Video of the Scale Model of the Salt Lake Temple. (Press play to view)

Today, the Church unveiled an 88-inch scale model of the Salt Lake Temple in the South Visitors’ Center on Temple Square in Salt Lake.  You can see an introduction of the model in the video clip above.  It is a 1:32 scale replica of the temple, with the walls cut away so visitors can see the rooms inside.  Sixteen model makers constructed the model over five months, and went to great lengths to construct the model, using thousands of photographs to make sure every intricate detail was accurate, from the murals, to the wall paintings, chairs, lighting fixtures, etc.  You can look into nearly every room.

The community regularly gets to tour new temples in a public open house before they are dedicated, but since it’s been so long since the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple, they hope this model will allow visitors to get the same experience of this temple:

"This replica will show the millions of visitors who come to Temple Square the beauty and majesty of this sacred and historic building," said Elder Richard G. Hinckley, executive director of the Missionary Department. "Like all temples, once the building is dedicated it is used for sacred Church purposes and not open to the general public, but this exhibit will provide the public with a glimpse of the interior and a feeling of the Spirit that is present there."

You can read more details, and see a few photos, about the model in the Church’s news release.  They also have more details about the project, photos, audio clips, and a fact sheet at this link about the creation process.

I’m going to have to go up to Temple Square to see this fantastic new model.

Scale Model Exhibit of the Salt Lake Temple Opened on Temple Square

How do you feel this video does in explaining in simple terms what the temple is for? Could it be used for sharing with family and friends what the temple is about? Please share with us your thoughts in the comments.

Mormon Temples Made Simple Video

Remove your watch when you enter a house of the Lord. -Elder Richard G. Scott

This last weekend in General Conference, Elder Richard G. Scott gave an incredibly good talk about the temple and the importance of temple attendance.  I will break down more of this talk in a future post to glean more from the great insight he gave us.

One of his “interesting suggestions” for gaining more benefit from temple attendance was this -- “Remove your watch when you enter a house of the Lord.“  I immediately took notice of this counsel, as you might have also.  I have not heard the General Authorities recommend this before.  I did find it “interesting” because it is something that I have already practiced since the first time I went to the temple.  It didn’t feel right for me to wear that piece of apparel into the sacred space.

But how could something as trivial as wearing a watch affect what we gain from the temple?  While it is unlikely we can easily know why Elder Scott counseled us so, let me offer some personal reasons why I don’t wear my watch when I enter the temple, and why it might be a good idea for you too.

1. It’s a distraction

This is probably one of the biggest reasons why I do not wear my watch into the temple.  It doesn’t fit in that sacred place.  Watches are usually big, dark, and bulky, and don’t belong in the environment around us.  They are completely at odds with the symbolism we are immersed in.  When I see others wearing watches, it is a distraction to me, because it immediately draws my attention and focus away from where it should be, on the ordinance work, and learning the deeper meanings of the kingdom.

2. The temple is a timeless place

We go to the temple to get away from the world and it’s preoccupations.  We should not be worried about the passage of time, which can so quickly take us back mentally to the world from which we have left.  We should give time to consider our place in the universe, the progress of our lives, and improving the quality of our character.  Which leads us to reason #3.

3. A watch reminds us of the world

A watch reminds us what is on the outside of the temple when we should be paying heed to what is on the inside, and what is being taught to us.  A glance at a watch could easily remind us of the cares of a job, needs of a business, responsibilities, commitments, worldly struggles, whereas we are to not concern ourselves with those things while at the temple.  The temple should be a refuge from the storms in our lives, a place of peace, somewhere we go to get answers to our problems, not to be reminded of them.  A wristwatch can mix the profane with the sacred, which is an impossibility to begin with.

4. Time does not exist for God

At least not in the conventional sense.  D&C 130:7 notes that the “past, present, and future . . . are continually before the Lord.”  It also teaches that those who inherit the earth and the presence of God will likewise experience time in this continual fashion.  This is incomprehensible to us, being so inseparably connected to the passage of time in mortality.  But time is a very different concept to God.  Somehow he is transcendent to the passage of time.  Since we are striving to become like our Heavenly Parents, a watch does not fit within the pedagogical model of the temple.  A watch belongs in a different world.

5. Going without strict time commitments

Another of Elder Scott’s interesting suggestions was “Leave sufficient time to be unhurried within the temple walls. Rotate activities so that you can participate in all of the ordinances of the temple.” We should try to stay in the temple to ponder and pray instead of being rushed to meet another demands outside the temple walls.  There is so much work to be done in the temple, and Latter-day Saints “who live in the shadow of a temple” are those who can carry it out.

6. It is not temple clothing

We don’t wear other non-temple paraphernalia while in the temple for many of these same reasons.  Eyeglasses are a requisite item in order to gain as much from the temple experience as we can.  Wedding rings also fit within the symbolism of what we are in the temple.  But watches are unnecessary and extracurricular, in my opinion.

7. There are other clocks

We can check the time if we really need to know it.  There are small clocks positioned in various parts of the temple.  Or, you could just ask one of the temple workers.  I don’t believe there is a clock in the Celestial Room, perhaps for these same reasons.

8. It could interrupt a service

Many watches have alarms, “Indigo” lights, and other things that could interrupt a service.  Again, our full focus should be on what we are doing, and trying to be in tune with the Spirit so that the mysteries of God can be unfolded before us.  What we experience in the temple can’t be fully understood in a lifetime of attendance.  We shouldn’t shortchange the time we have to gain as much as we can from what the Lord has to offer.

9. We all dress the same

Allan K. Burgess once wrote:

. . . dressing alike symbolizes that all of us are equal in the sight of God. The rich and the poor, the educated and the unlearned, the boss and the worker, the General Authority and the new Church member all sit side by side in the temple and are of equal importance to the Lord. 

Hugh Nibley also once said:

Does sameness depress you? The heavenly hosts, so we are told, all wear the same simple white garment--how monotonous! We all dress alike in the temple. Are you depressed to be there? No, the difference is in the person himself. It shines through as the individual spirit. The Father and the Son glowed exactly alike. Why doesn’t one wear black and the other wear green or something like that? No. It is the outward sameness that allows inward sameness, the spirit, to shine through. Such monotony is put to shame by the multibillion-dollar fashion industry of our times. The difference is that in heaven it is the individual spirit that shines through. What do we see in the temple, when we are all dressed alike? We must go out to the parking lot to assert our individuality in Mercedes, Cadillacs, and so forth. And which is the more depressing picture? The gaudy display of vanity fair is an attempt to cover up the spiritual and intellectual barrenness of the present world we live in.

Watches can set us apart from one another, which is not what the temple teaches us.  We should not let vanity fair into the temple.

10. Elder Scott has suggested for us to do so

Some will say that this is insufficient reason, in and of itself.  But I don’t believe so.  I don’t think to pray over every item of counsel that leaves the lips of the Lord’s anointed servants in order to believe in it and do it.  If it makes sense, I do it, and I know I will be blessed.  I think this is a really good suggestion from Elder Scott, and when it comes from an Apostle of Jesus Christ I believe it is even more important that we pay attention to it.  It almost felt like Elder Scott was pleading with us to do so when he said it.

What other reasons can you think of that we might want to remove our watches when we enter the House of the Lord?  What else can be a distraction from our sacred worship there?  Anything else that we might want to be aware of as we enter the sacred space?

10 Reasons to Remove your Watch When You Enter the Temple

Inside the Newly Remodeled Mexico City Temple

Video Montage of Temples Around the World

President Ezra Taft Benson (1899-1994)

In recent weeks I have encountered what I consider to be one of the most damaging forms of criticism of the Church.  You might think that it is from all the anti-Mormon literature or propaganda.  Or perhaps it is those who are so vocal as to picket the curbs at our General Conferences with signs, profanity, and filth.  You might think it is those who have become disaffected, have left the Church, and are now eager to tear it down or “expose” it for what they see as serious problems.  You might think it is the work of scholars who have been excommunicated, and now find intellectual haven in promoting arguments against the learned.  You might even think that it is those tribulations that come from the adversary himself.  But this is not the case.

There is a much more gross and pernicious form of criticism of the restored gospel and of the Lord’s restored Church.  It is that criticism which comes from within the Church.

I know that this runs in the same current as several of my latest posts, but I strongly believe that “it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor” (D&C 88:81).  And it also has a direct relationship to the covenants we make to God in the temple. 

Our beloved Prophet and President Ezra Taft Benson once strongly warned:

Sometimes we hear someone refer to a division in the Church. In reality, the Church is not divided. It simply means that there are some who, for the time being at least, are members of the Church but not in harmony with it. These people have a temporary membership and influence in the Church; but unless they repent, they will be missing when the final membership records are recorded.

It is well that our people understand this principle, so they will not be misled by those apostates within the Church who have not yet repented or been cut off. But there is a cleansing coming. The Lord says that his vengeance shall be poured out “upon the inhabitants of the earth. . . . And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord; First among those among you, saith the Lord, who have professed to know my name and have not known me. . . .” (D&C 112:24-26.). I look forward to that cleansing; its need within the Church is becoming increasingly apparent.

The Lord strengthened the faith of the early apostles by pointing out Judas as a traitor, even before this apostle had completed his iniquitous work. So also in our day the Lord has told us of the tares within the wheat that will eventually be hewn down when they are fully ripe. But until they are hewn down, they will be with us, amongst us…

Yes, within the Church today there are tares among the wheat and wolves within the flock. As President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., stated: “The ravening wolves are amongst us, from our own membership, and they, more than any others, are clothed in sheep’s clothing because they wear the habiliments of the priesthood. . . . We should be careful of them. . . .” (Conference Report, April 1949, p. 163.)

The wolves amongst our flock are more numerous and devious today than when President Clark made this statement.  [And it is even worse yet in 2008.]

President David O. McKay said that “the Church is little, if at all, injured by persecution, and calumnies from ignorant, misinformed, or malicious enemies. A greater hindrance to its progress comes from faultfinders, shirkers, commandment-breakers, and apostate cliques within its own ecclesiastical and quorum groups.” (Conference Report, October 1967, p. 9.)

Not only are there apostates within our midst, but there are also apostate doctrines that are sometimes taught in our classes and from our pulpits and that appear in our publications. And these apostate precepts of men cause our people to stumble. As the Book of Mormon, speaking of our day, states: “. . . they have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men.” (2 Ne. 28:14.)

Let me give you some examples of what I see as the hallmarks of these types of apostates within the Church:

• They claim to be active, temple-attending, members of the Church
• They claim to have served faithful missions and currently have callings in their wards or stakes.
• Somehow they have become disaffected from what the prophets and apostles teach, whether it is through anti-Mormon literature, peer pressure, other apostates, being offended by someone in the Church, losing their testimony, becoming too infatuated with Babylon/world, or other ways, but they remain in the Church for social/familial/political/monetary or other reasons.
• They believe that we can’t trust that the leadership of the Church are the Lord’s anointed servants.
• They believe that we can’t trust what the leadership teaches is truth.
• They believe that we shouldn’t believe that the Church is the “one true Church.”
• They believe that we can’t trust that what the prophets and apostles teach us is the mind and will of the Lord for our day.
• They don’t believe in continual revelation through the authorities of the Church.
• They believe that the prophet and apostles have taught and continue to perpetuate false precepts and doctrines, and they focus all there efforts and attention on these controversial subjects.
• They believe that the Church is engaged in intentionally covering-up or hiding its history from its members.
• They believe it is more important to question, doubt, be skeptical, have suspicion, uncertainty, mistrust, waver, fear, and hesitate about the teachings of the Church and its authorities rather than have faith, seek answers, believe, trust in the Lord, have confidence, seek increased learning by study and faith, pray for confirmation, look to ecclesiastical leaders and the authorities of the Church for answers, trust that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is guiding this work by and through his chosen and anointed servants, and that they will never lead the Church astray.
• If they think that the prophets and apostles are teaching incorrect or false principles, they believe they have a moral obligation to teach and tell others within the Church about it, and thereby lead them into the same mode of belief in opposition to Church leadership.

Now, they are expertly subtle about the way they go about much of this.  Their use of words is impeccable, and they sound as if they are full supporters and sustainers of the Church and its leadership.  But you’ll notice that many of the above points are precisely the same arguments as our most vocal critics on the outside of the Church.  The only difference is the first three points.  These are still members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and in many cases they hold high callings and serve in positions of leadership, professorship, or influence among our brethren and sisters.  This is what makes their criticism ever more powerful, deceitful, and destructive among members of the Church.  They are wolves in sheep’s clothing (the priesthood), who are much more easy to believe than those who voice their opinions outside the Church.  Their seduction is unsurpassed in its nefariousness and effectiveness.  Members accept them as their brethren or sisters, trust they are teaching correct principles, fall into the trap of believing their false ideologies, are pacified by their worldview and with their relaxed take on the restored gospel, and are lulled away into the carnal security of believing in their own selves and not on Christ and His restored Church, and thus they are in a most deadly way cheated by the adversary, and if they do not come to a realization of the truth and the deception they have fallen into and repent, they will be led by the adversary down to hell (2 Nephi 28:21).  It is the tares among the wheat within the Church that have done and will continue to do the Church the most harm, particularly as Babylon spirals uncontrollably downward in wickedness, lies, and corruption which has been foretold will precede the Second Coming of the Savior.

This is none other than pure apostasy which the prophets and apostles have warned us about time and time again since the beginning.  Those are precisely the things that we have been told are the hallmarks of apostasy.  If we believe in these philosophies of man which are mingled with Church concepts, and associate ourselves with such persons and corruption, we have built our house on a sandy foundation, and when the horrendous storms come, we will most certainly fall:

24 ¶ Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. (Matt. 7:24-29; see also 3 Ne. 11:39-40, 3 Ne. 14:24-27, and 3 Ne. 18:13)

Such apostasy took place among the membership of the early Christian church too.  The Apostle Paul warned the Romans:

16 Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.
17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
19 For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. (Rom. 16:17-19)

Paul also warned Timothy:

3 As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine,
4 Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.
5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
6 From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;
7 Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.
8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; (1 Tim. 1:3-4; see especially D&C 52:9, 36)

It is precisely these kinds of divisions, false doctrines, and a break between those who were teaching and those who were the authorities of the Church that caused the early church to fall into the Great Apostasy.  The Lord even warned Joshua in the Old Testament:

Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. (Josh. 1:7)

What is the rock that we should built upon in our day?  Jesus Christ taught us clearly in the New Testament:

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matt. 16:18)

The rock is the authority of the priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the revelation which He gives through that priesthood to those who profess His name.

There is a reason why Christ has established disciplinary councils within the Church.  Elder Ballard has taught why we have them:

[Their] purpose is threefold: to save the soul of the transgressor, to protect the innocent, and to safeguard the Church's purity, integrity, and good name.

By promoting the false ideologies that I have listed above, apostates within the Church are circumventing these very three purposes that God has established in His Church for members to repent of wrongdoing, increase their faith in Christ, and become perfected in Him.  It is not OK to just be a “Sunday” member of the Church.  It is not OK to be on the rolls solely for social interaction.  It is not OK to believe that the Church is only “mostly true” or only “good.”  It is not OK to disregard the counsel of the prophets and apostles and to be swayed by every wind of doctrine.  It is not OK to believe more in the philosophies of man or your own arm of flesh than in the word of God as He delivers it through his anointed servants.  It is not OK to not have a testimony of the truth of this work.  It is not OK to half-heartedly obey the commandments.  It is not OK to publicly and openly discredit the prophets and apostles that the Lord has set at the head of this Church, or to otherwise criticize the Lord’s anointed.  These are damnable offenses, contrary to the word and will of God, and are violations of the sacred covenants that we make with God in the holy temple.  When the Bridegroom comes, those who have so lived will not find a place at the wedding supper.  It would be much better for these to receive ecclesiastical guidance and, if necessary, disciplinary counsel from the Lord’s representatives to help them on their journey of progression and faith in Christ, than for them to hide in the pews behind this façade of false faith, complacency and carnal security which gets them nowhere, and which leads others down the same path of darkness.

Having said that, do not think that I am being “anti-intellectual.”  A prophet has declared that “to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God” (2 Nephi 9:29).  But, if we do not hearken to the “counsels of God,” their “wisdom is foolishness,” for they suppose they know the truth “of themselves,” and it “profiteth them not” (2 Nephi 9:28).  We’ve been criticized, inside the Church and out, that we follow the General Authorities by blind obedience.  As has been taught many times by Christ and His servants, we don’t obey because we are blind.  We obey because we can see.  Faith is the oil which lights our lamps (Heb. 11).  We have received a testimony and witness from the Holy Ghost that this Church is true.  It is the Church of Christ.  We know that it is led by prophets and apostles of God.  We know that they converse with the Lord, face-to-face.  We know the countless blessings we have received by following their counsel.  We know the Book of Mormon is the word of God, for we have tested it.  We know that this is the kingdom of God on the Earth today.  We know that by following the teachings of the living prophets that we will find safety and security in the turmoils of our day and time.  We know that there are miracles upon miracles that occur daily throughout the Church because we have the faith to participate in them and witness them.  We know that Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, is leading this Church, and none other.

Do not be deceived.  We have been warned about these times.  The Apostle Paul again cautioned the Church:

1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.
10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Tim. 3)

Members of the Church should be doubly aware that the most damaging deceit that we will have in the last days will be that which comes from within the shadows of the membership of our very Church.  In the Book of Mormon we are told that “priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the Welfare of Zion… But the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion…” (2 Nephi 26:29, 31).  Many of these same points of apostate criticism were also used by the anti-Christ Korihor in Alma 30, and Alma the younger and the sons of Mosiah when they sought to destroy the church of God.

Trust in God.  Trust that God has called those who preside over His Church, and that He will not let them lead it astray.  Pray to Him to know with a surety of these things.  If you will do this, you will in nowise lose your reward.

27 Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;
28 For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.
29 But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned.
30 Who am I that made man, saith the Lord, that will hold him guiltless that obeys not my commandments?
31 Who am I, saith the Lord, that have promised and have not fulfilled?
32 I command and men obey not; I revoke and they receive not the blessing.
33 Then they say in their hearts: This is not the work of the Lord, for his promises are not fulfilled. But wo unto such, for their reward lurketh beneath, and not from above. (D&C 58:27-33)

I bear my testimony once again, that this is the one true Church of Jesus Christ on the Earth today.  I know that.  I know many who know that.  God has called those who have led the Church, from Joseph Smith to President Thomas S. Monson, and the apostles.  Christ leads it today.  Christ suffered in Gethsemane and on the cross so that we could be forgiven for all our shortcomings, weaknesses, faults, and sins.  If we come unto Him with full purpose of heart, thirsting and hungering after the word of God, He will bless us immeasurably, and we will eventually be crowned with immortality and eternal life in the kingdom of our Heavenly Father.

And in fine, wo unto all those who tremble, and are angry because of the truth of God! For behold, he that is built upon the rock receiveth it with gladness; and he that is built upon a sandy foundation trembleth lest he shall fall. (2 Nephi 28:28; cf. 1 Nephi 16:2)

The Grossest Form of Church Criticism

Planet Earth

The account of the garden of Eden in Genesis is a very interesting story indeed.  We learn much about the experiences of our first parents and their interactions with God.  It was a very intimate relationship, one in which God walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the garden (Gen. 3:8).

When Adam was first placed in the garden of Eden, he was given a charge to take care of it:

And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. (Gen. 2:15)

The Hebrew word for “dress” is avad, which means to work, labor or serve.  Closely related is the word avodah, which means service.  Even at this early date man was given a stewardship over the earth, and to take good care of it, even while it was still paradisaical! When Adam and Eve transgressed the law of God and fell they were sent from the garden into the dreary world, but with the same charge of stewardship: 

Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. (Gen. 3:23)

The word used for “till” is again, avad.  Since this term also means “to serve,” one could easily misinterpret what man was being commanded to do in these instances.  Man was not being commanded to “serve the earth.” This was hardly the Gaia worship we see rampant in the world today (check out the link).  It was actually far from it, which can be clearly seen from the use of the same word, avad or avodah, throughout the rest of the scriptures.  Hamblin and Seely inform us:

The same word God used when he commanded Adam and Eve to “work” in the Garden--avodah--is used to describe the “service” of the Tabernacle performed by the priesthood.

The “work” of man on the earth was to be tied directly to his worship of God, not the earth. Donald W. Parry expounds further on the meaning of these words in his latest paper in the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies:

As we are aware, the Old Testament sets forth a strong connection between temples and service. The Hebrew words ʿavodah (service) and ʿavad (serve) frequently refer to the ancient Israelite temple system. In fact, some Hebrew scholars and lexicographers disclose that the verb ʿavad, often translated “to work” or “to serve,” also means “to worship” or “to perform a (cultic) rite,” referring specifically to temple worship.

In this connection, service and serve occur approximately sixty times in the Hebrew Bible with regard to the Levite task of dismantling, transporting, and reassembling the Mosaic tabernacle. Service and serve also occur with regard to other official duties connected to the tabernacle (and later the temple), including the guard duty of the structure and its courtyard, the system of sacrifices, and the upkeep and care of the sacred furniture, utensils, and instruments.

The expressions “service of the tabernacle” (Hebrew, ʿavodat hammishkan) and “to do the service of the tabernacle” (Hebrew, laʿavod ʾet ʿavodat hammishkan) are both formulaic or standard phrases (see Numbers 3:7-8; Numbers 7:5, 9; Numbers 8:22; Numbers 16:9; Numbers 18:4, 6, 21, 23, 31). After the tabernacle was permanently dismantled and Solomon’s temple was built, the formula “service of the tabernacle” was discontinued. It was replaced with the expression “service of the house of God” or “service of the house of the Lord,” referring to Solomon’s temple. These phrases also became formulaic, especially in Chronicles (see 1 Chronicles 9:13; 1 Chronicles 23:28, 32; 1 Chronicles 28:13).

The picture that we begin to see here is that avad and avodah have a much deeper and rich meaning than simple work or labor.  Such earthly work and labor were to be focused on serving and worshiping the God of heaven and earth. When Adam and Eve and their posterity went to “dress” the garden, or “till” the ground, they were to keep in mind Him who made it all for them, for it was the stewardship that He gave them to do it in the first place.

An interesting connection that also comes to mind is God’s statement to Adam and Eve:

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread [lehem], till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Gen. 3:19)

Was this sweat and labor to be completely detached from the worship of God?

Tabernacle Coverings

As one begins to study the history of the tabernacle of Moses and its construction, it becomes clear that those who ministered in this temple probably endured some intense heat.  First of all, the Israelites were wandering in a desert where the climate was likely arid and hot. Combine this with the coverings over the tabernacle proper:

The solid structure of the tabernacle was overspread by four separate and distinct coverings.  The innermost of these enclosures was a “tabernacle” (miskan) made of fine-twined linen followed by a “tent” (ohel) of black goat’s hair, a “covering” (mikseh) of ram skins that had been dyed red, and then a “covering” (mikseh) of dolphin skins (see Exodus 36:8-19).

The tabernacle was extremely well-insulated.  While this likely protected the sacred interiors from the elements of the desert outside, as well as being symbolic, it undoubtedly also produced sauna-like conditions inside the structure.

Table of Shewbread

One of the few objects placed inside the tabernacle was the table of shewbread.  There were twelve loaves of this unleavened bread stacked in two rows of equal numbers.  As Matthew Brown acutely writes, “In Hebrew, ‘shewbread’ actually consists of two separate words--(paneh, face) and (lehem, bread)--hence a literal translation would be ‘bread of the face’ (the bread that sits before the face of Jehovah) or, as many translators prefer, ‘bread of the presence’ (the bread that sits in the presence of Jehovah)”.  Could this “bread of the face” have also had reference to the faces of the priests, who literally took upon themselves (and particularly their foreheads) the name of Yahweh in the Holy Place, and whose faces sweated to produce the bread and to partake of it weekly? Part of the priestly liturgy was to consume this bread, along with wine, while inside the sweltering tabernacle:

The priests were to gather inside the Holy Place every Sabbath day and consume the bread that lay upon the golden table (see Leviticus 24:8-9).

Later, from the New Testament we learn that Christ was the “true bread” and the “true vine,” which became memorialized in the Christian sacrament or Eucharist.

So was the Lord’s injunction that “in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread” solely a command to go to work on the earth to provide for oneself and forget one’s relationship with God in the garden, or did it also have reference to worship in the temple, tending to the earth to keep it in a temple-like state, service to God, remembering the atoning sacrifice of the Savior, and that all the things of the earth ultimately come from God, even our daily bread? (D&C 104:13-18; Matt. 6:11).

We should keep all of this in mind as we go to work each day and are good stewards of the earth, that God is our ultimate authority and sovereign, and that all labor and environmental obligations are subservient to Him and none else, and that all our passions are to be kept bridled within the limits prescribed by the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

Service on Earth & Worship of God

Pictorial Video Tour of Interior Twin Falls Idaho Temple

Another Video Preview of the New Twin Falls Temple

This video comes from Times-News at MagicValley.com.  It is introduced by Elder William Walker, member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, and includes some commentary from the construction company (Big D Construction), Brent Nielson (Chairman of the Twin Falls Temple Committee), and some other members of the Church.  It also includes some video of the inside of the temple.  Typically the Church publishes photos of the interior, but this is the first time I’ve seen short video clips produced in connection with the opening of a new temple, which include the celestial room, baptistery, ordinance rooms, sealing rooms, and lobby.  The temple is a beautiful sacred place.

Video Inside the New Twin Falls Temple