Month: September 2008

Preview: “The Sermon on the Mount in the Light of the Temple,” by John Welch

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Detail from Sacrament, by Minerva Teichert (ca. 1935). On display in the JSB at BYU.

Detail from Sacrament, by Minerva Teichert (ca. 1935). On display in the JSB at BYU.

Last night at the Third Nephi conference held at BYU, Professor John W. Welch gave the keynote address.  His topic was “New Insights Into the Temple Setting of the Sermon on the Mount in Reference to the Sermon at the Temple.”  It was an excellent address, after which Paul Y. Hoskisson, the director of the Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies, remarked that he was overwhelmed by what he just heard.  You can read my notes on the conference last night here.

One of the things Professor Welch did was give a free handout to all those who were in attendance to outline some of the things he was going to cover, and topics he has written about in an upcoming book.  I have included this handout embedded at the end of this post.  Professor Welch has been studying this topic since about 1988 when he first wrote a FARMS Update article entitled “The Sermon at the Temple,” in which he wrote of 3 Nephi 11-18 as a text which “offers clues to connect the [Sermon on the Mount] with the making of covenants at the temple” ((FARMS Update, March 1988.)).  [Read more…]

Liveblog: Third Nephi Conference at BYU

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This is a liveblog of the conference entitled “Third Nephi: New Perspectives on an Incomparable Scripture,” which is taking place at Brigham Young University on September 26-27, 2008, from 6:30pm on the 26th to about noon on the 27th.  See my previous post on the subject, or the program of the conference here.  Note: Those reading this in an RSS feed or an email will have to visit TempleStudy.com to see the liveblog feed below.  Press the play button below to load the liveblog. In the liveblog window, you can participate live with me by entering your name, your question/comment, and clicking on send.  Enjoy!

San Salvador El Salvador Temple Groundbreaking

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San Salvador El Salvador Temple. © 2008, Intellectual Reserve. All rights reserved. (click for larger view)

San Salvador El Salvador Temple. © 2008, Intellectual Reserve. All rights reserved. (click for larger view)

The announcement of the building of the San Salvador, El Salvador, temple was particularly moving for me since that is where I served my mission (’00-’02).  The closest temple for members in the country when I served there was the Guatemala City Guatemala Temple.  Making the trip to Guatemala typically took members years of saving, a week long trip in a bus, and usually only happened once in a lifetime.  This temple will be a great blessing for them.

LDSChurchTemples.com reports that the temple groundbreaking ceremony took place just a few days ago on September 20, 2008.  Elder Don R. Clarke from the Quorum of the Seventy, and president of the Central America area, presided at the meeting.  Photos of the ceremony can be seen here.  The temple will be dedicated in 2010 or 2011.

See the approximate location of this temple.  If you know more precisely where it will be going, please let me know.

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

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New Zealand Maori exchanging the sacred act of hongi, the breath of life.

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.  [Read more…]