satan

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…]

Early Christian Face Veiling

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Early Christian Mosaic in Basilica of Sant' Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, Italy

Early Christian Mosaic in Basilica of Sant' Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, Italy

I came across some references to early Christian ritual vestments this morning in Matthew Brown’s The Gate of Heaven.  He cited The Awe-Inspiring Rites of Initiation by Edward Yarnold, and The Archæology of Baptism by Wolfred N. Cote.  I looked up these references and they were intriguing in describing an early Christian practice of face veiling during initiation rites:  [Read more…]

Casting out Satan

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Denying Satan - Carl Heinrich Bloch (1875)I was driving in my car on Saturday listening to a radio program called “The Other Side” with Steve Godfrey. Steve believes himself to be a psychic medium, someone through whom people can connect with loved ones who have passed on to the “other side.” I do not deny the possibility of communicating with those who are on the other side of the veil, as many have done just that within the Church, but the way these so-called psychics say they connect with relatives on the other side just seems a little shady to me. To me it seems like more of a show than any actual communication going on – Steve asks the person lots of questions in order to divine what the person on the “other side” might be saying. A lot of “wait a minute,” and “hold on,” and “just a second,” are thrown into the mix as Steve receives his revelations from passed loved ones. His website says his “mission in life is to help you believe that there is life after death, and love eternal,” which is a good cause, but I am very skeptical of his methods and motives.

But he said something on the program that night which resonated with me, and with LDS beliefs. [Read more…]

Mammon’s Cover-up

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Scan of Temple Worship book cover

I noticed something yesterday that I thought was a good and oxymoronic example of how the adversary likes to distract us from what is important, to divert our attention onto more worldly pursuits, and tempt us to stay away, both in mind and body, from that which is holy.

This image is a scan of the front of the recent Temple Worship book by Dr. Andrew Skinner. I bought it at Seagull Book, and as you can clearly see, it was “15% OFF.” Unfortunately, this large yellow sticker directly covers a beautiful painting entitled Bountiful Temple by Al Rounds. While I am appreciative that the book cost me less than the listed price, such a bold advertisement covers up a lovely representation of the house of the Lord.

While this is likely an unconscious and unintentional cover-up, Satan uses similar tactics to divert our focus away from what God would have us think about, and to concern ourselves with those things of the world. The Adversary would have us believe that money, work, careers, fashions, gold, jewelry, cars, houses, boats, and the like are more important than holy things, particularly our participation in the temple. Don’t let him fool you. Mammon’s concerns are a cover-up of those things which are more important.