There is an article this morning in the Mormon Times about the symbolism in the architecture of the Salt Lake Temple. It is written by Lynn Arave who used as a reference Dean R. Zimmerman’s article in the New Era entitled “The Salt Lake Temple” from June 1978.
The article cites a brief description and explanation of several of the symbols found on the temple, and includes some interesting details that I did not know before, including this:
Not all the symbolism originally planned for the Salt Lake Temple became a reality, either. For example, an early sketch of the temple by Angell found hanging today in Brigham Young’s guest room at Cove Fort shows that two Angel Moroni statues, one each on the east and west ends, were initially envisioned. Only an eastern statue was ever used for reasons unclear….
For perhaps its first few decades, the Salt Lake Temple used to have statues of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, one each in niches at the top of the two eastern stairways. These bronze statues were later removed and placed elsewhere on the temple block, according to Elder Talmage in “The House of the Lord.” The empty spaces for these two statues remain and are popular photography spots for wedding parties today. ((Lynn Arave, “Symbolism can be seen in architecture of S.L. Temple,” Mormon Times, November 27, 2008.))
For a more extensive treatment of the symbols of the Salt Lake Temple see Matthew Brown and Paul Smith’s excellent book Symbols in Stone.
“Some day we will live the law of consecration again, but until then we must be ‘willing’ to live it.”
“It is Church doctrine that the full Law of Consecration was suspended by the Lord through the Prophet in 1834.”
“My belief is that things will get progressively worse until the actual Second Coming when Christ will institute the law of consecration.”
Have you ever heard these types of statements before? Each one comes from active, church-going, temple-attending, members of the Church. Each of them was said to me in conversation over the past two weeks. Each one is also, unfortunately, untrue. [Read more…]
Noah's Thanksoffering (c.1803) by Joseph Anton Koch. (click image for larger view)
This morning I was listening to the ABC News report on the incoming hurricane Ike, which is heading straight towards the Galveston/Houston area of Texas, and the forecast of widespread destruction that it is provoking. The news anchor was reporting from Galveston Island, Texas, where the brunt of the storm is said to be bearing down quickly. The reporter ended his news clip by saying that there was a rainbow directly over Galveston Island.
It is destructive times like these that cause us to reflect on God, and His place in our world. It seems like cruel irony that the rainbow was placed as a sign of the covenant that God made with man that He would not flood the earth again. But then again, that was surely a deliberate decision, that each time we witness these horrific natural events like hurricanes we remember God is still there, and that He knows our trials and tribulations (cf. Hel. 12:3). Yes, even “if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good” (D&C 122:7). Events like these turn us back to God, and remind us to worship Him who is the Creator of heaven and earth. It is only by obeying God’s commandments and enduring trying times such as these that we can “triumph over all [our] foes” (D&C 121:7-8): [Read more…]
David Larsen posted a great notice over at Heavenly Ascents of the upcoming “Temples and Ritual in Antiquity” Symposium that will be held at BYU on November 7th, 2008. It is being presented by the Students of the Ancient Near East (SANE), and will have both students and top scholars presenting papers on the temple in antiquity. In fact, David will be presenting there too, as well as Andrew Miller. I will certainly be going to this symposium! It will be like Christmas morning, a smorgasbord of insight in temple studies.
I will see if I can liveblog the event here on TempleStudy.com. The FAIR Conference liveblog (Day 1 & Day 2) seemed to work out well and was beneficial to many people. Unfortunately, they have three speakers going at once, so we’ll only be able to attend 1/3 of all the exceptional presentations that will be presented. It’s a shame they had to consolidate since all of the presentations are no doubt going to be excellent. It appears that a selection will be “printed in a publication from the Religious Studies Center, and several others will be printed in Studia Antiqua” (link). (I’m still trying to find a way to go to Margaret Barker’s Temple Study Symposium in Oxford the next day, November 8th, and Bill Hamblin’s Temple Study SBL group in Boston a couple weeks later).
[Update 8/19/08: Dan McClellan has posted a nice schedule of the presentations, as well as short bios of the presenters, on his blog here.]
See the poll below (viewable only from the website):
Which presentations interest you most? (Pick one from each time slot, 8 total)
9:00-9:30 - Andrew Miller–â€The Mysteries in Pauline Christianity†(11%, 25 Votes)
10:30-11:00 - Dr. John Gee–â€Rituals of the Egyptian Temple: An Orientation†(10%, 23 Votes)
10:00-10:30 - David Larsen–â€Two High Priesthoods? Evidence for Changes in the Priesthood from First to Second Temple Judaism†(10%, 23 Votes)
12:45-1:15 - Matthew Brown–â€Kingship Initiation Motifs in Ancient Israel†(7%, 17 Votes)
11:15-11:45 - James Carroll–â€An Expanded View of the Israelite Scapegoat†(6%, 15 Votes)
12:15-12:45 - Scott Preston Sukhan Nibley–â€Ancient Southeast Asian Temples†(6%, 14 Votes)
11:45-12:15 - Dr. David Seely–â€Josephus and the Temple†(6%, 14 Votes)
11:45-12:15 - Mark Wright–â€The Cultural Context of Nephite Apostasy†(5%, 12 Votes)
12:45-1:15 - Joseph Petramalo–â€The Samaritan Temple and Priesthood†(5%, 11 Votes)
12:15-12:45 - Justin Robinson–â€Covenants and Simile Curses†(4%, 10 Votes)
9:30-10:00 - Dr. Dan Belnap–â€The Role of Scent in the Rituals of Ancient Israel†(3%, 8 Votes)
10:00-10:30 - Daniel Becerra–â€The Chrism in Early Christianity†(3%, 8 Votes)
10:30-11:00 - Dr. Bill Hamblin–TBA (3%, 8 Votes)
10:30-11:00 - Rachel A. Grover–â€The Paradise Garden and Messianic Age Imagery in the 5th to 7th Century Church Floor Mosaics of Jordan†(3%, 7 Votes)
11:15-11:45 - Chris Dawe–â€The Deification of Romulus†(3%, 6 Votes)
11:45-12:15 - Dr. Bryan Benson–â€The Treatment of Temples in Plato’s Republic and Laws“ (2%, 5 Votes)
12:15-12:45 - Dustin Simmons–â€Emperor as God: Roman Imperial Cult Worship & Implications for Early Christians†(2%, 5 Votes)
11:15-11:45 - Jacob Moody–â€Philistine Ritual Artifacts†(2%, 4 Votes)
10:00-10:30 - Elliott Wise–â€An Odor of Sanctity: The Iconography, Magic, and Liturgy of Egyptian Incense†(2%, 4 Votes)
12:45-1:15 - Keith Fairbank–â€The Eleusinian Mysteries: Greatest Conquest of Demetrios Poliorketes†(1%, 3 Votes)
9:30-10:00 - Aaron Snyder–â€The Prayer Circle in Early Christianity†(0%, 1 Votes)
9:00-9:30 - Donald Parry–â€Eve, Eden, and the Temple†(0%, 1 Votes)
9:00-9:30 - Kerry Muhlestein with Alyssa Lewis–â€The Role of Violent Rituals in the Egyptian Temple†(0%, 0 Votes)
A few days ago I wrote about a post I read over at Lehi’s Library which quoted a paper by Kevin Christensen in which he referenced Margaret Barker. The subject was the use of the Hebrew word/letter tau or tav, translated as “mark” in Ezekiel 9:4-6, and what it meant in Ezekiel’s day, and what it may have meant to the Nephites who also referenced it (Jacob 4:14). The conclusion was that it may have referred to an anointing that the high priests received on their foreheads, having literally taken upon themselves the name of God. I was curious to investigate the Hebrew word/letter tav more, which I did, and I want to share some of the intriguing things I discovered.
A small disclaimer. I am most definitely an amateur when it comes to Hebrew, so any insights I might gather should be taken with a grain of salt. Perhaps someone with greater expertise can make a greater inquiry into this particular subject. These are just some of my observations as I’m learning. [Read more…]
David Larsen posted a great notice over at 
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A few days ago I