heaven

The Premortal Heavenly Temple

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The temples on earth are reflections of the temple in heaven. They mirror each other both in form and content. Consider the following points that I pull from Matthew Brown’s exceptional and classic book on the temple, The Gate of Heaven: ((Matthew Brown, The Gate of Heaven: Insights on the Doctrines and Symbols of the Temple, 6-7))

  • John saw “the temple which is in heaven” (Rev. 14:15, 17; Rev. 15:5-8).
  • Other scriptures also mention God’s heavenly sanctuary (Ps. 11:4; Rev. 7:15; Rev. 16:17).
  • “There are a number of ancient Hebrew traditions that specifically state that God resides in a temple that is located in the center of the universe.”
  • The earthly temples of Israel in ancient times were built after the same manner as the heavenly temple.

There are many more examples, both ancient and modern, that could be given which illustrate the existence of the heavenly temple, and most of them focus on the ascent one takes on their journey from mortality back to and through that temple to return to the throne of God.

The the last few days I’ve been pondering the existence of this temple and its role in our premortal life and journey into mortality. I have found that what we do on earth in the temple has striking parallels and resemblances to what occurred in the heavenly temple before the creation and our passage to this earth: [Read more…]

The Resurrection and The Temple

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christ.jpg

On this bright Easter morning I thought we might reflect on the glorious resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and particularly how this miraculous gift and triumph over death by the Savior has a very central theme and part of our temple. I don’t think we recognize just how inseparably tied are the realities of the resurrection and the temple. We don’t often mention the two in the same sentence, yet this might be excusable given that they represent very much one and the same eternal ideals and principles.

More often than not our thoughts are drawn to and focus on the Lord’s atonement, without spending much time on the other. This is also understandable—the resurrection is an unconditional gift to all who have received bodies in mortality, whereas there are certain laws and ordinances which we must abide by in order to receive a fullness of what the atonement has to offer us. But the atonement and the resurrection are connected principles, both enabling us to return to the presence of God, for no untransfigured or unquickened mortal flesh can withstand God’s presence and live (D&C 67:11, D&C 84:19-22, D&C 76:118, Moses 1:5).
[Read more…]

Temple Imagery in the Parables of Matthew 25 – Part 2

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The parable of the talents as depicted in a 1712 woodcut from Historiae celebriores Veteris Testamenti Iconibus representatae.(Continued from Part 1)

Justin, a reader of Temple Study, brought to my attention that there may be more temple imagery in Matthew 25 than just the parable of the ten virgins. Indeed, the parable of the talents has some striking shadows and allusions to the temple too. In the same spirit Elder Robbins likened the parable of the ten virgins to our modern temple, let’s take a look at the parable of the talents “with the temple in mind” ((Lynn G. Robbins, “Oil in Our Lamps,” Ensign, Jun 2007, 44-48)). There may be many interpretations of these parables. The parable of the talents has often been attributed to how we use the talents, skills and blessings we’ve been given of God on the earth. But when we think specifically of the temple, these are some of the things that come to my mind: [Read more…]

Iconostasis – An Eastern Orthodox Veil

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Holy Trinity OCA (Orthodox Church in America) cathedral in Chicago, Illinois, USA - © Jeremy Atherton, 2007.
On my tour through Ukraine a couple years ago I became familiar with what is known as the iconostasis (plural iconostases) that is found in almost every Eastern Orthodox Church. This is a thin wall or partition that separates the nave, where the lay worshipers reside, from the sanctuary in the church, where the priests prepare the sacraments at the altar. As one enters a church, the iconostasis is the most visual object, and center of focus, at the end of the nave. The iconostasis most likely evolved from the early chancel screen or templon, another form of the partition still used in Western churches, templon being from the Greek word meaning “temple,” deriving “from the Christian idea of the shrine where God was worshipped” ((http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templon)).

Some of the most distinguishing features of the iconostasis are [Read more…]

The Poet’s Obsession with Death

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Billy Collins, two-term U.S. poet laureateJesse Gunther reported in an article on BYU Newsnet today about a speech given at BYU by a prominent poet:

English majors are essentially “majoring in death,” said Billy Collins, an acclaimed poet laureate in the Joseph Smith Building auditorium on Friday.

“If you have an anthology and take out all poetry on death, you would end up with a pamphlet of what is left,” Collins said, a two-term U.S. poet laureate.

I’ve posted before on another literary scholar, Harold Bloom, that also had some thoughts on death and the unique views of the LDS Church on the subject.

Why the obsession by poets through the ages on the theme of death? [Read more…]