hugh nibley

The Intercessory Prayer – Back to the Greek

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The great intercessory prayer of John 17 is one of the great treasures in all of holy scripture. Dr. Hugh Nibley has given us a pearl of knowledge concerning a reinterpretation of John 17:11 when Christ prayed to the Father, going back to the Greek text in which this verse originally came to us:

As Jesus himself prayed on the eve of his crucifixion: “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17:24.) They are going back to that premortal glory. “And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may bein them, and I in them.” ( John 17:26.)

“Holy Father, keep [tereo] through thine own name those whom thou hast given me,” reads John 17:11 in the King James Version; but in the Greek text, there is no direct object “whom,” and the word tereo can mean to “test by observation or trial” ((Liddell and Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, p. 1789)). Instead, we have an instrumental dative, so in the spirit of Article of Faith 8, this verse could read, “Holy Father, [test them on] thine own name [with which] thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are one.” This takes us back to the kapporet, for only the high priest knew the name which he whispered for admission through the temple veil on the Day of Atonement. ((Nibley, Hugh W. “The Atonement of Jesus Christ, Part 1”, Ensign, July 1990, 18))

The Genesis of the Round Dance – Part 4

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Detail from “The Last Judgment” by Fra Angelico - “The Dance of the Angels”

Detail from “The Last Judgment” by Fra Angelico - “The Dance of the Angels”

(Continuation from Part 3)

Middle Ages

The ring dance was also present throughout the Middle Ages in the Reigen, or round dance of the peasants, and in the entertainment of the troubadours in the courts ((Kraus, Richard G., Sarah Chapman Hilsendager, and Brenda Dixon Gottschild. History of the Dance in Art and Education. 3rd ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1991, 62; qtd. in Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas, and Clare Goodrick-Clarke. G.R.S. Mead and the Gnostic Quest. Berkeley, Calif.: North Atlantic Books, 2005, 153)). At this time, there was still a cosmic element associated with the round dance pattern as Honorius states, “In their ring dances they thought of the rotation of the firmament; in the clasping of their hands the union of the elements” ((qtd. in Taylor, Margaret Fisk. A Time to Dance: Symbolic Movement in Worship. Philadelphia: United Church Press, 1967, 90)). Maypole dancing or May Day feasts with their ring dancing around a festooned pole or tree is said to have come from this age ((Kraus, Richard G., Sarah Chapman Hilsendager, and Brenda Dixon Gottschild. History of the Dance in Art and Education. 3rd ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1991, 62)). [Read more…]

The Genesis of the Round Dance – Part 3

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Ring Dance performed in legend by Apollo and the Muses

Ring Dance performed in legend by Apollo and the Muses

(Continuation from Part 2)

Greece

The ancient choruses, dances, and songs of the dithyramb of Greece displayed the familiar pattern of a dignified, circular dance around the altar of Dionysus in the theater’s orchestra ((Sticklor, Susan. “Primitive and Sacred Dance.” The VRI Slide Library of Dance History: Survey. Visual Resources, inc., et al. New York: Visual Resources, inc., 1976)). In fact, the term orchestra originally meant the circular dancing place of the theater ((Kraus, Richard G., Sarah Chapman Hilsendager, and Brenda Dixon Gottschild. History of the Dance in Art and Education. 3rd ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1991, 43)). In addition, the terms carole and chorus, also originally Greek, meant a sacred ring dance, men and women holding each others hands ((qtd. in Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas, and Clare Goodrick-Clarke. G.R.S. Mead and the Gnostic Quest. Berkeley, Calif.: North Atlantic Books, 2005, 153)). LDS scholar, Dr. Hugh Nibley reminds us that the creation was often acted out in these Greek dance dramas: [Read more…]

The Genesis of the Round Dance – Part 2

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Aztec round dance for Quetzalcóatl and Xolotl

Aztec round dance for Quetzalcóatl and Xolotl

(Continuation from Part 1)

The Genesis of the Round Dance

Bryce Haymond

“Then shalt thou dance in a ring together with the angels, around Him
who is without beginning or end, the only true God . . .”
—Clement of Alexandria ((Backman, E. Louis. Religious Dances in the Christian Church and in Popular Medicine. London: Allen & Unwin, 1952, 19))

Introduction

Round dances, through all ages of time and all locations of the world, display striking similarities in structure and theme. This is strong evidence that they share a common origin. These dances are usually quite religious in nature and I propose that round dances, like other widespread yet similar ritual motifs found scattered across the world, had their beginnings in one of the first sacred rites of this world given to and practiced by our first parents, namely the ancient prayer circle.

So as not to confuse the term [Read more…]

The Genesis of the Round Dance – Part 1

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Krishna dancing the round dance in the Mahabharata

Krishna dancing the round dance in the Mahabharata

Background

During my senior year as a student at Brigham Young University, the Fall 2006 semester, I enrolled in Dance 260 which was an “Introduction to Dance” course. The professor was Susanne Davis, a World Dance Division Administrator. In the class we learned about the history of dance, from the beginning of time down to the present. It was a fascinating experience to learn about the origins of dance, particularly since I have an affinity for ballroom dance, being an active competitor in the sport for more than 15 years. But it was even more interesting to me because of the connections I saw between religion and dance. Our final assignment was to write a paper about dance, relating it in some way historically to what we had learned in the class.

Several years previously I had read Hugh Nibley’s “The Early Christian Prayer Circle” in which he cites similarities between the early Christian practice of the prayer circle with the ancient tradition of round dances. I had always wanted to explore this connection more fully, and this research paper gave me that chance. I was even more convinced of my direction when I saw many more parallels to the prayer circle in the evolution of dance in ancient religions and practices as we read further in our texts.

My research led me to the thesis for my paper which I entitled, “The Genesis of the Round Dance”:

Round dances, through all ages of time and all locations of the world, display striking similarities in structure and theme. This is strong evidence that they share a common origin. These dances are usually quite religious in nature and I propose that round dances, like other widespread yet similar ritual motifs found scattered across the world, had their beginnings in one of the first sacred rites of this world given to and practiced by our first parents, namely the ancient prayer circle.

My paper found strong acceptance with the professors of the Dance Department at BYU. I was accepted to present my paper in the annual Dance Department Writer’s Symposium, and was published in their journal now available at the Harold B. Lee Library. What will follow is the paper, split into parts, with some additional edits of my own.

(Continued in Part 2)