academy for temple studies

“Mormonism and the Temple” Proceedings Book Now Available

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proceedings book

Proceedings book

A new book is available entitled Mormonism and the Temple: Examining an Ancient Religious Tradition. Edited by Gary N. Anderson and published by BYU Studies in conjunction with Utah State University Department of Religious Studies and the Academy for Temple Studies in Logan, Utah, it contains the proceedings of a conference that was held under the same title on the campus of Utah State University on 29 October 2012, and includes the following presentations:

  • Gary N. Anderson, Philip L. Barlow, and John W. Welch, “About This Publication”
  • Philip L. Barlow, “Welcome and Opening Comments by Presenters”
  • Margaret Barker, “Restoring Solomon’s Temple”
  • Laurence Paul Hemming, “Chapel, Church, Temple, Cathedral: Lost Parallels in Mormon and Catholic Worship”
  • Margaret Barker and Laurence Hemming, “Questions and Answers”
  • John F. Hall, “Ancient Mediterranean Temple Ceremonies: Vestiges of the Rites of Enoch and Precursors to the Hebrew Temple Ceremonial”
  • John W. Welch, “The Temple, the Sermon on the Mount, and the Gospel of Matthew”
  • Daniel C. Peterson, “A Divine Mother in the Book of Mormon?”
  • Danel W. Bachman, “A Temple Studies Bibliography”
  • LeGrande Davies, “Temples–Bridges of Eternity”
  • John L. Fowles, “The Temple, the Book of Revelation, and Joseph Smith”
  • John W. Welch and Presenters, “Closing Comments”

Those who attended the Logan conference will receive a copy of the book as it was included in their registration. If you did not attend the conference, you may also order a copy for $20. Currently, the book can be ordered from BYU Studies at 801-422-6691, or at 1063 JFSB BYU Provo 84602. At some point it may also be available for ordering online.

Videos of the proceedings are available for viewing online here.

“Enoch and the Temple” Conference with George W. E. Nickelsburg

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"God took Enoch," illustrated by Gerard Hoet, 1728 Figures de la Bible

“God took Enoch,” illustrated by Gerard Hoet, 1728 Figures de la Bible

The Academy for Temple Studies in co-sponsorship with USU Religious Studies Program have announced a conference centered on the figure of Enoch and the temple. The keynote speaker will be George W. E. Nickelsburg, who is a well-known expert on 1 Enoch. Others will also present on Enoch literature and temple themes. The conference will take place in two locations, in Logan on February 19, and in Provo on February 22, 2013.

Below is the full press release announcement from the Academy’s website: [Read more…]

Videos Now Available of Conference “Mormonism and the Temple: Examining an Ancient Religious Tradition”

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The conference “Mormonism and the Temple: Examining an Ancient Religious Tradition,” which took place on October 29, 2012 in Logan, Utah, was filmed, and some of the videos are now available for free in 1080p HD resolution on the Academy for Temple Studies YouTube channel, the Academy’s TempleStudies.org website, as well as embedded below here. The rest of the presenters’ videos are forthcoming. [Read more…]

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.

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