daniel c. peterson

Pilgrimage as a Temple Theme

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Eastern Orthodox Christian pilgrim at Kiev Monastery of the Caves, Ukraine. Women often cover their heads as prescribed by Paul.

Eastern Orthodox Christian pilgrim at Kiev Monastery of the Caves, Ukraine. Women often cover their heads as prescribed by Paul (1 Cor. 11:13). Many pilgrims wear all white. (Photo by Petar Milošević)

William Hamblin and Daniel C. Peterson have a regular religion column in the Deseret News.  Their latest article is entitled “Pilgrimage: A sacred journey in search of God.”  They point out that many religions have their own types of pilgrimages towards a holy place, shrine, or temple, where the pilgrim seeks to connect with God.  Truly, the Temple Mount, or current location of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, is such a location for several major religions.

Latter-day Saints also have pilgrimages to temples.  Many members of the Church throughout the world still have to travel great distances, over a number of days, at the cost of lifetime savings, to reach the closest temple to their home.  In recent years, this has improved as temples have been built in more locations, closer to more members.

The temple itself can also be considered a pilgrimage within itself, a journey from a lower sphere to a higher one, even heaven, where one comes to God.

The article notes the ritual aspect of many religions’ pilgrimages:

Most pilgrimage is associated with special rituals and ceremonies. Pilgrims are often required to don sacred robes and undergo spiritual exercises such as prayer, reading scriptures or meditation. Many pilgrims abstain from ordinary activities of life by fasting, sleepless vigils or sexual abstinence. Sacrifice or offerings are often required of the pilgrim, even if it is only placing of a flower or rock in a special place. In return many pilgrims obtain tokens of their pilgrimages — special clothing, jewelry, books, medallions or relics — which they proudly wear or display as symbolic of their spiritual status as pilgrims.

Read the full article at the Deseret News:
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765589691/A-sacred-journey-in-search-of-God.html

The Seal of Melchizedek – Part 5

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The seal of Melchizedek as seen on the entrance doors of the Salt Lake Temple

The seal of Melchizedek as seen on the entrance doors of the Salt Lake Temple. (Click for larger view)

(Continued from Part 4)

It’s been a long time coming, since September 2008 to be exact, and I’d like to finally complete this series of posts on the seal of Melchizedek.  It is probably one of the most trafficked series of posts on this website.  It’s drawn a lot of attention, and may have even been part of what compelled a BYU scholar, Alonzo L. Gaskill, to publish an article about it in The Religious Educator at BYU in 2010, which article I’d like to talk about.

But first, there are a few other artifacts related to the symbol that I’d like to share.  As I pointed out in Part 2, this seal is most prominently found as displayed in the mosaics and iconography in the basilicas of Ravenna, Italy.  Indeed, this is very likely where Hugh Nibley saw this symbol originally, as perhaps did Michael Lyon, and where he may have coined the name the “seal of Melchizedek.”  The symbol is shown on the altar cloths in these mosaics, shown next to Melchizedek, Abel, and Abraham, in making sacrificial offerings to God.  The altar cloth also shows gammadia in the corners, right-angle marks like the Greek letter gamma, which is also very interesting, and worthy of a study in and of itself.

To begin, I want to note again that to date I have not found any evidence for this symbol being called the “seal of Melchizedek” by any other scholar, historian, or historical figure in recorded history before Hugh Nibley and Michael Lyon.  That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, but it is likely a conception that began with the Latter-day Saints, making a logical connection between the symbol and the Biblical figure found adjacent to it in the mosaics. [Read more…]

Conference Announcement – “Mormonism and the Temple: Examining an Ancient Religious Tradition”

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Speakers at the symposium "Mormonism and the Temple: Examining an Ancient Religious Tradition"

Speakers at the symposium “Mormonism and the Temple: Examining an Ancient Religious Tradition”

A couple days ago I received notice of a new conference that will be taking place at Utah State University, in Logan, Utah, on October 29, 2012.  The topic will be “Mormonism and the Temple: Examining an Ancient Religious Tradition.”  This symposium comes as a collaboration between a new U.S. based temple studies organization called Academy for Temple Studies together with Utah State University Religious Studies program.

This looks like it will be a singular event, with a fantastic line-up of well-known scholars speaking about the temple throughout history!  I will certainly be in attendance, and hope to see many of you there too.  Please help spread the word of this inaugural conference by sharing news of this event with your friends and family.  It’s easy, you can click the “Like” button below to quickly share this link on your Facebook timeline with all your friends, or click the “Send” button below to quickly send this link privately to certain friends, family, groups, or any email address.  (Note, these buttons are only visible on the TempleStudy.com website.)

Here is the full press release about the conference:   [Read more…]

FAIR Conference Coming Soon, Temple Topics and FARMS to be Addressed

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Dr. Peterson gives his address at 2010 FAIR Conference

Dr. Peterson gives his address at 2010 FAIR Conference (Photo by R. Scott Lloyd)

I thought I’d take a moment and give a shout out for The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR) and their 14th annual conference coming up in less than a month, on August 2-3, 2012, in Sandy, Utah.  I have attended this conference in years past (which I liveblogged in 2008), and I will be attending again this year.

For those interested in the temple, topics will include “Book of Abraham, I Presume” by John Gee, and “Piercing the Veil: Temple Worship in the Lost 116 Pages” by Don Bradley, as well as many other very interesting subjects.  Those that are interested in the ongoing FARMS/Maxwell Institute situation, the original founder of FARMS, John W. Welch, will be speaking about his further research on chiasmus, as will former Mormon Studies Review/FARMS Review editor Daniel C. Peterson, on the topic “Of ‘Mormon Studies’ and Apologetics,” which should be interesting given recent events.

It is significant to note that this year that you don’t have to travel to Sandy, Utah, to take part.  The conference will also be available online via live video/audio streaming!  You can sit in the comfort of your living room, or even on-the-go via your mobile smartphone or tablet, from anywhere in the world, and take part in this excellent conference.  This news comes direct from FAIR:

This year we are providing Conference streaming for your Windows, Android, Apple, and even Roku devices. Here is a way for you to have your own FAIR Conference in your home. Hook it up to your big-screen TV and invite over your friends for a FAIR Conference event. We have updated our technology on this, so the price for streaming the conference into your home, or two your phones, computers or tablets is $15 for each day or $25 for both days. When you sign up, in the comments section please mention which device or devices you are planning on using (Roku, iphone, ipad, Android tablet, etc.)

Sign up for the two days of streaming here: http://bookstore.fairlds.org/product.php?id_product=1314

Thursday-only streaming here: http://bookstore.fairlds.org/product.php?id_product=1085

Friday-only streaming here: http://bookstore.fairlds.org/product.php?id_product=1313

Read more about the upcoming FAIR Conference here.

Update: I’ve changed some information here, as Trevor has given more details.

“Restore FARMS” Support Organization

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Restore FARMS

If you liked reading the original FARMS, join our new support organization, Restore FARMS, to help see it restored to its original mission. You can also like our Facebook Page to stay updated.

There are many people who are disappointed with the events of the past week at the Maxwell Institute at BYU.  Indeed, it appears as if the original mission and purpose of the FARMS organization has now been completely lost, with the dismissal of Daniel C. Peterson as Editor of the Mormon Studies Review (formerly the FARMS Review), and his team of associate editors.  In a comment today on David Bohn’s blog post at Times & Seasons, Dr. Peterson noted:

I have solid and direct reason to believe that the new direction being charted by the Institute omits anything that most Latter-day Saints would recognize as apologetics… And, at a very minimum, there is the incontrovertible fact that the Review, which has long represented the Institute’s apologetic aspect at its most explicit, has been put on indefinite hiatus. Given that the Institute’s publication of books has dwindled to virtually nothing, it’s difficult to see exactly where the “new course’s” apologetics efforts are going to appear, now that the Review is gone.

This concerns us deeply. FARMS has represented a highly respected and influential group of scholars whose ultimate goal was the defense of the Church from its critics, and sustaining the faith of Church members through education. The fact that this now appears to be “gone” swings the door wide open to an onslaught of unanswered criticism of the Church, and members with little recourse. The organization Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR), and Scholarly & Historical Information Exchange for Latter-day Saints (SHIELDS), are still excellent resources (indeed, they are the only ones left), but the loss of FARMS will leave a gaping hole in our efforts to defend the Church’s doctrines, history, and scriptures through a scholarly approach to research and publications.

A quote often associated with Edmund Burke says, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”  This mirrors a revelation given by the Lord through Joseph Smith the Prophet, now found in Doctrine and Covenants 58:27, which states, “Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness.” Instead of sit around and do nothing, some of us have decided to do something, to engage ourselves of our own free will, and do what we can do, now, to gather the supporters of FARMS under the same roof, and establish a cause, to help support the future of this great organization.

Tevya Washburn, founder of MormonLifeHacker.com, and I have decided to join together to organize Restore FARMS, a support organization with the goal of restoring FARMS to its original mission and purpose.  We don’t know exactly what that means for FARMS and its scholars.  Will it once again regroup as an independent organization?  Will it be given its own place again at BYU, with a board of directors consisting of FARMS scholars who share in its vision?  Will it join with FAIR in a joint apologetics mission?  We don’t know.  What we do know is that we do not want to see FARMS just disappear.  And we want your input! The Church needs, as it always has, defenders who are willing to address the many criticisms leveled at it by its detractors, and to help members who are struggling in their faith because of such material.

We have organized a website at RestoreFARMS.com, as well as a Facebook Page. If you want to join with us in rallying supporters for traditional FARMS, please visit Restore FARMS, and also click the “like” button below for our Facebook Page. You can also click “Send” to send this message to your friends, family, or groups on Facebook or by email address:

Note: This is a grassroots effort, without any direct affiliation with BYU, the Maxwell Institute, FARMS, FARMS scholars, or the Church. We, the readers, supporters, and donors of FARMS want to organize together, and help continue what was started 33 years ago. There is strength in numbers. Help us restore FARMS to its former stature as a scholarly apologetics organization which sustains and defends The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through ongoing informative publications.