Endowment

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Brother of Jared at the Veil

December 28, 2008 in Religion by Greg | 10 comments

The Brother of Jared at the Veil is an extract of a chapter from the Selected Writings of M. Catherine Thomas. The story of the brother of Jared is found in the book of Ether in the Book of Mormon. Dr. Thomas begins the story this way:

The Brother of Jared Sees the Lord's Finger Pierce the Veil and Touch the Molten Stones The temple is the narrow channel through which one must pass to reenter the Lord’s presence. A mighty power pulls us through that channel, and it is the sealing power of the at-one-ment of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Savior’s at-one-ment is another word for the sealing power. By the power of the at-one-ment, the Lord draws and seals his children to himself in the holy temples.

In scripture we can study how the ancient great ones were drawn through that narrow channel to find their heart’s desire: we find, for example, Adam, cast out, bereft of his Lord’s presence, searching relentlessly in the lonely world until he finds the keys to that passage to the Lord. Abraham searches for his priesthood privileges (see Abraham 1:1) and after a diligent quest exclaims, “Thy servant has sought thee earnestly; now I have found thee” (Abraham 2:12). Moses on Horeb, Lehi at the tree, Nephi on the mountain top—all these men conducted that search which is outlined and empowered in the temple endowment, gradually increasing the hold, the seal, between themselves and their Lord.

This was the very search for which they were put on earth: to rend the veil of unbelief, to yield to the pull of the Savior’s sealing power, to stand in the Lord’s presence, encircled about in the arms of his love (see D&C 6:20; 2 Nephi 1:15). This then is the temple endowment: having been cast out, to search diligently according to the revealed path, and at last to be clasped in the arms of Jesus (see Mormon 5:11).

In particular, I wish to focus briefly on some of the temple elements in the experience of the brother of Jared: (1) the tower of Babel, (2) his period of probation, (3) his experience at the cloud-veil, and (4) some observations on faith and knowledge as revealed in the brother of Jared’s search for the heavenly gift. One can see that these four elements follow a temple pattern: a false religion is offered; a period of probation or trial of faith is provided; and upon obedience, light and knowledge are granted.1

Following “the brother of Jared’s rejection of the spiritual chaos at the tower of Babel” and the “successful navigation of their tests”, these experiences “brought the brother of Jared to the need for more light and thus to the mount Shelem” (see Ether 2 & 3). She continues:

The word shelem has three main Hebrew consonants forming a root word that spans a wide spectrum of meanings: peace, tranquility, contentment, safety, completeness, being sound, finished, full, or perfect. Shelem (and shalom) signify peace with God, especially in the covenant relationship. It also connotes submission to God, which we see in the Arabic words muslim and islam. In particular, shelem has reference to the peace offering of the law of sacrifice, which corresponds to the seeking of fellowship with God,2 and thereby has a relationship to the meanings of the at-one-ment; that is, shelem, fellowship, sealing, and at-one-ment have an obvious relationship. When the brother of Jared carried the stones in his hands to the top of the mount, whether or not a temple peace offering is implied, he sought a closer fellowship or at-one-ment with the Lord. Therefore, the mount is called shelem because of its exceeding height (see Ether 3:1), not because shelem means great height, but rather that it suggests a place that is suitably high for temple activity.

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  1. Thomas, M. Catherine. Selected Writings of M. Catherine Thomas. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 2000. 388-397.↩
  2. Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, Charles A. Briggs. The New Brown, Driver, and Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 1907. 1022-24; also LDS Bible Dictionary, s.v. “Sacrifices,” 767.↩

Temple Experiences

December 23, 2008 in Religion by Greg | No comments

This morning I happened across a post about Karen R. Merkley’s temple experiences that I thought were powerful. Here is what she shared with me:

One night in the temple, I pondered the changes occurring in some of my loved ones lives. Then another thought attached itself to the previous one like a precious string of pearls forming a necklace. The gems were these impressions: Just as your ancestors prepared the way for you to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ by prompting you along the way, you prepared the way for them to receive it fully through family history and temple ordinances. They, in turn, have come back in great beauty and force to teach, instruct, guide our extended families.

Draper Utah Temple

And then came the additional thought: In much the same way, but on a much more significant scale, the Savior prepared the way for us to receive the gospel, and we now have the opportunity to prepare the way for Him through missionary, family history, and temple work–sealing together the human family in preparation for His Second Coming. This pattern is stunning to me.

And these impressions have changed my life.

I have since come to see that family history is synonymous with family healing. The waters of the temple are the waters of life. Those who are faithful are called to work with the Savior in being “repairers of the breach”–or the gaps in the human family caused by sin and error (Isaiah 58:11-12). I testify that we can do this–we can help heal the human family through this glorious work made possible through Christ’s work of proxy for us–his atoning sacrifice. His endowment prepares us for ours and our provision of endowments for others will prepare us to receive the Second Endowment–to see the face of the Lord. It’s better than lobster tail. It’s the fruit off the tree of life itself – white, delicious, sweeter than any other – of that, I bear witness.1

In another post, Karen wrote:

Some wonder about the symbolic nature of the temple ceremony. Those outside the Church often mystify what isn’t mysterious, and sensationalize what isn’t sensational in the worldly way. We learn symbolically. Just as baptism is symbolic of our death to our old selves and a rebirth to a new life in Christ, and as well, of Christ’s resurrection, so, too, is the endowment symbolic of our commitments and our progression as we learn how to enter the Lord’s presence in an instructional venue.

I like what Mormon educator, Truman Madsen, says about the nature of ordinances. Truman acknowledges the blend of thought and feeling that occur in the temple, and says he wishes we had a word for it, like “compre-feel.” In the ordinances, “a symphonic combination of all aspects of the self occurs” (The Highest in Us, p. 39). Ordinances trigger spiritual memories and enable us, endow us with power to carry on here tapping into a reservoir of strength and knowledge that has come with us here and which the Savior has provided through his atoning sacrifice for our sins. This is not a matter of magical mysticism but of the Master’s manner of teaching us in His house.

I love the temple. I recently found one expression of my feelings about the temple ordinances in the scriptures: “More to be desired are they than gold, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb” (Psalms 19:10).

This is only a glimpse into what a temple is. There is much more to come. And there is much that can only be experienced first-hand.2

Sources:

  1. Merkley, Karen R. “Mormon Woman Shares Conversion to LDS Faith”. 22 December 2008. Mormon Bloggers. 23 December 2008.↩
  2. Merkley, Karen R. “Temple Ceremony”. 7 May 2008. Mormon Bloggers. 23 December 2008.↩

Scriptural Meaning of the Word Endowed

December 17, 2008 in Religion by Greg | 4 comments

I found insightful John W. Welch‘s discussion of the scriptural meaning of the word endowed found in a 1993 Ensign article1:

Hebrew Scriptures What is the meaning of the word endued or endowed? In Luke 24:49, shortly after his resurrection, Jesus told his Apostles, “I send the promise of my Father upon you,” but they were to remain in Jerusalem, “until ye be endued with power from on high.” (Emphasis added; see also Acts 1:4–5, 8.) The Greek word in the text is enduo.

Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language (published in 1828) noted that the English word endue (or indue) “coincides nearly in signification with endow, that is, to put on, to furnish, … to put on something; to invest; to clothe.” The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary notes that endue means “to put on as a garment; to clothe or cover.”2 Indeed, Joseph Smith’s diary uses the spellings endument and endowment interchangeably, as when he prayed in December 1835 that all the elders might “receive an endument, in thy house.”3

The Greek word enduo has two main meanings. The first is “to dress, to clothe someone,” or “to clothe oneself in, to put on.” Second, the word can also be used figuratively, meaning to take on “characteristics, virtues, intentions.”4

Thus, the endowment is a dressing not in ordinary clothes, but “with power from on high” (Luke 24:49) and in the virtues and intentions of God. It involves the opportunity to “put on (enedusasthe) Christ” (Galatians 3:27), so that “this mortal [can] put on (endusasthai) immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:53.) It is possible to see both literal and figurative significance in the word enduo in connection with the desire of the pure in heart to be encircled in the robes of God’s righteousness.

Sources:

  1. Welch, John W. “New Testament Word Studies”. April 1993. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 17 December 2008.↩
  2. “Endue”. The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. 2 Vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971. 1:863.↩
  3. Jessee, Dean C. Ed. The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1984. 105.↩
  4. Bauer et al. Greek-English Lexicon. 263.↩

O Jerusalem

December 15, 2008 in Religion by Greg | No comments

In 1855, George A. Smith reflected on the scripture:

O Jerusalem by Greg Olsen O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! (Matthew 23:37).1

After referring to this scripture, Elder Smith taught about the gathering and sanctification of the Lord’s children at sacred places in every gospel dispensation. Although the Lord had attempted to reveal those principles which would exalt his children in each gospel dispensation, he was rarely able to accomplish his divine purposes. Elder Smith lamented:

Let me say, then, that from the foundation of the world, or, in other words, from the fall of man until the period of the declaration of the words of our text, we find plainly illustrated, in the whole history contained in the sacred book, the principle that the Lord wished to reveal unto the children of men things which had been hid from before the foundation of the world, principles which would exalt them to celestial thrones, but they would not, or, which amounts to the same, He could never find a people, could never communicate with a generation or a very numerous body of men that would obey His commandments, listen to His counsel, and observe His wisdom, or be led by His revelations.

The people of Enoch are one of the few groups who prepared themselves to receive these principles.

Some of my friends may think I am doing injustice by these remarks to the Zion of Enoch. I am aware that the Lord did in the days of Enoch gather together enough of the inhabitants of the earth to build a city, but in consequence of the rebellion, the wickedness, and oppression of the great mass of mankind, He could not save that city from destruction, only by taking it unto His own bosom; hence went forth the saying of old, “Zion is fled.” So far as revealed records show, that is the nearest He ever came to the point of accomplishing the end of His undertaking, touching the redemption of the human family, up to the days of the Savior.

Preparation for the Endowment

Elder Smith then went on to discuss the purpose of gathering and the Lord’s attempt to reveal these things in the present dispensation:

Among the first principles that were revealed to the children of men in the last days was the gathering; the first revelations that were given to the Church were to command them to gather, and send Elders to seek out a place for the gathering of the Saints. What is the gathering for? Why was it that the Savior wished the children of Israel to gather together? It was that they might become united and provide a place wherein he could reveal unto them keys which have been hid from before the foundation of the world; that he could unfold unto them the laws of exaltation, and make them a kingdom of Priests, even the whole people, and exalt them to thrones and dominions in the celestial world.

Kirtland Temple ca 1900 For this purpose, in 1833, the Saints commenced to build a Temple in Kirtland, the cost of which was not less than one hundred thousand dollars. A mere handful of Saints commenced that work, but they were full of faith and energy, and willing, as they supposed, to sacrifice everything for the building up of Zion. In a few weeks some of them apostatized; the trials were too great, the troubles were too severe. I know persons who apostatized because they supposed they had reasons; for instance, a certain family, after having travelled a long journey, arrived in Kirtland, and the prophet asked them to stop with him until they could find a place. Sister Emma, in the mean time, asked the old lady if she would have a cup of tea to refresh her after the fatigues of the journey, or a cup of coffee. This whole family apostatized because they were invited to take a cup of tea or coffee, after the Word of Wisdom was given.

Another family, about the same time, apostatized because Joseph Smith came down out of the translating room, where he had been translating by the gift and power of God, and commenced playing with his little children. Some such trials as these, you know, had to be encountered.

I recollect a gentleman who came from Canada, and who had been a Methodist, and had always been in the habit of praying to a God who had no ears, and as a matter of course had to shout and halloo pretty loud to make him hear. Father Johnson asked him to pray in their family worship in the evening, and he got on such a high key, and hallooed so loud that he alarmed the whole village. Among others, Joseph came running out, saying, “What is the matter? I thought by the noise that the heavens and the earth were coming together,” and said to the man, “that he ought not to give way to such an enthusiastic spirit, and bray so much like a jackass.” Because Joseph said that, the poor man put back to Canada, and apostatized; he thought he would not pray to a God who did not want to be screamed at with all one’s might.

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  1. Smith, George A. Journal of Discourses. 2:211-220.↩

Holy Ghost

September 7, 2008 in Religion by Greg | No comments

Lorenzo Snow Lorenzo Snow described his experience in receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost as being filled with joy and happiness and “a tangible immersion in the heavenly principle or element.”

Centuries ago Jesus taught Nicodemus, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5-6).

Lorenzo Snow sought the fulfillment of this promise and later wrote:

I was baptized by Elder John Boynton, then one of the Twelve Apostles, June, 1836, in Kirtland, Ohio. Previous to accepting the ordinance of baptism, in my investigations of the principles taught by the Latter-day Saints, which I proved, by comparison, to be the same as those mentioned in the New Testament taught by Christ and His Apostles, I was thoroughly convinced that obedience to those principles would impart miraculous powers, manifestations and revelations. With sanguine expectation of this result, I received baptism and the ordinance of laying on of hands by one who professed to have divine authority; and, having thus yielded obedience to these ordinances, I was in constant expectation of the fulfillment of the promise of the reception of the Holy Ghost.

The manifestation did not immediately follow my baptism, as I had expected, but, although the time was deferred, when I did receive it, its realization was more perfect, tangible and miraculous than even my strongest hopes had led me to anticipate.

Some two or three weeks after I was baptized, one day while engaged in my studies, I began to reflect upon the fact that I had not obtained a knowledge of the truth of the work—that I had not realized the fulfillment of the promise “he that doeth my will shall know of the doctrine,” and I began to feel very uneasy. I laid aside my books, left the house, and wandered around through the fields under the oppressive influence of a gloomy, disconsolate spirit, while an indescribable cloud of darkness seemed to envelop me. I had been accustomed, at the close of the day, to retire for secret prayer, to a grove a short distance from my lodgings, but at this time I felt no inclination to do so. The spirit of prayer had departed and the heavens seemed like brass over my head. At length, realizing that the usual time had come for secret prayer, I concluded I would not forego my evening service, and, as a matter of formality, knelt as I was in the habit of doing, and in my accustomed retired place, but not feeling as I was wont to feel.

I had no sooner opened my lips in an effort to pray, than I heard a sound, just above my head, like the rustling of silken robes, and immediately the Spirit of God descended upon me, completely enveloping my whole person, filling me, from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet, and O, the joy and happiness I felt! No language can describe the almost instantaneous transition from a dense cloud of mental and spiritual darkness into a refulgence of light and knowledge, as it was at that time imparted to my understanding. I then received a perfect knowledge that God lives, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and of the restoration of the holy Priesthood, and the fullness of the Gospel. It was a complete baptism—a tangible immersion in the heavenly principle or element, the Holy Ghost; and even more real and physical in its effects upon every part of my system than the immersion by water; dispelling forever, so long as reason and memory last, all possibility of doubt or fear in relation to the fact handed down to us historically, that the “Babe of Bethlehem” is truly the Son of God; also the fact that he is now being revealed to the children of men, and communicating knowledge, the same as in the Apostolic times. I was perfectly satisfied, as well I might be, for my expectations were more than realized, I think I may safely say in an infinite degree.

I cannot tell how long I remained in the full flow of the blissful enjoyment and divine enlightenment, but it was several minutes before the celestial element which filled and surrounded me began gradually to withdraw. On arising from my kneeling posture, with my heart swelling with gratitude to God, beyond the power of expression, I felt—I knew that He had conferred on me what only an omnipotent being can confer—that which is of greater value than all the wealth and honors worlds can bestow. That night, as I retired to rest, the same wonderful manifestations were repeated, and continued to be for several successive nights. The sweet remembrance of those glorious experiences, from that time to the present, bring them fresh before me, imparting an inspiring influence which pervades my whole being, and I trust will to the close of my earthly existence.1

Sources:

  1. Snow, Eliza R. Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow. Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1884. 7-9. Wikimedia Book Search. Retrieved September 7, 2008.↩

A Vision of the Presence of God

August 11, 2008 in Religion by Greg | No comments

John W. Taylor This vision of the presence of Almighty God, wherein he held fast to the stump of a tree and was almost consumed, was recounted by Elder John W. Taylor:

The Lord has no favorites on this earth. It makes no difference to Him whether we wear poor or rich clothes. He will not judge us as men judge. No man can enter into His presence excepting he be worthy.

I saw a vision. I saw the sons and daughters of God going into His presence. Some approached nearer to Him than others. Some were driven back a long distance from His presence; and all things were adjusted. And I saw myself holding to the stump of a tree trying to stand in the presence of Almighty God. I was almost consumed and was not worthy to stand in His presence.

I know that if I keep not the commandments of God, I will be damned; but I know that if I will keep the commandments of God, I will be saved and exalted in His kingdom with the righteous. Do not be discouraged. If you will do what is right, the Spirit of God will be with you.1

Sources:

  1. 1. Taylor, John W. Collected Discourses. 20 March 1892: Vol. 3.↩

Was Christ Redeemed with Five Shekels of Silver?

August 8, 2008 in Religion by Greg | No comments

It is unlikely Christ was redeemed for five shekels of silver. The ceremony for the redemption of the firstborn son for five shekels of silver is called the Pidyon HaBen and hearkens back to ancient biblical practices.1 Pidyon HaBen means “redemption of the son” whereby “a firstborn son is redeemed from a Kohen in order to release him from his obligation to serve in the Temple”.

In William J. Hamblin’s recent interview of Margaret Barker, she pointed out that Christ was the “unredeemed sacrifice” because the New Testament record is silent about this ceremony when Jesus was presented to the Lord at the temple (see Luke 2:22-39).

YouTube Preview Image

Of course this fact is significant for a number of reasons. For one, the Savior said “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:17-18).

If Jesus fulfilled the law, and assuming Joseph and Mary did not pay the redemption money to the priest, the Savior’s ministry in relationship to the priesthood and the temple takes on added significance.

Perhaps Paul had reference to these things when he wrote to the Hebrews, “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession” (Hebrews 4:14).

Notes:

  1. See for example, Berrol, Ronn. Coinage for Redeeming the First Born: An Ancient and Modern Jewish Ritual. John Jencek Ancient Coins & Antiquities. 8 Aug 2008.↩