symbols

The Universal Creation Song

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Music is a fundamental part of worship, and was even more so anciently than it is today.  Before the printed word made the sacred word so accessible to the masses, it was passed on from generation to generation orally.  But this was not just the spoken word.  In order for the word to be remembered and said the same way over and over again, over decades and centuries, a mnemonic device was employed to facilitate the reciter.  This device was music.  The sacred word, every word, was put to music.

This can be seen in the way the Bible is written in Hebrew, one of the oldest languages in the world.  In Hebrew, particularly the Hebrew Bible, there are cantillation marks that specify how the text should be sung:  [Read more…]

Temple Worship by Elder John A. Widtsoe

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Elder John A. Widtsoe (1872-1952)

Elder John A. Widtsoe (1872-1952)

Occasionally you encounter a talk or book or article that is a classic.  Elder John A. Widtsoe‘s talk on “Temple Worship” given at a meeting of the Genealogical Society of Utah at the Assembly Hall in Salt Lake on October 12, 1920, is one of those talks.  There are portions of this talk that many will recognize that are still frequently quoted today in connection with the temple.  His treatment of the temple is fairly basic, yet it is powerful in its plainness and insight.  Elder Widtsoe has given us a lot to ponder here.

Thank you, Steve, for sharing this talk with us! – Bryce

Temple Worship

My brethren and sisters, when those in charge of this work were planning the program, I urged upon them that they do not call this meeting for the Assembly Hall. I felt sure the congregation would be so small that we would all be unhappy. I am happily disappointed; and I am quite sure that neither the drawing power of Joseph Fielding Smith nor myself is the cause of this large attendance, but that the conviction in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints that all that pertains to temples and to temple work, to the salvation for the dead, is of tremendous worth. I regret, of course, that Elder Joseph Fielding Smith is not here tonight. I am sorry for those of you who came to hear him speak, for you will have to come again, because he speaks tomorrow. He is filling an important engagement, and we simply exchanged evenings. I regret, however, for my own sake, that he is not here, because what I have to say needs as a background the splendid talk that he has for us. He will deal with the spirit and the mission of Elijah. I was asked to speak about temple worship. He was to take up the great generalization, the great body of principles upon which this work rests; and I was to take one small part of the application of the work, for my theme. I feel just a little embarrassed to speak on temple worship without the background of Elder Smith’s discourse. I am embarrassed also because I realize how utterly impossible it is to deal with so vast and comprehensive a subject in the few moments that I can take tonight, especially in the presence of so many of you who have spent your lives in temple service and who understand the subject so well. But, like you I am willing to obey orders and to do the best I can; and with the assistance of your faith and your prayers, I shall try to discuss with you some of the high points pertaining to temple worship which all should understand, whether we have received the blessings of the temple or whether we are candidates for temple blessings. It is to be an elementary, non-technical discussion.  [Read more…]

Finding Meaning in Sacred Architecture – Lecture by Val Brinkerhoff

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Val Brinkerhoff is an associate professor of photography in BYU’s Visual Arts Department, and over the last decade has focused his studies on sacred architecture, particularly of temples.  He’s authored or co-authored a number of books, the three most recent being about finding the meaning of symbolism in sacred architecture.  Yesterday he gave a lecture on this subject at BYU as part of the Kennedy Center Lectures.  A video of the lecture is embedded below (on the website), or can be found at the Kennedy Center website.  It is about an hour long, and provides a fascinating look into the symbolism of temples, ancient and modern.  Thanks Lee!

Click here to watch Val Brinkerhoff’s lecture

Talith, Tents, and Temples

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Touching the Hem of Jesus

Touching the Hem of Jesus

This is TempleStudy.com’s first guest blog post.  It is by Jennifer O., a reader here, and a student of the gospel.  She sent me the following short article she wrote about the talith, and I thought it had some great thoughts to share with all of you. -Bryce

The Jews have a religious symbol called a talith (tallit), or a prayer shawl, that covers them when they pray. They claim that it envelops them both physically and spiritually, in sorrow and joy, in celebration and prayer. Today, this shawl is worn at all of the major feasts and festivals, but in Biblical times, it was worn constantly by the men while outside of their home. Even Israel’s flag was inspired by this shawl, adding only David’s shield to create their national flag. [Read more…]

Can You Accidentally Worship the Devil?

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Now that is an odd thing to say, and sounds silly, yet it is precisely what some of our critics claim members of the Church are doing, especially in the design and function of our temples.  This is the premise of a great new blog post by James Carroll at Amateur Scriptorians called “The Language of Symbolism.”

Carroll notes the common reaction of our critics to our temple symbols.  They usually say something like:

…you are actually worshiping the Devil, you don’t know it, but you are doing it on accident, if you only knew what your own symbols meant, then you would understand that you are worshiping the Devil. I know YOU don’t think that the symbols are about the Devil, but they are, and by using them you are actually accidentally worshiping the Devil.

Well, to them the symbols might mean that, and to someone in sometime and someplace, it might have.  But symbols don’t stand alone, isolated from the environment in which they are found.  They are not static figures which can only be interpreted in one way.  They are dynamic representations.

In Carroll’s article he addresses why you cannot say that a symbol means something to someone unless you ask that person.  Symbols are flexible, and change over time, and often mean different things to different people.  It is the meaning assigned to a symbol by a people that gives it significance, otherwise it remains an empty shape.  This is something that many people don’t seem to understand about symbols.

Click the link below to read the article:

The Language of Symbolism

Update: James Carroll has written a continuation of his post that complements nicely the first – The Language of Symbolism Continued