Month: November 2012

Temples Infographic and 3D Models

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Brian Olson has put together a few items of interest for those who love the temple. First is an infographic that shows all of the LDS temples that have been built, side by side, showing how they compare in height, and explaining some of the differences between them.  Secondly are 3D models of many of LDS temples, which he has used to make YouTube videos which show virtual flyarounds of each.  He also has a good collection of temple photos he has taken.

See Brian’s sites, as he has done some excellent work here, similar to some things I’ve done in the past.

Temple Studies Bibliography Now Online

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One of the presentations at the conference “Mormonism and the Temple” in Logan last month was by Danel W. Bachman, who presented the culmination of a project that he has been working on for the past six years.  It is the compilation of a very extensive bibliography on temple studies.  Other temple bibliographies have been published in the past (which are listed at the beginning of this compilation), and this bibliography sought to build on those while adding many more references to materials related to the temple.  As a result, this draft contains roughly 7,000 entries that pertain to temple studies.  And it is now online, at the Academy for Temple Studies website.

This is a great new project that will help researchers, scholars, students, and followers of temple studies find more resources on the subject, and related topics.  As you might imagine, this is a living project, and references will be added and pruned over time.  There will also be investigation into new bibliography technologies that might be utilized to better format, distribute, collaborate on, cite, and otherwise use the information.  All of these efforts will significantly aid scholarship in the field of temple studies.

See the new temple studies bibliography online.

The Doctrine of Exaltation, Godhood or Deification

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Some criticize the Church because of one doctrine we hold most dear, which is exaltation.  This has also been referred to at different times and places as godhood, deification, divinization, taking upon the divine nature, making divine, or theosis (also theiosis, theopoiesis, theōsis; from the Greek Θέωσις).  It is, in its most basic description, that man may become like God.  Many of our fellow Christians see this as the ultimate blasphemy and heresy.  How could man ever become like God?  Why would he want to do so?  Doesn’t this go against everything God has taught through his holy word?  The reality is that this concept has been a fundamental part of Christian thought since early Christianity, found throughout the Bible and in early Christian writings.  Unfortunately, this Christian teaching has been largely lost over the ages.

God restored the doctrine of exaltation through the Prophet Joseph Smith, as part of the restoration of the church of Jesus Christ.  Some have thought that Joseph’s teaching of this concept was a rather late invention of the prophet, near the end of his life.  However, the doctrine can be found even in the Book of Mormon, which was published before the church was formally organized.

I recently came across two great articles that were published that discuss this topic.

  • Daniel C. Peterson, “Defending the Faith: Exaltation isn’t a new doctrine,” Deseret News, 8 November 2012.  Peterson shows in this article how the doctrine of exaltation, or theosis, was not a late revelation in the restoration of the Church, but is found throughout the teachings of Joseph Smith.
  • Elder Tad R. Callister, Presidency of the Seventy, “Our Identity and Our Destiny,” BYU Devotional Address, Campus Education Week, 14 August 2012.  Elder Callister fantastically presents five witnesses of the truth of the doctrine of deification: the testimony of the scriptures, the witness of the early Christian writers, the wisdom of poets and authors, the power of logic, and the voice of history.

I highly recommend these two articles.  If you want even further in-depth study, then I also suggest William J. Hamblin’s excellent recent publication in the Interpreter journal, “‘I Have Revealed Your Name’: The Hidden Temple in John 17,” where Hamblin discusses the chapter of John 17 in fine detail, revealing the strong temple concepts embedded in the text, including theosis.  He also includes an appendix with a bibliography of twenty-three recent scholars’ books on the subject of deification, published just in the last decade, all of them Christian, that you may dive into to learn more about this very Christian teaching.

An Introduction to Temple Theology

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A group that gathered to discuss temple studies on October 28, 2012. L to R: William Hamblin, Dave Butler, Gary Anderson, Steve Densley, Gordon Thomasson, Debbie Peterson, Daniel Peterson, Laurence Hemming, Le Grande Davies, John Fowles, George Mitton, Jacob Rennaker, Bob Smith, Margaret Barker, Bryce Haymond, Daniel Bachman, Philip Barlow, Jack Welch, Jeff Bradshaw

A group that gathered to discuss temple studies on October 28, 2012. L to R: William Hamblin, Dave Butler, Gary Anderson, Steve Densley, Gordon Thomasson, Debbie Peterson, Daniel Peterson, Laurence Hemming, Le Grande Davies, John Fowles, George Mitton, Jacob Rennaker, Bob Smith, Margaret Barker, Bryce Haymond, Danel Bachman, Philip Barlow, John Welch, Jeff Bradshaw. (Click to enlarge)

William Hamblin and Daniel Peterson have written a column in the Deseret News entitled “Understanding the centrality of temple rites,” which gives a great introduction to what has become known as “temple theology,” which is essentially the centrality of the temple in the Bible and in Christianity.  Most of modern Christianity believes the temple to be quite foreign to their worship, and yet it pervades the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments.  Why is that?  Professors Hamblin and Peterson help give us a brief introduction to that topic, as well as the scholarship of Methodist scholar Margaret Barker, the newly formed Academy for Temple Studies, the Temple Studies Group in England, and the temple conference in Logan Utah this past week for which Margaret Barker was the keynote speaker.  It is an exciting time for temple studies!

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765614556/Understanding-the-centrality-of-temple-rites.html

Evolution? My First Impressions

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Are we really related to monkeys? Sounds suspicious.

Are we really related to monkeys? Sounds suspicious.

For I, the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth…  And out of the ground made I, the Lord God, to grow every tree, naturally, that is pleasant to the sight of man; and man could behold it. And it became also a living soul. (Moses 3:5, 9)

I have written a couple articles in recent weeks about some of my first impressions on subjects that are sometimes seen as dividing points between Church “doctrine” and scientific discovery.  These subjects were the age of the Earth, which I thought could reasonably be found to be billions of years old and therefore agree with the findings of science while not contradicting the doctrines of the gospel or the teachings of the Church.  The other subject was death before the Fall, which I also thought could reasonably be found that there has been life and death on the Earth for billions of years and therefore concur with the findings of science while not contradicting the doctrines of the gospel or the teachings of the Church.  In both cases, the subjects can be in harmony both with science and our religion.  Those posts were only the beginning of some of my first thoughts on these matters, are not comprehensive or exhaustive.  Likewise here I will try to give some first thoughts on evolution, perhaps the most hotly debated subject with regards to science and the Church, and religion in general. [Read more…]