmistakable.

5. Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 2:534.

6. First Presidency Letter, 10 October 1988, cited in Ensign, August 1997, 22. "The blessings that are related to this sacred privilege [of wearing the temple garment] depend on your worthiness and your faithfulness in keeping temple covenants. . . . When you wear it properly, [the garment] provides protection against temptation and evil" (First Presidency, True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference [Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2004], 173). Elder Robert D. Hales: "In the temple . . . sacred covenants are made. These covenants, together with the wearing of sacred temple garments, strengthen and protect the endowed person against the powers of the adversary" (Ensign, November 1995, 34).

7. Ensign, October 2007, 20. "A commemorative garment is given with [the] ordinances" of washing and anointing (Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4:1444).

8. First Presidency, True to the Faith, 173.

9. Clark, comp., Messages of the First Presidency, 5:110.

10. Jacob Blumenthal and Janet L. Liss, eds., Etz-Hayim: Study Companion (New York: The Rabbinical Assembly, 2005), 268. There is at least one Jewish, Midrashic tradition--in tractate Bavli-Menachot 43a--stating that the temple priests and Levites were obligated to wear these marks on their garments as well as all the other Israelites, including women (see Judith Z. Abrams, Torah and Company [Teaneck, NJ: Ben Yehuda Press, 2006], 74).

11. Blumenthal and Liss, eds., Etz-Hayim: Study Companion, 268-70.

Sanctuary Vesture: A Brief Overview and Comparison

• deceitful – having a tendency or disposition to deceive, not honest, deceptive, misleading
• cunning – dexterous or crafty in the use of special resources (as skill or knowledge) or in attaining an end, characterized by wiliness and trickery
• duplicity – contradictory doubleness of thought, speech, or action; especially : the belying of one’s true intentions by deceptive words or action

The word comes from the Middle English gile, from Anglo-French.  It’s related to the Old English/French wigle or wigila, which refer to sorcery or witchcraft.  It’s also related to the Old English word wil or wile, meaning a trick.

Of course, one derivation of the word is beguile, which is the verb form of the word, meaning “to lead by deception, hoodwink (to deceive by false appearance)” or “to influence by trickery, flattery, etc.; mislead; delude.”

Another way to learn about the word is to see how it is used in the scriptures.  Here are a few examples:

• Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings…
  For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
  Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: (1 Peter 2:1, 21-22)
• Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. (Psalms 32:3)
• Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. (Psalms 34:13)
• Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! (John 1:47)
• For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile: (Thessalonians 2:3)
• For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: (1 Peter 3:10)
• And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God. (Revelations 14:5)

One of the most predominant uses of the word is in the beguiling of Eve in the Garden of Eden.  For an excellent treatment of this subject, I would recommend Jeffrey M. Bradshaw’s recent article on Meridian Magazine, “Was Eve Beguiled?“

What is Guile?

Elder John A. Widtsoe (1872-1952)

Occasionally you encounter a talk or book or article that is a classic.  Elder John A. Widtsoe‘s talk on “Temple Worship” given at a meeting of the Genealogical Society of Utah at the Assembly Hall in Salt Lake on October 12, 1920, is one of those talks.  There are portions of this talk that many will recognize that are still frequently quoted today in connection with the temple.  His treatment of the temple is fairly basic, yet it is powerful in its plainness and insight.  Elder Widtsoe has given us a lot to ponder here.

Thank you, Steve, for sharing this talk with us! – Bryce

Temple Worship

My brethren and sisters, when those in charge of this work were planning the program, I urged upon them that they do not call this meeting for the Assembly Hall. I felt sure the congregation would be so small that we would all be unhappy. I am happily disappointed; and I am quite sure that neither the drawing power of Joseph Fielding Smith nor myself is the cause of this large attendance, but that the conviction in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints that all that pertains to temples and to temple work, to the salvation for the dead, is of tremendous worth. I regret, of course, that Elder Joseph Fielding Smith is not here tonight. I am sorry for those of you who came to hear him speak, for you will have to come again, because he speaks tomorrow. He is filling an important engagement, and we simply exchanged evenings. I regret, however, for my own sake, that he is not here, because what I have to say needs as a background the splendid talk that he has for us. He will deal with the spirit and the mission of Elijah. I was asked to speak about temple worship. He was to take up the great generalization, the great body of principles upon which this work rests; and I was to take one small part of the application of the work, for my theme. I feel just a little embarrassed to speak on temple worship without the background of Elder Smith’s discourse. I am embarrassed also because I realize how utterly impossible it is to deal with so vast and comprehensive a subject in the few moments that I can take tonight, especially in the presence of so many of you who have spent your lives in temple service and who understand the subject so well. But, like you I am willing to obey orders and to do the best I can; and with the assistance of your faith and your prayers, I shall try to discuss with you some of the high points pertaining to temple worship which all should understand, whether we have received the blessings of the temple or whether we are candidates for temple blessings. It is to be an elementary, non-technical discussion. 

Section Two

If an apology were needed for speaking on temple worship, I would simply call your attention to Section 2 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the first recorded revelation of the Lord in these latter days, through the Angel Moroni to Joseph Smith.

“Behold I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord;

“And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers;

“If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.”

Some day, no doubt, this Society will call us together and devote one evening or more to a discussion of this magnificent revelation its meaning, historical and doctrinal. Almost the first words of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith, when as a boy he was called to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ, dealt with the subject that we are discussing throughout this week; and almost the last words spoken by God to the prophet before the prophet’s death, as far as we can tell, dealt with the same subject.

Present Increased Interest in Temple Work

There is at present an unusual increased interest in temple activity. Our temples are crowded. The last time I attended the Salt Lake Temple I was a member of the third company. One started early in the morning, one late in the forenoon, and my company started about 2 o’clock in the afternoon. It was about 6 p. m. before we had completed the day’s work.

The number of temples is also increasing. The Hawaiian temple has only recently been dedicated; the Cardston temple is being rushed to completion, the Arizona temple is being planned and numerous communities in the Church are anxiously waiting and praying for the time that they may have temples.

There is a renewed spirit in behalf of temple work, not because people are wealthier than they were before, nor because temples are more accessible, but because the time has come for more temple work to be done. The spirit is abroad among the people, and those who are honest in heart and understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ, are willing to give their time and means more liberally in behalf of temple work.

Opposition and Blessings from Temple Work

In view of this great temple activity, we may well prepare ourselves for opposition. There never yet has been a time in the history of the world when temple work has increased without a corresponding increase in the opposition to it. Some three or four years after the pioneers came to this valley, President Brigham Young said it was time to begin the building of a temple; and some of the old timers here will probably remember that thousands of the Saints dreaded the command, because they said, “Just as soon as we lay the cornerstone of a temple, all hell will be turned loose upon us and we will be driven out of the valleys.” President Young thought that was true, but that they also would have, if temple work were undertaken, a corresponding increase in power to overcome all evil. Men grow mighty under the results of temple service; women grow strong under it; the community increases in power; until the devil has less influence than he ever had before. The opposition to truth is relatively smaller if the people are engaged actively in the ordinances of the temple.

Temple Work for All the People

We need more workers to accomplish the wonderful work that was outlined last night at the reception given by the First Presidency. Even three companies a day in each temple will not be enough; we shall have to organize four, or five, and for all I know, the day may come, unless we build more temples, when we shall keep the temples open twenty-four hours a day. We need more converts to temple work, drawn from all ages, from the young, from the middle-aged, and from the rich and poor, from among the busy and those of leisure. The time has come, I verily believe, in this new temple movement, to bring into active service all the people, of all ages. From the children doing baptisms, to the aged grandparents doing endowments for the dead, all the members of the family, if we do our duty well, must be brought into the work. Temple work is quite of as much benefit to the young and the active, as it is to the aged, who have laid behind them many of the burdens of life. The young man needs his place in the temple even more than his father and his grandfather, who are steadied by a life of experience; and the young girl just entering life needs the spirit, influence and direction that comes from participation in the temple ordinances. If I say nothing else tonight that will linger, I hope you will remember that temple work is for the young and for the middle aged and for the aged for all and not for one specialized, separated class within the Church organization.

Historical Distribution of Temples

What is a temple? According to the ordinary definition, it is any place set apart for sacred purposes and dedicated to a sacred purpose a house of God.

All people of all ages have had temples in one form or another. When the history of human thought shall be written from the point of view of temple worship, it may well be found that temples and the work done in them have been the dominating influence in shaping human thought from the beginning of the race. Even today political controversies are as nothing in determining the temple of a people, as compared with religious sentiments and convictions, especially as practiced in the temples of the people.

In every land and in every age temples have been built and used. In China, age old with four thousand years of written history; in India; on the islands of the sea; in South America; in North America; in Africa and in Australia; everywhere there are evidences of the existence and use of temples.

Temples of the Priesthood

There is a fairly complete history of some of the temples of the priesthood, the temples built by the chosen people of God. There are evidences that even in patriarchal days, in the days of Adam, there was the equivalent of temples, for the priesthood was held in its fulness, as far as the people needed it; and there is every reason to believe that from Adam to Noah, temple worship was in operation. After the flood the Holy Priesthood was continued; and we have reason to believe, in sacred places, the ordinances of the temple were given to those entitled to receive them.

When Israel was in Egypt, the Priesthood was with them, and we may believe from certain sayings of the Scriptures that Israel had in Egypt a temple or its equivalent, the mysterious “testimony”. When Israel was in the wilderness temple worship was provided for, for the Lord said to the Prophet Joseph (D&C 124:38):

“For, for this cause I commanded Moses that he should build a tabernacle, that they should bear it with them in the wilderness, and to build a house in the land of promise, that those ordinances might be revealed which had been hid from before the world was.”

In the tabernacle (or temple) of the wilderness, the ordinances of God’s house were given to a certain extent, as least, as we give them today.

I need not review with you the history of the temples of Israel, the temple of the wilderness of “tabernacle of the congregation,” later placed at Shiloh; the temple of Solomon; the temple of Zerubbabel after the captivity; the restoration of this temple by Herod, and so on. We need simply remember that the story of ancient Israel, the chosen people of God, centers upon their temples.

The Book of Mormon indicates that from about 600 years B. C. until about 35 or 40 years A. D., temples, under the authority of the holy priesthood, were found on this continent. Nephi says distinctly that he proceeded to gather up all the precious things of the people and to build a temple according to the pattern of the temple of Solomon.

Temple Worship Eternally a Part of the Gospel

When Joseph Smith was commissioned to restore the Gospel and to re-establish the Church of Jesus Christ, the building of temples and temple worship became almost the first and last issue of his life. The temple site in Independence, dedicated shortly after the organization of the Church; the building and completion of the Kirtland temple and the wonderful things that happened there; the building of the Nauvoo temple and the giving of endowments in the temple after the death of the Prophet; the dedication of other temple sites and many revelations concerning temples, indicate, altogether, that the main concern of the Prophet Joseph Smith in the restoration of the Gospel in these latter days was the founding, building, and completion of temples in which the ordinances “hid from before the foundation of the world” might be given. In fact, the Lord declared repeatedly to the Prophet that unless temple were built and used, the plan of salvation could neither be in full operation nor fully accomplished.

Let me suggest that the reason why temple building and temple worship have been found in every age, on every hand, and among every people, is because the gospel in its fullness was revealed to Adam, and that all religions and religious practices are therefore derived from the remnants of the truth given to Adam and transmitted by him to the patriarchs. The ordinances of the temple in so far as then necessary, were given, no doubt, in those early days, and very naturally corruptions of them have been handed down the ages. Those who understand the eternal nature of the gospel planned before the foundation of the earth understand clearly why all history seems to revolve about the building and use of temples.

Eternal Nature of Man

To understand the meaning of temple worship, it is necessary to understand the plan of salvation and its relation to temple worship. The human race were “in the beginning with God,” and were created spiritual beings in a day before the arrival upon this earth. Mankind is here because of its acceptance of the Plan of Salvation, and satisfactory pre-existent lives. We have won the right to be here; we have not been forced to come here; we have won our place upon the earth. We shall pass into another sphere of existence, and shall continue upward and onward forever and forever, if we obey the high laws of eternal existence.

The plan of salvation for eternal beings involves the principle that God’s work with respect to this earth will not be complete until every soul has been taught the Gospel and has been offered the privilege of accepting salvation and the accompanying great blessings which the Lord has in store for his children. Until that is done the work is unfinished.

Men frequently ask when the last day shall come and when the earth shall go through its great change. Men attempt uselessly to figure out the dates of the coming events from the sayings of Daniel and the other prophets. We know that the Lord will come when we are ready to receive him; that is when we have done the work he required of us; not before, not later; but when the labor of the day has been accomplished, the present day will end and a new stage of action will be set. When the work assigned to the earth children has been done in accordance with the Plan of Salvation, the Lord will remember his promises, and the end of the earth, which is the beginning of a new day of advancement, will occur.

We who travel the earth journey are working out an eternal problem. An endless journey is ours, the earth life is a fraction of it; the purpose is unending.

Conditions of Eternal Progress

It has been ordained that to follow the path God has laid out for us, we must have faith, we must repent, and we must show our obedience by going into the waters of baptism, and then as our great reward we shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Some people, having obeyed these first principles, believe their work done. They have found entrance into the Church, they are members of God’s chosen people what more need they? In fact, however, the gift of the Holy Ghost, according to the Prophet Joseph Smith, is a promise of increasing intelligence, it is a beginning of things to be. It is a promise of larger, fuller knowledge, of something new, more wonderful, and vaster, in its intent and purpose than anything that we have known before. It is a promise of growth into a larger life and a larger condition of life. In my opinion, the gift of the Holy Ghost which implies a promise of added intelligence is realized in part at least in the worship and ordinances of the temples of the Lord. The request of the soul, which leads a man into obedience of the first principles, is answered by one method through the institution of the eternal ordinances which all the faithful may enjoy.

Salvation vs. Exaltation

Through obedience to the first principles of the Gospel, and a subsequent blameless life, a person may win salvation for himself. But in God’s kingdom are many gradations, which lead to exaltation upon exaltation. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and labor for the fulfillment of the promise involved in the gift of the Holy Ghost will advance farther than those who placidly sit by with no driving desire within them. Temple worship is an avenue to exaltation in God’s kingdom.

God’s Definition of a Temple

God’s definition of a temple is given over and over again in this good book, the Doctrine and Covenants. A temple is a place in which those whom he has chosen are endowed with power from on high. And what is power? Knowledge made alive and useful that is intelligence; and intelligence in action that is power. Our temples give us power a power based on enlarged knowledge and intelligence a power from on high of a quality with God’s own power.

Purposes of Temples

This is accomplished through the various purposes of temples. A temple is a place where God will come; a place where the pure in heart shall see God; a place where baptisms for the dead are performed; a place where the endowment of the priesthood is given; a place where the keys of the priesthood are committed in abundance; and a place where many other wonderful things may occur and should occur and in fact do occur.

Communion of God and man. It is a great promise that to the temples God will come, and that in them man shall see God. What does this promised communion mean? Does it mean that once in a while God may come into the temples, and that once in a while the pure in heart may see God there; or does it mean the larger thing, that the pure in heart who go into the temples, may, there by the Spirit of God, always have a wonderfully rich communion with God? I think that is what it means to me and to you and to most of us. We have gone into these holy houses, with our minds freed from the ordinary earthly cares, and have literally felt the presence of God. In this way, the temples are always places where God manifests himself to man and increases his intelligence. A Temple is a place of revelation.

Baptisms for the Dead. Baptism for the dead will be discussed in all probability tomorrow night by Elder Smith. The ordinance of baptism for the dead fits into the scheme of salvation. It is an acknowledgement of itself that the whole plan is eternal, and that the past, the present and the future are parts of one continuous whole. Were the life of man discontinuous there would be no need of labors for the dead.

Sealings. Sealings, for time and eternity, have the purpose of tying together father and son, mother and daughter, the living and the dead, from age to age. In addition it emphasizes the authority of the priesthood. No merely earthly power could accomplish a union of a condition of this earth with a condition beyond this earth; a person of this life with a person of the life hereafter, or of the life before. When man contemplates the full meaning of the sealing ordinance if I may call it an ordinance he is overwhelmed with the boundless power that it implies and the weight of authority that it represents. The mere words of sealing may be easily spoken at the altars of the holy temples, but they are so full of meaning that any man with even a particle of imagination who witnesses or participates in the sealing ordinance must be overcome with the feeling of responsibility and opportunity and enjoyment that it carries with it.

The endowment. In the wonderful section 124, of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord has described the work to be done in the temples, including the holy endowment:

“For a baptismal font there is not upon the earth, that they, my saints, may be baptized for those who are dead–

“For this ordinance belongeth to my house, and cannot be acceptable to me, only in the days of your poverty, wherein ye are not able to build a house unto me. . . .

“For therein are the keys of the holy priesthood ordained, that you may receive honor and glory. . . .

“And again, verily I say unto you, how shall your washings be acceptable unto me, except ye perform them in a house which you have built to my name?

“For, for this cause I commanded Moses that he should build a tabernacle, that they should bear it with them in the wilderness, and to build a house in the land of promise, that those ordinances might be revealed which had been hid from before the world was.

“Therefore, verily I say unto you, that your anointings, and your washings, and your baptisms for the dead, and your solemn assemblies, and your memorials for your sacrifices by the sons of Levi, and for your oracles in your most holy places wherein you receive conversations, and your statutes and judgments, for the beginning of the revelations and foundation of Zion, and for the glory, honor, and endowment of all her municipals, are ordained by the ordinance of my holy house, which my people are always commanded to build unto my holy name.”

At first reading the full meaning may not be clear, yet in these few verses lie the germs of practically everything that belongs to and is done in the house of the Lord. Dr. James E. Talmadge, under authority of the Church, has also discussed the meaning of endowment, in the book called The House of the Lord. I will read a part of it.

“The Temple Endowment, as administered in modern temples, comprises instruction relating to the significance and sequence of past dispensations, and the importance of the present as the greatest and grandest era in human history. This course of instruction includes a recital of the most prominent events of the creative period, the condition of our first parents in the Garden of Eden, their disobedience and consequent expulsion from that blissful abode, their condition in the lone and dreary world when doomed to live by labor and sweat, the plan of redemption by which the great transgression may be atoned, the period of the great apostasy, the restoration of the Gospel with all its ancient powers and privileges, the absolute and indispensable condition of personal purity and devotion to the right in present life, and a strict compliance with Gospel requirements.

“As will be shown, the temples erected by the Latter-day Saints provide for the giving of these instructions in separate rooms, each devoted to a particular part of the course; and by this provision it is possible to have several classes under instruction at one time.

“The ordinances of the endowment embody certain obligations on the part of the individual, such as covenant and promise to observe the law of strict virtue and chastity, to be charitable, benevolent, tolerant and pure; to devote both talent and material means to the spread of truth and the uplifting of the race; to maintain devotion to the cause of truth; and to seek in every way to contribute to the great preparation that the earth may be made ready to receive her King the Lord Jesus Christ. With the taking of each covenant and the assuming of each obligation a promised blessing is pronounced, contingent upon the faithful observance of the conditions.

“No jot, iota, or tittle of the temple rites is otherwise than uplifting and sanctifying. In every detail the endowment ceremony contributes to covenants of morality of life, consecration of person to high ideals, devotion to truth, patriotism to nation, and allegiance to God. The blessings of the House of the Lord are restricted to no privileged class; every members of the Church may have admission to the temple with the right to participate in the ordinances thereof, if he comes duly accredited as of worthy life and conduct.”

In no part of the temple service is the spirit of the purpose of temple worship so completely shown as in the endowment.

Internal Evidence of Veracity

I desire to leave with you as the next thought that the work done in temples brings to those of pure and sincere hearts the evidence of its veracity. This is said in view of the question so often asked, is there anything in the temple ordinances themselves that speaks for their truth.

The temple ordinances encompass the whole plan of salvation as taught from time to time by the leaders of the Church, and elucidate matters difficult of understanding. There is no warping or twisting in fitting the temple teachings into the great scheme of salvation. The philosophical completeness of the endowment is one of the great arguments for the veracity of the temple ordinances. Moreover, this completeness of survey and expounding of the Gospel plan, makes temple worship one of the most effective methods of refreshing the memory concerning the whole structure of the Gospel.

Another fact has always appealed to me as a strong internal evidence for the truth of temple work. The endowment and the temple work as revealed by the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith (see also Doctor Talmage’s The House of the Lord) fall clearly into four distinct parts: the preparatory ordinances, the giving of instructions by lectures and representations; covenants; and, finally, tests of knowledge. I doubt that the Prophet Joseph, unlearned and untrained in logic, could of himself have made the thing so logically complete. The candidate for the temple service is prepared, as in any earthly affair, for work to be done. Once prepared he is instructed in the things that he should know. When instructed, he covenants to use the imparted knowledge, and at once the new knowledge, which of itself is dead, leaps into living life. At last, tests are given him, whereby those who are entitled to know may determine whether the man has properly learned the lesson. The brethren and sisters who go through the temple should observe all these things and recognize the wonderful coherence and logical nature of the carefully worked out system, with a beginning and an end, fitting every known law of God and nature, which constitutes temple worship.

The wonderful pedagogy of the temple service, especially appealing to me as a professional teacher, carries with it evidence of the truth of temple work. We go to the temple to be informed and directed, to be built up and to be blessed. How is all this accomplished? First by the spoken word, through lectures and conversations, just as we do in the class room, except with more elaborate care, then by the appeal to the eye by representations by living, moving beings; and by pictorial representations in the wonderfully decorated rooms (as any one may see in Dr. Talmage’s book.) Meanwhile the recipients themselves, the candidates for blessings, engage actively in the temple service as they move from room to room, with the progress of the course of instruction. Altogether our temple worship follows a most excellent pedagogical system. I wish instruction were given so well in every school throughout the land, for we would then teach with more effect than we now do.

For these reasons, among many others, I have always felt that temple work is a direct evidence of the truth of the word reestablished by the Prophet Joseph Smith. It may be that the temple endowment and the other temple ordinances form the strongest available evidence of the divine inspiration of the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Objections to Temple Worship

I said near the beginning of this address that with any increase in temple activity we must expect a new and vigorous opposition to temple work, from evil forces, which however will be wholly subdued if the work is continued. This opposition will not wholly come from without; some will come from within the Church. Unfortunately, that is also a natural law. Young people and sometimes older people, will question this or that thing about the temple service. “Is this or that necessary?” “Is this or that thing reasonable?” “Why should I do this or that?” Even though such questions should be needless, it is best to answer them, especially if they are asked by those who are untrained and inexperienced, and therefore unable to think clearly for themselves.

Why a House?

The objection is sometimes raised that a house is not needed for temple worship. “Why should a house be required, when God is everywhere, the God who made the trees and the mountains and the valleys?” “Why should God require the poor saints in Illinois and Ohio and Missouri, to build temples at tremendous expense?” Of course the Lord does not need a house, and temple work may be done elsewhere than in a house. The Lord has specifically stated that under certain conditions the temple endowment may be given on the tops of the mountains, but as men multiply upon the face of the earth, it will be increasingly difficult to conduct temple worship, except in especially dedicated places away from the multitude and the chaos and the rattle and the disturbance of ordinary life.

The holy endowment is deeply symbolic. “Going through the temple” is not a very good phrase; for temple worship implies a great effort of mind and concentration if we are to understand the mighty symbols that pass in review before us. Everything must be arranged to attune our hearts, our minds, and our souls to the work. Everything about us must contribute to the peace of mind that enables us to study and to understand the mysteries, if you choose, that are unfolded before us. We would not give our family dinners out of doors, in the crowd; why should anyone ask us to do our most sacred work in the face of the crowd.

Sacred vs. Secret

Some young persons do not like temple work “because the things done in it are secret, and we do not believe in secret things, we want to stand in the sunshine.” In fact, there is nothing secret about the temple. I have found nothing secret in or about our temples; I have found many things that are sacred. There is a vast difference between things secret and things sacred the thing hidden away from the light, and the thing sacred, which plays in the light and is protected from darkness and impurity and all unworthy conditions.

God has declared that he will not enter a defiled temple, whether that temple be the body of a man or a dedicated grove or a mountain top, or a house, like the temple on these grounds. The Holy Spirit will withdraw from a defiled place. People who have no faith in temple worship, who desire simply as tourists to inspect unsympathetically our holy house, in spite of themselves defile it. We desire to present our temple ordinances to those who are believers. Moreover, visitors in temples would interfere with the procedure of the work. Of itself there is no reason why at proper times the temple may not be inspected.

Covenants and Promises

Many young people object to temple work because, “We must make covenants and promises and we do not like to be tied; we want full freedom.” This objection arises from a misunderstanding of the meaning of covenants. Knowledge become serviceable only when it is used; the covenant made in the temple, or elsewhere, if of the right kind, is merely a promise to give life to knowledge, by making knowledge useful and helpful in man’s daily progress. Temple work, or any other work, would have no meaning unless accompanied with covenants. It would consist simply of bits of information for ornament; the covenant gives life to truth, and makes possible the blessings that reward all those who use knowledge properly; or the penalties that overtake those who misuse knowledge. That knowledge of itself is valueless, and that its use or misuse brings about inevitable results are the a b c of every scientific laboratory. The electric current properly used lights this building; improperly used, it may go through the body of the man and leave death behind. Unused, the electric current is to the man as if it were not. Penalties and rewards hang upon the use of knowledge.

Lack of Beauty

Others say that the temple ordinances are unbeautiful. Some young man ready for a mission, or some young lady just married says “It is unbeautiful, I did not enjoy it.” Again the misunderstanding. They have gone through the temple looking at the outward form and not the inner meaning of things. The form of the endowment is of earthly nature, but it symbolizes great spiritual truths. All that we do on this earth is earthly, but all is symbolic of great spiritual truths. To build this temple, earth had to be dug, wood had to be cut; stone was quarried and brought down the canyon. It was dusty and dirty work and made us sweat it was of this earth yet it was the necessary preparation for the mighty spiritual ordinances that are carried on daily in this magnificent temple. The endowment itself is symbolic; it is a series of symbols of vast realities, too vast for full understanding. Those who go through the temple and come out feeling the service is unbeautiful have been so occupied with the outward for, as to fail to understand the inner meaning. It is the meaning of things that counts in life.

Symbolism

This brings me to a few words concerning symbolism. We live in a world of symbols. We know nothing, except by symbols. We make a few marks on a sheet of paper, and we say that they form a word, which stands for love, or hate, or charity, or God or eternity. The marks may not be very beautiful to the eye. No one finds fault with the symbols on the pages of a book because they are not as mighty in their own beauty and the things which they represent. We do not quarrel with the symbol G-o-d because it is not very beautiful, yet represents the majesty of God. We are glad to have symbols, if only the meaning of the symbols is brought home to us. I speak to you tonight; you have not quarreled very much with my manner of delivery, or my choice of words; in following the meaning of the thoughts I have tried to bring home to you, you have forgotten words and manner. There are men who object to Santa Claus, because he does not exist! Such men need spectacles to see that Santa Claus is a symbol; a symbol of the love and joy of Christmas and the Christmas spirit. In the land of my birth there was no Santa Claus, but a little goat was shoved into the room, carrying with it a basket of Christmas toys and gifts. The goat of itself counted for nothing; but the Christmas spirit, which it symbolized, counted for a tremendous lot.

We live in a world of symbols. No man or woman can come out of the temple endowed as he should be, unless he has seen, beyond the symbol, the mighty realities for which the symbols stand.

Corruptions of Temple Worship

Many apostates have tried to reveal the ordinances of the House of the Lord. Some of their accounts form a fairly complete and correct story of the outward form of the temple service; but they are pitiful failures in making clear the eternal meaning of temple worship and the exaltation of the spirit that is awakened by the understanding of that meaning. Such attempts are only words; symbols without meaning. Is anything more lifeless than a symbol of an unknown meaning?

Such attempted improper revelations of temple worship have led in all ages to corruptions of temple ordinances. The fact that such corruptions of ordinances and ceremonies have always existed is a strong evidence of the continuity of temple worship, under the priesthood, from the days of Adam. Sister Gates handed me this afternoon a quotation from a book that she had picked up, in which it is related that Moses adopted a holy garment from Jethro, which he wore, and in turn communicated it to his brother Aaron, who adopted it and who in turn communicated it to the priests of Israel; from whom in turn it was taken in some form by the priests of false gods. Such corruptions of temple worship are found everywhere; but they are poor lifeless imitations, symbols from which the meaning has been wrested.

The Revelation of the Temple

If we are correct in believing that the blessings obtained in the temples of the Lord are a partial fulfillment, at least, of the promise made when the Holy Ghost, who is a Revelator, is conferred upon man, it would be expected that temple ordinances would be in the nature of a revelation to those who participate. Certainly the temple is a place where revelations may be expected.

But whether in the temple or elsewhere, how do men receive revelations? How did the Prophet Joseph Smith obtain his first revelation, his first vision? He desired something. In the woods, away from human confusion, he summoned all the strength of his nature; there he fought the demon of evil, and, at length, because of the strength of his desire and the great effort that he made, the Father and the Son descended out of the heavens and spoke eternal truth to him. So revelation always comes; it is not imposed upon a person; it must be drawn to us by faith, seeking and working. Just so; to the man or woman who goes through the temple with open eyes, heeding the symbols and the covenants, and making a steady, continuous effort to understand the full meaning, God speaks his word and revelations come. The endowment is so richly symbolic that only a fool would attempt to describe it; it is so packed full of revelations to those who exercise their strength to seek and see, that no human words can explain or make clear the possibilities that reside in the temple service. The endowment which was given by revelation can best be understood by revelation; and to those who seek most vigorously, with pure hearts, will the revelation be greatest. I believe that the busy person on the farm, in the shop, in the office, or in the household, who has his worries and troubles, can solve his problems better and more quickly in the house of the Lord than anywhere else. If he will leave his problems behind and in the temple work for himself and for his dead, he will confer a mighty blessing upon those who have gone before, and quite as large a blessing will come to him, for at the most unexpected moments, in or out of the temple will come to him, as a revelation, the solution of the problems that vex his life. That is the gift that comes to those who enter the temple properly, because it is a place where revelations may be expected. I bear my personal testimony that this is so.

In temple worship, as in all else, we probably gain understanding according to our differing knowledge and capacity; but I believe that we can increase in knowledge and enlarge our capacity, and in that way receive greater gifts from God. I would therefore urge upon you that we teach those who go into the temples to do so with a strong desire to have God’s will revealed to them, for comfort, peace, and success in our daily lives, not for publication, or for conversation, but for our own good, for the satisfying of our hearts.

Preparation for Temple Worship

Colonel Willard Young said last night, in casual conversation, that we should give more attention to preparing our young people and some of the older people, for the work they are to do in the temple. He is undoubtedly right in his view. It is not quite fair to let the young girl or young man enter the temple unprepared, unwarned, if you choose, with no explanation of the glorious possibilities of the first fine day in the temple. Neither is it quite fair to pass opinion on temple worship after one day’s participation followed by an absence of many year. The work should be repeated several times in quick succession, so that the lessons of the temple may be fastened upon the mind.

Conclusion

The beginning and the end of the Gospel is written, from one point of view, in Section 2 of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. If I read this section correctly, the work which in part has been committed by the Church to this Society is the keystone of the wonderful Gospel arch. If this center stone is weakened, and falls out, the whole arch falls into a heap of unorganized doctrinal blocks. It is a high privilege for young or old to be allowed to enter the House of the Lord, there to serve God and to win power.

I hope that temple worship will increase in our midst, that we shall have a finer understanding of its meaning, and that more temple may be built to supply the demands of the living and the dead, and to hasten the coming of the great day of the Lord.

May the Lord bless us in this work, I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

(John A. Widtsoe, “Temple Worship,” The Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, Vol. XII, 1921, 49-64. Link.)

Temple Worship by Elder John A. Widtsoe

President David O. McKay (1873-1970)

One of the most frequent questions I receive from readers is “how should I prepare to go to the temple?“  Or if it is not for them personally, “how do I help someone else prepare to go to the temple?”  It is an important question, and one that should be carefully considered.

Preparing to go to the temple is one of the most important things someone can do, not only for the first time they go, but for the rest of our lives.  The temple experience is incredibly rich in symbolism and meaning, and only a lifetime of study can reveal all its teachings.  Elder Boyd K. Packer once related an experience he had with President David O. McKay in the Salt Lake Temple: 

Not long before [President McKay] died, when on infrequent occasions he would come to our meetings, he stood one day in the meeting and began to discuss the temple ceremony, the endowment. I will never forget! He stood there in that tall majesty that was typical of him. He had his big, bony hands on his chest and looked at the ceiling as he began to quote the endowment. (We were assembled there in the upper room [of the temple] and it was not inappropriate to discuss that there.) He quoted it at some great length. We were enthralled and inspired and knew we were witnessing a great moment. Then he stopped and looked again at the ceiling for a moment or two. Then he said, "I think I'm finally beginning to understand." That was very comforting to me. After nearly sixty-four years as an Apostle, he still had things that he was learning. Then we knew we were in the presence of not only the teacher who was teaching, but of a student who was learning.

If a prophet of God, who had been an Apostle for sixty-four years, was just beginning to understand the temple experience, then how far do we, as members of the Church, have to go before the temple will begin to reveal its treasures to us?

But going the first time is a particularly unique experience, which requires special preparation.  We must prepare our hearts and minds to be taught in a different way than we are used to, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord” (Isa. 55:8).  The temple ceremonies are very different from the meetings of church on Sunday.  There we go to participate in the most sacred ordinances of the Gospel and to make solemn covenants with God that are eternally binding.

The endowment, in particular, is an ordinance that is presented in a ritual format that we are not accustomed to in our modern pop culture.  It strikes us differently than anything else we have participated in, and for good reason.  The temple experience does not belong to this world, for it is authored by our Heavenly Father.  We should not expect it to be similar to what we experience in our daily living, because our Heavenly Father wants to teach us His eternal truths, and He does so in His own way, which some LDS scholars have noted is a perfect pedagogy, or mode of teaching.  We must prepare to have open minds and hearts, and to be taught the way the Lord wants, and by His Spirit.

When people have asked me how to prepare, I have told them that the Temple Preparation Class given by the Church, usually at the ward or stake level, is one of the best ways to prepare to go to the temple.  A few weeks ago my wife and I were called to be the Temple Preparation instructors in our ward.  We accepted the call gladly, and we look forward to teaching about the temple every Sunday in Sunday School.  Because I have had so many inquiries about temple preparation, I’m going to post my notes from every lesson here on TempleStudy.com.  Hopefully this will be an additional resource for those looking for information on the topic, and also provide a place for discussion on this topic of preparation.

I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you about temple preparation, and some of the most basic principles and concepts we must learn to prepare for temple worship, the first time we go, and for the rest of our lives.  I hope you will join with me in exploring this subject, and that you will share your experience and thoughts in the comments.

Temple Preparation

View of Salt Lake Valley from the Draper Temple on July 10, 2009. The Jordan River and Oquirrh Mountain temples are in the distance.

On Sunday I had the opportunity of going to the Daybreak Stake Center in South Jordan and listening to a wonderful fireside given by Dr. Daniel C. Peterson about the temple.  I audio recorded the fireside, and have a digital copy.  Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get a hold of Dr. Peterson to ask permission to post it on TempleStudy.com.  But as I said previously, I also took notes as well as I could, and I hope that they might reproduce some of the excellent thoughts Dr. Peterson conveyed. [Note: Not all of the images below are the exact same as Dr. Peterson used, but I have tried to use similar ones.]

One of the first things he said was that the dedication of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple (which stands only a few blocks from the stake center) would be, in a way, a fulfillment of prophecy.

I believe he said it was Brigham Young that prophesied that one day you’d be able to stand on the roof of a temple and see another temple.  Dr. Peterson noted that you don’t even have to stand on the roof to see several temples today.  [This insight is interesting in that I just attended a sealing session at the Draper Temple on Friday.  After we were finished and exited the temple we saw the most gorgeous sunset from the grounds, peering out over the Salt Lake Valley.  From our vantage point we could see both the Jordan River Temple and the Oquirrh Mountain Temple.  I took several pictures, one of which is at the beginning of the post.]

Dr. Peterson cautioned that there are clearly some things that we can’t talk about the temple, but said that many of the things that he and others, such as Hugh Nibley, have spoken about in the ancient world hint at certain things in our modern temple if we listen or read closely.  The temple is a testimony of the divine calling of Joseph Smith.

Ascent Stories

He and a colleague at BYU have a dream of publishing a book about celestial ascent stories from around the world.  This is because they are so pervasive, and similar all over the world.

An example of an ascent story is Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:

2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. (2 Cor. 12:2-4)

There are 3 elements that are interesting to Latter-day Saints in this account:

• 3rd heaven
• Paradise
• Unspeakable words – the original language used here implies words that one is not able to speak or beyond the capacity to utter, as well as things he was not permitted to speak.

Hebrew Cosmology diagram (click for larger view)

The typical Hebrew cosmology contains these same elements of several heavens.  Showed a diagram of the Hebrew Cosmology, showing Sheol (signifying the Spirit World, where spirits are questioned), the Earth, First, Second, and Third Heavens.  Shows the firmament of heaven as a dashed line, with an ocean above, and that the ancients thought that it rained because of the openings in this firmament, in the spirit of “opening the windows of heaven.”  Shows the earthly temple mirroring the temple in the third heaven above.

The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Monastery of St. Catherine, Sinai, 12th Century (click for larger view)

This idea of ascent is all over in the scriptures.  Showed a photo of a painting of Jacob’s Ladder from St. Catherine’s Monastery from the 12th century – the “Ladder of Divine Ascension.”  People shown going up the ladder, some falling off.  Comes from the story of Bethel, beth-el literally meaning the “house of God.”

Christ's Ascension, Ivory Panel, Munich (click for larger view)

Showed photo of the Ascension of Christ found in northern Italy, and is an ivory panel from c. 400, now in Munich.  Christ ascends from the temple on a ladder with the hand of God extending through the cloud to grasp Christ’s, and pull him through.  This motif of the hand of God reaching through the cloud is a common motif found in the ancient world.  [See Dr. William Hamblin and Dr. David Seely's excellent presentation, part 1, part 2, on that subject.]

3 Nephi 28 is an ascension text.  First of all, verse 10:

10 And for this cause ye shall have fulness of joy; and ye shall sit down in the kingdom of my Father; yea, your joy shall be full, even as the Father hath given me fulness of joy; and ye shall be even as I am, and I am even as the Father; and the Father and I are one; (3 Nephi 28:10)

There is a mathematical formula which says that if a = b, and b = c, then a = c.  That is what we have here.  Ye shall be even as I am, and I am even as the Father, meaning ye shall be even as the Father is.  Many people say that human deification came late in the teachings of Joseph Smith, but there it is in the Book of Mormon.

12 And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he touched every one of them with his finger save it were the three who were to tarry, and then he departed.

13 And behold, the heavens were opened, and they were caught up into heaven, and saw and heard unspeakable things.

14 And it was forbidden them that they should utter; neither was it given unto them power that they could utter the things which they saw and heard;

15 And whether they were in the body or out of the body, they could not tell; for it did seem unto them like a transfiguration of them, that they were changed from this body of flesh into an immortal state, that they could behold the things of God.

16 But it came to pass that they did again minister upon the face of the earth; nevertheless they did not minister of the things which they had heard and seen, because of the commandment which was given them in heaven. (3 Nephi 28:12-16)

Compare this passage with Paul’s.  It’s a similar experience.  The three Nephites heard unspeakable things which they were forbidden to utter.  They were transfigured in some sense, transformed.

Dante's Geocentric Universe (click for larger view)

Dante’s Divine Comedy is a comedy because it ends in heaven.  But it starts out in hell.  It is a long complex story of ascension.  Mount Purgatory diagram shown.  Also Dante’s Geocentric Universe with multiple heavens.  This same pattern is everywhere in the ancient world.  Dante ascends through many heavenly spheres to the 10th heaven.  As he ascends each he obtains the virtues and knowledge necessary to enter into the presence of God.

Mountains of the Lord

This idea of the mountain is everywhere.  It is the Mountain of the Lord, the cosmic mountain, that shows up all over the ancient world.  The Mountain of Paradise.  Mount Olympus.  Mount Sinai – Moses ascends the mount.  The Mount of Transfiguration.  The early Latter-day Saints would go to the tops of mountains on their journeyings across the country and dress in their temple clothing to pray.  Elder George Q. Cannon received his endowment on Ensign Peak.

The Psalms have much to do with ascent.  The Psalms of Ascent – chapters 120-134.  The Pilgrims songs.  These were the hymns pilgrims would sing as they ascended to Jerusalem to the temple.  When you go to Jerusalem you have to climb through the mountains to get there, no matter the direction you go.

Isaiah 2:

2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Isa. 2:2-3)

You go up to the house of God.  Micah said much the same thing.  These sayings must have been going around:

1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Micah 4:1-2)

Minaret in Samarra, Iraq. (click for larger view)

Some were creating counterfeit mountains.  The Tower of Babel is such a mountain.  Bab-el means “gate of God.”  Showed photo of the Minaret at Samarra as an example of what the Tower of Babel may have l0oked like.  It has an outer ramp that winds around to the top.

Temple Worthiness

Only the worthiest could enter the the temple.  Some Psalms are like a requirements list in order to enter:

1 Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.

3 He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.

4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

5 He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved. (Psalm 15)

Again in Psalm 24:

3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

5 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. (Psalm 24:3-5)

Temple Structure

Temple themes are found in the Book of Mormon too.  This is a very nice summary of the things that are taught in the temple.  Mormon 9:

11 But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are.

12 Behold, he created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man.

13 And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death. (Mormon 9:11-13)

Margaret Barker, a Methodist scholar, has become popular among LDS because of the things she’s said about the temple, among other things - [notes paraphrased] the earthly sanctuary was to reflect a heavenly pattern.  The personnel were a visible reality of the angels.  Basically, the priests represented God at the altar.

Mircea Eliade also said, the places in the temple represented different parts of heaven.  The temple is a meeting point of heaven and earth.

The temple literally is the meeting place of heaven and earth because of the vicarious work the living do for the dead.

Layout of the Karnak, Egypt, temple (click for larger view)

The structure of the Egyptian temples are instructive.  Monumental Gateway.  Karnak shows this pattern.  Pylon is greek for “gate.”  The floor gets higher as you move further into the temple; the ceiling gets lower too.  This is the same as in modern LDS temples today – you consistenly move higher as you go into the temple.

Diagram of Moses' Tabernacle, zones of sacred space (click for larger view)

There was gradated sacred space in Moses’ Tabernacle.  Different concentric sacred spaces – the court, Holy Place, the Holy of Holies.  This is the same as in other Israelite temples.  The Qur’an fall – it was a physical fall from a higher place to a lower place.

Temple as Garden of Eden

The temple also represents Eden.  Ezekiel 28 – Eden story.  Tyre.  He was rich and arrogant, and he fell:

13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. (Ezekiel 28:13-14; other surrounding verses also)

The Egyptian temple shows this garden scene.  It came out of the primeval waters.  Many parallels to Eden.  Lotuses, papyrus plants.  Creation stories abound.

Margaret Barker – the temple in Jerusalem was Eden.  The interior had palm trees… river flowed from the temple.  Ezekiel didn’t invent these features.  The righteous were the trees in the house of the Lord.  The candlestick was the tree of life.

Richard Eliot Freedman – the temple was Eden.  It was between heaven and earth.

Margaret Barker – it was closely associated with the myth of creation.

Karnak anointing scene. (click for larger view)

The water came out from the base of the temple, from the bottom, the only place it could.  It is interesting that the baptismal font is found in the basement of our modern temples.

Pharoah is guided by the hand through ritual. Karnak. (click for larger view)

Washings/Anointings

The initiatories are seen around the world – cleansing, purifying, washing, anointing.  Muhammad was asleep.  Gabriel cames, cleanses his heart, washes it, before Muhammad begins his ascent.

Showed the Presentation Scene from Karnak, Egypt.  Pharaoh is taken by the hand by a guide and led.  As part of being Pharaoh he was taken through a temple ritual.  Showed photo of Pharaoh being washed (anhk symbols poured over him).  Clothing and crowning scenes shown, placing the crown on Pharaoh’s head.

Pharaoh being enthroned. Karnak. (click for larger view)

Veils

The idea of a climb through the heavens, passing curtains or veils is pervasive.  Muhammad rides a steed through seven heavens, marked off by curtains or veils.  A prophet guards each one, and they have a question and answer session with Muhammad before he is allowed to pass, when they extend their hands and pull him through.  This happens 7 times on his ascent.  God is depicted in human form on the throne.  Story about 50 daily prayers with Moses and Muhammad.

Dome of the Rock interior. (click for larger view)

Celestial Dome.  The Dome of the Rock interior shows the floor of heaven overhead.  Floral motifs (Eden) around the base.  The Seven Heavens of Muhammad.  Muhammad at the Veil.  Ascension of Abraham – God pulling back the veil, with winged angels, chariot wheels.

Early Byzantine Veil in Kapnikarea, Athens (click for larger view)

Kapnikarea Church in Athens has a restored interior.  They put the altar behind a veil with interesting right angle marks on it [gammadia].

The Divine Embrace.  Shown in Karnak.  The Pharaoh is received by the god by an embrace.

Pharaoh embraced by gods. Karnak. (click for larger view)

Mysteries of Mythra.  Seven heavens, gates, greeted angels, formulas had to be given to get passed these guardians.  There was a celestial father who received them as children.  The person is often deified, becomes a god.

“Revealeth his secret to his servants the prophets” – this was because the prophets had been admitted to the divine court of the gods and had come back and could pass on the secret they gained there.

The celestial tree of life.  The ascension of Muhammad.  Jewels on a splendid tree.

The god Osiris paints Pharaoh's name onto leaf of the tree of life. Karnak. (click for larger view)

Showed the tree of life in the Egyptian tradition.  The god Osiris writing Pharaoh’s name on a leaf of the tree of life.

Conclusion

Dr. Peterson ended with 2 lengthy quotations.  First from 3rd Enoch, which is a late Jewish or early Christian text.  Speaking of Enoch being deified, and given the name Metatron – before the throne.

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Prince of the Presence, said to me: By reason of the love with which the Holy One, blessed be He, loved me more than all the children of heaven, He made me a garment of glory on which were fixed all kinds of lights, and He clad me in it.  And He made me a robe of honour on which were fixed all kinds of beauty, splendour, brilliance and majesty.  And he made me a royal crown in which were fixed forty-nine costly stones like unto the light of the globe of the sun.  For its splendour went forth in the four quarters of the “Araboth Raqia’, and in (through) the seven heavens, and in the four quarters of the world.  And he put it on my head.  And He called me THE LESSER YAHWEH [Jehovah] in the presence of all His heavenly household; as it is written: “For my name is in him.” (3 Enoch 12:1-5)

Jewish Midrash:

The Holy One, blessed be He, will in the future call all of the pious by their names, and give them a cup of elixir of life in their hands so that they should live and endure forever… And the Holy One, blessed be He, will in the future reveal to all the pious in the World to Come the Ineffable Name with which new heavens and a new earth can be created, so that all of them should be able to create new worlds… The Holy One, blessed be He, will give every pious three hundred and forty worlds in inheritance in the World to Come… To all the pious the Holy One, blessed be He, will give a sign and a part in the goodly reward, and everlasting renown, glory and greatness and praise, a crown encompassed in holiness, and royalty, equal to those of all the pious in the World to Come.  The sign will be the cup of life which the Holy One, blessed be He, will give to the Messiah and to the pious in the Future to Come. (Mid. Alpha Beta diR. Akiba, BhM 3:32)

We are enacting something in the temple that we hope will happen to us some day.  The remnants of it are scattered all over the world of these things.  Joseph revealed these things, and likely didn’t know he was revealing them.  They have been found in distorted fossils in all places and times of the world.

Let us avail ourselves of the temple.  It is precious.  The power of godliness is manifest in them.

Conclusion to Notes

Dr. Peterson’s fireside was excellent.  He spoke on a multitude of subjects related to the temple, from many different cultures and times across the world.  It appears that he will present a similar presentation at next month’s FAIR Conference in Sandy, Utah, because his presentation is entitled the same (here is the link to that presentation).  I look forward to any new insights he might bring there.

Update: Someone noted that Dr. Peterson and Dr. William Hamblin joint taught a course at BYU on “Celestial Ascent” in the Winter 2007 semester.  Their notes and lecture videos are available here.

“The Temple as a Place of Ascent to God” – Notes from Dr. Peterson’s Fireside

The Tabernacle at Sunset - by Pat Marvenko Smith (click for larger view)

Note: I taught our Elders Quorum class today, and was assigned the topic of the Mosaic Tabernacle as a Temple.  Below are the notes and illustrations I used for my lesson.

Review of prior lesson on the exodus:

• Children of Israel escape Egyptian bondage (Ex. 14)
• Moses leads them out
• Parting of the Red Sea, Pharoah’s armies are drowned
• Lord begins to organize his people
• Manna rains down from heaven, sends Quail for meat (Ex. 16)
• Moses strikes the rock, and water comes out
• Lord covenants to Israel a peculiar treasure, a kingdom of priests, an holy nation (Ex. 19:5-6)
• 10 commandments and Mount Sinai (Ex. 20)
• The people start to refuse to become what the Lord had offered them – “Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” (Ex. 20:19).  Foreshadowing…
• Many instructions, laws, covenants, etc. are delivered to Moses, which he delivers to the people, who all answer with one voice, “Yes, we will be obedient (Ex. 24:3, 7)

Moses goes up Mount Sinai again to receive instructions for 40 days and nights (Ex. 24:18).  Matthew Brown – “As part of his ascension experience, Moses is said to have been washed, anointed, clothed in heavenly garments, called with names of honor, enthroned, and initiated into heavenly secrets”.  Joseph Smith noted that Moses received the “keys of the Kingdom,” and “certain signs and words”. 

Next 7 chapters are instructions to Moses of how to build the Tabernacle while he is at Sinai.  Meanwhile the children of Israel are at base camp without their prophet, and things start to go bad.

Preliminary considerations – The Tabernacle functioned under the Aaronic priesthood, and as such things are different than we would expect from a temple functioning under the Melchizedek priesthood.  But much of the symbolism and typology remains the same.

Also, because of the translation, editing, and copying of the Bible through many generations, particularly during Josiah’s reforms, the Old Testament has some interpolations and insertions of Aaronic priesthood as the dominant authority throughout much of its history, even before the golden calf.  Some things seem out of place, anachronistic, counterintuitive, or unlogical (see for example Ex. 33 verses 11 and 20).  Some biblical scholars have noted that these are likely the result of later editing and rewriting.

Schematic drawing comparing Garden of Eden to Mosaic Tabernacle. From Temples of the Ancient World, Donald W. Parry, ed. (click for larger view)

Exodus 25 – Tabernacle, Tabernacle of the Congregation, Tabernacle of Witness or Tent of Witness, literally “Tent of Meeting” – Read Ex. 25:8-9 (first mention of Tabernacle).  Translated from two Hebrew words:

Garden of Eden as a prototype for the Tabernacle – temple functioned as a reversal of the effects of the Fall, and include many of the symbols in reverse order, going from the profane to the sacred:

The schematic drawing attempts to depict the sacred landscape of Genesis in simplified form.  The first land to arise from the waters became the Mountain of the Lord, where the Lord created Adam.  It is from this divine center that creation begins and extends out in all directions.  The Hebrew for east means “faceward or frontward”; thus, driving Adam from before his face is part of the continuing eastward movement.  Once a year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Adam’s eastward expulsion from the Garden is reversed when the high priest travels west past the consuming fire of the sacrifice and the purifying water of the laver, through the veil woven with images of cherubim.  Thus, he returns to the original point of creation, where he pours out the atoning blood of the sacrifice, reestablishing the covenant relationship with God.

Mosaic Tabernacle. From templebuilders.com (click for larger view)

Construction of the Tabernacle – Exodus 25-27 -

• Holy of Holies = Celestial
• Holy Place = Terrestrial (Garden?)
• Courtyard = Telestial
• Altar & Laver = sacrifice, obedience, baptism, washing
• Menorah = tree of life, the cross, the light of the world (Christ).. Fall
• Table of shewbread and wine = fruit of the tree of life, sacrament, flesh and blood of Christ.. Atonement
• Altar of incense = prayer, sacred ritual prayer, before the veil
• Veil = separation from God… we can rend through the rending of Christ’s flesh (Hebrews 10:19-20)
• Ark of the covenant = throne of God, immortality and eternal life

Aaron's holy garments (high priest). Diagram Illustrated by Janshen. (click for larger view)

Aaron’s holy garments (or all of Israel before their great sin) – Exodus 28 -

• Aaron’s garments consecrate him and allow him to minister as a priest. (Ex. 28:3).  Consecrate being translated from the Hebrew words meaning to “fill the hand” – sacrificial emblems, olive oil, incense.  The “filled hand” is a widespread sign of offering sacrifice.
• Breastplate (Ex. 28:4; includes many of the following items)
• Ephod = apron
  • Holman Bible Dictionary – “Priestly garment connected with seeking a word from God . . . In early OT history there are references to the ephod as a rather simple, linen garment, possibly a short skirt, apron, or loincloth.  It is identified as a priestly garment… From its earliest forms and uses, it appears that the ephod was associated with the presence of God or those who had a special relationship with God… There are references to a special ephod associated with the high priest.  It appears to have been an apron-like garment worn over the priest’s robe and under his breastplate… Woven of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet materials, it was very elaborate and ornate… The ephod was fastened around the waist by a beautiful and intricately woven girdle”.
• Robe
• Broidered (embroidered) coat = garment worn next to the skin
• Linen breeches (Ex. 28:42) = to cover nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach
• Mitre = a turban or round cap.  Something wrapped around with white linen.  Holman Bible Dictionary – “a type of headdress, probably a turban… In Zech. 3:5 the high priest Joshua received a clean mitre as a sign of the restoration of the priesthood”
• Girdle = sash – Holman Bible Dictionary – “An ornate sash worn by the officiating priests… to gird up one’s loins means literally to tuck the loose ends of one’s outer garment into one’s belt.  Loins were girded in preparation for running, battle, or for service for a master.  The call to ‘gird your minds’ means to be spiritually alert and prepared”.
• Bells on the hem (Ex. 28:35) = sound heard when he goes into the holy place, as an announcement
• Golden crown (Ex. 28:36) = HOLINESS TO THE LORD.  Taking upon him the name of the Lord, literally.
• Blue lace (Ex. 28:37) = a thread, a line, or cord; string to attach the crown, and secure it to the mitre.

Sons of Aaron (priests). (click for larger view)

Aaron’s sons garments – Ex. 28:40 -

• Coat
• Girdle
• Bonnet (hat or headdress)

Aaron and his sons were to be anointed, consecrated, and sanctified, and clothed in these holy garments so that they could minister in the priest’s office and come to the altar in the holy place. (Ex. 28:41-43; Ex. 29:29)

Exodus 29:4– “And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water.”

Clothing in the garments of the priesthood – Exodus 29:5-6

Exodus 29:7– “Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.”

These things were done before the priests entered the holy place.  They were preparatory or initiatory ordinances to become ritually clean to serve in the Tabernacle.

Other offerings of animal sacrifices were offered on the altar.

The Tabernacle was to be a place of meeting the Lord and speaking with Him – Exodus 29:42-46 “This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door [veil?] of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord:  where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.  And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory… And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.  And they shall know that I am the Lord their God… that I may dwell among them: I am the Lord their God.”

All this was given to Moses while he was on Mount Sinai.  The children of Israel, meanwhile, were beginning to build idols, “which shall go before us” (Ex. 32).  Were desiring some intermediary to go before the Lord, now that Moses was gone, and they didn’t know if he was coming back (Ex. 32:1).

The Adoration of the Golden Calf, Nicolas Poussin, April 1633 (click for larger view)

Golden Calf!  Here is the turning point.  Moses comes down and breaks the tablets in his anger (Ex. 32:19, symbolic of the covenant being broken, literally).  The Lord chastises Israel for their great sin.  They will no longer be able to become a kingdom of priests – “Ye are a stiffnecked people: if I came up into the midst of thee in a moment, I would consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee” (JST Ex. 33:5; see also Ezek. 24:17, 23).  The children of Israel can no longer come into the presence of the Lord because of their wickedness, and breaking their covenants.  The Lord commanded the Israelites to remove their “ornaments” (Ex. 33:4-6).  Matthew Brown suggests that this might have been connected with the “robes of . . . glory” that the Israelites were required to remove.  “These robes may be related to the ‘garments . . . for glory’ (i.e. temple robes) worn by the Israelite priests”.  Here we see that all the people were preparing to wear the sacred robes, not just Aaron and his sons.  But they were now unworthy of them.

Brigham Young once took note:

If they had been sanctified and holy, the children of Israel would not have traveled one year with Moses before they would have received their endowments and the Melchisedec Priesthood.”

Moses, and later on Aaron, become the intermediary for the people (Ex. 33:7-11).  They would go before the face of God, not the people.  We get more insight into what happened here in the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C 84:17-27).

17 Which priesthood continueth in the church of God in all generations, and is without beginning of days or end of years.
18 And the Lord confirmed a priesthood also upon Aaron and his seed, throughout all their generations, which priesthood also continueth and abideth forever with the priesthood which is after the holiest order of God.
19 And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.
20 Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest.
21 And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh;
22 For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.
23 Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God;
24 But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence; therefore, the Lord in his wrath, for his anger was kindled against them, swore that they should not enter into his rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fulness of his glory.
25 Therefore, he took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood also;
26 And the lesser priesthood continued, which priesthood holdeth the key of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel;
27 Which gospel is the gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the remission of sins, and the law of carnal commandments, which the Lord in his wrath caused to continue with the house of Aaron among the children of Israel until John, whom God raised up, being filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb.

Moses goes back up the mountain to get the stone tablets again, but this time the covenant did not include the “everlasting covenant of the holy priesthood” that the people were not prepared to receive anymore (JST Deut 10:2).

1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two other tables of stone, like unto the first, and I will write upon them also, the words of the law, according as they were written at the first on the tables which thou brakest; but it shall not be according to the first, for I will take away the priesthood out of their midst; therefore my holy order, and the ordinances thereof, shall not go before them; for my presence shall not go up in their midst, lest I destroy them. 2 But I will give unto them the law as at the first, but it shall be after the law of a carnal commandment; for I have sworn in my wrath, that they shall not enter into my presence, into my rest, in the days of their pilgrimage. (JST Ex. 34:1-2)

For the rest of Israelite history until the coming of Jesus Christ, the temple performed its functions primarily through the Aaronic priesthood, the authority to perform outward and carnal ordinances, but not the authority to bring mankind into the presence of the Father.  Christ restored what was lost through Israel’s iniquity, brought back the higher priesthood, reacquainted man with his Father, and restored the ordinances through which mankind may come once again into the presence of God.  These ordinances have been restored again today.

Here is another schematic drawing of the Tabernacle.

(To see more Tabernacle illustrations see TempleBuilders.com.)

Mosaic Tabernacle as an Aaronic Temple

1. When you are trying to understand another religion, you should ask the adherents of that religion and not its enemies.
2. Don’t compare your “best” to their “worst.”
3. Leave room for “holy envy.”  In other words, recognize those aspects of other religious traditions that you admire and wish could be reflected in your own.

I think there is great truth embedded in these principles, and we have the opportunity to exercise them every day.  In fact, we use them often here on TempleStudy.com to compare the similarities and differences of Mormon temples with other religious traditions and sacred worship practices.

Below is a short new video which succinctly explains what Mormon temples mean to the Latter-day Saints, from the Latter-day Saint perspective.  Hopefully those that are inquisitive about the Church will be able to learn, from us, what the temple means when investigating and evaluating LDS temple worship.

A more comprehensive video of 44 minutes, of which this is only a snippet, is also available to watch, entitled “Between Heaven and Earth,” which includes commentary and interviews from a number of scholars and theologians, both LDS and from other faiths.

Mormon Temples’ Endowment from Mormon Perspective Video

Of course, those that read these statements will easily find Olsen’s words more than contradictory--it’s never been shown on television before, but it’s not for shock value.  Anyone that is excited about showing something on television that’s “never been shown before,” particularly when that thing is held exceptionally sacred by a large group of people, is doing it for shock value.  It’s the very same reason that the media continues to push the envelope in how explicit sex, violence, and horror is portrayed.  They have to show something new to keep the audience hooked, something that pushes beyond the limits of what has been shown before, regardless of the impact it may have on those whose values and morals are higher than theirs. 

It would be untrue to say I am not deeply disappointed in all of the people involved with Big Love, that they would be so insensitive and disrespectful to the LDS Church and its members as to attempt something like this which they know is offensive to us.  But that is what the show has increasingly been about.  Its producers and writers, who hired an “ex-Mormon consultant” for this episode, clearly have a vindictive attitude towards the Church, making it out to be something it is not, and perpetuating misconceptions such as Mormons as polygamists.  Now they want to go all the way in attempting to desecrate our most sacred worship practices.

But, to be honest, people have attempted to profane the temple before.  The ordinances have been scripted online.  Videos of supposed recreations have been posted.  All of these things have been made available to the public, and we will surely see much worse attempts in the future.  Undoubtedly, it doesn’t make it right in the least measure.  But has it profaned the temple?  No.  The temple continues to provide a place of peace and security for the Saints, a house of revelation and prayer where the Holy Spirit resides, a sanctuary where solemn covenants with God are made and sealed, a temple where the most exalting blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ are found.

Br. Randy Bott, an excellent BYU religion professor I once took a class from, made this very clear to me.  There will be many people who will attempt to defame the temple, and our sacred worship, but all of it is in vain.  The Prophet Joseph Smith once boldly prophesied:

Our missionaries are going forth to different nations . . . the Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.

The only people that such defamation hurts are those that break the solemn covenants they’ve made with God, and all for filthy lucre.  They made promises in the presence of God, angels, and witnesses, and they will be held accountable for their actions, in addition to shattering their integrity and honesty among their fellow men.  Who will sell their promises for money?  And those that have not been members of the Church and do these things still know better than to shame and belittle the sacred practices of a major world-wide religion.

The irony is that what these people are attempting to do will backfire on them in the end.  President Brigham Young once rightly declared:

Every time you kick ‘Mormonism’ you kick it upstairs; you never kick it downstairs.  The Lord Almighty so orders it . . . Every time they persecute and try to overcome this people, they elevate us, weaken their own hands, and strengthen the hands and arms of this people.  And every time they undertake to lessen our number, they increase it.   And when they try to destroy the faith and virtue of this people, the Lord strengthens the feeble knees, and confirms the wavering in faith and power in God, in light, and intelligence.  Righteousness and power with God increase in this people in proportion as the Devil struggles to destroy it. . . . Let us alone, and we will send Elders to the uttermost parts of the Earth, and gather out Israel, wherever they are; and if you persecute us, we will do it the quicker, because we are naturally dull when let alone, and are disposed to take a little sleep, a little slumber, and a little rest.  If you let us alone, we will do it a little more leisurely; but if you persecute us, we will sit up nights to preach the Gospel.

I am not worried about this show.  Do what they may, the work will roll on, mightier and faster than ever.  I’ve also learned this great teaching from Br. Bott, that when the sacred things of the temple are displayed outside of that sacred context and divinely ordained environment, they take on a entirely different and foreign meaning to whomever they come in contact with.  Outside the temple they are no longer sacred, they are no longer exalting.  There is no priesthood where those things will be displayed, so there is no power.  They don’t have the same meaning as they do to us when we are in a dedicated house of the Lord, so they will be misunderstood.  They become just words and fabrics.  They will be mocked and ridiculed and laughed at, but probably ignored by most, and they will always get it wrong.  This is the difference between the sacred and the profane.  The Apostle Paul once gave this as a sign of true disciples of Christ, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12).

Members of the Church should not get angry at these individuals, write bitter mail, or make a scene, as much as it is deeply disheartening to see this happen.  That is precisely what they are looking for.  If you pay attention to a temper tantrum, it will only provoke more of the same.  Let’s make this an opportunity to share the gospel even more, and the blessings that are to be found in the temple, the blessings promised to prophets of old restored again.  Let’s be comforted in the fact that we have a living prophet today, that the living gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth, that the authority of the priesthood is in our hands, and that the temple provides us a place on earth where we may commune with our Heavenly Father, and ultimately be in His presence.  Nothing can take that away from us.  President Joseph F. Smith once taught:

Let it be the aim of he Saints to cultivate the spirit of generosity and good will, such as was exemplified in the life of Christ, and proclaimed when the angels heralded abroad the message: ‘Peace on earth, to men good will,’ and which has been reiterated in the modern restoration of the gospel.

See the Church’s response to this issue at the LDS Newsroom’s article “The Publicity Dilemma.”

HBO’s Big Love Attempts Mormon Temple Profanation