construction

The Seal of Melchizedek – Part 1

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San Diego California Temple exterior (click for larger view)

San Diego California Temple exterior (click for larger view)

A week ago my parents took a trip down to California to see my younger brother dance with the BYU Ballroom Dance Team at the Embassy Ball in Irvine, California.  As part of their trip they had the chance to do some fun things, like go to Disneyland.  Whenever they are on a vacation during the sabbath, however, they try to do things appropriate for that day, such as visit any nearby temples.  The San Diego California Temple was only about 80 miles away, and so they made their way down I-5 last Sunday afternoon to see it.

They enjoyed their visit at this unique temple, but by and large the most interesting thing that they experienced there that day was a story that the service missionaries told them who serve there.  [Read more…]

Pronaos: A New Temple-Themed Blog!

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A Greek or Roman temple with the pronaos shaded.

A Greek or Roman temple with the pronaos shaded.

There is a great new LDS-oriented temple-themed blog in the Bloggernacle entitled Pronaos, which is run by Grampa Enoch.  From the first few posts this appears like it will be a very good blog indeed.

The word pronaos comes from the Greek for “before a temple” (pro-before, naos-temple).  It references the inner area of the portico (porch) of ancient temples, or between the outer wall or colonnade and the entrance to the inner shrine.  In modern-day LDS temples, the entryway/front desk/lobby area I suppose could be viewed as the architectural pronaos today.  It is the first zone of the archetypal tripartite or three-level temple, corresponding to the courtyard of Moses’ Tabernacle.

His latest post is on the location of Solomon’s temple, which we took a look at a few days ago.  According to Grampa Enoch, the only real answer to the question “Where was the location of Solomon’s temple?” is “We don’t know.” Unless we have future archaeological investigations, we won’t know for sure.

He also confirms my hestitancy about the Meridian Magazine article theory:

But even if we could completely excavate the Temple Mount/Haram, it is quite possible that all remains of Solomon’s original temple were removed in subsequent rebuilding programs…

…it is important to note that almost nothing visible on the plaza inside the Haram [Temple Mount] today dates from Solomon’s time. Most of what we see today was built by the Muslims after 638. There are also a number of crusader structures as well. Any interpretation of the Temple Mount must first deal with the dating and interpretation of the visible structures.

Since virtually all the evidence presented by Meridian Magazine’s theory is based on structures currently visible on the temple mount, the entire premise of the theory is unfortunately faulty.  Grampa Enoch gives an extensive list of sources that one may look to gain a better understanding of the pre-Islamic Temple Mount.

Take a look at Pronaos!

“New Proposed Location for Solomon’s Temple” at Meridian Magazine

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Tradition has held that Solomon’s Temple, the first permanent temple that the Israelites built in Jerusalem around 968 B.C. and destroyed around 587 B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar, was located on the same site as the modern-day Muslim mosque, the Dome of the Rock.  A new archaeological team made up of Garth Norman, Lance Harding, Jason Jones, and John Pratt who have been studying the subject for several months propose that the original temple might have actually been located between the modern Dome of the Rock and the Dome of the Tablets.  They propose that Solomon’s Temple could be rebuilt, the Third Temple, on its precise original location without disturbing the standing Muslim mosque.  At least 20 other locations have been proposed for the site, including Margaret Barker’s last Monday, so it will be interesting to see how this new theory is accepted.

See the full article at Meridian Magazine:
http://meridianmagazine.com/sci_rel/080815temple.html

Some of the evidence this new theory presents seems somewhat unconvincing to me, such as the “pillar base.”  Could a pillar base from Solomon’s Temple really have survived intact on the temple mount since 587 B.C.?  What have other scholars proposed as the purpose of this stone, which stands out in the middle of the otherwise flat temple mount?  If that is where Solomon’s temple originally stood, and the pillar base is intact, would we not also see some evidence for the exterior or interior walls?

The question has been asked, and could be asked again, if the Third Temple has to be built directly on the first temple site at all, or only near it.  What do you think about this latest theory?

Service on Earth & Worship of God

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Planet Earth

The account of the garden of Eden in Genesis is a very interesting story indeed.  We learn much about the experiences of our first parents and their interactions with God.  It was a very intimate relationship, one in which God walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the garden (Gen. 3:8).

When Adam was first placed in the garden of Eden, he was given a charge to take care of it:

And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. (Gen. 2:15)

The Hebrew word for “dress” is avad, which means to work, labor or serve.  Closely related is the word avodah, which means service.  Even at this early date man was given a stewardship over the earth, and to take good care of it, even while it was still paradisaical! When Adam and Eve transgressed the law of God and fell they were sent from the garden into the dreary world, but with the same charge of stewardship:  [Read more…]

Video Inside the New Twin Falls Temple

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The Church has produced a short video for the media describing the newest temple of the Church in Twin Falls, Idaho, and the open house that will be occurring there from July 11th through August 16th, 2008 (8am-8pm, except Sundays and Mondays after 6pm).

This video comes from Times-News at MagicValley.com.  It is introduced by Elder William Walker, member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, and includes some commentary from the construction company (Big D Construction), Brent Nielson (Chairman of the Twin Falls Temple Committee), and some other members of the Church.  It also includes some video of the inside of the temple.  Typically the Church publishes photos of the interior, but this is the first time I’ve seen short video clips produced in connection with the opening of a new temple, which include the celestial room, baptistery, ordinance rooms, sealing rooms, and lobby.  The temple is a beautiful sacred place.