5 Comments

  1. David Larsen

    Old Testament scholar Margaret Barker talks about how the Israelite kings were coronated with a very similar ceremony. Its amazing how purely this tradition was passed on. She talks about this in a few of her books, and I recommend looking at her most recent book, “Temple Themes in Christian Worship.” She talks about how the coronation ceremony passed (in modified form) into later Christian practices.
    Great article! Thanks!

  2. The British aren’t alone. Coronation rites the world over and down through time, as Nibley wrote, are nothing more or less than borrowed temple rituals, as is the marriage ceremony. The modern LDS endowment shares this in common with many ancient traditions, including those from Egypt, the Middle East and classical cultures–even Oriental traditions. They all resemble one another because they share a common heritage. That commonality is indicated in our temples, as in all ancient sacred precincts where we universally see depicted astral bodies–suns, stars, planets and moons. They adorn the exterior walls of all our temples for a very good and valid reason. It’s why Joseph Smith read and explained the Egyptian facsimiles, relating the Egyptian gods, goddesses and icons to planets and stars. It’s the reason Abraham was taught, in vision, the basics of ancient astronomy. Understanding the roles that planets or stars (the ancients used both terms for the same astral bodies) played in antiquity is the key to understanding all rituals and rites from whatever culture, including the LDS tradition. Thus, in our temple rites, Joseph Smith attempted to connect us with a cultural tradition that had been lost to modern Christianity. It’s only visible remnants were in myths, cultural traditions such as coronation rites, holy days (holidays) and the scriptures. Now, thanks to Joseph’s visionary insight, we have access to that same temple tradition as our forefathers enjoyed. He connected us to our past–a past that had been denied us since the days of the primitive church and the early Apostles. The temple legacy he left us is the most powerful, physical witness we have of his calling as a prophet of God.

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