Religious - Symbology - Part 3

Temple worship has often been called and is certainly thought of in the church today as the highest form of worship. Everything about the temple is there to point the way back to God. Every act, the building itself, the process of preparing to go to the temple and most importantly the work that goes on there is meant to teach us.

Judeo-christian Religious rites over the years have focused on basically one thing. The need for a Saviour and his mission on earth. From the sacrifices made in ancient times that represented the sacrifice which the savior would make, to the last supper which represented the sacrifice made. The temple is no different.

We must prepare ourselves to enter by living certain standards. Many have found this unfair, but in a very real way it is part of the symbolism meant to teach us. We must prepare to meet God, so before we symbolically go to seek Him in the temple we to must prepare ourselves. We obtain a recommend to go. This again gives us a chance to give an accounting of our deeds and in a way is symbolic of the final judgement before entering the kingdom of God.

Then we enter the temple. Every aspect of the building itself is to lift us higher and make us feel as though we have entered a place apart from the world. They are lit as a light to the world. The ceremonies are symbolic re-enactments of our journey through this world and back into God's presence. We are symbolically clothed in power and taught, symbolizing how in life we seek wisdom and knowledge from God.

What makes temple work the most sublime of all work is that the work is service. We help those that cannot help themselves as the Saviour helps us. Not that we do the work of the Saviour, but just as those beyond the veil cannot do this work for themselves, neither can we bridge the gap between sin and death and make it back to God without a Saviour. By doing this work, we are not only doing the Lord's work, but we are reminded that we must have a Saviour.

Thus, the work we do in the temple today, is symbolic of our need for a Saviour and our journey back to God. Though the acts may have changed from ancient times, the message is still the same. The symbolism of the temple should help us draw closer to God. We must learn to see beyond the mechanics and into the principles they represent.

Religious - Symbology - Part 2

The LDS temple is often one of the most misunderstood complex symbols of the LDS faith, by both believer and non-believer. Often non-believers will balk at the complex symbolism contained therein and find what goes on there strange. Believers will often take things more literally then they probably should be taken.

Temple service and ritual is nothing new. It is a representation of returning to the presence of God connecting with the unseen spiritual world to which we want to return. In truth the modern temple is no different. It is built palatial, representing the kingdom of God. Every aspect of temple worship and preparation to enter the temple and even the temple itself, symbolize our journey back to God. it is meant to teach and uplift, to be a place apart from the world and close to God.

This post nor future posts will deal with the specifics of what goes on there. It is meant only to demystify some of the symbolism. When you realize that everything connected with the temple is symbolic then it really doesn't feel so strange. The mechanics of the temple are most likely a more modern construct, designed to teach a people through ceremony and repetition. While based upon ancient principles, the ceremonies themselves were designed to teach the people in the early church in ways they could understand. It is much like the parables of Jesus. He taught the people through stories containing symbols in their everyday life.

Many connections have been drawn between the Masonic rights and the temple ceremony. While I am no expert on the subject, I have read enough to postulate a couple of ideas related to this. First, Masonry was widely practiced at the time. It is symbols that the early members of the church could understand and relate to. Second, it was widely believed, though later proven wrong, that the masonic rights were started at Solomons temple. Their origins cannot be traced back that far and they are thought to only be a few hundred years old rather than thousands. It makes perfect sense to me that they might form part of the framework for the modern temple ceremonies.

Some people, however, are rather uncomfortable with this idea that the modern temple ceremony has not always been around. Well, in truth, it probably has taken many forms over the millenia. The principles are eternal, and this is simply one very beautiful way to teach them. The third and final part of this series will deal with some of the principles and symbolism surrounding temple worship.

Religious - Symbology - Part 1

Religion is full of symbols. Most people realize this, but some don't realize to what extent. Even actual events or people and their acts can be symbolic. The stories of creation found throughout the world are a great example. First they symbolize our creation by a supreme being and second they usually contain elements about how we should live our life. Creation stories are found in almost every culture throughout the world.

The Christian world believes in the symbolism of Jesus Christ. As I said, symbols do not have to be made up and can be based on real events. Christ's role as an example, teacher, neighbor and most importantly a Savior are import teaching tools to bring us happiness. While Christians consider the events to be real, the real power is in their ability to teach us how to be better and to give us hope.

We come to Christ through Baptism, which is symbolic of burying our old sinful life and rising anew in Christ. This event is then celebrated through the Sacrament or Eucharist. In the LDS tradition, we partake of the Sacrament almost every week. It sometimes goes un-noticed the symbolism of the event because we see it every week. The body and blood (water) of Christ are prepared as though for burial. We are passed the emblems of his body and blood symbolic of the gift of salvation he has given to us. But even more symbolic is that it is given to us, we do not take it of ourselves. We renew our promises made at baptism and lay or "sacrifice" our sins symbolically upon the altar of the sacrament. They are covered and buried with Christ, symbolizing Christ taking upon himself our sins.

Religious symbols are a part of everyday life, but maybe none so consuming as the symbolism of the LDS temple. Part 2 will discuss this often misunderstood symbol of the LDS faith.

Religious - Conference Thoughts - Part 2

From the talks that I listened to, I noticed a very distinct but subtle difference from past conferences. I also noticed a difference in the tone from the older Apostles to the newer ones. For many years, the church has been criticized for emphasizing works more than grace. There have certainly been enough talks in conference to support this idea. However, I think that it was really a difference in nomenclature. While LDS believe that Christ is the Savior, saving us from sin and death, we also know that we should work on becoming more like our Savior and that our heavenly reward will be based on what we work for. While Christ opened the door or built the bridge, it is up to us to cross it and learn. Many other denominations stop at salvation from Hell, and sometimes LDS folk forget that part. Though we should never forget that as hard as we work, our reward will be given because of the grace and mercy of our Saviour.

I heard several talks this time that seemed to alude to this fact. While some of the old guard talks (not referring to specific people, but to attitudes expressed) seem to leave no room for personal mistakes and growth. Many of the talks one hears now help people to realize that they can accomplish anything with the Lord and that when mistakes are made, there is a way back.

I particularly liked Pres. Uctdorf's and Pres. Eyrings talks from the general sessions. (I haven't listened or read the priesthood session yet. I was getting ready to have family over for dinner.) While they talked about obedience, they also acknowledged the love of God and how it helps us to overcome things.

While we are on the topic of the First Presidency, Pres. Monson's talk was exceptionally brilliant. I think it is the most underrated talk of the conference. It is strikingly significant because it focused on the second greatest commandment, to love our neighbor. As prophet he could have counselled us to improve aspects of our lives and continue to better ourselves. In a way he did, but specifically he taught us to stop thinking of ourselves and to think more about those around us. We must remember that the two commandments on which all of the other "hang" is to love God and love our neighbor. With such wonderful talks this conference, I hope that this one is the one that is most remembered. I think it could have the most profound effect on everyone.