Putting Together the Tabernacle

My husband and I were reading through Exodus and we hit the sections that talk about how the Tabernacle was put together. (There’s also directions for how the Lord wanted it made, which are given earlier.) In the midst of all the details about taches of gold and sockets of silver and curtains and loops and boards, there’s a verse that I really liked.

And he made fifty taches of gold, and coupled the curtains one unto another with the taches: so it became one tabernacle. (Exodus 36:13)

In the midst of all the little details and all the pieces, suddenly we get a picture of the unified result—voíla! One Tabernacle!

I couldn’t help but see how that was analogous to how all the individuals of ward or branch come together and suddenly—we are one, unified in Christ through the Spirit. All those taches (and meetings that build friendship) and curtains (services to help shelter each other from major difficulties) and couplings (temple marriages) –all of that helps build our strength and unity.

Another thing I’ve observed in reading about all this detail is that it is actually presented twice—once when the Lord revealed it to Moses, and again as the Israelites are building the equipment and putting the Tabernacle together.   While it may seem repetitious, it shows this was by the Lord’s command and not something the Israelites came up with themselves. It shows they were obedient in every detail. We don’t see the Lord commanding and then no action from his people to obey. Obedience is not taken for granted here.

 I also think this is notable because it gives us an example of when the full plan was given Moses all at once, not in dribs and drabs of incremental revelation. Big loads of revelation happen from time to time. And of course, the Lord chooses what situations call for a dumptruck-load of revelation versus a teaspoon-full of revelation in increments. Our part is to make ourselves ready to receive.  Eventually we get to see the full result, the unity of all the separate little projects are working toward.

Religious Misunderstandings Ironed Out in Joshua 22

1 Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh,

2 And said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you:

3 Ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the Lord your God.

4 And now the Lord your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them: therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side Jordan.

5 But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.

6 So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went unto their tents.

7 ¶ Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given possession in Bashan: but unto the other half thereof gave Joshua among their brethren on this side Jordan westward. And when Joshua sent them away also unto their tents, then he blessed them,

8 And he spake unto them, saying, Return with much riches unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.

9 ¶ And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go unto the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, whereof they were possessed, according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

10 ¶ And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to.

11 ¶ And the children of Israel heard say, Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of Israel.

12 And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war against them.

13 And the children of Israel sent unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest,

14 And with him ten princes, of each chief house a prince throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one was an head of the house of their fathers among the thousands of Israel.

15 ¶ And they came unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, unto the land of Gilead, and they spake with them, saying,

16 Thus saith the whole congregation of the Lord, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the Lord, in that ye have builded you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the Lord?

17 Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the Lord,

18 But that ye must turn away this day from following the Lord? and it will be, seeing ye rebel to day against the Lord, that to morrow he will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel.

19 Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the Lord, wherein the Lord’s tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession among us: but rebel not against the Lord, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar beside the altar of the Lord our God.

20 Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? and that man perished not alone in his iniquity.

21 ¶ Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh answered, and said unto the heads of the thousands of Israel,

22 The Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in transgression against the Lord, (save us not this day,)

23 That we have built us an altar to turn from following the Lord, or if to offer thereon burnt offering or meat offering, or if to offer peace offerings thereon, let the Lord himself require it;

24 And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do with the Lord God of Israel?

25 For the Lord hath made Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no part in the Lord: so shall your children make our children cease from fearing the Lord.

26 Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice:

27 But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the Lord before him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the Lord.

28 Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you.

29 God forbid that we should rebel against the Lord, and turn this day from following the Lord, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices, beside the altar of the Lord our God that is before his tabernacle.

30 ¶ And when Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation and heads of the thousands of Israel which were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spake, it pleased them.

31 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, This day we perceive that the Lord is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against the Lord: now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the Lord.

32 ¶ And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben, and from the children of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, unto the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again.

33 And the thing pleased the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God, and did not intend to go up against them in battle, to destroy the land wherein the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt.

34 And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the Lord is God. (Joshua 22)

This is an interesting story with details that are best understood with reference to earlier stories in the Old Testament.

The chapter starts as the children of Israel have finished conquering the land of Canaan (or as much as they could conquer). Joshua lets the Reubenites, Gadites, and half of Manasseh go to their possessions on the east side of the Jordan river. (They had actually been the first ones to obtain inheritance, but on condition that they would continue to fight alongside the rest of the tribes until everyone had obtained land of inheritance.)

V1-8 is Joshua’s dismissal of these tribes with a charge that they remember to keep the commandments and love the Lord.

-Take diligent heed to the commandment and the law

-love the Lord

-walk in His ways

-keep the commandments

-cleave to Him

-serve Him with all heart and soul

I have to wonder if Joshua was worried these tribes would forget God on the margins of the land.

V9-10  The 2 ½ tribes build an altar by Jordan, and it is said to be a very great altar, perhaps very large, visible all over.

V11  Rumor of the great altar is spread all around, and it causes consternation and worry and indignation. Why? Because in Leviticus 17:8-9 is a commandments that those who don’t bring their sacrifices to the Tabernacle’s altar are to be cut off (excommunicated). The tribes on the west side of Jordan jump to the conclusion that the 2 ½ tribes on the east side built this altar for sacrifice in opposition to the commandment. They worry this altar is a sign of idolatry starting in the eastern tribes.

V 12-14  The news of the big altar at Jordan in defiance of the commandments causes the western 9 ½ tribes to get ready for battle. To them, this altar, if built by one man, wouldn’t have been permitted by the man’s neighbors, if they were righteous. Therefore, it was built by the whole people on the east, therefore that whole group must be corrupted and require an army to invade and put things right.  To make sure the evil is stamped out, they send Phineas, the son of Eleazar the priest.

Here’s some quick background on Phineas.  Phineas is the same guy who speared two idolaters in their tent for committing ritual prostitution with the Moabites (see Numbers 25:1-15). Phineas was commended for his zeal in that act, and so he is sent to make sure that no idolater escapes punishment.

Also with Phineas are sent 10 princes of the western tribes to talk with the eastern tribes, according to the commandment in Deut. 13:12-15, to inquire diligently and see if the whole place is given to idolatry and find out if the rumors are true or not. (If the rumors are true, then the army gets called in to destroy the people.) It is a fact-finding expedition before the boom is lowered.

V16-20  The fact-finding expedition lays out the accusations—that the eastern tribes have rebelled against God by building an altar. They express the general worries that the eastern tribes will bring a plague on the rest of Israel just like Peor and Achan did in their idolatry and greed, which caused others to die too. (Achan was a fellow who took spoils from the conquest of Jericho and hid them in his tent in defiance of the command that the spoil was to be consecrated to the Lord. Because of his disobedience, Israel lost badly in their next military engagement, and he had to be detected by lot.(Joshua 7))

It is notable that they temper the accusations against the 2 ½ tribes with the supposition that maybe the eastern tribes have built the big altar in an effort to sanctify their land (maybe they thought their land was unclean), but princes say if the eastern tribes think that, they can come back and live on the west side of Jordan so they can be in a holy land too. This shows the western tribes were trying to think about what honest, good motives the eastern tribes might have had for building that big altar. This would go a long way toward softening the confrontation. People always want to be thought of as doing what’s right, and expressing some sense of trying to understand others as having good motives helps keep peace.

V22-29 The eastern tribes are very strong in denial of idolatry. They call upon God to punish them if their hearts are wrong and they ask to die that day if they are false to God. This is very serious stuff.

Instead, they say they have built the altar to try to prevent future problems. They worry that the western tribes’ descendants would someday exclude the eastern tribes’ descendants from worshipping the God of Israel at the Tabernacle and thereby turn the easterners from following the Lord. Their solution was to build a big altar in the exact pattern of the Tabernacle’s altar of sacrifice to show both sides that the eastern tribes worshipped the same God, that they knew what was done in the temple, they knew how it looked, and their knowledge was their license to participate. The altar was not for sacrifice, but to look at.

V30-34 Phineas and the 10 other princes are pleased with the explanation, and they go back to tell everyone else. Phineas’s declaration is notable too:

“This day we perceive that the Lord is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against the Lord: now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the Lord.” (v31)

In what way had the eastern tribes saved Israel from God?

1)    They had given a good explanation that saved everyone from a fratricidal war. Yay for peace!

2)    They had brought up an important issue—the dangers of disunity in the future that might arise from barriers of geography, in this case the river Jordan—and taken steps to avoid it, such that descendants of Israel would remember to not exclude some marginal groups, thinking they were unfaithful. Excluding the faithful with hasty judgments has eternal consequences and Israel didn’t want to make that mistake.

In what way did Phineas see that the Lord was among them?

He realized that the eastern tribes had acted to try to increase unity and faithfulness. Efforts to do that are inspired by God. Further, by trying to find out what was going on, the fact-finding group got to learn of those unification efforts, and thereby they learned how God was working among the margins to increase unity, as well as in the center.

Seeing it this way—as efforts to unify and prevent future error—is what pleased all the rest of Israel when they heard it. Efforts to unify in righteousness always please the faithful.

So what do we learn from this story?

--It is important to find out the facts before lowering the boom with punishment.

--For those who are tasked with confronting those who appear to have transgressed commandments, it is important to share how things look and also try to imagine how it might have been thought a good thing. Imputing good motives to people helps keep relationships constructive.

--Anticipating future problems and putting in place solutions to mitigate them is helpful.

--It would be wise to avoid thinking that members outside or far from major member population centers are any less faithful than those at the center.

--Willingness to explain one’s actions to others helps keep the peace. Sometimes we may think we don’t need to explain, but people want to understand and people be understood.

--Efforts to increase unity among the righteous are inspired by God.

I think this is a helpful story because today our church isn’t just a little area. It is a global church and we are spread out all over, speaking so many different languages. More than ever it is important to avoid making prideful assumptions that put down other members. The Lord wants us to be unified in faithfulness and righteousness in spite of the distances between congregations and language barriers, and His Spirit works to increase that unity. We strive for unity in doctrine, unity in worship, unity in faith, unity in good works.

Alma on unity among church members

I really like what is recorded about how Alma the elder taught about unity among the church when they still lived among King Noah’s people.

And he commanded them that there should be no contention one with another, but that they should look forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another. (Mosiah 18:21)

Two bits of imagery stick out to me in these verses—the idea of hearts being knit together in love and looking forward with one eye—so I want to share some things I associate with both of those.

Hearts knit together in unity and love

I think of two different things here.  I think  of how a broken bone is knit together. It is put right, and it is held there and protected from outside collisions until it is strong.  Then it can stand up to forces put on it.  I think that gradual growth together is a beautiful analogue to how unity grows gradually.

I also think of yarn that is strung out and apart and it may get easily tangled until it is knit together. Perhaps sharp things would cut it when loose, but it has more strength and flexibility when knit into a fabric.  Even if there is a cut in one place in a knit, it doesn’t fall apart.  The yarn loop connects with other loops around it in different places and draws shape and strength from those touch-points.

Looking forward with one eye

I was very young when I discovered that there was a slight difference in how things looked depending on whether I looked with my right eye or with my left. I marveled that when I held a finger in front of me and looked at it with one eye closed and then with the other, the position of my finger seemed to shift slightly.  This fascinated me and when I got bored or distracted sometimes I would play with it.  It wasn’t until I took astronomy in high school that I learned a term for this phenomenon—parallax—and that it enabled telescopes to see deeply into space and establish distances. 

When I got older than that, I realized that there can also be spiritual parallax between individuals because of difference of perspective.  We may look at the same events and see things differently.

I think “looking forward with one eye” expresses the prophet’s hope that we can come to unity by adopting the Lord’s perspective.  Remembering the plan of salvation helps us see with a more eternal perspective, so that’s part of how the Lord sees things.  We learn to see with one eye when we teach and learn correct principles and pattern our lives after them.  I think we also learn to see with one eye when we learn how principles that seem to oppose actually mesh and interplay and balance each other—prophetic authority with personal revelation, foreordination with agency, justice with mercy, self-reliance with dependence on God and interdependence with others.

Do you have an additional thoughts or associations with these phrases that you can share?

Thoughts on the Great Intercessory Prayer in John 17

I’m not sure why the prayer Jesus prayed in John 17 is called The Intercessory Prayer.  He doesn’t seem to be interceding as I tend to think of intercession.  One dictionary says intercede means “to ask or plead in behalf of another, to interfere in order to bring about agreement,” but to me that has a connotation that two parties are at odds and the interceder is pleading for them to get back together.  Somehow I’ve had the idea that when Jesus intercedes for us, it only means He pleads for us to be forgiven of our sins.  However, I noticed that is not what happens in the Intercessory Prayer.  What really happens?

1.     Jesus reports on how He has used His life so far to glorify the Father, to manifest the Father, to give out the Father’s words, and to keep those the Father gave Him.

2.     Jesus asks to be glorified.

3.     Jesus asks that the Father keep His disciples from the evil.

4.     Jesus asks that the disciples have His joy fulfilled in themselves.

5.     Jesus asks that the disciples be sanctified through the word of truth.

6.     Jesus prays for all those who believe in Christ, that they be one as the Godhead is one and that they may be made perfect in one.

7.     Jesus prays that those given Him may be with Him where He is and behold His glory.

So Jesus isn’t really advocating for forgiveness of His disciples, which implies they have already achieved that.  He asks for His disciples to have joy, to be sanctified, to be one, to be made perfect, to be where He is.  It seems like these are gifts Jesus would want all of us to have once we achieve forgiveness and it is possible that they are part of what it means to be Christ-like.

Something I notice is odd about this chapter is that Jesus speaks of glorification and His glory and even giving glory to His disciples.  The language is very similar to that of the great Nephite prayer party in 3 Nephi 19 but while 3 Nephi 19 records the whiteness of Jesus and the whiteness of the disciples as they prayed and how they shone like Jesus, in John 17 there is no description of anything happening as He prayed.  (It may be that nothing happened, or it may be that there is no account of what happened preserved.) 

Here are some questions I had:

• What are we to learn about Jesus based upon the inclusion of this prayer?
• What are we to learn about prayer from reading this account?
• What are we to do based on what we learn?

So I went looking for the answers.

What are we to learn about Jesus based on His prayer?

Jesus had glory with the Father before the world was (v5)

Jesus was sent from God (v3) into the world (v18)

He was not of the world (v14)

He has power over all flesh to give eternal life (v2)

Jesus knew the Father (v25)

Jesus manifested the name of the Father to those given Him (v6)

Jesus gave His disciples the words the Father gave Jesus (v8)

Jesus considered every disciple to be a gift Father gave Him. (v6)

He kept the disciples in the Father’s name (v12)

He sent His disciples into the world (v18) and prayed they would be kept from the evil (v15)

Jesus glorified the Father (v4)

Jesus sanctified Himself for His disciples’ sakes (v19) so they could be sanctified.

Jesus was one with the Father (v11)

He finished the work given him (v4)

He knew He was going to the Father (v11)

What are we to learn about prayer based on this prayer?

We can share principles that we know

We can report on our progress in life

We can report on the progress of those we have charge of

We can ask that others can have an improved relationship with God

We can acknowledge the ownership of God

We can speak about future events we anticipate

We can acknowledge the difficulties that others face

We can pray for things

We say what we are not praying for

We can speak about our motives for what we do and have done

We can pray for others to receive and enjoy what we have received and enjoy

We can pray for others to receive a testimony

What are we to do based on what we learn from Jesus’s prayer?

Learn to know God and Jesus Christ to receive eternal life (v3)

Receive the words from the Father, know surely that Christ came from the Father, believe that the Father sent Christ (v8)

Become one with the disciples of Christ (v11)

Keep from the evil while in the world (v15)

Become sanctified through the truth from the Father (v17)

Become one with the Godhead as a testimony to the world(v21)

Be made perfect in unity (v23) so the world knows that Christ was sent by the Father and the Father loves us just as He loved Christ.

What other principles are we to learn from Jesus’s prayer?

The Father’s words are truth that sanctify. (v17)  The assumption is that those words move us to act righteously, which will sanctify.

Jesus’ words bring joy to us while we’re in the world (v13) and not just any joy, but the same joy Jesus feels

Declaring the Father to others brings the love of the Father to us and brings others to Christ. (25)

The world hates those not of the world, and we should love those not of the world (v14)

Jesus wants us to be kept from the evil of the world and prays for that. (v15) This is also something we can pray for ourselves and others.

Jesus wants us who believe in Him to be one so that the world may know of Christ’s divinity and mission thereby. (v21)

Oneness in Christ brings perfection and indicates the Father’s love. (v23)

Jesus wants us to be with Him and see His glory. (v24)

Considering that a Jesus Seminar argued that John 17 was not authentic and was inserted later, 3 Nephi 19 shows us that the prayer is authentic and is just the kind of thing Jesus would do. 

And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. (John 17:19)

We may ask ourselves, in what sense did Christ have to sanctify Himself?  We believe that He was perfect and always made right choices, so we wonder why He had to sanctify Himself.  If He had to sanctify Himself, that implies that at some point He had not been sanctified yet, which seems unthinkable.

However, I realized that it is possible for a person to be innocent without being holy.  Innocent can mean devoid of guilt, but it can also mean devoid of righteousness too.  A person may be innocent before He makes a choice and afterward he or she may be either guilty or righteous, depending on what choice they made.  So it seems to me that Jesus’ process of sanctifying Himself consisted of making good choices consistently.  (Any other thoughts on this?)

Thoughts on Oneness

The New Testament Seminary Student Manual on John 17 had a case study that I felt clarified the issue of why Jesus wanted His disciples to achieve oneness or unity with Himself and the Father:

Imagine that you have moved to a new city. After several months you receive a letter from one of your closest friends. This person has new friends and is participating in inappropriate activities. List at least two ideas from the Savior’s prayer in John 17:11-17 that you could include in your own prayers for your friend. Explain how they could help your friend.

This question highlighted for me how much the Savior wanted His disciples to be kept safe from evil.  It also caused me to realize how Christ wanted His relationship with His disciples to not be adversely affected by separation. He didn’t want the disciples to grow apart from Him, but to be one with Him.  There is something extraordinary about this.  We all have had friends we’ve been separated from by moves and circumstances, whom, when we meet again, we want to be emotionally close to again and wish to pick up where we left off, but in the time apart we find change and growth occurs and the relationship is necessarily a little different.  And yet Christ prays for oneness, for His disciples to be one with Him, for all those who believe in Christ to be one with each other and one with Him and one with the Father.

It’s a good thing the Intercessory Prayer was written down.  It is so chock full of glorious possibilities and loving nuggets that I have to pore over it over and over again to even begin to feel like I am getting it.  I tried watching the church’s Bible video of the Intercessory Prayer and I cried like a baby after only two sentences had been prayed, but I also feel like most of it went over my head while listening.  Reading it over and over and then writing about it seems to help my comprehension more.

The thing that I think is neat is as Christ prayed for His disciples to be one, we in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints get to see this fulfilled.  We see the unity of the church in belief and love. 

Here’s a little experience with prayer we’ve had recently that I wanted to share:

            A few weeks ago Devon told me that his nonmember coworker Guy has been really worried about his wife. Guy's wife has cancer but has been in complete denial about it for years. She thinks that the doctors don't know what is really wrong with her and she persisted in trying to use herbs and natural remedies to heal.  She also stipulated that her doctors were not to tell Guy how much longer they estimated that she had yet to live. (Yeesh!)

            I've met Guy and his wife. I was in a pottery class with them something like 2 years ago, so this cancer thing has been going on for a loooong time.  Guy is a really cheerful and upbeat kind of person; his eyes are bright, his attitude is positive, he keeps himself busy at home on repair projects fixing up scooters and such. His wife seemed kind of down and quiet. I suppose she has a lot of pain to cope with.

            Anyway, as I said, Guy told Devon about being worried about his wife and not being able to know how long she had yet to live. At this point her cancer has metastasized, meaning it has spread further to other places. Devon told Guy that we would pray for him and his wife.  So we did pray for a few days. We prayed for Guy and his wife that they would have help in their difficult time. I think we didn’t quite know what to pray for, but we did ask for them to be blessed.

            Yesterday Devon told me that Guy had thanked him for his prayers. It seems that Guy's wife has suddenly decided that she would submit to go through chemotherapy treatments and the doctors have told Guy that with chemo, her life expectancy will increase from 3 months to 5 years.

            Wow! IT'S A MIRACLE!  After so many years of being in denial about having cancer at all, she has accepted that she has it. After so many years of refusing to be treated, she has decided to undergo treatment.  After refusing to let her husband know of her life expectancy, she has decided to allow it.

That is the power of prayer.  I don’t think that Heavenly Father forced her change.  Rather, I think He helped her to accept her condition and helped her to decide to accept medical intervention. 

This is been a helpful lesson to me.  It has shown me that if I struggle to accept some bit of truth that requires me to act with courage, I can ask for Heavenly Father’s help.  If I am fearful of taking action, I can ask for Heavenly Father’s help to do it. 

Jesus’ reasons for washing his disciples feet: KJV versus JST

I found the account in John of Jesus washing the disciples feet to have some interesting features in the JST as compared to the KJV.

KJV:

4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.

 5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

 6 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?

 7 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.

 8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.

 9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

 10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.  (John 13:4-10)

JST:

8 Peter saith unto him, Thou needest not to wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.

 9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

 10 Jesus saith to him, He that has washed his hands and his head, needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit; and ye are clean, but not all. Now this was the custom of the Jews under their law; wherefore, Jesus did this that the law might be fulfilled.  (JST John 13:8-10)

In the KJV, Peter seems extra stubborn and uncharacteristically rebellious, saying,” Thou shalt never wash my feet.”  His tone is more like what we would imagine Judas Iscariot having.  But the JST substantially softens Peter’s words, showing us that he may have been more concerned about the utility of the act.  Perhaps Peter’s feet had already been washed and a second washing seemed superfluous. 

Also, in the KJV, Jesus’s words, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me” seem petulant, but with Peter’s words moderated, Jesus’s words, though unchanged, seem more explanatory about how the washing brings them together in unity.  If not washing Peter’s feet means Peter has no part with Christ, then washing Peter’s feet means Peter does have part with Christ. (Part with Christ in what manner?)

In the KJV, Jesus says “He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit..”  in the JST, however, Jesus says, “He that has washed his hands and his head, needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit..”  This is interesting; first Peter thinks his feet are already washed and then Jesus insists they aren’t, and when Peter thinks his hands and head need washing, Jesus says they are already washed.  This is a good indication that Jesus is speaking symbolically instead of literally.  I think perhaps having head and hands clean symbolized pure thoughts and pure works, and washing one’s feet symbolized pure direction and goals, corresponding to the Lord's work to bring about the immortality and eternal life of man. 

It must have been comforting to hear Jesus say, “ye are clean, but not all,” about Peter’s progress to that point.  He was clean but not perfect.  I suppose that when we are trying to live the gospel, keep the commandments, and repent of our sins, that would be Jesus’s message to us too.  It would lift our sights higher and build desire in us to be further purified.

The JST also tells us that the washing of the feet was a requirement of Jewish law and that Jesus was fulfilling that law.  This made me curious, and I looked up on the internet to see what the feet washing requirements were in the Jewish law, but I didn’t find anything that required it in conjunction with the Passover.  However, I read in the Jewish Encyclopedia on washing that feet washing was part of more extensive cleansing requirements of the high priests to perform after sending off the scapegoat, and the same extensive cleansing (including feet washing) was required of the one who was to lead away the scapegoat.   It is possible that Jesus was cleansing the disciples in the context of the Day of Atonement, in anticipation of being led away by one a disciple who would betray him to be crucified.   Also, washing of hands and feet were to be done by those who wished to perform priestly duties, or washing of feet might be a simple gesture according to the law of hospitality to travelers.   Whatever it means, it seems the Joseph Smith Translation restored knowledge of yet another way Jesus fulfilled the law during his mortal ministry, even if we don’t have knowledge of what exactly that law was.  While we perhaps don’t need to know what that law was, our dispensation receives greater benefit from the instructions Jesus gave to cleanse the head, hands, and feet (thoughts, deeds, and goals) so that we can have part with Him.

We cannot say, “I have no need of you”

21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: (1 Cor. 12:21-22)

I’m glad Paul took the trouble to explain this about the body of the church because it helps me consider my own ignorance about my fellow Saints.

I recall in my previous ward there was an aged sister and her husband who, when they were called on in church classes, tended to make comments unrelated or only tangentially associated to the topic of discussion.  The husband in particular seemed to like bringing up screwy quotations by Brigham Young in a way that often subverted rather than supported the points the teacher was trying to make.  I remember this brother bearing testimony on three separate fast Sundays that the Savior fell down three times in the garden of Gethsemane.  He placed a special emphasis on the falls and the number of falls that I couldn’t understand. (Even more puzzling was that it never says in scripture that Christ fell three times..)  His wife would bear emotional testimony in a wandering sort of way, working in her profound grief over her grandchildren living half the world away from her.  As a writer interested in skillful crafting of prose, I was often embarrassed for them.  Sometimes I had to stop listening, but other times I just tried to understand the feeling they were trying to express.  Later, much became clear to me when this sister was put in a nursing home with dementia because her husband was too feeble and fall-prone to take care of her himself.

I think of this couple when I read the above verses, and I’ve often pondered in what way they were necessary to our ward if their discourse wasn’t linear or profound.

Eventually I realized that they set a great example of love of family and love of the gospel, especially in old age.  They presented a stalwart picture of what it means to endure to the end.  Even as her mental faculties degenerated, her commitment shone through.  Even as his legs weakened and his balance wavered, his dedication was rock solid.  Their testimonies might wander or seem impenetrable, but they still felt and recognized the Spirit, then stood to bear witness in the best way they could.  Not only that, their weaknesses became an opportunity for our ward to be charitable, to be saintly, to bear with them.  I didn’t hear anyone express scorn, unkindness, or impatience toward them, not even raillery, whether public or private.  This couple was treated with respect and love just like everybody else.  We were all made better people because they were with us.

If, say, the hand ever says to the foot, “I have no need of thee,” I conclude that the hand doesn’t know what pressure and difficulty the foot labors under.  Neither does the hand recognize what the foot can do and does do for the hand.

How about you?  When have you as a “head” or “eye” learned you needed the “hand” or “foot”? 

What can we learn from scriptural accounts of transfiguration?

In Matt 17:1-9, Jesus was transfigured on the mount.

The incident as recorded in Luke 9:28-29 tells us that Jesus took Peter, James, and John up to the mount to pray and that Jesus was transfigured while He was praying.  We have another witness that prayer is involved in the process in 3 Nephi 19:25 when the Nephite disciples pray and are transfigured just like Jesus.

I looked at other incidents of transfiguration in the Topical Guide and it seems transfiguration may occur after intense spiritual experiences.  Moses’s face shone after having talked with God in the tabernacle or on the mount.  (Ex. 34:29)  (Evidently it also happens during those experiences too so that mortal men may endure the glory of God, e.g. Moses, Enoch, etc.)

Other times transfiguration happens when people are standing as witnesses in very difficult circumstances.  Abinadi was transfigured when preaching to King Noah and the wicked priests (see Mosiah 13:5).  Stephen was transfigured when preaching to the Jewish council that later stoned him (see Acts 6:15).

Other times, heavenly fire is involved as a protection as when Lehi and Nephi were in the Lamanite prison and fire surrounding them prevented them from being taken and killed (see Helaman 5:23).  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were given power to stand unharmed in fire, which likely required their transfiguration (see Daniel 3:23-25).

When the twelve Nephite disciples were baptized, they were filled with the Holy Ghost and fire, and they were encircled about with fire that came down from heaven (see 3 Nephi 19:14).

What difference does it make to know of the transfiguration of Christ on the mount with Moses and Elijah?  I think His transfiguration was a sign to Peter, James, and John that Jesus was at the very least as good as Moses and Elias (Elijah), who both had been translated so as to not see death.  (Also the words of God the Father “This is my beloved Son: hear him” (Luke 9:35) showed that Jesus was above Moses and Elias.  The witness of God the Father of Jesus’s approved Sonship was the best witness one could ever have, and Peter later spoke of it so in 2 Peter 1:16-19)

What does this mean for us to know about transfiguration?  Is it only something to read about that we may never experience ourselves?  Actually, I think that we may attain to it ourselves, and I’ll show you some verses that suggest this. 

After the twelve Nephite disciples are transfigured, Jesus prays thus:

28 Father, I thank thee that thou hast purified those whom I have chosen, because of their faith, and I pray for them, and also for them who shall believe on their words, that they may be purified in me, through faith on their words, even as they are purified in me.

 29 Father, I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me out of the world, because of their faith, that they may be purified in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one, that I may be glorified in them. (3 Nephi 19:28-29)

From these verses it seems that transfiguration has something to do with being purified and it happens through strong faith.  We also see that Jesus wanted more people to experience this purification.  It may be that this purification and transfiguration are inseparably connected and that to have the one is to experience the other.  Jesus seems to speak of them so.

I also notice that Jesus asks that all those the Father has given him out of the world may be purified this way.  This shows that there is a difference of spiritual status between being “given to Jesus out of the world” and being purified in the way Jesus speaks of.  It also teaches us that it is something that Jesus wants for all his followers in all ages of the world.

I also just realized something about that request “that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one, that I may be glorified in them” (v29).  I think this tells us how Jesus sees the glowing part of transfiguration.  He considers it to be a manifestation of Himself in someone, as a time when the manifestation of Himself is glorified or manifests glory.  It’s a time when the righteousness of the spirit literally shines through the tabernacle of clay.

If we were to use a scientific metaphor for this, perhaps the body of sin is like a darkened window and the spirit can’t shine through the body of sin.  But if the body is purified, somehow the opaqueness transforms into translucence and the spirit shines through.

How do we achieve this?  We have several clues given us. 

1.     Be purified.

2.     Faith in Christ

3.     Oneness with Christ

4.     Already given to Jesus out of the world

Transfiguration is a cool thing to talk about, and it is neat to think that we can experience it ourselves, but I think too often we may approach it from the less mature perspective of just wanting to glow because “glowing = awesome,” instead of from the more mature perspective of truly desiring the spiritual qualities that are required.  For instance, how many of us really want purification, faith in Christ, oneness with Christ, and to be given to Christ out of the world just for its own sake?  I personally don’t think I understand those four things with the depth that I should.   

Looked at it another way, if the only benefit from transfiguration is that your body glows, then it isn’t necessarily one that you can fully enjoy because you can’t fully see yourself.  To glow would be to bless others more than yourself.  This makes me think there has to be more to it, there has to be spiritual blessings from transfiguration that are felt much more than seen and that the visible shining of transfiguration is only a small part of the experience.

I believe that experience is within reach for each of us.  I also believe Jesus wants us to have it; if He prayed for all those the Father gave Him out of the world to have it and not just those who were in His presence, then He wants us to seek for it too.  I think the first steps are praying sincerely to be purified in Christ, praying for Christ to be in us and one with us as He is one with the Father, and praying that Christ be glorified in us.  I sense that our efforts can't be of the fleeting and perfunctory type.

Who knows what marvels it may lead to?