theophany

ThyMindOMan.com – Exploring the Mind’s Relationship to God

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"Thy Mind, O Man," photograph of original manuscript.

“Thy Mind, O Man,” photograph of original manuscript. The Joseph Smith Papers.

Friends, many of you have been wondering where I’ve been over the last few years, and what I’ve been up to. I’ve been involved with a variety of projects, and I’ve also been studying. Over the past five years or so I have studied many different subjects, and I’ve studied them deeply. I feel I have learned much, and grown in many ways, and I would like to begin to share what I’ve learned, with you. Although what I have to share has everything to do with the temple, it approaches the subject matter differently. John Welch notes that after Joseph Smith Jr. had been incarcerated in the hellhole of Liberty Jail for almost five months, “the Prophet burst beyond the walls of his surroundings with these expansive words”: ((Welch, John W. (2011) “”Thy Mind, O Man, Must Stretch”,” BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 50 : Iss. 3 , Article 4. Available at: http://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol50/iss3/4 or at https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/john-w-welch_thy-mind-o-man-must-stretch/. Welch gave this address as the recipient of the 2010-2011 Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award on May 17, 2011, at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.))

The things of God are of deep import, and time and experience and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out. Thy mind, O Man, if thou wilt lead a soul unto salvation, must stretch as high as the utmost Heavens, and search into and contemplate the lowest considerations of the darkest abyss, and expand upon the broad considerations of eternal expanse; he must commune with God. ((“Letter to the Church and Edward Partridge, 20 March 1839,” p. 12, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed April 6, 2017, http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/letter-to-the-church-and-edward-partridge-20-march-1839/12. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation standardized. A photograph of the original manuscript can be seen at the top of this post.))

So I thought that I would start a new website at ThyMindOMan.com to better capture this new approach to the subject—exploring the mind’s relationship to God. I will explore how we might be able to use our mind and consciousness to explore those heights and depths that Joseph referred to, and to commune with and ultimately become one with God, something Joseph said we must do. And I want to share my thoughts with you.

Thank you for your dear friendship and conversations that we’ve had on TempleStudy.com. It’s been a truly remarkable decade.

On Mysticism, Transcendence, Meditation, Seers & Stones

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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…]

The Relationship between the Ancient Israelite Temple and the Endowment

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Ancient Israelite temple vestiture and ritual offering of incense

Ancient Israelite temple vestiture and ritual. The High Priest wears his special linen garments, sash and turban during his once per year entry into the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. He approaches the Ark of the Covenant beyond the veil with the incense shovel in one hand, the smoke representing the prayers of the Israelites, and small vessel of bull’s blood in the other hand, the sin offering (atonement) on behalf of all the Israelites. Image based on Leviticus 16 and Exodus 25-31 and Exodus 35-40.

Professor William J. Hamblin has offered some good starting points in considering the relationship between the ancient Israelite temple ritual and the modern day LDS temple endowment.  It is from this vantage point that we should approach trying to understand these ancient ritual systems and the connections they might have with the Latter-day Saints temple ritual.

“When considering the possible relationship between ancient Israelite temple system and the LDS Endowment, the first thing to note is the basic purpose of the ancient temple was to reconcile Israel with God and bring all Israel (represented by the twelve stones inscribed with the tribal names) back into the presence of God (that is recapitulating the Sinai theophany), symbolically represented by the Holy Place and Holy of Holies within the veil.

“The second thing to note is that Israel had exoteric rituals in the outer courtyard of the temple which could be witnessed by all (though only priests officiated). Esoteric rituals performed inside the temple itself could only be performed and witnessed by priests. LDS Endowment broadly corresponds to the esoteric rituals performed inside the temple, not the exoteric rituals performed outside. The ancient exoteric Israelite temple rituals correspond with the LDS weekly sacrament (the bread/wine offering of the Israelite temple).” (William Hamblin, Mormon Scripture Explorations)

Another important point to realize is that Christ was the last great blood sacrifice when He came in the meridian of time and offered the Atonement, which ended sacrifice by the shedding of blood (3 Ne. 9:19; cf. Mosiah 13:27; Alma 34:13; 3 Ne. 15:2-10). Since Christ was the last blood sacrifice (all precursors pointing to Him), from that point onward the outward nature of sacrificial ritual changed, but still pointing towards Christ, and still a sacrifice of a broken heart and contrite spirit (3 Ne. 9:20-22; Psalms 51:16-17; Psalms 34:18).

See the gallery below for various artists’ depictions of the rituals inside the ancient Israelite temple. Click each image to enlarge. [Read more…]

Seeing the Face of God in the Temple – Part 1

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The Israelite high priest sees God face-to-face upon the Ark of the Covenant

The Israelite high priest sees God face-to-face upon the Ark of the Covenant

The Doctrine and Covenants section 93 verse 1 reads:

Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am; (D&C 93:1)

This superlative promise was one of the foundations of Joseph Smith’s restoration, and whose revelations repeated throughout his calling as God’s prophet:   [Read more…]