Part of Solomon’s prayer to dedicate the temple

38 What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:

39 Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)

40 That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers. (1 Kings 8:39-40)

I was touched by these verses, particularly as it speaks of every man knowing the plague of his own heart. I suspect we all have issues that plague us, things in our own character or thought process that we know aren’t helping us, that are causing us to self-sabotage in some way, things that we can’t quite get the better of on our own. But we can turn to the Lord in the temple for help with them.

Solomon asks the Lord to hear, to forgive, and do, and give to each person according to his ways, or according to his needs so that they know it is the Lord’s hand in their lives. The different actions possible give us some insight on what we might ask the Lord for.

Forgive – we can ask for our sins to be pardoned

Do – we can ask for the Lord to intervene in our lives or the lives of others in a variety of ways

Give – we can ask the Lord for spiritual and temporal gifts, as long as we do not ask to consume it on our lusts

Some Helpful Context about Tokens and Signs

I ran across the word “token” in my reading of D&C 88, and I wondered where else in the scriptures tokens are mentioned, so I did a search. I was surprised to see how many instances there were.

The rainbow was made a token of the covenant God made with Noah that He would not flood the earth and destroy all flesh. (see Genesis 9:12-15)

God made circumcision a token of the Abrahamic covenant to Abraham and his seed after him. (see Genesis 17:10-11)

God’s presence with Moses and the promise that he and the Israelite would serve God upon that mountain was to be a token to Moses that God had sent him to Pharaoh. (see Exodus 3:11-12)

The lamb’s blood put upon the doorposts was to be Israel’s token to God so that God would pass over them and not destroy them. (see Exodus 12:13)

Israel’s act to sacrifice their firstborn animals and redeem their firstborn children was to be a token they remembered the Lord’s power that brought them out of Egypt. (see Exodus 13:15-16)

Aaron’s rod that budded was to be kept in the tabernacle as a token against those who rebelled against Moses and Aaron. (see Numbers 17:10)

Rahab, who sheltered Joshua’s two spies in Jericho, asked for a “true token” that they would save her and her family from death. (see Joshua 2:12) The scarlet cord at her window was that token. (Almost like her own special Passover, huh?)

David asked God for a token for good so that those who hated him would be ashamed and see the Lord was helping him. (see Psalms 86:17)

Judas Iscariot plotted with the Jewish leaders that the one he kissed should be a token so they would know who to capture. (see Mark 14:44)

Here’s one I have to quote directly:

And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. (Phil. 1:28)

Paul observed to the Philippians that their lack of fear was considered a token of perdition to their adversaries, but to the righteous it was a token of salvation. Interesting; it shows that signs and tokens may be read differently, depending on the level of integrity and virtue of one’s character.

Paul would add a personally written salutation in every epistle as a token it was him. (see 2 Thes. 3:17)

In the Book of Mormon, after Captain Moroni made the Title of Liberty, the people rent their garments and piled them at his feet in token of their covenant. (see Alma 46:21)

The Lamanite king raised his bowing servants with his hand as a token of peace… and was promptly assassinated by one of Amalickiah’s goons. (see Alma 47:23-24)

The depraved Nephites devoured flesh of the daughters of the Lamanites as a token of bravery after raping, torturing, and murdering them. (see Moroni 9:9-10)   Eeeeew.

The teacher in the school of the prophets was to offer prayer on his knees to God before class in token or remembrance of the everlasting covenant. (see D&C 88:130-131)

The teacher in the school of the prophets was also to greet each brother entering and salute them in the name of Jesus Christ in token or remembrance of the everlasting covenant. (see D&C 88:133)

The class members of the school of the prophets were to greet the teacher with uplifted hands with the same prayer or covenant they were greeted by, or by saying “Amen” in token of the same. (see D&C 88:135)

Those part of the United Order were to be given what they asked for by the treasurer in token that they were in full fellowship and faithful and wise stewards. (see D&C 104:75)

Obviously there are a few bad tokens in the list, but by and large, tokens seem to have been little acts done to represent good faith, commitment, assurance of things to come, as a memorial, or as a representation of favored status before God.

I think tokens are a way of making intentions visible when they would not otherwise be. They help do away with uncertainty in relationships. (For instance, an engagement ring in our culture is a token of intent to marry.) Seeing how tokens work in the above scriptures makes me think of temple covenants, but also of the various visible things we do that may also act as tokens to God and to each other of our inward state and intentions. 

As an example, we say taking the sacrament is a witness we are renewing our covenants, and I suppose that makes it a token or sign.  Same with baptism as a token we are making the covenant. 

What other tokens can you think of that we give the Lord or that He gives us?

Impressions from April 2016 General Conference: Sunday Afternoon session

Robert D Hales (12)

I appreciated Elder Hales’ reviewing the different roles of the Holy Ghost and how he can help us.  Some of them I can definitely testify to seeing in my life, but others I need to definitely humble myself to receive.  Unless I can do that, I will only enjoy part of the blessings I might otherwise. 

At least three helpful principles and warnings that I also appreciated are the following: 1) The Holy Ghost isn’t given to control us.  2) The adversary tempts us with false ideas that we may confuse with the Holy Ghost, but faithfulness will protect us from being deceived. 3) We are tempted to let our personal desires overcome the Holy Ghost.

He pointed out that the fruit of the Spirit is gentleness, meekness, kindness, love unfeigned.  I suppose this should also help us discern between the Holy Ghost and other spirits that are not of God.  If we feel hostile pride, or impulses to be unkind, or anger or love with any sort of pretense, then we know that’s not of God.  Also, any spirit of coercion is not from God either.

Gerrit W. Gong (70)

Another good talk focusing on remembering Christ.  I liked his six suggestions for how we can do this, including acknowledging his hand in our lives,  and especially what he said about trying to read the Book of Mormon or doing everything as if for the first time.   When the gospel starts to feel same-old-same-old, that’s when we badly need a dose of meekness to see things like they are new.

Patrick Kearon (70)

This was a powerful talk about the need to help refugees.  He echoed the women’s general session of conference in reminding us that our people were refugees a number of times at the beginning of this dispensation.  I also hadn’t put together that the Savior had once been a refugee when his parents fled into Egypt to escape King Herod’s command to kill the children under 2.

I like that he said that being a refugee does not define these people and that many were great contributors before they lost everything and that they can be contributors again with help.

Practical counsel: Pray, check the church’s “I was a stranger” website, offer to mentor, increase awareness of events that caused people to flee, take a stand against intolerance.

Extra note: I know I was touched by Elder Uchtdorf’s emotion when he got up to conduct the rest of the meeting after this talk. I couldn’t’ help but remember his story of having been a refugee himself as a child. I think his tears represent compassion born of having experienced it, and if he were moved that much, think how much more must the Savior be moved by the refugees’ plight and all our other sufferings, having experienced them too.

Dallin H. Oaks (12)

Elder Oaks’ talk was about opposition.  As a writer, I was impressed by the story of all the effort Joseph Smith went to trying to get the Book of Mormon published and all the publishers he went to.    Opposition enables good to be discerned from bad, gives experience, helps us grow, builds endurance. 

When opposition increases, I think his talk helps give us perspective.  But even after we gain perspective, we still have to get back in the fight. The struggle is real! 

Kent F. Richards (70)

This talk about temple work made me realize we need to get to the temple more.  Simple as that.

Paul V. Johnson (70)

About the atonement and resurrection.  I loved that he quoted from Handel’s Messiah (which is quoting scripture) “WE shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed.  The trumpet shall sound and we shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed.”  The songs that have those words always make me happy and give me a sense of the triumph and reality of the resurrection.

I remember when I was in first grade and my vision started to get short-sighted. I had to get glasses. That was when I started to anticipate a future resurrection.  Here my six-year-old body was being revealed to be a flawed thing, which was a disappointment.  But suddenly I could hope for a future perfect body.  I found a few more health problems as the years went on, but each time, hope of the resurrection helped me take things in stride.  My weaknesses were the very thing that helped me gain faith.

Jeffery R. Holland (12)

I loved that Elder Holland acknowledged that we have the spiritual high of conference and then on Monday morning real life attacks like a T-Rex.  I sometimes find myself wishing that we could take the sacrament on conference Sunday because I really depend on the renewal I get from it, and it is hard to go two weeks without it.  But it was nice to be shown in the scriptures how this pattern of a great fight of affliction after spiritual highs is seen throughout sacred history.  We’re not the only ones who have experienced it, and if others have dealt with it, then we can too.

Here’s my favorite part from his talk: “The gospel, the church, the conferences are intended to give hope and inspiration.  Satan tries to convince us the ideals are depressing and unrealistic.  He knows HE can’t improve.  Don’t fall for his message.  With Christ and grace, we can improve and we get credit for trying even if we don’t always succeed.”

Impressions from April 2016 General Conference: Sunday Morning session

President Thomas S. Monson

Four new temples!  Exciting!  It seems like President Monson’s message was pretty short and sweet this time. There wasn’t the little build-up to the announcement that he’s done in the past that kind of gets you on the edge of your seat. He just launched into it as though there wasn’t a moment to lose.  It gave me the impression of urgency.

I appreciated the reminder that the doors of history turn on small hinges and so do people’s lives.  It’s a hint to be careful about even the small choices. 

More quotables: “Choose to build up great and powerful faith.” “Choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong.”

Bonnie L. Oscarson

Great story about the mother who had taught lessons about eternal families and knew the doctrine, but had to decide whether she really believed it when her son was airlifted to another hospital with bad pneumonia.  That’s the thing about doctrine; occasionally things happen in life that present you with the choice to really trust the doctrine and live it or cave in and fall to pieces.  Those kinds of experiences kick one out of complacency pretty quick.

This whole talk was a review of the magnificent blessings we enjoy as part of the gospel. And it is true that it can be easy to take them for granted.  Which is why talks like this are needed.

W. Christopher Waddell (Pres. Bishopric 2^nd counselor)

This was another great reminder to keep focused on Christ and how it can give us peace.   Moving story about the new member couple who had just lost their son and were devastated at the thought that they would never see him again, then their joy at learning he had been born in the covenant because they had been sealed in the temple before he was born.  My heart bled for that couple, and I was so happy someone was able to explain those blessings to them.

I loved the principle Elder Waddell taught that it will protect us from the mocking in the great and spacious building if we partake continuously from the tree of life rather than stop partaking.

D. Todd Christofferson (12)

I appreciate that he called for fathers to be portrayed better in media. It really is a problem. But I don’t think it is going to improve anytime soon because in real life, good fathers make a big difference and in fiction, that removes sources of conflict that keep a story going.  Fathers have real power for good, so media will portray fathers as powerless or absent so other characters can have trouble to deal with. Or they will weaken them by making them only a source of comic relief. 

I loved the story of the father who prayed for his son every morning before going to work. That kind of thing can make a big impression.  It’s something mothers can do, not just fathers. 

Quentin L. Cook (12)

I loved the story about the excitement of the missionaries in Thailand concerning the announcement of a temple in Bangkok.  It reminds me of how excited I was about the announcement of a temple in Gilbert, AZ.  I think I called a bunch of people.  I also felt some connection to it because my husband and I have visited Bangkok before and have gone to church there.  I can imagine it.

Elder Cook went on to speak about temple work and I felt like I needed to get back into family history.  I dip in and out of it, and while I’m in it, it is a magnificent obsession.  What I need to do is do indexing too so I can add to the resources available.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf (12)

I loved the story of the cathedral at Dresden that had been destroyed during the firestorms and rebuilt with some of the old charred stones.  I love the analogy made with it that if man can take the ruins and rebuild an awe-inspiring structure, so much more is God’s ability to restore his fallen children.  I also like how he encouraged us to draw near to God and He will draw near to us.

Another wonderful principle he shared that I resonated with was that we may impress others with our interpretation, but if our faith doesn’t change the way we live, then our religion is vain and our faith is in danger of flat-lining.  This is one of the great truths I’ve learned from blogging about the scriptures is that it does me no good to rhapsodize about a principle if I don’t live it. Living the principles of the gospel is the great challenge and quest of life.  I struggle every day in various ways to put what I learn into practice and I don’t have any statistical data about how much I fail versus how much I succeed, but I fail far more often than I would like.  But I have hope that Christ will help me if I don’t give up.

The Lord promises to establish David’s house and kingdom forever

In 2 Samuel 7, David finally gets to the point where he is at rest in his own house as king over Israel and all his enemies have been subdued. And he decideds he wants to build a permanent temple for the Lord. He doesn’t think it is right that David should have a nice house while the Lord lives in a tent, a temporary structure, nice as it is. So he tells Nathan the prophet this, and at first Nathan is all for the idea. But during the night, the Lord makes His will known and it is strangely opposite.

4 ¶And it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying,

5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?

6 Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.

7 In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar?

8 Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel:

9 And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth.

10 Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime,

11 And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house.

12 ¶And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:

15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.

16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David. (2 Samuel 7:4-17)

Up to this point, David has tried to pay his debts to those who supported him during his wanderings. He sent presents of spoil and gifts to those people to show his gratitude. It is possible David felt he had to try to repay his debt to the Lord in a similar way. But of course, no one can really do that because  for any good we do, He immediately blesses us, and then He has paid us and we are still indebted to Him.

So I get the sense from the Lord’s message that He would not be in debt to David, and to prove it, the Lord promised to bless David’s descendants after him forever, which is certainly something David can’t repay.

I think this chapter teaches us about the mercy and incredibly generosity of the Lord, that all we can do is serve Him and acknowledge His mercy forever.

I Will Make All My Mountains a Way

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Here in 1 Nephi 21, Nephi quotes Isaiah 49, but I want to look at some verses in the chapter that speak in imagery about latter-day temple work.

9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners: Go forth; to them that sit in darkness: Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.

10 They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.

11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted. (1 Nephi 21:9-11)

It is probably easy to see that temple work is the means by which we bring freedom to the spirits in spirit prison, but there is other imagery that tells us of the benefits of temple worship here.

They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. – The image is of a flock of sheep that is feeding “in the ways.” We may have seen images of sheep crossing roads, but this has a twist to it. The sheep are sticking to the road. This is unusual because in that day the roads were not a good place to pasture. All the foot traffic would beat down the grass and plants. But in this image, the sheep are feeding in the ways, so the road has the best grass. What does that teach us about the gospel as the way?  The gospel has the best spiritual nourishment.

their pastures shall be in all high places – Do the tops of mountains have good pasture in them? (Any sheep farmers out there who read this could probably tell me.)  You’d think the best grass would be in the meadows and valleys, so it’s probably symbolic.  The high places in Isaiah’s day used to be shrines of worship. When Israel was righteous these high places were essentially temples to Jehovah.  So when Isaiah tells us there shall be pastures in all the high places, he’s saying in the latter day the house of Israel would find nourishment at the temple.  That he mentions high places (plural) is a hint of multiple temples, and we can see that is fulfilled today. And it is true that we are nourished and made stronger through the Lord’s grace as we participate in temple worship.

Verse 10 continues the imagery of the flock of sheep and tells us that these sheep will be very well taken care of as they travel from place to place.  They won’t be hungry or thirsty or get heat stroke, but the way they go by (the one that has grass growing in it) will also have springs of water running along it for them to drink from. Really, this tells us the shepherd is totally awesome, since he’s found this excellent way for the sheep to go. If you stick with this shepherd, you are blessed; you won’t have anything to worry about. And we know who this Good Shepherd is, don’t we?

And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.  – We know what “my mountains” are. These are the Lord’s temples. So the temples become the way. They become a clear part of the gospel path, as the way the sheep (the house of Israel) is exalted. The temple leads to a higher way of living, and it exalts the sheep.

Gotta love Isaiah. He knew what he was talking about.

What the creation tells us about the atonement

I was in the temple recently watching the creation narrative and it struck me how much the creation tells us about the atonement of Christ.

The great power God has to create worlds tell us about His power to create great changes.  We need to change when we repent and the greater the change we need, the more we need that assurance that Christ has that power.

His ability to bring plants and animals tells us about His ability to help us grow. We need that for faith in His power (grace) to help us reach greater levels of righteousness than we've ever had before.

The long period of time it took to create the world tells us about His great patience. If He could wait for the earth to obey His commands, He is going to be patient with us as we grow.  He can't be discouraged.  (But just because He could wait for the earth doesn't mean that we have all the time in the world to do our part.  We only have so much time in mortality to do our changing and improving in, so the sooner we get cracking, the better for us.)

The way God pronounced it all good when it was done gives us hope that when we have finished progressing, He will similarly pronounce us good as well. It tells us God's approval can be attained. (What a wonderful thing that will be!)

Different ways of learning in the temple

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One of the things about going to the temple often is that it can be too easy to fall into a rut of thinking about the same old things, when the temple is meant to be a revelatory experience.

How can the temple be a revelatory experience when we do the same things over and over and hear the same words over and over?

My experience with scripture study over years of diligent reading has taught me that applying my own concerns and experience to what is done and said in the temple can bring interesting insight.  (I remember during a time I was taking an online class on selling, I went to the temple for an endowment session and noticed in the garden of Eden sequence Satan was a pretty wily salesman.)

Recently I went to the temple with my husband and we did a sealing session and I tried something I hadn’t tried before.  In addition to listening to the words as the sealer spoke them, I tried to imagine reading those words as if they were displayed on the wall.  (I did this because the reading process for me is very important to my ability to analyze and comprehend, and if I only hear the words I don’t get to do that.) 

Imagining seeing the words displayed as they were spoken took a lot of brainpower and I didn’t succeed fully in imagining all the words, but I succeeded enough that I noticed new things that I hadn’t noticed before.  Certain words jumped out at me with new significance, and I started to grasp linkages between phrases that I hadn’t found before.  I felt like the experience was profitable enough that I think I will try it during some of the other temple ordinances.

A few weeks before that, my husband and I had an opportunity to go through an endowment session presented with American Sign Language (ASL).  This was a fascinating experience too.  It was difficult because the sign for the words spoken was usually shown before or had slipped behind, but with as little ASL vocabulary as I had, I was able to catch some wonderful things.  It really stretched my brain as I tried to match the signs I had seen with the words said, and the signs I could match really augmented my sense of the meaning of those words.

When I took a film class at ASU, one of the principles talked about was mise en scene, which is the placing of the objects on the stage and the environment. (Yes, it is a French term, so good luck pronouncing it.) We learned that film directors often use the scenery and the objects in the frame to add meaning to the movie action.  With this in mind, I started watching the background of the endowment film to see if I could discern anything that added to the meaning of the dialogue and action.  And I was able to find a few things.  There was some symbolism there that I hadn’t noticed before.

Elder Scott had a talk from April 2009 conference called "Temple Worship: The Source of Strength and Power in Times of Need" which has some good things in it to think about while doing temple service.

So now I ask you, what skills have you applied to your temple experience to make it more meaningful?  What techniques and perspectives have helped you derive more meaning from it?  Will you share those, while still keeping sacred things sacred?

Uses of towers in the scriptures

When the trouble starts for King Noah and Gideon fights with him, King Noah does something that has puzzled me for a long time – he runs and gets on the tower he’d built next to the temple.

It seems like a tower is an odd place to flee to, since it’s sort of a dead end. Once you get to the top, there is no where else to go.

Also, we have a European idea of what towers look like – straight vertical walls, parapets and crenellations, whereas it probably was built more like a ziggurat or a pyramid.

Probably the best thing getting on the tower would have done for King Noah was that it would require Gideon to fight up against gravity, while King Noah would have gravity helping him.

I wanted to see if there were other incidents in the scriptures of people using towers and fleeing to them.  And there were.

In Judges 9:51, the people of Thebez had their city taken, so they went to the strong tower in the city and got on the top of it and used it as a place of defense.

In 2 Samuel 22:3, there is a psalm of David in which he extols the Lord as his defense, and he says:

The God of my rock;

in him will I trust:

he is my shield,

and the horn of my salvation,

my high tower, and my refuge,

my saviour;

thou savest me from violence.

So it seems that towers were definitely considered a refuge. 

Also, as I was surveying across the scriptures, I found towers used for watching. They seem to have been placed where they could be used to see who was coming.

The scriptures also mention them as landmarks for readers to orient themselves (assuming the towers were still there and one knew where was what).

Isaiah prophesied in several places of high towers being thrown down, along with other imagery about pride being humbled. Clearly he wanted to make the point that military advantages and refuges were not sufficient to save without trusting in the Lord.

In the Book of Mormon, in Helaman 7, the prophet Nephi gets on a tower in his garden to pray. It’s a curious place to pray, but perhaps he may have sought spiritual refuge there.

In D&C 101:12 there is a curious promise – “And in that day all who are found upon the watch-tower, or in other words, all mine Israel, shall be saved.”  This combines the sense of watching and prophetic foresight with the sense of finding refuge and defense in the Lord. It is also possible that it captures a picture of a situation in which Israel and the righteous are under siege and attack.

Back to King Noah, though.  The tower gave King Noah the ability to observe the Lamanites invading, but by then he couldn’t do much besides warn them to flee.  I really like how later King Limhi used the tower to observe the Lamanites preparing for war.  This implies that he got up on that tower to observe much more often.  Discovering Lamanite preparations gave him and his people time to prepare themselves and fight, instead of just fleeing.

The spiritual counterpart of the tower as a place of refuge corresponds to the home and the temple.  The spiritual counterpart of the tower as a means of early warning corresponds to the counsel of the prophets.  Are we taking refuge as much as we can?  Are we listening to the warnings the prophets are giving in our day?

It seems to me that two big warnings we are being given today are about defending the family and standing up for religious freedom.  We need to figure out ways to do that as part of our everyday life of teaching and speaking.  I’m still working out for myself what I can do pertaining to those warnings.   Will you share what you are doing with regard to those two things?

Temple symbolism lesson from S. Michael Wilcox

I read a little story in S. Michael Wilcox’s book House of Glory that taught a principle about the mirrors in the temple that I hadn’t come across before, so I thought I would share it.

I once learned a great lesson on marriage while witnessing a sealing of a relative.  After the ceremony, I stood with my wife looking into the mirrors that reflect a strait and narrow path into eternity.  As usual, I was moving this way and that way, trying to see a little farther, but my own reflection was in the way, and I could not see as far as I wanted.  I remember consciously thinking: “I wish I could take myself out of the mirrors.  I could see eternity better, but I keep getting in the way.”

As I pondered this, the Spirit bore a strong witness to its truth.  Concentrating too much on ourselves obscures our view of eternal things. I thought of all the couples I had counseled while serving as bishop and realized that in every case of marital conflict, one or both partners had focused so much on themselves that they could no longer see eternity.  I wanted to bring each couple in my ward to the sealing room, stand them in front of the mirrors, and say: “Can you see what we sometimes do?  Can you understand the problem and also perceive the solution? The mirrors teach us a powerful truth that can strengthen, enhance, or save our marriages.” (p25-26)

I like this story because I have stood there doing exactly the same thing as Brother Wilcox—trying to see further into the mirrors and annoyed that my own image stands in the way.  I’m glad that he shared this  lesson for the rest of us to learn from.

Probing the counsel to “Stand in holy places”

Sunday school lesson 36 has an attention activity showing some repeated counsel about standing in holy places from different parts of the D&C.  You may have just gone through this lesson, but I want to look at these scriptures to see if they can tell us more about how to stand in holy places, since that’s kind of abstract counsel.  Yes, we usually take it to mean attending the temple, but is that all?

31 And there shall be men standing in that generation, that shall not pass until they shall see an overflowing scourge; for a desolating sickness shall cover the land.

32 But my disciples shall stand in holy places, and shall not be moved; but among the wicked, men shall lift up their voices and curse God and die. (D&C 45:31-32, emphasis added)

The context of this verse tells of overflowing scourges and desolating sickness, and outside the range of those verses is desolations, murder, and massacre.  Among this, we are to stand in holy places.  Holy places seem to be places of refuge that help us withstand the difficulties spoken of.

In desolating sickness, we can stand in holy places with healing priesthood power, good sanitation practices, healthy diet, prayer for the sick, service to help one another, and faith in God that He has all power.  Is going to the temple the best thing if you are in close contact with communicable disease?  (Sanitation and hand-washing, people!)

In natural disasters, we can stand in holy places with our emergency preparedness, organizing together, watchcare and service to others, and keeping up the devotional practices that give us strength like prayer, scripture study, FHE, and church.  And going to the temple. 

Among violence, we can stand in holy places by not seeking revenge, avoiding anger, forgiving, praying for comfort and protection and courage, showing love, as well as continuing devotional practices.  And going to the temple.

Note that in contrast to the disciples who stand immovably in holy places, the wicked will lift up their voices, curse God, and die.  What does that really look like?  I suspect it is a ton of complaining, venting anger, bitterness, outrage.  It will probably involve many people looking at the widespread suffering and asking, “How could God let this happen?” and getting angry at God for not preventing it.  But because they were not willing to keep the commandments that would mitigate their suffering, they can only suffer and eventually die in their sins.  Very sad.

The contrast shows that the wicked place blame on God and yet don’t do the things He asks that would make it better for themselves or others, while the righteous trust God and at the same time keep the commandments and their obedience makes things better for themselves and others around them.

The next “stand in holy places” scripture comes at the end of the section that prophesied the Civil War and more troubles to come afterward:

6 And thus, with the sword and by bloodshed the inhabitants of the earth shall mourn; and with famine, and plague, and earthquake, and the thunder of heaven, and the fierce and vivid lightning also, shall the inhabitants of the earth be made to feel the wrath, and indignation, and chastening hand of an Almighty God, until the consumption decreed hath made a full end of all nations;

7 That the cry of the saints, and of the blood of the saints, shall cease to come up into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, from the earth, to be avenged of their enemies.

8 Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen. (D&C 87:6-8, emphasis added)

Bloodshed, famine, plague, earthquake, storm, and a consumption (a consuming event) that will eventually make an end of all nations.  It also mentions the cry of the Saints and the blood of the Saints coming up into the ears of the Lord.

So not only does this tell us that standing in holy places will help us survive disasters, but while society and governments collapse, the organization of the church will help us maintain order among our own, through our obedience and diligence as we “be not moved.” 

Since it seems there are Saints who will be wronged and even killed unjustly, standing in holy places will mean staying with the principles of faith, forgiveness, prayer, and leaving justice in the hands of God.  And going to the temple.  We’ll also need courage and faith in the final judgment that God will right our wrongs.

20 And, behold, there is none other place appointed than that which I have appointed; neither shall there be any other place appointed than that which I have appointed, for the work of the gathering of my saints—

21 Until the day cometh when there is found no more room for them; and then I have other places which I will appoint unto them, and they shall be called stakes, for the curtains or the strength of Zion.

22 Behold, it is my will, that all they who call on my name, and worship me according to mine everlasting gospel, should gather together, and stand in holy places;

23 And prepare for the revelation which is to come, when the veil of the covering of my temple, in my tabernacle, which hideth the earth, shall be taken off, and all flesh shall see me together. (D&C 101:20-23, emphasis added)

The context of this instance of “stand in holy places” talks about the gathering of the Saints in Zion and in stakes and preparing for the time when all flesh will see Jesus.  It seems to me that gathering with the Saints is one part of standing in holy places because we encourage each other and our service to each other helps us practice discipleship.

So it seems to me that more than being in a particular place, “standing in holy places” means to act in doctrine in a way appropriate to the emergency or need.  It’s falling back on gospel principles to get through the hard thing, the trial, the affliction, the whatever.  Going to the temple and going to church is only a few of the many good ways we can respond, although it could be argued that if you prepare yourself for the temple, that encompasses keeping a whole raft of commandments.

I think “stand in holy places” is yet another way of saying “keep the commandments” that build your house with an unshakeable foundation in the Savior.

Little missed detail about the state of the Tabernacle under Eli

There’s a little bit about how the furniture of the Tabernacle is positioned during Eli’s time that gives us an extra sense of the problem Eli was as a priest.

3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;

4 That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. (1 Samuel 3:3-4)

The lamp of God is the seven-branched candlestick, and it was supposed to never be allowed to go out!  Yet we are told here about stuff that happened before the lamp went out as if it were a common occurrence for it to be allowed to go out.

It may be that Samuel was assigned to sleep there and light the lamp first thing in the morning in order to make it look like it had never gone out at all, in which case Eli was trying to conserve oil in a place where it was not meant to be conserved.

Also, notice that the lamp was where the ark of God was, and Samuel was sleeping there too!  The way Moses instructed Israel, the ark was to be in the holy of holies and the lamp was to be in the holy place, separated from the holy of holies by the veil.  But here, the lamp and the ark were together!  We don’t know whether that means they were both in the holy place or both in the holy of holies, but we should know that whichever it was, it was wrong. 

So Eli had moved things around such that the ark was commonly accessible. 

This is quite shocking.  The ark was supposed to be in the holy of holies and only be visited once a year on the day of atonement by the high priest, who would sprinkle sacrificial blood on the mercy seat.

So it seems that not only was Eli allowing his sons to take the fat of the sacrifices and not only was he not rebuking them for their immorality, but he had moved the Tabernacle furniture around in such a way as to effectively change the ordinances, he was neglecting the care of the lamp of God, he was making the ark commonly accessible, and he was making Samuel treat the holy place like a bedroom instead of a temple.

Temple Architectural Symbolism: Octagons

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From time to time, you may have noticed that temples occasionally have octagons worked into the architectural elements.  You may have wondered what those mean. 

A few years ago, I read a book about temple architectural elements that said that octagons with their eight sides symbolized the 8^th day of creation and also progression toward perfection. 

I think it was from Sacred Walls: Learning from TempleSymbols by Gerald E. Hansen.  

I think Hansen skillfully unpacked the reasoning for how it communicates progression toward perfection (so I’ll let you buy the book and learn about that and all the other fabulous goodies that come in it), but I want to focus a little more on that idea of the 8^th day of creation because this is one that foreign to us.   This one took me a while to grasp.

Being baptized at age eight, the year of accountability, is familiar to us, but eight days in creation is strange.  Creation was done in six days, God rested on the 7^th, so what need for an 8^th day? 

Consider that we all need to be born again into the kingdom of God.  Wouldn’t that constitute an act of creation—the spiritual creation of a new creature?   It would be a further refinement and continuation of our creation that would be in line with the change and development that happens in the previous 7 days.

Thus, the 8^th day of creation is about spiritual rebirth and refinement, and so you will find octagons in the temple in places that should remind of spiritual rebirth, like around the temple baptismal font.   It may be the font itself.  It may be in the ceiling shape.  It may be in the stonework around the font.   You may find it other places as well, so you’ll know that is an opportunity to think about how that place is associated with spiritual rebirth and creation. (Also, don't forget that it can be associated with progression toward perfection as well.)

http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/latter-day-saints-dir/32153-what-lds-temple-looks-like-inside.html

Notice the ceiling  (http://thetrumpetstone.blogspot.com/2011/09/lds-temple-glass-trees.html)

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=5273003&nid=460&page=2

http://www.pinterest.com/garrettdad2/lds-temples/

This one is from the Boise, Idaho temple.  Interesting that the octagon is associated with garden imagery.  http://www.pinterest.com/christmasfamily/temples/

The ark of God is taken by the Philistines

1 Samuel 4 describes how the Lord fulfilled the prophecy-warning given to Samuel about the distressing thing to be done to Israel and the removal of Eli and his sons.

The Israelites fight the Philistines and lose. (We have no idea what started this series of skirmishes.)  The Israelites decide the ark of the covenant can save them if they bring it to the battleground, and they get all excited and shout.  The Philistines hear and remember how the Lord plagued Egypt and their morale drops, but they decide to fight their best anyway, and they end up not just beating the Israelites but capturing the ark.  In the battle, Eli’s sons are killed, since they were with the ark.

Naturally, the Israelites are beside themselves with distress at this news.  There is much crying, so much so that the whole city Eli was in (Shiloh) was filled with that noise.  Eli gets the message, and falls and breaks his neck and dies.  When his daughter-in-law hears, she goes into early labor and dies saying the glory of Israel was departed.

Here's what the elders say in reaction to their first defeat by the Philistines, which leads them to call for the ark:

Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies. (1 Samuel 4:3)

It seems they recognized that if the Lord was allowing the Philistines to beat them, then the Lord was smiting them.  But instead of taking that admittedly good reasoning to the next stage and concluding they had sinned and needed to repent, they decided to use the ark of the covenant as a religious shield.  They probably reasoned that the Lord would be afraid to allow His ark to be captured, so the Israelite armies would be saved if they brought the ark with them to battle.  And as we have seen, that was soooo wrong.  It was like waving a flag in front of a bull for the Lord’s own people to mock the Lord that way.

Based upon the way the Israelites treat the ark, it seems pretty plain that they had an attitude of complaisance that seems to have led them to act wrongly.

The ark was a token of God’s presence, glory, and power, but they seemed to think of it as a good luck charm to bring victory regardless of their righteousness.  This attitude might have built up over the period of years they saw Eli and his sons ministering in corruption with no divine judgment coming upon them.  They may have concluded after a while that righteousness wasn’t necessary to have the support of God.

God would know this and would be anxious to get rid of those false notions (in addition to the wicked priests) so that Israelite worship could be purified.

The Israelites probably remembered when the ark was carried with the armies across the Jordan river that parted and when it was carried around the city of Jerico and the walls fell down when the Lord fought for Israel.  Perhaps with the rarity of prophetic words in Eli’s days and the rarity of open vision it seemed as if miracles had ceased, and all had hoped to see those miracles begin again with taking the ark into battle.  They probably assumed having the ark would ensure miracles happened for their armies.  Yet Israel had fought many other battles with the Lord’s help when the ark wasn’t there and when the people were righteous.

How do the Israelites react to the ark’s capture?

--The messenger from the army rends his clothes and puts earth on his head to show his grief.

--The people at Shiloh cry out at the news.

--Eli falls off his stool at the gate at the news, breaks his neck, and dies.

--His daughter-in-law goes into early labor at the news and before dying, gives her baby a name conveying her sense of desolation.

The daughter-in-law of Eli gives birth to a son whom she names Ichabod, which literally translated (according to the footnote) means “Where is the glory?”  It is as if she sees the defeat and loss and death as a sign that the glory of God has departed from Israel and will never return again.  It is almost a cynical disillusioned throwing up of the hands, saying “What is the point?”

From one perspective, if we consider the wickedness of the priests and the people, the glory of God had departed long before that.  If they had been righteous, they would have been delivered in battle, even without the ark. 

The thing is, we see from the larger perspective that the whole distressing sequence was in fulfillment of the word of the Lord to Samuel.  The glory of God was there.  It had just departed from Eli and his house.  They had refused to see it for so long that they could not see it for what it was.

The Lord had told Samuel something disastrous was going to happen.  Remember that “I will make everyone’s ears tingle” and “I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken”?

That declaration ahead of time tells us the Lord knew the errors and sins of His people, He knew what He would do about it, and He also knew exactly what everyone’s reaction would be.  He wanted Samuel to know the Lord was behind it and that it was for a purpose, according to plan, and that when it happened he was not to think things were going horribly wrong, even though it would look that way.

And when you consider all the things that happened, all the circumstances that combined to bring about the fulfillment of that prophecy, you can’t help but see the Lord allowed it or was behind it. 

·      The wickedness of the priests contributed to the false ideas of the elders that the ark would bring them victory without needing to repent.  (In this way, wickedness created a way for its own destruction.) 

·      The Philistines were terrified of the ark considering the history of God fighting for Israel, and even though their morale was shot, they somehow summoned the courage to fight their best anyway, capturing the ark and killing the priests.  This was the hand of God using them as an instrument of chastisement against Israel and Eli’s sons. 

·      Eli died from a broken neck after falling backwards off a chair, a very unexpected way to die. 

·      And who would have thought that Eli’s daughter-in-law would suddenly go into early labor at the news and die in childbirth?  Death in childbirth is not unheard of, but added to those circumstances gives her a share in the judgment as well.

God used the loss of the ark to purge the tabernacle of bad priests and even a priest’s wife.  Who would have thought that the loss of the ark could have that effect?

Now, how can this story help us today?

I think it warns us to be careful not to buy into superstitions about holy things.  For example, we can avoid the same sorts of complacency about the temple and its grounds.  I once heard a story of someone getting shot on one of the temple’s grounds and bystanders had a hard time getting temple personnel to help because they just could not believe that violence had occurred on temple grounds!! 

We believe the temple is sacred space and is divinely protected, but if people going to the temple are not pure in heart, will it be a holy place?  If we profane it, can we expect protection there, spiritual or otherwise? 

The temples are built to last “through the millennium,” but that doesn’t mean God can’t destroy them with natural disasters if He chooses to.  And what if a temple is destroyed?  The sealing power is still on the earth and temples can be rebuilt.  The important thing is to stay repentant and keep a broken heart and contrite spirit.

We often hear the saying that the church will never again be taken from the earth.  That's great, but that doesn't mean each of us are guaranteed to remain a part of it.  If we don't keep a broken heart and contrite spirit, we will apostatize from it.  Also, there are warnings in 3 Nephi from the Savior Himself that if the Gentiles do not repent after the gospel they have received--implying the Gentiles have received the gospel and converted, but sin--the gospel will be taken from them and they will be trampled underfoot by a remnant of Jacob.

So again, the important thing is to stay repentant and keep a broken heart and contrite spirit.