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

The Doctrine and Covenants section 93 verse 1 reads:

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

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

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

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

And inasmuch as my people build a house unto me in the name of the Lord, and do not suffer any unclean thing to come into it, that it be not defiled, my glory shall rest upon it;

Yea, and my presence shall be there, for I will come into it, and all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall see God. (D&C 97:15-16)

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

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

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

Joseph once taught this as key to the endowment:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Literally Seeing

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

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

Later Joseph said,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In the same vision the Lord promised his Saints:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Continued in Part 2)

Seeing the Face of God in the Temple – Part 1

Margaret Barker

The use of those two words together, resurrection in mortality, appears to be perfectly incongruous at first glance.  In our common parlance in the Church we understand resurrection to be something that can only happen after mortality.  The resurrection “consists in the uniting of a spirit body with a body of flesh and bones, never again to be divided”.  This is an event which happens only after there has been a separation of the spirit body from the mortal body through the process called death.  In my reading over the weekend, however, I came across a fascinating perspective from Margaret Barker which gives added meaning to the word resurrection, and our understanding of it, a meaning which can apply to us while still in our mortal estate.

I was reading through the latest FARMS Review (Volume 21, Issue 1, 2009) from the Maxwell Institute at BYU, particularly a review by Frederick M. Huchel, an independent scholar and historian, of a book by British scholar and Methodist preacher Margaret Barker entitled Temple Themes in Christian Worship.  Huchel’s review is called “Antecedents of the Restoration in the Ancient Temple,” and provides an exquisite overview of Barker’s work over the past two decades, leading up to this book published in 2008 (See David Larsen’s comments on the review at Heavenly Ascents).  I highly recommend Huchel’s review as an introduction to Margaret Barker, and her unique perspective on Biblical studies which has become known as Temple Theology.  For Latter-day Saints, Barker’s work has profound implications and insights into many of the “whys,” as Huchel puts it, of Joseph Smith’s restoration.  As an interesting side note, Barker has established a Temple Studies Group to convene symposia on temple themes, with a website URL similar to this one – TempleStudiesGroup.com.

As Huchel explains, Margaret Barker is not an LDS apologist, and “is not seeking to support Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, or the restoration”.  Nonetheless, her work is making waves in LDS academia because much of the research she has done vindicates the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Because Barker’s background differs from the LDS tradition, some of her opinions run distinct from LDS theology.  But as Huchel points out, many of these points of disagreement “find a snug fit when we become better acquainted with the nowadays-lesser-known facets of Joseph Smith's restoration”.  One of those points that Huchel investigates, and the one that caught my attention, is that of the resurrection.

Huchel notes:

Barker speaks of “resurrection” as a state of perfection or exaltation that can occur during mortality (see pp. 111-18). For her, resurrection is tied up in the concept of the “heavenly ascent,” a doctrine of the First Temple but expunged by the Deuteronomists… In Barker's language, once one had experienced the heavenly ascent and had seen God face-to-face, one was in one sense “resurrected”… Barker tells us that “the central message of Christianity was the atonement” (p. 20).

Huchel reminds us of Hugh Nibley’s essay “The Meaning of the Atonement” in which Nibley showed that the resurrection is really another word for atonement (at-one-ment), along with “re-conciliation, re-demption… re-lease, salvation, and so on. All refer to a return to a former state”.  It is this that occurs at the veil in the temple.

At this point I was very interested in Huchel’s analysis.  In 2008 at Easter I wrote a post I titled “The Resurrection and the Temple” in which I said:

I don't think we recognize just how inseparably tied are the realities of the resurrection and the temple. We don't often mention the two in the same sentence, yet this might be excusable given that they represent very much one and the same eternal ideals and principles… the atonement and the resurrection are connected principles, both enabling us to return to the presence of God, for no untransfigured or unquickened mortal flesh can withstand God's presence and live.

At the time I did not realize how fully the blessings of the resurrection are extended to us through the temple.  In order to stand in the presence of God, one must be in a type of “resurrected” state, something akin to what Latter-day Saints might term “transfiguration” for mortals, a perfected state, for no unclean thing can dwell in His presence (Moses 6:57).  But can we achieve that state through the atonement and the temple?  Br. Huchel writes:

After one has made the journey of the heavenly ascent and has been taken into the embrace of God at the veil, one gains possession of certain keys. He has the keys of traveling at will up and down the path of the heavenly ascent (see D&C 132:19-20). He has the keys to bind, to seal, and to loose. His eventual exaltation is sealed upon him (D&C 131:5-6). Whereas it is given provisionally in the earthly ordinances, it is sealed upon him by the ordinances of the holy of holies.

Being sealed up unto eternal life, and receiving the fulness of the priesthood, is a subject I wrote about in “The Culminating Sealing Ordinance of the Temple.”  It is what we often call receiving one’s calling and election, or the more sure word of prophecy (D&C 131:5-6).  It is a person’s knowing that they are sealed up unto eternal life through the most sacred ordinances of the priesthood found only in the temple.  This is the ultimate at-one-ment, after which the promised blessings in John 14-17 may be fulfilled.  The Prophet Joseph Smith once described these blessings:

…he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to time, and even He will manifest the Father unto him, and they will take up their abode with him, and the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him, and the Lord will teach him face to face, and he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God; and this is the state and place the ancient Saints arrived at when they had such glorious visions–Isaiah, Ezekiel, John upon the Isle of Patmos, St. Paul in the three heavens, and all the Saints who held communion with the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn.

How does the resurrection factor in?  Br. Huchel explains:

In short, once one has the sealing, he becomes as one who has received the blessings received on the Mount of Transfiguration. His blessings and his authority are, in effect, the same as those of one who has been resurrected in glory.

So while the body and spirit cannot be inseparably connected in mortality, yet we can have the blessings and authority of the resurrection bestowed on us while yet living in the flesh.  Viewing it from this perspective, Barker is not far from describing the ultimate state of at-one-ment that we are able to achieve through the highest ordinances of the temple.  Not only this, but such at-one-ment brings with it identification with the One who gives it:

Barker says it this way: "Resurrection could mean many things, but in temple tradition it meant ascent to the heavenly throne" (p. 111). Then she argues that "this means that 'resurrection' in this sense was part of what it meant to be the Messiah" (p. 112). This expansion of resurrection beyond Jesus himself into the broader temple context has profound implications for the Latter-day Saint concept of becoming "Saviors on Mount Zion."

The Prophet Joseph once declared that we become “saviors on Mount Zion” by bringing the blessings of the resurrection in glory to our kindred dead through the ordinances of the temple:

But how are they to become saviors on Mount Zion?  By building their temples, erecting their baptismal fonts, and going forth and receiving all the ordinances, baptisms, confirmations, washings, anointings, ordinations and sealing powers upon their heads, in behalf of all their progenitors who are dead, and redeem them that they may come forth in the first resurrection and be exalted to thrones of glory with them; and herein is the chain that binds the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, which fulfills the mission of Elijah.

Frederick Huchel’s review of Margaret Barker’s work has given me a new perspective of how the resurrection relates to the temple, and to the blessings received there.  I must admit, I have only sampled the work of Margaret Barker, but I think this has inspired me to study it much more thoroughly.

Do you have any thoughts about the relationship between the resurrection and the temple?  Please share with us in the comments.

Attaining the Resurrection in Mortality

http://www.tubechop.com/watch/22170
Carter: You know, the ancient Egyptians had a beautiful belief about death. When their souls got to the entrance to heaven the gods asked them two questions. Their answers determined whether they were admitted or not.
Edward: Ok, I’ll bite. What were they?
Carter: Have you found joy in your life?
Edward: Uh-huh.
Carter: Answer the question.
Edward: Me?
Carter: Yeah, you.
Edward: Answer the question, “Have I found joy in my life?”
Carter: Yes.
Edward: Yes.
Carter: Has your life brought joy to others?
Edward: Uh, that’s a tough question. I, uh, I don’t know. Uh, think about how other people gauge, uh… Ask them.
Carter: I’m asking you.

Two Egyptian Questions at the Gate of Heaven

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

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

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

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

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

Ascent Stories

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

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

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

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

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

Hebrew Cosmology diagram (click for larger view)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dante's Geocentric Universe (click for larger view)

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

Mountains of the Lord

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

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

Isaiah 2:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Temple Worthiness

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

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

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

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

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

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

Again in Psalm 24:

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

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

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

Temple Structure

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Temple as Garden of Eden

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Karnak anointing scene. (click for larger view)

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

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

Washings/Anointings

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

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

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

Veils

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Conclusion

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

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

Jewish Midrash:

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

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

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

Conclusion to Notes

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

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

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

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

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

Review of prior lesson on the exodus:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Construction of the Tabernacle – Exodus 25-27 -

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

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

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

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

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

Aaron’s sons garments – Ex. 28:40 -

• Coat
• Girdle
• Bonnet (hat or headdress)

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

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

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

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

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

Other offerings of animal sacrifices were offered on the altar.

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

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

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

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

Brigham Young once took note:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here is another schematic drawing of the Tabernacle.

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

Mosaic Tabernacle as an Aaronic Temple

Pope Benedict XVI wearing the gremiale, an apron-like vestment

The gremiale, also called gremial, is an apron-like vestment worn by the bishop as part of the Catholic Mass or other sacred orders.  The Catholic Encyclopedia describes the current understanding of this vestment in this way:

A square or oblong cloth which the bishop, according to the “Cæremoniale” and “Pontificale”, should wear over his lap, when seated on the throne during the singing of the Kyrie, Gloria, and Credo by the choir, during the distribution of blessed candles, palms or ashes, and also during the anointments in connection with Holy orders. The gremiale is never used during pontifical Vespers. The primary object of the gremiale is to prevent the soiling of the other vestments, especially the chasuble. The gremiale used during the pontifical Mass is made of silk. It should be decorated by a cross in the centre, and trimmed with silk embroidery. Its colour must correspond with the colour of the chasuble. The gremiales used at other functions are made of linen, to facilitate their cleansing in case they be soiled. Little is known of its history; apparently its origin dates back to the later Middle Ages. The Roman Ordo of Gaetano Stefaneschi (c. 1311) mention it first (n. 48); soon after it is mentioned in the statutes of Grandison of Exeter (England) as early as 1339, In earlier times it was used not only any bishop but also by priests. It is not blessed and has no symbolical meaning.

This is an intriguing vestment, particularly since “little is known of its history.”  So I did some research and found a bit more about it. 

New Catholic Dictionary illustration of a gremiale, noting the unique embroidery

First, this vestment is referred to explicitly as an “apron” in many references.  The New Catholic Dictionary describes it:

A silken apron, trimmed with silk embroidery, of the color of the day laid upon the bishop’s lap when he sits during a pontifical Mass. A linen gremial is used when conferring sacred orders.

Or:

Small golden laced, ornamented apron used when seated or conferring Holy Orders.

A glossary of liturgical and ecclesiastical terms, By Frederick George Lee

The JM Latin-English Dictionary defines the term:

apron/lap cloth for bishop at Mass/pontifical functions

In Latin, the word gremiale literally means apron, derived from the Latin word gremium for lap, bosom, or womb.  It is also called a lap cloth.  Because of its relative word germe, it also happens to be the word used for firewood, or more generally for trees or shrubs.

The Century Dictionary notes that it is used by the bishop during mass or ordination “to protect his vestments from the consecrated oil”.  Or as another source puts it, “used in ordination to protect the sacred vestments from any drops of unction that might fall in the act of anointing candidates for the priesthood”.  It also seems that the gremiale is used to protect the vestments from being soiled from the sweat of the hands while sitting.

Most sources note how the gremiale is of different colors, and is usually highly decorated, embroidered with gold and silver thread.  In most of the examples I found, this is true.  Here are three:

Gremiale, manifattura emiliana, sec. XVII; velluto ricamato. San Giovanni in Persiceto (Bologna).

Grémial, 1921, cathédrale, Amiens (Somme).

Gremial, Portugal (?), século XVIII; gorgorão de seda vermelha bordado a ouro e sedas policromas. Patriarcado de Lisboa.

The gremial was originally made out of linen, but over time was gradually replaced with silk, or even the same material as the rest of the liturgical vestments.  Some have compared the gremiale to the towel girded by Christ as he washed the feet of the twelve apostles; indeed, it is still used in such feet washing ceremonies.  Although now primarily used by the bishop, the gremiale was originally used by all degrees of priesthood, including the prelate, priest, deacon and sub-deacon to cover the knees during Mass.

Some sources note that this vestment was a type of “liturgical veil,” and was one of the vestments donned as part of a clothing ceremony.

Gremial of Archbishop Juan de Zumárranga, Spain or Mexico, 1528-37, Embroidered velvet with gold, silver, and silk threads, 39 3/8 x 39 3/4 inches, Museo Nacional Del Virreinato/CONACULTA, INAH, Tepotzotlán, Mexico, 10-1257

One of the most unique gremiales I found was that which belonged to the Archbishop Juan de Zumárranga, and is noted as the “oldest known embroidery in colonial Latin America” according to The Arts in Latin America, 1492-1820.  This gremiale is particularly unique because it is so covered in symbols, in contrast to the definition given above that gremiales had “no symbolical meaning”:

The gremial’s design is similar to that of earlier Spanish ceremonial cloths.  It is embroidered on blue velvet with gold and silver metallic and red silk threads and white silk appliques.  The text around the border reads ARMA MUNDI REDEM / TORIS REGIS REGUM / UNIVERSI CREATORIS / IHVXPI SALVATORUS (The arms of the Redeemer of the World, King of Kings, Creator of the Universe, Jesus Christ the Savior).  The shield in the center contains the cross and instruments of the Passions surrounded by a decorative foliate design and knotted Franciscan cords representing the order’s vows.  In the four corners are shields with the five bloody wounds of Christ, part of the Fransciscan coat of arms, surrounded by decorative borders.

One commentator thinks that the gremiale may “owe its origin to the Limus of the Victimarii”.  In a footnote he quotes Fosbroke:

Limus, Limum, Limocincti – An Apron descending from the navel to the ankles, commonly bordered with purple.  It was the only Vestment of the Victimarii.  It was interwoven with many colours, and was called Licium, when worn by the servants of Magistrates, who were called Limocincti.

This limus is an interesting word, by itself.  It is the Latin word that describes the apron worn by a sacrificing priest, or by attendants of a sacrifice in ancient Rome.  The limocinti were “certain priestly officers who attended on a magistrate, as girt with an apron (limus)”.  These victimarii were those persons designated to perform the animal sacrifices.

Many more modern examples of the gremiale can be found on the Cattolici Romani forum.

One of the best studies I’ve read about such aprons is Matthew Brown’s “Girded about with a Lambskin,” in the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 6:2 (1997), p. 124-151.  His analysis includes a look at such ritual apparel in ancient Israel, Egypt, Mesopotamia, among the Freemasons, and in the Book of Mormon.

Gremiale – An Apron-like Catholic Liturgical Vestment

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

Woodcut. Author unknown. From "The book of pictures and parables, fables." Oxford University. 1859.

One of our readers, Walt, emailed me a link to a fable that is intriguing.  It is entitled “The Wolf, The Goat, And The Kid,” and was originally penned by the popular 17th century French poet and fabulist Jean de la Fontaine.

THE WOLF, THE GOAT, AND THE KID
by Jean de la Fontaine

As went the goat her pendent dugs to fill,
And browse the herbage of a distant hill,
She latched her door, and bid,
With matron care, her kid; --
‘My daughter, as you live,
This portal don’t undo
To any creature who
This watchword does not give:
“Deuce take the wolf and all his race!”‘
The wolf was passing near the place
By chance, and heard the words with pleasure,
And laid them up as useful treasure;
And, hardly need we mention,
Escaped the goat’s attention.
No sooner did he see
The matron off, than he,
With hypocritic tone and face,
Cried out before the place,
‘Deuce take the wolf and all his race!’
Not doubting thus to gain admission.
The kid, not void of all suspicion,
Peer’d through a crack, and cried,
‘Show me white paw before
You ask me to undo the door.’
The wolf could not, if he had died,
For wolves have no connection
With paws of that complexion.
So, much surprised, our gormandizer
Retired to fast till he was wiser.

How would the kid have been undone
Had she but trusted to the word
The wolf by chance had overheard!
Two sureties better are than one;
And caution’s worth its cost,
Though sometimes seeming lost.

Comments?

The Wolf, The Goat, And The Kid

New Zealand Maori sharing in the sacred act of hongi, exchanging the ha or breath of life.

The title is a bit of a mouthful, but let me explain.

I have been a ballroom dancer since I was about 12 years old, or about 15 years.  It has been quite an experience being involved with this subculture of ballroom dance, which has made up a large portion of my life.  During the summer of 2005 I had the opportunity to tour with the BYU Ballroom Dance Company to the South Pacific, during which we visited Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, and Tahiti.  My wife was also fortunate to join us on the trip.  It was a singular experience which has burned a place in my memory.

Naturally, as part of these tours we were also able to learn much about the locations and people of the places we visited.  One of the places that really struck me for its beauty and uniqueness was New Zealand.  Going to New Zealand was like stepping into a different world.  The indigenous people of New Zealand are known as the Maori, and the customs and traditions of these people were quite different than what we were accustomed to.  Some of the things we experienced with the Maori were very spiritual in nature, which immediately caused me to ponder, and which I have had opportunity to think about for several years now.  Specifically, the Maori ceremonial greeting tradition that they conducted with our BYU group as we arrived in New Zealand was one of the most significant experiences I had with the group.  This rite or ceremony is known as the powhiri, and has insightful elements for Latter-day Saints to consider. 

The Maori term itself means “normal,” “natural,” or “ordinary” in the Maori language, “meaning man, human being, as distinguished from spirit, or god, &c.”.  Where they live is commonly called te ao maori, meaning “this common, familiar world, where men live, as distinguished from the dwelling-place of the gods”.  Thus, even this people’s self-identity and existence in this world takes into account the existence of a supreme being.

The Maori are said to have inhabited the Polynesian islands by way of the waka, or ship vessels, which are like giant ocean-going canoes.  They say that the “waka was our only means of going from A to B… Without waka the Maori certainly wouldn’t be here… Our ancestors were truly dependent on waka to get here”.  This migration is said to have occurred sometime between 800 and 1300 AD.  Ancient populations migrating by boat to different continents and islands is interesting to the Latter-day Saint because of our own narrative of Book of Mormon people doing the same.

The powhiri is a welcome ceremony and ritual which the Maori perform in order to greet visitors to their land.  There is a great documentary at NewZealand.com which explains this ceremony with multimedia.  It is described as the “embodiment of [Maori] spiritual and cultural being”.  This tradition is said to be very ancient, and has been passed down from Maori tribal ancestors.  Some of the purposes of the ceremony are “to ward off evil spirits and unite both visitor and host in an environment of friendship and peace”.  In this sense, it is a type of at-one-ment of strangers, bringing both into desirable harmony and unity with each other.  It is an initiation of sorts to become one and a part of the tangata whenua, or Maori people.

The term powhiri has been etymologically analyzed by Maori in order to describe what it means.  There are two parts to the word – po and whiri.  Po is described as “a venture into the ‘unknown’ or a new experience,” while whiri comes to mean “the act or experience of exchanging information and knowledge”.  And so the combined term could be interpreted as meaning a kind of mystical or novel act in which one gains and/or exchanges knowledge, not unlike the way we describe our temple experience.

Me standing in front of the marae where our BYU group experienced the powhiri ceremony. (click for a larger view)

The powhiri ceremony most often occurs in a marae, or the gathering place of the Maori, where “the past meets the present”.  There are typically several parts to a powhiri:

• Kawa – customs or protocols for greeting visitors.  These introductory instructions are first given to the manuhiri, or visitors, such that they may be guided “safely through the spiritual and physical realms,” and so “they understand what is expected of them”.
• Taki (or wero) – a challenge is presented, where warriors appear to determine the intentions of the visitors.  If the visitors’ intentions are peaceful, the warriors present a rautapu, or some sort of symbolic peace offering, which the visitors “nod and acknowledge that [they have]… received it”.  Once this is done, the warriors guide the visitors into the sacred marae.
• Karanga – the vocal call of a female begins which will be a kind a purifying preparation or “clear a spiritual pathway between the hosts and visitors… acknowledging the spirits of all our ancestors who have passed on into the veil of the world, without end.”.  It is a type of call to the Maori and visitors’ ancestors.
• Karakia – a prayer or blessing is offered to the gods to “bring everyone together. Asking assistance of a superior being to give spiritual protection to all those who are participating in the powhiri”.  This is a type of demon or devil cleansing such that everyone may be “free from any destructive spiritual influences”.
• Mihi – formal greetings and identification of who you are.  It is a recitation of your ancestors, history, family line (genealogy), and your relationship to one another.  These details were often only known by oral transmission and memory.
• Waiata – a spiritual song is sung.  “Traditional waiata of the ancestors were often aligned with spiritual events, which could include supporting karakia or prayer to evoke supernatural forces”.
• Koha – the act of gifting, in a very honorable, dignified, way.  Traditionally this was done by offering assistance in the gathering of food, or taonga, treasures.  Today it is usually a monetary-type gift. 
• Hongi – the unique and very sacred Maori physical embrace wherein the two sides become one.  “The hongi is the traditional greeting of nose pressing.  It is the exchange of the ha, or breath of life… This greeting makes the visitor at one with the tangata whenua [hosts]”.  “The most sacred part of the Maori is this portion here – the face and head.  When you make contact with a fellow human, it’s the embracing, the light touching of the noses.  Because you’re now dealing with the most sacred part of the person.  It’s the essence of life to mankind.  Where else does the breath of life enter man?”.  This is the portion of the ceremony in which the breath of life is exchanged and intermingled between host and visitor, and makes the visitors one with the Maori, ready to share in all responsibilities and duties.  This tradition is said to have come “directly from the gods”.  “In Maori folklore, woman was created by the gods moulding her shape out of the earth. The god Tane (meaning male) embraced the figure and breathed into her nostrils. She then sneezed and came to life. Her name was Hineahuone (earth formed woman)”.  Sometimes this embrace in the ceremony also includes the hariru, which is a handshake between hosts and visitors, and even a kiss or hug.  One website describes it thus:
  

  Direction will be given for manuhiri to go forward to hariru/shake hands, hug or hongi with tangata whenua. Whether you hariru, hongi, hug or do all three is entirely up to you at the time. We trust people will feel culturally comfortable whatever their choice. The action of performing hongi is associated with the hariru. The two people shake hands, each using the right hand. At the same time the left hand maybe placed on or near the other person's shoulder. The head is bent, the eyes closed, and sometimes foreheads touch as noses are pressed. Some choose to press once and some twice - both ways are of equal significance. Invariably, tangata whenua will indicate their kawa/ways by example. It is appropriate to say "tena koe"/"hello to you" or "kia ora"/"greetings" as part of the greeting. In this greeting our ancestors meet as we meet and together we share the breath of life. This physical contact between manuhiri and tangata whenua completes lifts the waewae tapu/sacredness of first time visitors, allowing us all to be one, as tangata whenua for the duration of this Gathering. The running of the marae, for the time of our stay, is now ours to share.

• Hakari – ritual feasting and sharing of traditional foods in a banquet to finish the binding together.  “At the conclusion of that you are finally part of the family.  And it’s a very happy occasion.  And you can feel it.  There’s a warmth in the room amongst everyone”.  Such a climax in the ritual reminds me of being in the Celestial Room of the temple with friends and family gathered round.  It also recalls the feasts and tabernacles of the Israelites, or the marriage feast of the Bridegroom in the scriptures (D&C 65:3; cf. Matt. 25).
• Poroporaoki (or Mihi-whakamutunga) – final speeches and farewell.  It is the returning of the esteem and authority of the Maori hosts back to them.  It is a time of reflection on becoming one or a part of the Maori people.

Our BYU group experienced all of this ceremony among the Maori soon after our arrival in the country.  It was a wonderful experience.  The hongi was a particularly moving and beautiful experience, as each of us pressed our noses and foreheads with each of our Maori hosts in the marae, and shared the breath of life with each.  It was a very sacred yet friendly moment of becoming acquainted with our new friends, being welcome in their country, and becoming part of their family.

There is YouTube example of a powhiri at the 2008 Parahaka Peace Festival.  The exchange of the hongi embrace begins at about 7:00 into the clip.  The taki can also be seen in this clip from Queenstown, New Zealand.

We participated in at least two powhiri while we were in New Zealand.  Little did we know the significance of what we were doing at the time.  But we grew into the culture throughout our visit, and were eventually fully participating with the Maori even in the haka dances.  I would love to do a more in-depth study of the powhiri ceremony and the spiritual traditions of the Maori at some point.  It is a fascinating culture, and we can learn much from them.

Pōwhiri and Hongi of New Zealand’s Māori: a Sacred Ritual

An ancient painting of Nüwa and Fuxi unearthed in Xinjiang, holding the tools of creation - compass and square.

Hugh Nibley gave a lecture in 1975 on “Sacred Vestments” which was later transcribed and included in the collected works volume Temple and Cosmos (pgs. 91-132).  The entire paper is fascinating, and highly recommended reading.  One of the things he wrote about were certain Chinese artifacts which had been found depicting two mythological gods, Nüwa and Fuxi, and the tools they hold:

Most challenging are the veils from Taoist-Buddhist tombs at Astana, in Central Asia, originally Nestorian (Christian) country, discovered by Sir Aurel Stein in 1925… We see the king and queen embracing at their wedding, the king holding the square on high, the queen a compass. As it is explained, the instruments are taking the measurements of the universe, at the founding of a new world and a new age. Above the couple’s head is the sun surrounded by twelve disks, meaning the circle of the year or the navel of the universe. Among the stars depicted, Stein and his assistant identified the Big Dipper alone as clearly discernable. As noted above, the garment draped over the coffin and the veil hung on the wall had the same marks; they were placed on the garment as reminders of personal commitment, while on the veil they represent man’s place in the cosmos. (pg. 111-12)

Nibley included drawings of this depiction found on veils in the Astana Tombs in Xinjiang, China, with a caption that reads:

In the underground tomb of Fan Yen-Shih, d. A.D. 689, two painted silk veils show the First Ancestors of the Chinese, their entwined serpect bodies rotating around the invisible vertical axis mundi.  Fu Hsi holds the set-square and plumb bob … as he rules the four-cornered earth, while his sister-wife Nü-wa holds the compass pointing up, as she rules the circling heavens.  The phrase kuci chü is used by modern Chinese to signify “the way things should be, the moral standard”; it literally means the compass and the square. (pg. 115)

See the photos at the end of the post for more examples of this icon.  The veil redrawn in Temple and Cosmos is shown photographed in the second row, fourth from the left. 

Wikipedia notes, “Nüwa and Fuxi were pictured as having snake like tails interlocked in an Eastern Han dynasty (206 – 220 A.D.) mural in the Wuliang Temple in Jiaxiang county, Shandong province.”  It also notes the various roles of Nüwa (and sometimes with Fuxi) in Chinese mythology:

• Creator
• Woman/Man
• Mother
• Goddess
• Wife
• Sister
• Tribal leader (emperor)
• Maintainer
• Repairer
• Sun god/moon god
• Adam and Eve

Some have even suggested that “Nüwa” might be related to “Noah” from the Genesis account, with some parallels between the accounts, such as Nüwa’s sealing of the sky with five colored stones connected with Noah’s rainbow.

Another description of Nüwa and Fuxi and their tools is found in a book entitled The Magic Square: Cities in Ancient China by Alfred Schinz:

It appears from these legends that civilization, i.e. ordered human life, begins with two personages, both portrayed as being semi-human and with mermaid tails.  Nüwa and Fuxi, originally sister and brother, later became wife and husband after they had invented proper marriage procedures and family names to prevent marriages between people from the same family.  Nüwa, in her own legend, had restored order between heaven and earth after a horrible catastrophe had caused heaven to tilt to the north so that it no longer covered all of the earth.  This may refer to the first observation of the oblique elliptic and the angle of the pole star.  Nüwa found it necessary to reestablish the four cardinal points, which she did, thereby creating the prerequisites for further observations.  In the oldest pictures of her she carries a compass, the instrument related to heavenly observations.  Her brother Fuxi became the first legendary emperor, which also implies the establishment of government, of law and order… On another, more practical level he is said to have invented axes for splitting wood, the carpenter’s square, ropes for hunting and fishing nets.  It is worthy of special attention that the two words for compass and square, gui ju, used together denote -the rule, custom, usage- and -good behavior-, i.e., keeping order.  Furthermore, it should be observed that the male-female system, the yang-yin philosophy, is expressed here in a complex manner, first as Fuxi and Nüwa, second as compass (male) and square (female), and third as Nüwa (female) with compass (male) and Fuxi (male) with square (female).  The compass-square dichotomy is similar to the heaven-earth, yang-yin, relationship, which in this case means that man (Fuxi) establishes harmonious order between heaven and earth.  This is also expressed in the Chinese character for king, wang, the upper and lower line indicating heaven and earth and the middle line man, all three connected by the vertical line.  This represents the position and function of the ruler; it is he who establishes and keeps order by placing himself in a balanced and harmonious position between heaven and earth, so that yang and yin cooperate in a beneficial way.

[Caption] Fuxi and his sister Nüwa, he with the carpenter’s square and she with the pair of compasses.  From the decoration incised in the wall of the Wu Lang tombs in Jiaxiang, Shandong, second century AD.  The Chinese words for carpenter’s square, ju, and a pair of compasses, gui, together form the expression to establish order.  This is what, according to their legends, Fuxi and Nüwa did.  The carpenter’s square also stands for the square that is the symbol of the earth, while the pair of compasses represent the circle, the symbol of heaven.  Fuxi, the male (yang), gives order to the earth (yin), and Nüwa, the female (yin), gives order to the heaven (yang).

A book entitled The Mathematics of Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India, and Islam by Victor J. Katz and Annette Imhausen relates a practical tradition about the use of these tools in Chinese history:

Here Fu Xi – the first of the “Three Sovereigns” – is shown on the right holding a ju or carpenter’s square.  In some versions of this legend Fu Xi is said to have invented both the carpenter’s square and the compass, or gui – which is held in the above depiction by his consort Nü Wa (on the left).  According to the Chronicles of the famous Chinese historian Sima Qian, the Emperor Yu of Xia (who reigned in the twenty-first century BCE), when attending to floods, carried with him “a plumbline in his left hand and a gnomon and compass in his right” in order to do the surveying required to bring the floods under control [Li and Du 1987, 3].

The Silk Road by Susan Whitfield and Ursula Sims-williams connects the concepts of the compass and the square with the circle and the square:

In traditional Chinese cosmology the earth was square and the heavens round and thus Fuxi holds a set square to draw the former, and Nüwa a pair of compasses to draw the circle of the earth.

Noted by Mark Edward Lewis in Writing and Authority in Early China, these symbols were used to represent cosmic order, a link between heaven and earth, and a favorable environment for the deceased:

This role of linking Heaven to Earth also figures in the depictions of Fu Xi and Nü Wa.  First, in Han tombs their elongated, serpent bodies stretch from the bottom of the register to the top, and in later depictions this vertical ascent becomes even clearer.  In Sichuan sarcophagi they play the iconographic role of the dragons on the Mawangdui banners who physically link the earthly realm to that of Heaven.  This idea is reinforced through the regular inclusion of two other iconogrpahic traits.  Fu Xi and Nü Wa are often depicted with the sun and moon, and they are shown holding a carpenters square (Fu Xi) and a drawing compass (Nü Wa).  The former are metonyms for Heaven and the celestial equivalents of yin and yang.  The latter suggests the linking of square Earth to the round Heaven.  Most scholars agree that the role of the intertwined Fu Xi and Nü Wa was to depict the interaction of yin and yang that underlies cosmic order and thereby secure an auspicious environment for the denizen of the tomb.

Santillana and Dechend offer more explanation for the figures of Nüwa and Fuxi:

The Chinese picture illustrates in true archaic spirit (which means that only hints are given, and the spectator has to work out for himself the significance of the details) the surveying of the universe.  The two characters surrounded by constellations are Fu Hsi and Nu Kua, i.e., the craftsman god and his paredra, who measure the “squareness of the earth” and the “roundness of heaven” with their implements, the square with the plumb bob hanging from it, and the compass.  The intertwined serpent-like bodies of the deities indicate clearly enough, although in a peculiar “projection,” circular orbits intersecting each other at regular intervals. 

In another place some Chinese commentators have noted the uses of these tools in construction or building:

All “great instruments” were invented by the ancients to help lesser men “first rule the self and then rule others.”  Although all are needed in construction, by no means do all these tools work in the same way.  Level and line determine straight horizontal and vertical lines, while compass and square are needed to form perfect circles and corners.  By analogy, each of the social institutions, including ritual, has its own function in building civilization, with each addressing a separate human need.  It is characteristic of the sage-ruler that he always knows which tool to apply to the specific problem at hand.

There are probably hundreds of other sources which describe these symbols in Chinese tradition and mythology.  You can find more by doing a Google Books search for “nuwa square compass.”

I’ve done some image searching and these two figures are almost always depicted holding the same symbols in their hands, and which have been described by many different scholars as the tools of creation and divine order.  See the images below.

Nüwa and Fuxi in Chinese Mythology: Compass & Square