There is an excellent post at BCC by Jamie Huston entitled “Examining Our Attitudes Towards Money.” I think I would echo everything he said. He even included some quotes from Hugh Nibley, which I always appreciate. Here are some great reminders of what we have covenanted to do in the temple, yet so often forget. As Nibley often said, if we are to build up Zion, we’ve got to get both feet out of Babylon.
I’m sure some of you have noticed that trying to print out a post from TempleStudy.com produced a not-so-nice looking printout. The logo was in the wrong place or missing, the sidebar was cut off, blank pages may have been inserted, and it was all a mess. This is because the blog was built to look good on the screen and not necessarily printed out.
Thanks to Paul, one of our readers, for suggesting for me to add a feature to cleanly print out TempleStudy.com posts. In response to his request I have added a “Print” link to the bottom footer information of every post. It is next to the “ShareThis” link. Clicking on this print link will take you to a printer-friendly view of that post, from which you can then go to File->Print in your browser to print it out. This will allow for much cleaner printing of posts.
Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.
Elder Russell M. Nelson said this in a devotional he gave on December 10, 2002 at BYU:
The time is coming when those who do not obey the Lord will be separated from those who do. Our safest insurance is to continue to be worthy of admission to His holy house. How blessed we are to have temples available. The greatest gift you could give to the Lord at this or any other time of year is to keep yourself unspotted from the world, worthy to attend His holy house. His gift to you will be the peace and security of knowing that you are worthy to meet Him, whenever that time shall come.
“Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen” (D&C 87:8).
See this video:
As someone recently quipped, “I’m so glad Nibley’s not letting a little thing like being dead slow down his publishing schedule!” ((http://www.mormonapologetics.org/index.php?showtopic=36841&view=findpost&p=1208466338))
Another volume in the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley series is being officially released on August 6, 2008 (it’s already available in Deseret Book stores). This volume will be the third volume published since Hugh Nibley’s passing at age 94 in February 2005, and with rumors of at least two more volumes to come. The title of this 544-page book is Eloquent Witness: Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple, and will be volume 17 in the series. This will be an exciting book to read! Here’s the jacket’s description:
One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study- all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews [including a transcript of the documentary Faith of an Observer], book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
Thanks to Reed for pointing this out to me!
Truman G. Madsen is also publishing a new 224-page book to be released in just a few days on July 30, 2008 entitled The Temple: Where Heaven Meets Earth. It is probably already available in Deseret Book stores. The description reads:
In his youth,Truman Madsen watched his grandparents take their large family to the temple almost every week. Decades later, a friend said, ” Your spiritual life began with the temple and everything since has flowed from that.” The messages in this book attest to his love of temples. The author of many bestselling books and CDs, Truman teaches how we can gain access to the light and truth offered in the temple. He discusses the relationship of the temple to the Atonement, Joseph Smith’s contribution to our understanding of temples, and how the scriptures and the temple illuminate each other. This is a powerful book on a crucial topic by one of the greatest teachers and scholars of our time.
Oh how I love books!
Early Christian Mosaic in Basilica of Sant' Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, Italy
I came across some references to early Christian ritual vestments this morning in Matthew Brown’s The Gate of Heaven. He cited The Awe-Inspiring Rites of Initiation by Edward Yarnold, and The Archæology of Baptism by Wolfred N. Cote. I looked up these references and they were intriguing in describing an early Christian practice of face veiling during initiation rites: [Read more…]