paul

“The Temple as a Place of Ascent to God” – Notes from Dr. Peterson’s Fireside

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View of Salt Lake Valley from the Draper Temple on July 10, 2009. The Jordan River and Oquirrh Mountain temples are in the distance.

View of Salt Lake Valley from the Draper Temple on July 10, 2009. The Jordan River and Oquirrh Mountain temples are in the distance.

On Sunday I had the opportunity of going to the Daybreak Stake Center in South Jordan and listening to a wonderful fireside given by Dr. Daniel C. Peterson about the temple.  I audio recorded the fireside, and have a digital copy.  Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get a hold of Dr. Peterson to ask permission to post it on TempleStudy.com.  But as I said previously, I also took notes as well as I could, and I hope that they might reproduce some of the excellent thoughts Dr. Peterson conveyed. [Note: Not all of the images below are the exact same as Dr. Peterson used, but I have tried to use similar ones.]

One of the first things he said was that the dedication of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple (which stands only a few blocks from the stake center) would be, in a way, a fulfillment of prophecy.

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The “Mark” of Anointing

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The Annointing of David by Samuel

The Annointing of David by Samuel, Breviary of Martin d'Aragon, 14th Century.

A few days ago I read a post by James over at his superb blog, Lehi’s Library, entitled, “Looking Beyond the Mark: Insights from Margaret Barker.”  In it, James refers to an excellent article by Kevin Christensen who talks about the Deuteronomist de-Christianizing of the Old Testament and Josiah’s reforms ((Kevin Christensen, “The Deuteronomist De-Christianizing of the Old Testament,” FARMS Review, 16.2, http://farms.byu.edu/publications/review/?vol=16&num=2&id=547)).  I thought he made some great points that I want to reiterate and further discuss.  [Read more…]

The Grossest Form of Church Criticism

President Ezra Taft Benson (1899-1994)

President Ezra Taft Benson (1899-1994)

In recent weeks I have encountered what I consider to be one of the most damaging forms of criticism of the Church.  You might think that it is from all the anti-Mormon literature or propaganda.  Or perhaps it is those who are so vocal as to picket the curbs at our General Conferences with signs, profanity, and filth.  You might think it is those who have become disaffected, have left the Church, and are now eager to tear it down or “expose” it for what they see as serious problems.  You might think it is the work of scholars who have been excommunicated, and now find intellectual haven in promoting arguments against the learned.  You might even think that it is those tribulations that come from the adversary himself.  But this is not the case.

There is a much more gross and pernicious form of criticism of the restored gospel and of the Lord’s restored Church.  It is that criticism which comes from within the Church.

I know that this runs in the same current as several of my latest posts, but I strongly believe that “it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor” (D&C 88:81).  And it also has a direct relationship to the covenants we make to God in the temple.  [Read more…]

Promises of Calling & Election in JS Lesson 13

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Live in strict obedience to the commandments of God, and walk humbly before Him, and He will exalt thee in His own due time. -Joseph Smith  ((HC 1:408.))

Last week was the Joseph Smith manual chapter 13 lesson for Priesthood and Relief Society entitled, “Obedience: ‘When the Lord Commands, Do It.'”  This was an excellent lesson, and I particularly liked the the last section.  Unfortunately, if most wards’ lessons are like my own, you may not have got to that point in the manual by the end of class.  In my own Elder’s quorum we only made it through the first 3-4 pages of the lesson.  But I believe there are some powerful messages from Joseph in the last 5 pages that could easily be missed. I’m glad that my wife and I read the whole lesson before attending church, or we too would have missed this.  [Read more…]

God Dwelleth Not in Temples Made with Hands? – Part 2

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The high priest in Israel sprinkling blood of the sin offering upon the mercy seat on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:14-15)

(Continued from Part 1)

To continue our discussion on whether God may dwell in temples on earth, and whether there exists a need for further temples after Christ, we might look again to the Bible to see if God dwelled in those sacred edifices which He commanded to be built in ancient times.

The first example that we might look at is Paul’s own theophany, which he experienced in the temple of Jerusalem shortly after his conversion: [Read more…]