Hezekiah Reopens the Temple, by T. C. Ducdale. From the Ensign, March 1982, 81 (inside back cover)

A friend of mine passed along this intriguing painting found in the Ensign of March 1982 (pg. 81, inside back cover).  It is entitled “Hezediah Reopens the Temple” by T. C. Ducdale.

It depicts the scene from 2 Chronicles 29 when King Hezekiah gathered together the Levites, told them to sanctify themselves, and commissioned them to cleanse the temple and restore it, and remove all idolatry from it.  When this was done, a celebration occurred in which burnt offerings were made on the altar, and different instruments were given to the Levites to make song and praise to the Lord.  All rejoiced.  The Levites are wearing the sacred garments prescribed to them for service in the temple (Ex. 28:39-40).  The High Priest also wore these same garments on the Day of Atonement, when he made an offering in the Holy of Holies (Lev. 16:4).

Hezekiah Reopens the Temple by T. C. Ducdale

Zacharias

The Vision of Zacharias, James Tissot, 1899

Zacharias was a priest and the father of John the Baptist (Luke 1:5).  His wife was Elisabeth.  Of them the scriptures say:

And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. (Luke 1:6)

One of the opening scenes from Savior of the World shows Zacharias going to the temple to perform his priesthood service (Luke 1:5-23).  The program we received at the performance described an interesting detail about this experience, referencing Alfred Edersheim’s book The Temple: Its Ministry and Services:

The most solemn part of the Jewish daily temple service was the incense offering, its rising smoke symbolizing Israel’s prayers.  Priests in a state of ritual cleanliness and worthiness were selected by lot to perform the offering.  Because of the great number of priests, the lot could fall to a priest only once in a lifetime, and many never enjoyed this privilege.

So Zacharias was a fortunate priest, indeed, to have received the lot to burn incense in the temple (Luke 1:9).  As we know, while in the temple Zacharias received a divine vision and ministration from the angel Gabriel, who appeared to him “standing on the right side of the altar of incense” (Luke 1:11).  Gabriel told Zacharias that he would be a father, that Elisabeth would bear a child, and that he would call his name John (Luke 1:13).  John would go forth in the power and spirit of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, a concept that was repeated in another heavenly vision to the prophet Joseph Smith by Elijah in the Kirtland Temple in 1836 (Luke 1:17; D&C 110:13-16).  When Zacharias didn’t believe the words, the angel said:

I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. (Luke 1:19)

I think this is an interesting verse, for Gabriel was standing in the presence of God in more than one sense, in that he was also standing in the temple, a place which for the Israelites was the literal dwelling place for deity upon the earth.  It was the place where God manifested himself to this covenant people.  Here again, God was manifesting his will to man, setting the temple again in the role of the gate of heaven, a place of revelation and divine communication.

Mary

Of course, the prophecy of the coming of John the Baptist was a precursor to the revelation of the conception and birth of the baby Jesus to the virgin Mary.  The same angel Gabriel came to her and announced the coming of the Savior through her.  It might not seem like there is any temple connection here, but there are early Christian traditions which place Mary in the temple as a youth, as well as extensive temple associations later.  Drs. William Hamblin and David Seely offer some insightful commentary about Mary in their excellent book Solomon’s Temple: Myth and History:

In these tales Mary was presented at the Temple as a young girl and prophetically blessed by the priests.  She lived her early life in the Temple, weaving the great veil that would eventually be rent at the Crucifixion (Matt. 27:51). She was “brought up in the Holy of Holies and received food from the hand of an angel, and heard hymns, and danced before him.” 

In addition, the vision of Gabriel to Mary has been linked to the temple:

In some traditions, the annunciation of the birth of Christ occurred in the Temple, after which the high priest had an angelic visitation in the Holy of Holies, in which he was ordered to select the widowed Joseph as husband for Mary.

Moreover, by conceiving and bearing Christ, Mary herself became a temple of the Lord:

Through the incarnation, Mary herself became a Temple: for God “willed to construct a temple in your womb, so that it might become His dwelling place.” . . . Mary also came to be identified symbolically with the Ark, as the dwelling place of God incarnate; in allegorical terms she was thus the Holy Holies of the new Temple, in which the presence of God was revealed as Christ.

Swaddling Clothes

Swaddling clothes might not seem like anything of consequence, but there may be more significance in this than is commonly considered. Elder Russell M. Nelson gave a talk at BYU a few years back in which he talked about the significance of the swaddling clothes of the Christ child:

Why was reference made twice in Luke 2 to His being wrapped in swaddling clothes? What is the meaning of those five words "wrapped him in swaddling clothes"? I sense a significance beyond the use of an ordinary diaper and receiving blanket. Instead of those five words in the English text, only one word is needed in the Greek New Testament. That word is sparganoo, which means to envelop a newborn child with special cloth, strips of which were passed from side to side. The cloth would probably bear unique family identification. That procedure was especially applicable to the birth of a firstborn son.

You remember the announcement of an angel at the birth of Jesus:

"This shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." His wrappings surely would have been distinctive.

I think that such a concept of a cloth with family markings might also have been relevant when Joseph, son of Israel, became the birthright son and received the unique cloth coat of many colors-a fabric symbolic of the birthright. (Russel M. Nelson, "Christ the Savior is Born," BYU Devotional, 10 December 2002, http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=506)

These same swaddling bands may have been used also for Joseph and Mary’s wedding, as noted by Donna Nielsen in her book Beloved Bridegroom:

…swaddling bands were also to be embroidered with symbols indicating family history and genealogy. According to ancient and modern custom, the embroidery, to be acceptable, must be exactly the same on both sides. This was a type showing that the outward life and the inner life were the same-they were never to have a "wrong side" to their character. Under the wedding canopy, these decorated bands would be tied around the clasped right hands of the bride and the groom; hence the saying, "They tied the knot". These bands would later be used to fasten the swaddling clothes of their children.

Wise Men

Probably one of the most interesting recent studies of the Christmas story in connection with temple themes is Margaret Barker’s new book, Christmas: The Original Story.  I haven’t been able to get a copy of this book yet, but Dr. Hamblin was able to interview Margaret Barker a few months ago in which she spoke about some of the research in her book (see this part of the interview here, and here):

Those three gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh, the old tradition was, that Adam, the original high priest, the angels had given him those three gifts as souvenirs to remind him of the paradise that he had been expelled from, the paradise was code for the temple.  So gold, frankincense, and myrrh were symbols of the temple that had been lost, and the three wise men were bringing those symbols to the new Adam, talking about building the new temple.  I mean it's all there.

It will be interesting to read any new insights that Barker brings to forefront with this interesting book.

Simeon & Anna

As was Jewish custom, after forty days Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the temple.  There they met Simeon, a righteous man, who receive a revelation by the Holy Ghost that this child was the Savior of the world (Luke 2:25-35).  During the same visit they met Anna, a prophetess, who labored unceasingly in the temple, who also proclaimed that this was the Lord who would bring redemption (Luke 2:36-38).

Conclusion

These are some of my thoughts as I ponder on the birth of Christ during this holy-day.  The coming of the Savior in the flesh changed the nature of the temple forever after, for Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike, but that coming was intimately connected to the temple from the introduction of John the forerunner through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, and continues to be a central part of the worship of millions today.  I am grateful for the blessing of having temples in our day, and of worshiping the Lord in the way he has prescribed for us, that we may become like Him.

The Christmas Story and the Temple

Genesis 8

Noah's Thanksoffering (c.1803) by Joseph Anton Koch. (click image for larger view)

This morning I was listening to the ABC News report on the incoming hurricane Ike, which is heading straight towards the Galveston/Houston area of Texas, and the forecast of widespread destruction that it is provoking.  The news anchor was reporting from Galveston Island, Texas, where the brunt of the storm is said to be bearing down quickly.  The reporter ended his news clip by saying that there was a rainbow directly over Galveston Island.

It is destructive times like these that cause us to reflect on God, and His place in our world.  It seems like cruel irony that the rainbow was placed as a sign of the covenant that God made with man that He would not flood the earth again.  But then again, that was surely a deliberate decision, that each time we witness these horrific natural events like hurricanes we remember God is still there, and that He knows our trials and tribulations (cf. Hel. 12:3).  Yes, even “if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good” (D&C 122:7).  Events like these turn us back to God, and remind us to worship Him who is the Creator of heaven and earth.  It is only by obeying God’s commandments and enduring trying times such as these that we can “triumph over all [our] foes” (D&C 121:7-8): 

8 ¶ And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;
10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.
11 And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth. (Gen. 9:8-17)

This is a very insightful passage of scripture.  What we have here is a covenant pattern, with ritual enactments which bind the covenant.  God establishes a covenant with man, with a promise, and signs that covenant with a physical/visual token (Hebrew ‘owth [H226], also means sign, distinguishing mark, or ensign; perhaps related to our English word oath) by the setting of the rainbow in the sky in remembrance of that covenant.  Both God and man could look upon that token, the rainbow, and remember the covenant that they had made (v. 16).  It is also interesting that Ezekiel uses the rainbow to describe the glory and presence of the Lord (Ezek. 1:28).

Was it only a one-way covenant?  Absolutely not.  There is no such thing; covenants are by definition two-way agreements, which is clear in this scripture (see verses 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17).  The above passage comes directly after Noah and his family had left the ark and Noah built up an altar and offered burnt sacrifices upon it (Gen. 8:20).  Noah was proclaiming his allegiance to God, and his remembrance of the ultimate sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son, and that he would follow God’s commandments by offering sacrifices and burnt offerings (cf. Moses 5:6-8).  These sacrifices were the sign or token of Noah’s promise before God.  Only after Noah offers his sacrifice does God make several reciprocal promises to Noah and his family, followed by God’s token of the covenant in the rainbow:

21 And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. (Gen. 8:21-22)
1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.
6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein. (Gen. 9:1-7)

You’ll notice that the blessings and stipulations of the covenant include promised land, posterity, and health, the same as the covenant that God made later with Abraham (Abr. 2:6-11), Isaac (Gen. 26: 1-4, 24), and Jacob (Gen. 28; Gen. 35: 9-13; Gen. 48: 3-4).  You’ll also notice that these blessings are a reversal of the consequences of the Fall of Adam and Eve.  For instance, Adam and Eve were told that the ground would be cursed for their sake (Gen. 3:17).  Here Noah is told that the ground is no more cursed (Gen. 8:21).  The commandment and blessing to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth is the same command Adam and Eve received before the Fall (Gen. 1:28).

A modern prophet in this dispensation has reemphasized the two-way nature of the covenant that God made with Noah, and the sign and token of the rainbow. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught:

I have asked of the Lord concerning His coming; and while asking the Lord, He gave a sign and said, “In the days of Noah I set a bow in the heavens as a sign and token that in any year that the bow should be seen the Lord would not come; but there should be seed time and harvest during that year: but whenever you see the bow withdrawn, it shall be a token that there shall be famine, pestilence, and great distress among the nations, and that the coming of the Messiah is not far distant.”

But I will take the responsibility upon myself to prophesy in the name of the Lord, that Christ will not come this year, as Father Miller has prophesied, for we have seen the bow… (HC 6:254; March 10, 1844)

The Lord deals with this people as a tender parent with a child, communicating light and intelligence and the knowledge of his ways as they can bear it. The inhabitants of the earth are asleep: they know not the day of their visitation. The Lord hath set the bow in the cloud for a sign that while it shall be seen, seed time and harvest, summer and winter shall not fail; but when it shall disappear, woe to that generation, for behold the end cometh quickly. (HC 5:402; May 21, 1843)

If man does not remember God, and his oblations to Him, then the covenant will be broken.  Does God make such covenants with man today?  I testify that He does, and only in His temple, the house of the Lord.

The singer/songwriter Kirby once wrote a song entitled “Hurricane Rainbow”:

A rainbow bent down
And touched that hurricane hole
Her multi-colored majesty
Made me again – remember when
That big wind she blew
And turned our world to gray
And if it weren't for you
I may not be – here today

A furious wind howls
And the angry waves pound
But we're alright – since we saw
A rainbow come down

Way up in the states they say
This whole island got blown away
Oh how dem newsboys love dat stuff
Rooftops fly – cows sail by
Well sure we lost a few rooftops
Boats were ravaged on the rocks
But that lunatic was way too slow
To blow away – this rainbow

Oh a furious wind howls
And the angry waves pound
But we're alright – since we saw
A rainbow come down

Yes we're alright – since we saw
A rainbow come down

The Rainbow – A Token of the Covenant

Detail from a 6th century mosaic in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy.

(Continued from Part 1)

As you might have imagined, the first thing I did when my parents told me the story of the “seal of Melchizedek” on the San Diego temple, and of the connection with Hugh Nibley, I immediately did some searches to see if I could find if it was referenced in LDS literature.  The only reference I found was an image caption in the article “Sacred Vestments” in the book Temple and Cosmos:

Another Ravenna mosaic, c. A.D. 520, shows the priest-king Melchizedek in a purple cloak, offering bread and wine at the altar (Genesis 14:18-20).  The white altar cloth is decorated with two sets of gammadia, as well as the so-called “seal of Melchizedek,” two interlocked squares in gold.  Abel offers his lamb as Abraham gently pushes Isaac forward.  The hand of God reaches down to this sacred meeting through the red veils adorned with golden gammadia on either side.  The theme is the great sacrifice of Christ, which brings together the righteous prophets from the past as well as the four corners of the present world, thereby uniting all time and space. (Nibley, “Sacred Vestments,” Temple and Cosmos, 109.)

The drawing of the mosaic by Michael Lyon shown in Temple and Cosmos is from a basilica in Ravenna, Italy, called Sant’Apollinare in Classe.  This is the best color photograph of this mosaic I could find: 

The three sacrifices of the Old Testament. Abel, Melchisedec and Abraham (6th-7th century). Mosaic. Ravenna. Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe, apse, right side. (Hamblin & Seely, Solomon's Temple, 111) (click for larger view)

You can clearly see the 8-pointed star symbol in the center of the altar cloth.  This mosaic depicts Melchizedek in a purple cloak administering bread and wine on the altar as the high priest in the temple.  God’s authorization of the event is manifest by His hand reaching down through the clouds.  On the left Abel offers a lamb to be sacrificed, and on the right Abraham offers Isaac, both shadows of the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  It is also interesting to note, as Nibley did, that there are gammadia symbols (shaped like the Greek letter gamma) both on the altar cloth and two veils in this scene.  The mosaic dates from the 6th century.  Click the image to the right for a larger view.

There is much detail work inside the star symbol that is hard to discern.  It appears as though there are two interlocking squares with two or three more concentric circles inside of them.  I would be interested to find a more detailed closeup photo of this mosaic if anyone can find one.  SuperStock has some high resolution versions available here; unfortunately since they are rights-managed stock photos the cheapest I could figure to purchase it would be $150.

Scenes from Abraham's life: Abel and Melchizedek bringing their offerings to the altar (538-545 A.D.), Basilica of St. Vitale, Ravenna, presbytery, left wall, central lunette. (click for larger view)

There is also another iteration of this symbol on an altar cloth in a different mosaic in Ravenna, Italy.  It is located in the Basilica of San Vitale.  I was able to find a very high-res photograph of this mosaic.  Click the image on the right to see the larger version.  In this scene, again we see Abel offering his lamb, and Melchizedek offering the bread on the altar.  Behind Abel is an Adamic-type sanctuary, and behind Melchizedek is the temple of Jerusalem.  The hand of God again is seen coming down through the clouds to accept the offering.  You can see the 8-pointed star symbol, but it is also very evident that there are two interlocking squares that make up the symbol, with two concentric circles inside of them (see the closeup at the beginning of this post).

After conversing with some LDS scholars at BYU and elsewhere, these are the only two concrete artifacts which we’ve been able to find which might link Melchizedek with the symbol of the 8-pointed, two interlocking square, star.

Moreover, so far we have been unable to find any non-LDS scholars who have referred to this symbol as the “seal of Melchizedek” (although Michael Lyon believes he may have once seen it referenced by that name in a Catholic commentary on symbols).  However, there is other supporting evidence for a possible link between Melchizedek and the symbol, as I will share in the forthcoming posts, including my phone conversation with the design architect of the San Diego Temple.

Nibley once commented on the difficulty of being certain about the origin or meaning behind these symbols, and we would do well to keep his remarks in mind as we explore these things:

These things do get around. They become lost; they become simply designs; nobody understands what they are; nobody understands any more the meaning of the words. Thus we speculate as we try to reconstruct them. (Nibley, “Sacred Vestments,” Temple and Cosmos, 111.)

(Continued in Part 3)

The Seal of Melchizedek – Part 2

In the [LDS] service that I attended, the speaker said that service to the Temple is the most important service that we can provide.  Is this opinion common across members of the LDS church?  Why is service to the Temple held in higher regard than, say, service to the poor?

This is how I replied: 

The temple is extremely important to members of the LDS Church.  Like ancient Israel, Judaism, and early Christianity, temples form the center of our religious life.  It is the place where sacred ordinances are performed on our own behalf, and on behalf of the deceased, to redeem us and them from sin and help bring us all back into the presence of God.  Like many ancient civilizations, the temple creates a space that separates the sacred from the profane.  It is literally the “House of the Lord,” where His presence dwells.  It is a mirror of heaven.

We serve there only once performing the ordinances for ourselves, but thereafter each time we go to the temple we perform the ordinances on behalf of someone who has died.  We do this because we believe these ordinances are required for salvation and exaltation, but many people who lived in the past never had the chance to hear and accept these same blessings.  Thus we stand in a vicarious role, making an offering of the blessings of the atonement of Jesus Christ to those who didn’t have the chance to accept them during their mortal life.  Christ began this ministry among the dead after his death (1 Peter 3:18-20; 1 Peter 4:6).  We continue this redemption of the dead since Christ’s organization of it, and through continual revelation to living prophets and apostles.  Consequently, our service in the temple is the pinnacle of service to the poor, indeed, the “poor in spirit” (Matt. 5:3; Isa. 61:1-2).  There are many who have passed from this world who are, in a very real way, poor, because they had no chance to partake of the saving ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ in mortality, and cannot return to God’s presence without them.  We serve millions of people in this capacity all around the world in our temples each day.

Outside of the temple we also do a great humanitarian work.  Members of the Church donate 10% of their gross income in tithing to the Church, and also give other donations in fast offerings, time, talents, skills, and other areas.  The Church uses some of these donations to assist the poor.  Since 1985 the Church has given over $1 billion in cash and material humanitarian assistance, as well as our time and talents, to the poor, disaster areas, hunger and famine areas, disease-stricken areas, and other areas of need all around the world.

Indeed, our service to others is universal, both to those who need it on earth, and to those who have passed to the other side of the veil.  Service to God and our fellow man is one in the same, much more than we realize (Matt. 22:36-40; Matt. 25:40; cf. Mosiah 2:16-19).

Also note Bishop H. David Burton’s remarks in the last General Conference here.

Which is Greater – The Temple or Service to the Poor?

From the time they left Jerusalem until the time of Christ’s ministry among his descendants in the Americas 600 years later, Lehi and his family offered sacrifice and burnt offerings to the Lord (1 Ne. 5:9; 1 Ne. 7:22; Mosiah 2:3). Such was part of the law of Moses which they sought to keep diligently, as the Israelites had been observing for thousands of years (Mosiah 12:28-29; Mosiah 13:27-28; Alma 25:15-16; 2 Ne. 25:24, 30; Alma 30:3). But even then, they remembered that the law of Moses was in similitude of the great sacrifice of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was to come to the earth and work out an infinite atonement by the shedding of his blood and body (Alma 34:14).

When Christ visited the inhabitants of the Americas he explained how the law of Moses was fulfilled in him, and how things were to become new:

And he said unto them: Marvel not that I said unto you that old things had passed away, and that all things had become new.
Behold, I say unto you that the law is fulfilled that was given unto Moses.
Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel; therefore, the law in me is fulfilled, for I have come to fulfil the law; therefore it hath an end. (3 Ne. 15:3-5)

The law of Moses was fulfilled, but this did not mean that the covenant ended:

For behold, the covenant which I have made with my people is not all fulfilled; but the law which was given unto Moses hath an end in me. (3 Ne. 15:8)

The type of sacrifices that would be offered from that time forth was to be of a different nature:

And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.
And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost . . . (3 Ne. 9:19-20)

But how is a broken heart and a contrite spirit a sacrifice? Elder Bruce D. Porter explained this in his October 2007 General Conference address entitled “A Broken Heart and a Contrite Spirit“:

As in all things, the Savior’s life offers us the perfect example: though Jesus of Nazareth was utterly without sin, He walked through life with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, as manifested by His submission to the will of the Father. ‘For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me’ (John 6:38). To His disciples He said, ‘Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart’ (Matthew 11:29). And when the time came to pay the ultimate sacrifice entailed in the Atonement, Christ shrank not to partake of the bitter cup but submitted completely to His Father’s will.

The Savior's perfect submission to the Eternal Father is the very essence of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Christ's example teaches us that a broken heart is an eternal attribute of godliness. When our hearts are broken, we are completely open to the Spirit of God and recognize our dependence on Him for all that we have and all that we are. The sacrifice so entailed is a sacrifice of pride in all its forms. Like malleable clay in the hands of a skilled potter, the brokenhearted can be molded and shaped in the hands of the Master.

Even the Psalmist understood, at the time of the law of Moses, that the ultimate sacrifice we must make is of a broken heart and contrite spirit. Those ancient Israelites submitted themselves to the will of Jehovah as they offered animal sacrifice and burnt offerings:

For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. (Psalms 51:16-17)

The prophet Samuel also understood this:

And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. (1 Sam. 15:22)

As in all things, we are taught that we must follow Christ’s example, and emulate Him, and as we do so we receive His image in our countenances (Alma 5:14, 19; cf. 1 Jn. 3:1-3). These things we do as we covenant in the temple to obey God in all things, and submit our will to the will of the Father, just as the Savior did. We sacrifice and offer our will, and all things temporal and spiritual in our lives, to our Father’s will. We say, following Christ, “Not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). Under the Mosaic law the submission of will was in outward performances, but thereafter it became an inward sacrifice (Alma 25:15-16).

Sacrificing our will to the will of our Father

And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;

There is a footnote on the second instance of the word “that” in our LDS King James Version. The footnote reads “HEB (literally) whose hand is filled; i.e. who is equipped, or authorized.” This means that the original Hebrew would have read something like, “and whose hand is filled to put on the garments.” Apparently the word translated as “consecrated” came from a Hebrew phrase for “a filled hand” or “a full hand.”

I did a little bit of digging into this, and found some more interesting things related to this. Now, first understand that I am not a Hebrew scholar; I’m not even an amateur. I have just barely begun learning some basic Hebrew. So if I am way off, I’m sure there are those who will correct me. It takes a few stumbles to learn how to walk.

The Hebrew words that have been translated as “consecrated” are male’ (מלא – Strong’s 04390) and yad (י�" – Strong’s 03027). The transliterated word male’ most commonly means “to fill,” “be full,” or “to be filled.” It was translated 107 times in the KJV as “fill,” and 48 times as “full.” It was only translated as “consecrate(d)” about 17 times (see below). Each time it is translated as “consecrate(d),” the word yad accompanies it. Yad almost always means a “hand” (1359 times in the KJV OT). It can also be a symbol of strength or power, or even as a “sign.”

Many of the male’ yad (phonetically “maw-lay’ yawd”) combinations are found in the account of Moses and Aaron, but there are other instances that follow through Ezekiel, but always in connection with the temple. In each of these cases where the King James translators used the word “consecrate(d)” the original Hebrew read “a filled hand,” “a full hand,” “hand is filled,” “fill the hand,” or something similar:

1. Ex. 28:41– And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office.
2. Ex. 29:9– And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest’s office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.
3. Ex. 29:29– And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them.
4. Ex. 29:33– And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate [and] to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat [thereof], because they [are] holy.
5. Ex. 29:35– And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all [things] which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them.
6. Ex. 32:29– For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves to day to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.
7. Lev. 8:33– And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [in] seven days, until the days of your consecration be at an end: for seven days shall he consecrate you.
8. Lev. 16:32– And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest’s office in his father’s stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, [even] the holy garments:
9. Lev. 21:10– And [he that is] the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;
10. Num. 3:3– These [are] the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests which were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest’s office.
11. Judg. 17:5– And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.
12. Judg. 17:12– And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
13. 1 Kgs. 13:33– After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became [one] of the priests of the high places.
14. 1 Chr. 29:5– The gold for [things] of gold, and the silver for [things] of silver, and for all manner of work [to be made] by the hands of artificers. And who [then] is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the LORD?
15. 2 Chr. 13:9– Have ye not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of [other] lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, [the same] may be a priest of [them that are] no gods.
16. 2 Chr. 29:31– Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings.
17. Ezek. 43:26– Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate themselves.

There are other instances in which the word “consecrate(d)” was translated from a different Hebrew word, but the male’ yad combination is the most common.

The yod (י) Hebrew character itself is of interest here as well (probably where we get our English letter I). The original pictograph from which this character developed was of a squared arm and hand:

It is thought that this character may have descended from the Egyptian hieroglyphic of an arm and hand:

This hieroglyphic could have been a representation of a common Egyptian censer, or incense vessel, that was used.

As can be seen in the painting at the beginning of this post, the incense was moved from place to place in the holy place with the use of an incense shovel or spoon. The Temple Institute has reproduced what they think this may have looked like:

Even more ancient, however, the Egyptians had a similar tool for offering incense to the gods. I believe this is an authentic Egyptian censer:

The unique thing about this instrument is the sculpted cupped hand at the end of the tool. A drawing of it can be seen here. This tool being used by an Egyptian can be seen here, or offering incense straight from the hand here. A modern studio recreation of this instrument can be seen here, which they call “An Heru.” Notice that sometimes it appears that the incense was offered directly from the hand, whereas in other instances it was in a bowl held in a cupped hand. Other Egyptian examples can be seen here, or here, or here, or here, and here.

Why the symbolic use of a cupped hand to offer incense? Dr. Hugh Nibley taught:

Incense was often burned in special holders made in the form of a cupped hand, the “golden spoons” of Exodus 25:29 . . . the “filled hand” (the Hebrew letter kaph כ means “palm”) is the widespread sign of offering sacrifice.

Nibley brings up another interesting Hebrew letter, the kaph כ (probably where we get our English letter K). The original pictograph for this letter looks like this:

The Egyptian representation of this pictograph was:

Kaph literally means “palm” in Hebrew, and represents:

. . . the open palm of a hand. The meanings of this letter are bend and curve from the shape of the palm as well as to tame or subdue as one who has been bent to another’s will.

Hebrew4Christians.com has some interesting commentary about this letter also:

The literal meaning of Kaf is "palm" which is considered the location where potential of the Yod (hand) is actualized (interestingly, the gematria for the word Yod is the same for the letter Kaf). For this reason we bless children with palms facing them and we envision God as having His palms over us, for this image suggests the calling forth of the latent power of the spirit within for manifestation in the physical world. . . .

The word Kaf means "palm" of a hand and also what might be contained within the palm of the hand. The word "spoon" in Hebrew is the word Kaf, which is a natural extension of the palm as a container.

So bringing all of this together, when we read of God commanding Moses and Aaron to be “consecrated,” or to “consecrate,” the Hebrew words behind this term connote filling a cupped hand with incense in order to make sacrificial offerings to God in His holy place of the temple.

Consecrate = “A Filled Hand” in Hebrew

In his article Dr. Parry writes of many allusions to the temple in the setting of and the address of King Benjamin’s speech, mostly from Mosiah 2. The most direct and obvious connection is that King Benjamin gave the address from a tower which was built just in front of the temple in the city of Zarahemla (Mosiah 2:7). The people came in a “sacred pilgrimage to a holy sanctuary--ascending or going up to a holy place”. The temple is mentioned five times in the first seven verses of the chapter. Such repetition gives the temple a dominant place and emphasis in this text, one that we might not casually see. The people literally gathered “round about the temple” and faced their tents “towards the temple” to hear the words of King Benjamin (Mosiah 2:6). The symbolism here could not be more clear--the people were coming to the temple to be taught from on High. The temple is a source and place of learning, but only a singular type of learning happens here--it is the teaching from God.

Parry continues by pointing out that before the king gave his speech, there were temple ordinances performed:

…there is a pointed statement about the temple’s sacrificial system: “They also took of the firstlings of their flocks, that they might offer sacrifice and burnt offerings according to the law of Moses” (Mosiah 2:3). Some of these offerings were likely thanksgiving offerings (see Mosiah 2:4, “that they might give thanks to the Lord their God”).

The most interesting connection Parry cites between King Benjamin’s speech and the temple is service:

…Benjamin invited his people to the setting of the temple, a holy place of sacred service, so that he could more effectively teach regarding service to God and service to one’s fellow beings.

Dr. Parry shows that the words servants, serve, served, and service (all used heavily by King Benjamin) are tied to the ancient Mosaic sacrificial system expounded in the Bible, particularly by those who participated in the rites at the tabernacle and Solomon’s temple. Even these very words were used to refer to the temple:

In fact, some Hebrew scholars and lexicographers disclose that the verb ‘avad, often translated “to work” or “to serve,” also means “to worship” or “to perform a (cultic) rite,” referring specifically to temple worship.

He also shows that the sprinkling of the sacrifice’s blood onto the altar shows up when Benjamin refers to blood on his garments (Mosiah 2:27-28):

One may speculate that prior to speaking to the people Benjamin offered sacrifices himself and had blood on his garments that he was unable to remove before his speech.

The subjects of garments, human blood, and the removal of that blood appear in King Benjamin’s speech, as well as several other passages in the Book of Mormon, and all have a direct connection to the offering of sacrifices upon the altar according to the law of Moses. These passages are compared to others which place us, fallen sons and daughters of God, as symbolic of the stained garments, and Christ’s atoning blood as the power to cleanse those garments from sin. As Dr. Parry well says:

King Benjamin’s discourse on service in its temple setting--where sacrifices were made under the law of Moses--ultimately points to the supreme and final service: Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice.

This article is an excellent example of looking deeper into the text of the Book of Mormon and seeing things that we might easily pass over in casual reading. Indeed, here we see the temple, and the sacrifices and offerings to God performed within, as prominent as ever.

King Benjamin and the Temple