cleansing – Temple Study

“The Temple as a Place of Ascent to God” – Notes from Dr. Peterson’s Fireside

July 15, 2009 by Bryce Haymond 43 Comments

View of Salt Lake Valley from the Draper Temple on July 10, 2009. The Jordan River and Oquirrh Mountain temples are in the distance.

On Sunday I had the opportunity of going to the Daybreak Stake Center in South Jordan and listening to a wonderful fireside given by Dr. Daniel C. Peterson about the temple. I audio recorded the fireside, and have a digital copy. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get a hold of Dr. Peterson to ask permission to post it on TempleStudy.com. But as I said previously, I also took notes as well as I could, and I hope that they might reproduce some of the excellent thoughts Dr. Peterson conveyed. [Note: Not all of the images below are the exact same as Dr. Peterson used, but I have tried to use similar ones.]

One of the first things he said was that the dedication of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple (which stands only a few blocks from the stake center) would be, in a way, a fulfillment of prophecy.

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

September 25, 2008 by Bryce Haymond 3 Comments

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…]

Washing of Feet

May 6, 2008 by Bryce Haymond 13 Comments

Jesus Washing Peter's Feet by Ford Madox Brown. 1852-56, retouched several times up to 1892. Oil on canvas 46 x 52 1/4 in Tate Gallery, London.

A reader has asked, “Do you have any insight into what happened to the washing of feet? Could the washing of feet have been preparatory to the full ordinance of washing as we now have it in the initiatories?”

The ordinance of washing of feet is still performed in the temple, for it is a restored ordinance, but it is part of the culminating sealing ordinances which are reserved for those who make their calling and election sure through faith. Temple scholar Matthew Brown has offered this:

The Lord mentioned in a revelation on 1 November 1831 that he had granted unto his disciples the authority to “seal both on earth and in heaven” (D&C 1:8). During the same month he indicated that God the Father would reveal to his servants who should be sealed up “unto eternal life” by this power (D&C 68:12). The ordinance of the washing of feet was then introduced by the Lord as the means whereby someone could be rendered “clean from the blood of this generation” (D&C 88:138-141), and when Joseph Smith administered this ordinance, he stated that those who received it were not only “clean” in a ritual sense but were also “sealed up unto eternal life” (HC, 1:323-24; see also MD, 829-32). ((Matthew B. Brown, The Gate of Heaven, 235.))

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