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Sustaining and Defending the LDS Temple

interpreters

On Mysticism, Transcendence, Meditation, Seers & Stones

June 29, 2013 by Bryce Haymond 16 Comments

What is mysticism?  That is the million dollar question.

It is incredibly difficult to define. Wikipedia defines it as the “pursuit of communion with, identity with, or conscious awareness of an ultimate reality, divinity, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight.”  What?  By combining all possible definitions into one, they have created an incomprehensible one.

Let’s turn to some closer associates.  Hugh Nibley once defined it, quoting Eduard Lehmann, as “an intuitive and ecstatic union with the deity obtained by means of contemplation and other mental exercises.” Professor William Hamblin turns to oft-repeated definitions such as “a domain of religion that deals with the search for and the attainment of a profound experiential knowledge of God or of ultimate reality,” or, “mysticism is … a type of religious experience which involves a sense of union or merging with either God or an all-pervading spiritual force in the universe,” but finds even these lacking.  In Kevin Christensen’s recent Interpreter review of Margarget Barker’s book Temple Mysticism: An Introduction he indicated that his “favorite LDS approach” to the topic has become Mark E. Koltko’s essay “Mysticism and Mormonism: An LDS Perspective on Transcendence and Higher Consciousness,” found in the April 1989 issue of Sunstone. We’ll come back to this shortly. Christensen notes that while Nibley’s view tends to be the more conventional definition, Margaret Barker’s own use of the term in her book is very different still, focusing on the experience of “seeing the Lord,” i.e. a temple theophany. While different, there is clearly overlap between the ideas of “a union with deity,” and “seeing God,” as Matthew Bowen also elucidates in his recent article in Interpreter. Koltko’s essay also perhaps helps bridge the gap. [Read more…]

Posted in: Practices Tagged: brigham young, don bradley, experience, fasting, focus, holy ghost, hugh nibley, initiate, interpreters, joseph smith, margaret barker, Matthew B. Brown, presence, revelation, revelations, seer, seer stone, theophany, traditions, truth, universe, urim & thummim, veil, william hamblin

Earliest Reference to Nauvoo-Era Temple Endowment?

September 1, 2012 by Bryce Haymond 4 Comments
Urim & Thummim or Interpreters, as described by Joseph Smith and others. Steve Reed, OneClimbs.com.

The Urim & Thummim or Interpreters, as described by Joseph Smith and others. (Steve Reed, OneClimbs.com)

One of the most interesting presentations, at least to me, at this year’s 2012 FAIR Conference in Sandy, UT, was Don Bradley’s “Piercing the Veil: Temple Worship in the Lost 116 Pages,” for obvious reasons; it dealt with the temple. I have not been acquainted with Don Bradley’s work before, so this was an excellent introduction.

Bradley is working on a Master’s thesis at Utah State University, and the focus of his study is the lost 116 pages of the Book of Mormon, and he is also planning to publish in a book on the subject, which is sure to be a fascinating read. I have since learned a bit more about Don Bradley, who has a unique history in and out of the Church. The Salt Lake Tribune published an article yesterday interviewing Bradley, and his experience with the Church. Of his unique gifts Don’s mentor at Utah State, Philip Barlow, said, “Intellectually, Don is uncommonly brilliant… In a roomful of Ph.D.s, he’d be among the smartest and most well-read. His writing and the thinking behind it are superlative.”

Bradley’s presentation at FAIR focused on what we might learn about the temple, and temple worship, among the Nephites, particularly from those insights gleaned from details uncovered in the lost 116 pages. Great stuff, which we’ll summarize a bit here.   [Read more…]

Posted in: Church History, Scholarship, Texts Tagged: ark of the covenant, book of mormon, don bradley, endowment, history, holy of holies, interpreters, interview, joseph smith, law of moses, lost 116 pages, nauvoo, ordinances, presence, questions, restoration, revelation, tabernacle, test, veil

Seeing Through a Glass Darkly, and the Urim & Thummim

July 8, 2012 by Bryce Haymond 2 Comments
Lapis specularis, or specularibus lapidibus, is a variety of gypsum (selenite) that forms crystal sheets and they were used as window panes in the first and second centuries AD.

Lapis specularis, or specularibus lapidibus, is a variety of gypsum (selenite) that forms crystal sheets and they were used as window panes in the first and second centuries AD.

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

This scripture from the New Testament has often been used to describe our current estate in life, our vision and perception being a bit muddled as we go about our daily lives.  We don’t understand everything, we can’t see everything, we don’t know why some things are the way they are.  We don’t live by perfect light and knowledge.  Indeed, it is a good scripture on the topic of faith, and how we must live by imperfect understanding, having a feeling for things but unable to grasp them fully.  It also well describes what our LDS doctrine calls the veil (also spelled vail), this semi-impervious cloak and covering over God and his dominion.  In a future day, the curtain will be drawn, and we will see with perfect clarity, and our understanding will become as clear as day.

Why must we live by this faith, why the separation from God by the veil?  Why doesn’t God reveal himself?  This is often the cry of the atheists, who seek evidence of God’s existence.  I appreciated Dan Peterson’s explanation of this in his talk on “Humble Apologetics.”  He said:   [Read more…]

Posted in: Artifacts Tagged: apron, corinthians, faith, garments, interpreters, joseph smith, moses, new name, priest, prophet, revelation, revelations, seer, seer stone, translation, translations, urim & thummim, veil, video

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