heaven

The Apotheosis of Washington

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The Apotheosis of Washington (detail), Constantino Brumidi, 1865, United States Capitol Building rotunda.

The Apotheosis of Washington (detail), Constantino Brumidi, 1865, United States Capitol Building rotunda.

I watched an interesting show last night, Secret America on Discovery, and learned some interesting things.  One of them was that there is a large fresco painted on the inside of the dome of the rotunda of the United States Capitol Building.  It is called “The Apotheosis of Washington” and was painted by an Italian Painter, Constantino Brumidi, in 1865 for the sum of $40,000.

What is interesting is what was painted in this profound location.   [Read more…]

Mosaic Tabernacle as an Aaronic Temple

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The Tabernacle at Sunset - by Pat Marvenko Smith

The Tabernacle at Sunset - by Pat Marvenko Smith (click for larger view)

Note: I taught our Elders Quorum class today, and was assigned the topic of the Mosaic Tabernacle as a Temple.  Below are the notes and illustrations I used for my lesson.

Review of prior lesson on the exodus:

  • Children of Israel escape Egyptian bondage (Ex. 14)
  • Moses leads them out
  • Parting of the Red Sea, Pharoah’s armies are drowned
  • Lord begins to organize his people
  • Manna rains down from heaven, sends Quail for meat (Ex. 16)
  • Moses strikes the rock, and water comes out
  • Lord covenants to Israel a peculiar treasure, a kingdom of priests, an holy nation (Ex. 19:5-6)
  • 10 commandments and Mount Sinai (Ex. 20)
  • The people start to refuse to become what the Lord had offered them – “Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” (Ex. 20:19).  Foreshadowing…
  • Many instructions, laws, covenants, etc. are delivered to Moses, which he delivers to the people, who all answer with one voice, “Yes, we will be obedient (Ex. 24:3, 7)

Moses goes up Mount Sinai again to receive instructions for 40 days and nights (Ex. 24:18).  Matthew Brown – “As part of his ascension experience, Moses is said to have been washed, anointed, clothed in heavenly garments, called with names of honor, enthroned, and initiated into heavenly secrets” ((Brown, Matthew B. The Gate of Heaven: Insights on the Doctrines and Symbols of the Temple. American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communication, 1999. 58)).  Joseph Smith noted that Moses received the “keys of the Kingdom,” and “certain signs and words” ((ibid.)).  [Read more…]

Hypaethral – A Roofless Temple

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Hypaethral Temple of Apollo at Didyma, Turkey. (http://www.utexas.edu/courses/citylife/architecture1.html)

Hypaethral Temple of Apollo at Didyma, Turkey. (http://www.utexas.edu/courses/citylife/architecture1.html)

I came across a new word today in my inbox – hypaethral (\hye-PEETH-rul\).  Webster defines this adjective as:

1  : having a roofless central space
2  : open to the sky ((“hypaethral.” Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 26 November 2008
<http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hypaethral>))

What caught my interest was that this word is applied mostly to ancient temples.  The example sentence that was given was:

During our tour of Egypt, we visited the hypaethral temple of Philae, which was dismantled and relocated after the construction of a dam caused its original site to be submersed.  ((Email – “hypaethral: M-W’s Word of the Day,” November 26, 2008.))

Webster’s given etymology of the word explains why it is often associated with temples:

Ancient Roman architect and engineer Vitruvius used the Latin word “hypaethrus” to describe temples in which the “cella” (the part of the temple housing an image of the deity) was wholly or partially uncovered. “Hypaethrus” is a word sculpted from the Greek prefix “hypo-,” meaning “under or beneath,” and the Greek word “aithēr,” meaning “air or heaven.” In the late-18th century, English classicists adopted the remodeled form “hypaethral” in their writings of ancient architecture. Another adjective that they occasionally employed is “cleithral,” which designates temples having roofed central spaces. (“Cleithral” comes from “kleithra,” the Greek word for “lattice.”) ((ibid.))

In other words, the innermost sanctuary of ancient temples (known in the Israelite tradition as the Holy of Holies) was sometimes open to the sky, hyp-aethral, or “under heaven.”  This was likely due to the temples’ often association with the cosmos.  While although the “Hypaethral Temple” at Philae may not have actually been open to the sky in its heyday, a couple examples of this scenario might be found in Stonehenge and Göbekli Tepe.

Read more in the Wikipedia article on hypaethral.  Dr. William R. Long also has a good description and study of this word, including this interesting quote from Henry David Thoreau ((Elder Perry spoke of this philosopher in the last General Conference)), who used the term figuratively:

Shall the mind be a public arena, where the affairs of the street and the gossip of the tea-table chiefly are discussed? Or shall it be a quarter of heaven itself – an hypaethral temple, consecrated to the service of the gods? ((Hentry David Thoreau, “Life without Principle.”))

Ye Are the Temple of God

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Provo Utah Temple. © 2003, Rick Satterfield. LDSChurchTemples.com. Used with permission. (Click for a larger view)

Provo Utah Temple. © 2003, Rick Satterfield. LDSChurchTemples.com. Used with permission. (Click for a larger view)

When I attended the FAIR Conference a couple months ago I was privileged to meet Hannah Rebekah, who is a reader here and also among many forums and blogs in the Bloggernacle.  This morning she was kind enough to forward me some thoughtful words about the temple, written by Tom Kelly in the Ensign a number of years ago, that have greatly impacted her throughout her life, and which she has shared with many.  My post about how we should make our homes a temple reminded her of these words, that we should also strive to make ourselves into temples.  As Hannah remarked about the author, “I think [he] was really inspired in his views and his comparisons and I love how he wove everything together so beautifully…”

Ye Are the Temple of God

Last winter I was facing some deep challenges. Wanting to get close to the Lord, I walked up to the Provo Temple one evening. As I gazed at that lovely, sacred edifice, I reflected upon the words of Paul: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God?” (1 Cor. 3:16.) I found myself pondering the significance of these words. In what sense is a person like a temple? What changes would I need to make in myself to be worthy to be called a temple of God?

A temple becomes a temple when it is dedicated. It is not the house of the Lord until it is given unto Him.

A temple is beautiful. Looking at it lifts and edifies. It is spotless and dignified.

A temple is calm and still. Peace and quietness reign within.

A temple is a place of worthiness—no unclean thing may enter therein.

Engraved deeply into the wall of the temple are the words, “Holiness to the Lord.”

A temple is a house of service. Its whole purpose is to provide those things that are truly essential for the happiness of God’s children.

The spire of the temple rises skyward. The righteous, on seeing the temple, lift their eyes to heaven.

A temple is built by sacrifice, by diligent and patient labor.

A temple is, above all, a home for God the Father, his son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. The house of the Lord is a sacred place, worthy of their presence.

With such thoughts in my heart, I look at the temple and then at my own life:

Am I dedicated to the Lord?

Does my appearance lift and edify?

Am I peaceful and calm within?

Are my mind and heart open only to worthy thoughts and feelings?

Is “holiness to the Lord” engraved upon my soul?

Am I engaged in vital service to God’s children?

Do I lift my eyes toward heaven?

Am I willing to build myself by sacrifice, toil, and patience?

Does the Spirit of God dwell in me?

In short, am I becoming a temple of the Most High God?

(Tom Kelly, Brigham Young University Sixteenth Branch, BYU Fifth Stake, “Ye Are the Temple of God,” Ensign, Dec. 1976, 59, link.)

Nüwa and Fuxi in Chinese Mythology: Compass & Square

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An ancient painting of Nüwa and Fuxi unearthed in Xinjiang.

An ancient painting of Nüwa and Fuxi unearthed in Xinjiang, holding the tools of creation - compass and square.

Hugh Nibley gave a lecture in 1975 on “Sacred Vestments” which was later transcribed and included in the collected works volume Temple and Cosmos (pgs. 91-132).  The entire paper is fascinating, and highly recommended reading.  One of the things he wrote about were certain Chinese artifacts which had been found depicting two mythological gods, Nüwa and Fuxi, and the tools they hold:

Most challenging are the veils from Taoist-Buddhist tombs at Astana, in Central Asia, originally Nestorian (Christian) country, discovered by Sir Aurel Stein in 1925… We see the king and queen embracing at their wedding, the king holding the square on high, the queen a compass. As it is explained, the instruments are taking the measurements of the universe, at the founding of a new world and a new age. Above the couple’s head is the sun surrounded by twelve disks, meaning the circle of the year or the navel of the universe. Among the stars depicted, Stein and his assistant identified the Big Dipper alone as clearly discernable. As noted above, the garment draped over the coffin and the veil hung on the wall had the same marks; they were placed on the garment as reminders of personal commitment, while on the veil they represent man’s place in the cosmos. (pg. 111-12)

Nibley included drawings of this depiction found on veils in the Astana Tombs in Xinjiang, China, with a caption that reads:

In the underground tomb of Fan Yen-Shih, d. A.D. 689, two painted silk veils show the First Ancestors of the Chinese, their entwined serpect bodies rotating around the invisible vertical axis mundi.  Fu Hsi holds the set-square and plumb bob … as he rules the four-cornered earth, while his sister-wife Nü-wa holds the compass pointing up, as she rules the circling heavens.  The phrase kuci chü is used by modern Chinese to signify “the way things should be, the moral standard”; it literally means the compass and the square. (pg. 115)

See the photos at the end of the post for more examples of this icon.  The veil redrawn in Temple and Cosmos is shown photographed in the second row, fourth from the left.  [Read more…]