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John Welch on Margaret Barker’s Temple Studies

May 3, 2008 by Bryce Haymond 7 Comments

John WelchThere is an interesting post at The T&T Clark Blog with a transcription of an address that BYU’s John Welch gave on March 5th in London at a conference about Margaret Barker’s latest book, Temple Themes in Christian Worship, and her scholarly work on temple subjects in ancient Christianity and Judaism. FARMS lists Welch as serving on the executive committee of the Biblical Law Section of the SBL, but in this review he also mentions that he has been selected as one of the organizers of a new section on Temple Studies in the SBL. I am not very familiar with the SBL, but this sounds like a fantastic leap forward in temple studies among biblical scholars.

Some highlights from this address are: [Read more…]

Posted in: Scholarship, Temples Today Tagged: anointing, book, BYU, clothing, early christian, farms, holy of holies, john welch, liturgy, margaret barker, new name, plan of salvation, prayer, priesthood, rituals, robe, scholar, temple studies, veil, washing

Olivewood: A Singular Bookstore

April 26, 2008 by Bryce Haymond 3 Comments


I can’t remember where I originally heard about the new Olivewood bookstore. It may have been in the Bloggernacle somewhere – perhaps FAIR. In any case, I had heard enough about this store that I decided that I had to visit it. It is located at 3330 N University Ave. Suite C in Provo, next to Magelby’s Fresh. I had some spare time a couple weeks ago, so I stopped by. I’m glad I did! [Read more…]

Posted in: Artifacts, Church History, Tidbits Tagged: art, books, bookstore, farms, lecture, media, neal a. maxwell institute, olivewood, photo, provo

Stephen Ricks On The Ancient Sacred Marital Handclasp

February 27, 2008 by Bryce Haymond 7 Comments

Grave stele of Philoxenos with his wife, Philoumene, about 400 B.C.The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at BYU posted a short featured article on their homepage yesterday by Dr. Stephen Ricks on the subject of the dexiosis (Greek) or dextrarum iunctio (Latin), which was a peculiar Greek, Etruscan, Roman, and Early Christian practice of joining the right hands in a solemn and ceremonial handclasp. In antiquity such a practice was often associated with marriage and fidelity. It is often seen in artifacts and art dating from these time periods.

Dr. Ricks explains what this practice of clasping the right hands meant to the Romans:

In the Roman world, the right hand was sacred to Fides, the deity of fidelity. The clasping of the right hand was a solemn gesture of mutual fidelity and loyalty at the conclusion of an agreement or contract, the taking of an oath of allegiance, or reception in the mysteries, whose initiates were referred to as syndexioi (“joined by the right hand”). ((“Dexiosis and Dextrarum Iunctio: The Sacred Handclasp in the Classical and Early Christian World,” <http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&id=616>.))

Why is this practice so common among the early Christians? Dr. Ricks informs us:

They did so in part because they agreed with the non-Christian Romans that “fidelity and harmony are demanded in the longest-lasting and most intimate human relationship, marriage.” But they also did so because they accepted, perhaps, the ancient Israelite view that marriage was a sacred covenant and, further, because they understood “marriage,” in the words of the Protestant scholar Philip Schaff, “as a spiritual union of two souls for time and eternity.” A sacred handclasp-the dextrarum iunctio-was a fitting symbol for the most sacred act and moment in human life. ((ibid.))

Dr. Ricks’ article is entitled “Dexiosis and Dextrarum Iunctio: The Sacred Handclasp in the Classical and Early Christian World.” Read the full study here. The PDF version contains several more illustrations of the dextrarum iunctio.

I have found additional material in conjunction with this practice that I will share in a future post.

Posted in: Artifacts, Practices, Scholarship Tagged: dexiosis, dextrarum iunctio, farms, fidelity, handclasp, marriage, right hands, seal, sealing, stephen ricks

John Tvedtnes on The Sacred in the Temple

February 14, 2008 by Bryce Haymond 2 Comments
John A. Tvedtnes

John A. Tvedtnes

John A. Tvedtnes, senior resident scholar with the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University, recently authored an article for Meridian Magazine entitled, “Secretive Mormonism.” He had some great comments about the esoteric versus exoteric nature of the LDS temple practices (emphasis is my own):

Commentators frequently refer to Mormon temple rites as the heart of secret goings-on. It is true that some elements of the temple are so sacred that we do not discuss them publicly, but most of what goes on in the temples is well-known.

One need not look far to learn that the most important such rite is the solemnization of marriage for time and all eternity and that vicarious ordinances (sacraments in Roman Catholic parlance) are performed for deceased ancestors, beginning with proxy baptism.

Even the endowment ceremony, the one most commonly held in Latter-day Saint temples, is mostly public knowledge. Most of the teachings presented during that time derive from the Book of Moses, published in the Pearl of Great Price. During an endowment session, we are reminded of our responsibility to obey the basic laws given mankind by God, such as the law of chastity (including fidelity after marriage), the law of obedience to God’s commandments, the law of sacrifice (which culminated in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross), the law of the gospel (salvation through Christ), and the law of consecration of one’s time, talents, and other divine blessings, to building up the Lord’s work on the earth.

Elements that are not discussed openly include ritual elements of temple prayer and the actual endowment or giving of signs, names, and tokens designed to enable one to pass the angels and ultimately to enter the presence of God. These may seem strange to most modern Christians, but they were common in early Christianity, as I have discussed in some of my published articles on ancient temple rites. ((See especially “Temple Prayer in Ancient Times,” in Donald W. Parry and Stephen D. Ricks, The Temple in Time and Eternity (Provo: FARMS, 1999). Also posted on the Maxwell Institute web site at http://farms.byu.edu/publications/bookschapter.php?chapid=105; “Early Christian and Jewish Rituals Related to Temple Practices,” in First Annual Mormon Apologetics Symposium: Proceedings (Ben Lomond, CA: Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research, 1999), also posted on the FAIR web site at http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/1999_Early_Christian_and_Jewish_Rituals_Related_to_Temple_Practices.html; “Priestly Clothing in Bible Times,” in Donald Parry (ed.), Temples of the Ancient World (Salt Lake City: Deseret and FARMS, 1994).))

Read the rest of this excellent article at Meridian Magazine.

[via A Soft Answer]

Posted in: Temples Today Tagged: chastity, consecration, endowment, esoteric, exoteric, farms, john tvedtnes, maxwell institute, media, meridian magazine, obedience, sacred, sacrifice, secret
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