This can be seen in the way the Bible is written in Hebrew, one of the oldest languages in the world.  In Hebrew, particularly the Hebrew Bible, there are cantillation marks that specify how the text should be sung: 

Hebrew text, vowel points in red, cantillation in blue

Cantillation marks are described by Wikipedia:

Cantillation is the ritual chanting of readings from the Hebrew Bible in synagogue services. The chants are written and notated in accordance with the special signs or marks printed in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible (or Tanakh) to complement the letters and vowel points…

A primary purpose of the cantillation signs is to guide the chanting of the sacred texts during public worship. Very roughly speaking, each word of text has a cantillation mark at its primary accent and associated with that mark is a musical phrase that tells how to sing that word…

Even the name of the symbols themselves, cantillation marks, gives us a sense of what they are and were used for, the cant- prefix meaning “to sing.”

Michael Ballam

A few weeks ago my wife heard some interesting commentary on this subject on a radio show on Classical 89 called “On Stage with Michael Ballam”.  Michael Ballam is the general director of the Utah Festival Opera, a professor of music at Utah State University, and a very accomplished operatic singer.  He also does some acting.

In his commentary on that program, Br. Ballam said that back in the 1990s he took a sabbatical to go to Israel, and one of the things he wanted to study was the art of cantillation, the way the scriptures are sung in the Jewish synagogue.  This is an ancient tradition, one that Br. Ballam says the Jewish tradition dates back to Moses:

How did Moses, the author of the Torah or The Law, the first five books of the Bible, convey the message to the children of Israel?  He wrote it down on stone or metallic plates of copra, gold etc; he sang the law to them. He couldn't pass around the law in those plates or in those stones. He would have to communicate orally and he did it by singing. The holy writings or scriptures were conveyed in an oral tradition from generation to generation by chanting. That tradition is called Hassan or hassanot in plural. That's why I went to Israel. I wanted to understand that tradition. Not having been brought up in that tradition I wanted to understand its derivation. Moses, Aaron and ultimately the Rabbis in the synagogues and temples would convey God's will through the means of singing his will. It is Jewish tradition that Moses was commanded of God to sing the scriptures to impress upon them their meanings, into their minds and into their hearts.

Br. Ballam wanted to be able to read, hear, and sing those scriptures the way they would have been sung by Moses, and the ancients, before they were written down:

Now, the tradition of chanting the Holy writings were passed down in an oral tradition per centuries until a group of Rabbis in Tiberius, on the Southern shore of the sea of Galilee, determined it was time to write it down, so that it could be more stable. There are a series of marking called Chantalatian markings, there is the prefix Chantalatian, are found in most credible Hebrew Bibles. They are written directly under the words and moved from right to left, remember Hebrew goes from right to left, English goes left to right. They indicate when the pitches go up, when the pitches go down, when they come to a stopping point and when they need to be embellished, given special emphasis. They are supposedly as close to what the children of Israel heard from Moses in the wilderness as possible. One of my goals in going to Israel was to find someone who could read those Chantalatian markings and tell me the authoritarian sound that went with them. I found such an expert, Israel Vault, in a Hebrew University. He began by chanting for me those first lines of the Torah, the Bible. “Bereshit bara Elohim et hashamayim ve’et ha’arets.” The pitch goes up on the word Eloh-im. Why? The name of the Supreme Deity. “ve’et ha’arets”. There is a punctuation there. It comes to a conclusion. That is we hear a cadence. It comes to an end, a period there.

To hear what those first lines of Genesis 1:1 sound like sung in Hebrew, press play in this audio clip:

This is where things got interesting for Br. Ballam.  The expert, Israel Vault, told Br. Ballam an amazing story, and asked him if he could explain it:

He came to America a number of years ago and was asked to speak in a university in New Mexico. He began to chant the Torah: “Bereshit bara Elohim et hashamayim ve’et ha’arets”. As he began to chant, he noticed a segment of the audience becoming very interested, even agitated by it. At the conclusion of the class was met by a group of students all of whom were Native Americans from a Tribe and they asked him a question. Where did you get that music? He said: well, I got it out of the Bible its right there; it has been there for centuries. Why do you ask? And the spokesperson for this group of Navajo students said: It's fascinating to us that, though the words are in a different, it's the same tune that our fathers used to explain the creation to our tradition. Then Israel said to me: I don't understand this. How could this group in another continent, from another separation of time have this same melody to describe creation from the same perspective that ancient Israel did? He asked me if perhaps, those Navajos could be part of the lineage of the tribes of Israel. Would they in fact be one of the lost tribes? I didn't have a definitive answer for him but it is very interesting that the same tune that described the creation of the world in ancient Israel is also the same tune that describes the same story in ancient and modern Navajo.

Hugh Nibley would probably explain the synchronicity by telling about the universality of the creation song:

The word for poetry, poiema, means “creation  of the world.”  The business of the Muses at the temple was to sing the creation song with the morning stars. Naturally, because they were dramatizing the story of the creation, too, the hymn was sung to music (some scholars derive the first writing from musical notation). The singing was performed in a sacred circle or chorus, so that poetry, music and dance go together. (Lucian’s famous essay on the ancient dance, among the earliest accounts, takes it back to the round dance in the temple, like the prayer circle that Jesus used to hold with the apostles and their wives -- Jesus standing at the altar in the arms of Adam, and the apostles’ wives standing in the circle with them. Some have referred to this as a dance; it is definitely a chorus.). So poetry, music, and dance go out to the world from the temple -- called by the Greeks the Mouseion, the shrine of the Muses.

The creation hymn was part of the great dramatic presentation that took place yearly at the temple; it dealt with the fall and redemption of man…

I don’t have a definitive answer either for why the sung Hebrew Bible would be familiar to Navajo Native Americans, but Nibley gives us a good candidate.  Music was used in the earliest of temples to convey the ritual to the initiates.  It was one of the only modes of transmission the people had to pass the story and rites on from one generation to another.  Might the music contained in the Hebrew Bible be the same music sung by the Native Americans to describe the creation story?  Might it be the same creation song that was heard in the temple anciently?  It’s possible.

~~~~~~~~

In other more personal news, I resigned from my job today.  I am a designer by profession, and unfortunately I became overqualified for my position.  If anyone is aware of design work or open designer positions available, I would appreciate any leads.  I do all kinds of design – product design, graphic design, web design, etc.  You can contact me here.

Here’s a link to my design portfolio:

http://brycehaymond.com/Bryce_Haymond_Portfolio.pdf

Thank you!

The Universal Creation Song

Harold Bloom

One of our readers, RBiddulph, recently pointed me to a quote by Harold Bloom, a well-known literary and cultural critic who is currently a Sterling Professor of the Humanities at Yale University, who once said this about Joseph Smith:

I can only attribute to his genius or daemons his uncanny recovery of elements in ancient Jewish theurgy that had ceased to be available either to Judaism or to Christianity, and that had survived only in esoteric traditions unlikely to have touched Smith directly. (Harold Bloom, The American Religion, 101.)

Theurgy means the working of divine agency or intervention in human affairs.

The following hymn was written by W. W. Phelps to the memory of Joseph Smith, who was assassinated at Carthage Jail, Carthage, Illinois, on June 27, 1844:

Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah!
Jesus annointed that Prophet and Seer.
Blessed to open the last dispensation,
Kings shall extol him, and nations revere.

Praise to his memory, he died as a martyr;
Honored and blest be his ever great name!
Long shall his blood, which was shed by assassins,
Plead unto heaven while the earth lauds his fame.

Great is his glory and endless his priesthood.
Ever and ever the keys he will hold.
Faithful and true, he will enter his kingdom,
Crowned in the midst of the prophets of old.

Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven;
Earth must atone for the blood of that man.
Wake up the world for the conflict of justice.
Millions shall know “brother Joseph” again.

Chorus:

Hail to the Prophet, ascended to heaven!
Traitors and tyrants now fight him in vain.
Mingling with Gods, he can plan for his brethren;
Death cannot conquer the hero again.

[Via NewTestamentTempleRitual.blogspot.com]

Harold Bloom on Joseph Smith’s Genius

The living prophets and apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What is Truth? I hope this will help shed some light.  The living prophets of this dispensation have spoken the word of the Lord.

From the “Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson” (pgs. 115-121):

Truth is a glorious thing. We sing about it. “Oh say, what is truth?/’Tis the fairest gem/That the riches of worlds can produce.” (Hymns, 1985, no. 272.) The Church and kingdom of God has no fear of the truth.

We are engaged in the greatest work in all the world-yes, the greatest in the whole universe: the saving and exaltation of our Father’s children, our brothers and sisters. We are the custodians of the truth, the saving principles which, where applied, will build, save, and exalt men.…

Our lives, to be successful, must constitute a constant pursuit of truth-all truth. The gospel encompasses all truth; it is consistent, without conflict, eternal. I have had the privilege of traveling to most parts of this world. I have known presidents and prime ministers-dictators and kings. Nothing I have seen or experienced has changed my resolve to stand with truth.…

Blessed are you if you have a testimony that God has spoken from the heavens; that His priesthood is again among men; that the gospel in its purity and fulness is here to bless mankind; and that we will be judged by its principles. These truths will, if you are wise, take precedence in your lives “over all contrary theories, dogmas, hypotheses or relative-truths from whatever source or by whomsoever” advocated.

As you resolve in your hearts to live the standards of the Church-and you cannot afford to do otherwise from a material standpoint, from a spiritual standpoint, from the standpoint of getting ahead in the world-I hope you will remember that your prescribed standards are a part of a great body of truth-the gospel of Jesus Christ-revealed truth from heaven. Please remember that no discovery of the future will ever be in conflict with the teachings of the gospel. The gospel encompasses all truth. When doubts come to your mind because of instructions you may receive in the classroom, I urge you to remember that time is always on the side of truth, and Mormonism is truth.

From President Joseph F. Smith:

The religion which we have espoused is not a Sunday religion; it is not a mere profession; it is a most--I was going to say--a most terrible reality--and I believe I would be justified in using that expression, because it savors of life unto life or of death unto death. If it is, and pardon me for using that expression, if it is what we profess it to be, what we have embraced it for, what we believe it to be as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is the most important thing in the world to us, and the results to us in this world and in the world to come will depend upon our integrity to the truth and our consistency in observing its precepts, in abiding by its principles, and its requirements.

I esteem it a great privilege to be permitted to live and be associated with my brethren and sisters in the great cause in which we are engaged. Personally, I have nothing but this cause to live for, for the rest of my life. It has been very much, almost entirely, the object of life with me, ever since my childhood; and I am very thankful that I have had the privilege of being connected with the missionary work of the Church, and I hope and trust that I may be able to continue in this ministry the remainder of my days. I feel in my heart that there is nothing greater for me, or for any other man living than to be identified with the cause of truth, and I verily believe that we are engaged in the cause of truth, and not error.

It is so with the Church. From time to time there are characters who become a law unto themselves and they follow the bent of their own “sweet will” until they get themselves into a condition mentally and spiritually that they become a menace to the body ecclesiastic. In other words, they become like a boil, tumor, or carbuncle on the body, you have to call in the surgeon to apply the knife to cut them out that the body may be cleansed from them; and this has been the case from the beginning.

From President Stephen L. Richards:

Through humility and faith the adherents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have accepted the truth about life; and while there is much individual dereliction within the Church and consequent restriction of the truth to individuals, the Church as a body is the chief instrumentality of the Lord in establishing the truth among mankind.…

The truth about man is that he is a son of God. As a son of God he cannot reach his destiny without bearing the power of God. The power of God is the priesthood. It is essential and indispensable for the performance of the vital things in the life of man here and hereafter. No people, no church could successfully defend and establish the truth without that power…

It is a high privilege and a tremendous responsibility to be the custodians of special truths, vital to the welfare of humanity. The Church of Christ is such a custodian. “If the salt shall lose its savor, wherewith shall the earth be salted?” We cannot be true to our commission and permit the truth to be compromised or diluted. Technically speaking, of course, we cannot impair or dilute the truth, but unfortunately, we may greatly impair the concept and appraisal of truth by the inconsistency of our lives and living, and every man can advance or retard the work of God and the spread of truth to the extent to which he personally adopts its standards….

At this point I wish to submit a caution to teachers, particularly those within our Church. I deem it to be regrettable that academic practice not infrequently seems to dictate terminology and types of expression and explanation which often confuse more than they clarify and expound. There are those who apparently regard it as a mark of scholarly attainment to be able to mystify others. I don’t. I look upon clear explanations as the expressions of clear thinking and a high order of intelligence. In religious teaching I believe in calling principles, concepts, and practices by the name by which they are generally known. God and the devil, holiness and sin, faith and apostasy are better understood and have more significance when designated by their right names than when disguised and camouflaged in terminology that not even all the professors can understand.…

I feel sure that we spend a larger proportion of our resources for propaganda than does any other religious organization in the world. We make more sacrifices, more widows scrub and wash, more parents scrimp and save, more loving hearts weep and pray within our Church for the propagation of truth throughout the world than among any other people ten times our number who have lived in the world since the days of the early Christians and disciples of the Master.

Is this defense of truth--this unmatched missionary effort, this propaganda of which I speak? It is. Has it been effective in the past? It has. And thousands upon thousands of happy, God-fearing homes, communities, cities, and societies that have won the esteem and the acclaim of the world are the product of this propaganda for truth.

Does the world need this propaganda today? It does. More, perhaps, than in all its history before, because never has there been more widespread evidence of the need of truth and the reign of error than we now behold. For the moment Satan seems in command. His forces are marching roughshod and tramping under their feet the most precious things in life--liberty, mercy, love, human hearts, and little children. Nothing but the power of truth will stay the cruel hand of these sinister forces. Will that beneficent power be exercised in time to save the earth from complete devastation and ruin? It will. How do I know it? I know it by the fact that the truth has been set in the earth, never again to be destroyed. I know it by the fact that truth is mightier than evil, that God is more potent than Satan, and I know it by the inspiration that attends the holy, authentic, restored priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

From Joseph Smith:

If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things-that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal. . . .

Behold, thou shalt observe all these things, and great shall be thy reward; for unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom, but unto the world it is not given to know them. . . .

From President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.:

These are some of the ultimate truths, which God has revealed to us. These truths endure; they are the same in all lands, and among all people, and at all times. They are changeless. They are the truths which must take precedence over all contrary theories, dogmas, hypotheses, or relative truths from whatever source or by whomsoever brought. These ultimate truths may not be questioned. All secular truths will, must, finally conform to these ultimate truths.

He wounds, maims, and cripples a soul who raises doubts about or destroys faith in the ultimate truths. God will hold such a one strictly accountable; and who can measure the depths to which one shall fail who willfully shatters in another the opportunity for celestial glory. These ultimate truths are royal truths to which all human wisdom and knowledge are subject. These truths point the way to celestial glory..

Lastly, from hymn 272, “Oh Say, What is Truth?”

(Piano by Marvin Goldstein.  Vocals by Wade and Wanda Lindstrom.  Available on “Favorite Hymns of the Prophets, Volume 2.”)

Oh say, what is truth? ‘Tis the fairest gem
That the riches of worlds can produce,
And priceless the value of truth will be when
The proud monarch’s costliest diadem
Is counted but dross and refuse.

Yes, say, what is truth? ‘Tis the brightest prize
To which mortals or Gods can aspire.
Go search in the depths where it glittering lies,
Or ascend in pursuit to the loftiest skies:
‘Tis an aim for the noblest desire.

The sceptre may fall from the despot’s grasp
When with winds of stern justice he copes.
But the pillar of truth will endure to the last,
And its firm-rooted bulwarks out-stand the rude blast
And the wreck of the fell tyrant’s hopes.

Then say, what is truth? ‘Tis the last and the first,
For the limits of time it steps o’er.
Tho the heavens depart and the earth’s fountains burst,
Truth, the sum of existence, will weather the worst,
Eternal, unchanged, evermore.

You know who wrote that hymn? Br. John Jacques:

In the great intercessory prayer that Jesus offered for His apostles, He asked the Father to “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17). Truth and righteousness are intimately linked. How we live flows from and contributes to what we know to be true. As a matter of urgency, the prophets and apostles have always invited the people to come to a knowledge and testimony of the most fundamental truths of existence. The overarching task of withstanding the evils of the world and standing unwavering in the winds of change is to know and be sanctified by the truth.

Born in Leicestershire, England, in 1827, John Jacques joined the Church in 1845 and commenced himself doing missionary work in his native land. In 1856, he migrated to the United States where he joined the ill-fated Martin handcart company. Before the rescue of the Martin and Willie companies on the snow-swept plains of Wyoming, he lost his eldest daughter. From 1869 to 1871, he served again as a missionary in England and later became assistant Church historian.

Why did this noble man abandon his home, undertake with his family the rigors of a handcart journey to the Great Basin, and raise his voice throughout his life to proclaim the gospel? In a word, because he had discovered the Truth. There are many things that are true, but John Jacques not only posed the question that Pilate put to Christ, “What is truth?” but pursued the query to include: What is the nature of the universe? Does life have a purpose beyond the multiple and diverse goals that each of us pursues? Is there a god? If so, what is the nature of that god? What is man’s relationship to Deity, and what is man’s destiny? The answers to such inquiries transcend time and space. They are not limited to a particular culture or historical period. Above all things, having discovered the truth, one’s life is dramatically changed, as was John Jacques’s, who found that truth in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. That discovery and his commitment to it, above all things, explain the choices and the actions of his life.

Exhilarated by this discovery, John Jacques wrote the eloquent words of what became one of the great hymns of the Restoration, “Oh Say, What Is Truth?”…

Many times over the years, I have met people who, like John Jacques, have been brought up short by the realization that there is something that endures beyond the passing mores, philosophies, and practices of the time and defines what is true and right. Often, this understanding transforms not only their thinking but also their lives.

In the mid-1980s I participated in a series of discussions between officials from the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The subject of the talks was the possibility of naval cooperation between America, Britain, and Russia. This happened at a time when the USSR was undergoing massive social transformations, indeed, far beyond what we then understood. The negotiations took place in all three countries.

On one occasion we were meeting in the United States. All three delegations were housed together in a conference center, where our discussions also took place. One evening I went out for a walk. Upon returning to the hotel, I discovered the head of the Soviet delegation, looking very pensive, sitting alone in a lobby area lighted only by a single table lamp. I didn’t know whether or not I should disturb him, but he invited me to join him. Then began a conversation that I shall never forget.

He said to me, “The great difficulties we are now facing in the Soviet Union are really not economic or political in character. They are in fact spiritual. All the `gods’ whom we have worshiped have failed us and we know not where to turn. Dr. Wood, have you ever heard of an American prophet by the name of Joseph Smith?”

As you can imagine, I was taken aback by the question! I answered that yes, indeed I had, told him of my membership in the Church, and inquired why he asked. He said that his mother, who lived in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), had met some representatives of the Church from Finland. They had given her a book, written in English, to read, and she had passed it on to him. He had read it while in the airplane coming over to the United States from Moscow. The book was by Elder LeGrand Richards and was entitled A Marvelous Work and a Wonder. He then said, “Now that I know you are a Latter­-day Saint, let me see if I have grasped the key concept of this book.” He then gave a remarkable exposition of Elder Richards’s ­thesis. He began, “As I understand it, Joseph Smith brought together two ideas that are generally in conflict with each other and combined them in a remarkable synthesis. On the one hand, the Latter­-day Saints believe that mortality is but a moment in eternity and that men and women do not spring into existence at birth and are annihilated at death. We existed before birth and shall persist after death. Moreover, there is a link between those who are yet to be born, those who now live, and those who have passed beyond the grave; there is, in fact, communication across those seeming barriers. Some who have lived have returned and communicated with the living, and there is a great cooperative enterprise that links the unborn, the living, and the dead, aimed at their mutual salvation and perfection. You’re mystics.”

I answered that, while I was uncomfortable with the word mystic, his summary was quite ­accurate.

He then continued. “At the same time, the Latter­-day Saints seem very concerned with improving the lot of mankind in mortality. They do not believe that happiness is simply for another world but needs to be established here through common temporal as well as spiritual efforts. You seem to be community builders. You’re very pragmatic as well.”

I replied that he had correctly concluded. He then exclaimed, using words that clearly resonated with me, “Praise be to the man who brought forth such concepts! Such ideas are the salvation of my people.”

I told him that I had another book that he needed to read. In the trunk of my automobile I had a small box filled with a Russian edition of the Book of Mormon. Knowing I was going to be with a gathering of communists, one of my daughters had given the books to me and said, “Maybe you can find the occasion to distribute some of these!” Well, clearly, if ever there was such a moment, it had come. I retrieved a copy from my car and presented it to this man who was posing once again the age­-old question, “Oh say, what is truth?”

The Apostle Paul counseled the Romans to be transformed by the renewal of their minds; that is, changed according to true understanding. The transformation associated with the discovery of the truth has been variously described as a liberation and a mighty change of heart. Ultimately, the inquiry after truth compels us to transcend the ephemeral values of the particular society and culture of which we are a part. It invites us to participate in the life of the divine.

In the mid­-eighties, little did I think that in a few years the question that had changed John Jacques’s life would so affect the life of this Russian official as well as countless numbers of his countrymen. The two chapters that follow are intended to explain how we come to know the truth and demonstrate how that knowledge transforms lives. (Robert S. Wood, The Complete Christian. Link.)

I testify, to all those who ever come to read this, in clarity of words that cannot be misunderstood, that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God’s true church on the earth today, the one and only church which has a fullness of God’s truth that He is willing to bestow on anyone who comes to embrace it. I know this. I have experienced it personally and in the lives of others. I testify that one day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ, and that this is His Church and His gospel and His truth (Rom. 14:11; Mosiah 27:31; D&C 76:110; D&C 88:104). There is no single other church on the face of this Earth that has the countless truths that stand in the LDS Church today. Every other church combined still does not equal it.  There is no other church that has the authority of God’s priesthood to save mankind and bring them back into the presence of God our Father. There is no other man upon the Earth today who has the keys of the kingdom to receive truth and revelation which can exalt mankind, but Prophet and President Thomas S. Monson. This is the truth. And I solemnly witness and testify of it, and will stand by my word for all of eternity.

The Prophet Joseph Smith has proclaimed to an ungrateful and fallen world:

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.

Oh Say, What Is Truth?

1. Readily available Temple-related Products:  All the products that I’ve been able to find that have to do with LDS temples or ancient temples from Amazon.com I have individually selected and gathered together, sorted, and categorized.  They include temple products from many categories including books (44 items), home & garden (191 items), office (18 items), toys & games (29 items), music (22 items), apparel (8 items), jewelry (32 items), DVD (6 items), and miscellaneous (26 items).  If you are looking for a temple-themed book, tie tack, stationery, photograph, music, game, or other such item, the TempleStudy.com store is a great place to start looking because I’ve already narrowed down the search for you.  The store itself currently includes a total of 376 temple-related products, but there are also many more products available from the “Listmania!” or “Similar Items” links on the right-hand side of the store which change and rotate automatically as you browse the store.
2. No Anti-Mormon Material: You can browse the entire TempleStudy.com store without a worry of running across any critical propaganda, which can often become a distraction from the positive, faith-promoting material that you’re looking for, and many times it is hard to detect from the cover or description alone.  I have hand-picked every item here, and have filtered out all of that diversion.  Have peace of mind when you are looking for just the right temple product.  Note, however, that I can’t choose what appears in the Listmania! or Similar Items lists.
3. Supporting TempleStudy.com:  A portion of each sale from this store will go to help support TempleStudy.com. 

The most valuable part of the store is the books.  There are so many excellent books available that have been written about the temple, from General Authorities and the best of LDS scholars, but sometimes members just don’t know where to start looking.  I have personally selected what I believe are the best books that have been written on the subject and related topics.  This section contains such classics as The Temple in Time and Eternity, Temples of the Ancient World, Temple and Cosmos, The Gate of Heaven, The Holy Temple, and The House of the Lord.  Other studies also include some of Methodist scholar Margaret Barker’s excellent books like Temple Themes in Christian Worship, Temple Theology, and The Great High Priest: The Temple Roots of Christian Liturgy.  Any of these books are excellent in learning more about the temple and ancient temple theology and history.  Take a look through these great books!

Of course, you could just buy these items directly from Amazon.com, but by buying them here a portion of the sale will go to help support TempleStudy.com.  If you have a moment, please take a look through the store.  It will also be available from a permalink on the navigation menu at the top of the website.  You can also see a sampling of the products offered in the store below.

If you have any ideas or recommendations for products that could be added to the store, please let me know.

New TempleStudy.com Store!

The temple in Curitiba Brazil was announced in August 2002, and groundbreaking was in March 2005. The dedication of the temple will take place on June 1st, following a cultural celebration that is expected to be attended by 25,000 people.

The excellent music in this video is by Lex de Azevedo, “If you Could Hie to Kolob,” on the album Variations on a Sacred Theme: Vol. 2, available at Deseret Book, or Amazon.com.

Virtual Open House for Curitiba Brazil Temple

What is this thing that men call death?

Most people in the Church by now are probably familiar with the hymn that Janice Kapp Perry wrote a couple of months ago to accompany a poem written by President Hinckley. President Hinckley published his poem in the May 1988 Ensign article entitled, “The Empty Tomb Bore Testimony,” but he notes that he penned the words many years previous to that at a friend’s funeral.

If you’ve received an email about the hymn you might already know the story behind it. If not, head over to Meridian Magazine which has an article posted detailing the creation of this hymn, including links to the sheet music. The circumstances surrounding the production of the hymn are certainly a “tender mercy” of the Lord, as Janice Kapp Perry describes it. She received official approval of the arranged hymn in the mail from President Hinckley the day after his death.

I think this hymn epitomizes the LDS belief and feelings surrounding mortal death. To members of the LDS Church death is nothing to fear, but a passing into and a beginning of a different stage of our existence. It is progression. Death is not the end, but a beginning of greater things! These doctrines and principles could not be taught more clearly and purely than in the Lord’s temples which dot the earth today. President Hinckley was pivotal in nearly tripling the number of these sacred edifices around the world.

This hymn was sung by the Tabernacle Choir at President Hinckley’s funeral (video link). Since then, Janice Kapp Perry has just recently produced vocal and instrumental recordings of the song with Prime Recordings, Inc. These recordings are very well done. She has made them freely available for all, so I have posted the vocal here for your listening:

What Is This Thing That Men Call Death?

Words by Gordon B. Hinckley, Music by Janice Kapp Perry

What is this thing that men call death,
This quiet passing in the night?
'Tis not the end, but genesis
Of better worlds and greater light.

O God, touch Thou my aching heart,
And calm my troubled, haunting fears.
Let hope and faith, transcendent, pure,
Give strength and peace beyond my tears.

There is no death, but only change
With recompense for victory won;
The gift of Him who loved all men,
The Son of God, the Holy One.

“What Is This Thing That Men Call Death?” – New Recording by Janice Kapp Perry

The excellent music is entitled “The Power of Heaven,” with words and music by Steven Kapp Perry, arranged by Greg Hansen, and from the 1999 album “As Temples Fill the Earth.”  The vocalist is Tammy Simister Robinson.  You can buy the album at the BYU Bookstore or at Deseret Book.

The Power of Heaven – Inside the LDS (Mormon) Temple