Tender Mercies

When we use a word or phrase often enough, it begins to lose its meaning. As a child, I remember watching a children's edutainment television program. There was a song about shadows, and by the time it was over, the word "shadow" had lost its meaning in my head. I think there are many terms repeated so often in the context of Church that they lose their meaning to a certain extent. "Tender mercies of the Lord" is one of those endangered phrases.

Lehi finds himself in "a dark and dreary waste." Even though this was a dream, I still feel bad for him. This morning I had a dream that a funnel cloud formed above my home town, and was rapidly bearing down on me and extended family members visiting my uncle's house. It was terrifying, and I am glad I could wake up and console myself that it was a dream. Lehi's dream goes on for hours. After hours of traveling in this empty telestial wasteland, he begins to beg the Lord for help.

"And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies" (1Ne. 8:8).

Elder Bednar's talk about tender mercies solidified the definition of the phrase as a reference to miraculous events that you recognize as deliberate assistance or communication from the Lord, but might be missed or dismissed as coincidence by others. I was in a depression as a teenager, and as I sat on the floor of my bedroom with tears leaking onto my cheeks, I saw a book on my desk. I felt prompted to pick it up and turn to a certain page number, 231 or something like that. It was about psychology. I had never read the book before, but as I opened to the specific page number, I looked at the chapter heading at the top of the page: Depression. I did not even read what was in the paragraphs below the heading; it was a sign to me that God was aware of my situation, and cared about me. This was a tender mercy. As Lehi indicates, the Lord possesses a multitude of them.

To help put some verve and meaning back into those dilapidated words, we can start defining them.

Tender

Tenderness denotes awareness of the fragile nature of something valuable, and the application of gentleness in response to its fragility. It implies kindness and affection, both in actions and feelings. The word translated as "jealous" in the ten commandments (I the Lord thy God am a jealous God) is the Hebrew qannah, meaning "possessing deep and sensitive feelings." Nurturing and care are also implied by tenderness. Green shoots from newly planted seeds require tender care because they are fragile, and they receive it because they are beloved and prized.

Mercy

Mercy is some leniency or pardon from difficulty given to someone who has not earned it. To forgive a debt is mercy. Blessings are the result of obedience (D&C 130:20-21). Mercy is not merit-based. (True, repentance usually precedes mercy, but that simply means confessing wrongs and pledging not to do them again. Attempts to right the wrongs, "restitution," are almost always inadequate, or impossible.) Most people who experience mercy, the removal of some physical or emotional burden, erupt with joy, humility, and gratitude. Lehi was commanded to follow a "man" in a "white robe." He was obeying, and he found himself in a dreary waste as a result. He did not pray for blessings; he prayed instead for tender (kind, gentle) mercy (undeserved relief, liberation) from the Lord. This pattern of following the commandments, and begging the Lord for a way to make resulting difficulties livable, is familiar in my life. I am faring far better than I deserve to.

The Willie and Martin handcart companies told amazing stories of tender mercies shown to them as they moved through their own dreary wasteland of pre-railroad North America. Miracles occurred along the way to help them reach Zion. Food appeared out of nowhere, or was given by strange messengers. The effect was more than survival; it confirmed the faith of those who experienced these events. My situation did not change when I opened the book to a seemingly random page number that entered my head; my faith that God was aware of me was strengthened. It is a strange two-edged sword to not be delivered, yet know that God is watching you. You know that He could deliver you if He wanted, but He does not. That means that He actually approves of what you are going through. It is not pointless suffering, but part of the test of your life.

Everyone with any faith has stories like this they could tell, of things working out just right, of heroic rescuers showing up in the nick of time, of the confluence of materials arriving to meet needs out of nowhere. These kinds of experiences are sweet and desirable, and a result of genuine interaction between God and His children. I hope we do not casually blurt out "tendermercies," but try to keep the meaning of the words alive and special in our mouths and minds.

General Conference: A Few Thoughts

General Conference has always been an exciting time for me. As a child, it was exciting because I did not have to go to Church on Sunday. At some point, though, I came to love Conference itself, rather than loving it for displacing a chore.

Attending Church once every six months in my pajamas, sitting in front of the television with my family and a bowl of cereal, was a welcomed change from the normal routine of getting dressed up for three hours. True, five two-hour sessions of conference in the course of two days was a marathon for a boy, but I felt free to doze off, assuring myself that I would watch, listen to, or read what I had missed "later." Sometimes I did, sometimes I did not.

As I got older and began attending Priesthood Session, the tradition of inviting extended family to the home on Saturday night developed. Cousins attending college nearby would drop into the home, relatives attending the Conference would come from far and wide. We would eat a finger-food meal on disposable dishes, discussing the talks we had heard that day. Conversations lasting into the wee hours of the next day often ensued, and I remember one such night when priesthood blessings were given by uncles to nephews. It was very dear to me, sacred. Traditions added spice

What would Jesus' original Church have looked like if it had not been swallowed up in a universal apostasy? You can hear the fabric of the Church tearing in the background of Paul's epistles as he frantically tries to correct false doctrines creeping into the Church. If he could have turned his epistles into world-wide satellite broadcasts, or internet transmissions, I feel certain he would have done so.

Before the saints were driven from Nauvoo, Joseph Smith proposed building a tabernacle, a large oval tent meant to seat eight thousand people. It was meant to sit right in front of the Nauvoo Temple. The canvas was purchased, but never used for the tent—instead, the Russian duck canvas was employed to cover wagons used in the forced exodus from Nauvoo. Regarding meeting houses, Joseph said that you could never get all the saints under one roof. The Tabernacle on Temple Square became a permanent version of the canvas tent intended for Nauvoo.

Now the only canopy capable of containing the saints is the sky itself, and technology has become the trump of God, allowing the leaders of the Church to keep the doctrine pure by reaffirming it every six months. "They say the same thing every time," a young friend of mine complained years ago. I said something like, "That's probably because we keep committing the same sins." New members of the Church need to hear some things familiar to me, because they are new for them. Review never hurts me, either. Beyond that, I have found that the indispensable ingredient of the teaching/hearing/learning process is the Holy Ghost. To listen to General Conference without it is like trying to drive a car without gasoline in the tank—it goes nowhere, and frustration results. The Holy Ghost brings the simple, familiar lessons to astonishing vibrancy, and makes new information available between the lines for individuals.

"Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we need no more!...For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have" (2Ne. 28:27, 30).

I find that new information and revelation is proportional to our willingness and readiness to receive it and live it. What do I need to get rid of? What do I need to obtain? What do I need to do? Answering these questions with action removes obstacles to personal revelation.

Bring several questions with you to conference, and listen for the answers. I showed up, somewhat reluctantly, for a priesthood meeting that was scheduled in the middle of the week last year. As I sat listening, I received a personal witness about something that had been troubling me. The inspiration had nothing to do with what the speaker was saying, but I knew I had been blessed with the knowledge I needed because I had showed up to do my duty by attending my meetings.

I think about how high of a stack of institutions General Conference rests on, and it is harder to take for granted. Freedom of speech and press, freedom of worship and religion, technological modern marvels, infrastructure for all the electricity and signals, satellites orbiting the planet, an army of technicians and translators, intercontinental air travel to bring authorities from their assigned fields of labor, and on and on. These things are all amazing in themselves, and yet they are not the central feature of Conference; without the Holy Ghost, it is all hollow. "...to whom shall we go? Thou has the words of eternal life" (John 6:68). Peter was not following Jesus for miracles or free bread, but because he felt the confirmation that what Jesus was teaching was absolutely true. I feel this way to a certain extent about the general authorities of the Church—they are representatives of Christ, standing in His place to say what He would if He came today. As such, the Spirit confirms the truth of their messages to me, and it engenders good feelings towards them, as well as a desire to do what is right.

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20). I do not know why, but interacting in a discussion of the gospel tends to bring the Spirit more strongly than private study. I do not discount private study; it is essential. But it seems that since heaven is "an innumerable company," the Lord confirms our person-to-person group study and discussion because it is preparation for heaven.

Anti-mormon protesters who congregate in the streets to harass the members attending conference are unwelcome evidence of the truth of the work. If it were false, there would be limited opposition. Strangely, people who generally hold to the idea that a belief in Christ is the same as a free ride into heaven come to tell fellow believers that they will be damned regardless of their belief. Meanwhile, the stringent Mormons who advocate obedience to the laws of the gospel as necessary for salvation speak messages of healing and forgiveness, teaching the mercy and grace of Christ toward sinners. It is very backward and counter-intuitive. If persecutors would rephrase their accusations in the form of sincere questions, they might be surprised to find that there are answers, and be surprised by how sweet and satisfactory they can be.

Pre-Conference opposition afflicts me more from the other side of the veil than from mortal antagonists. It seems that the law of "opposition in all things" applies to the abundant outpouring from heaven that characterizes General Conference. I get rain and snow from unworthy sources before getting to bask in the sunshine of love and light. Problems in life always seem to sharpen just before Conference weekend.

General Conference is an ingenious mechanism for keeping the doctrines of the Church, and the direction of its development, pure and true. Every time the Church has grown, technology has kept up pace to match the growth, enabling cohesiveness that Paul and Peter and the early church leaders could only dream about. And it is not dumped on people against their will. It is amazing to see people, especially young people, congregate with such eagerness to "feast upon the word." I am pleased to herald in a new installment of talks to ponder and study for the next six months.

First Principles Revisited

"What is the doctrine of Christ?" asked the Sunday school teacher. I blurted out my standard response, "Faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost." Two other people in the class took issue with what they considered an oversimplification. The first one insisted that you could "do all those things" and not get to heaven. He said love was missing from the list. Another person in the class objected that the gospel included a lot of things, not just the first principles and ordinances.

Really?

What is "the gospel?" It has become a catch-all phrase in the Church. Anything related to scriptures, Church history, is generically referred to as "the gospel." This is not the way Jesus characterized it.

I turned to the girl I was sitting next to, and asked to borrow her scriptures. I looked up 3Ne. 11 quietly, not wanting to push the issue. I did not read it to the class; Jesus first tells the people not to argue about the scriptures, as they have previously. Jesus then lays down the law, and teaches the people what His doctrine actually is:

"Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my doctrine. And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me. And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God. And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost. And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one. And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these things. And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them" (verses 31-40).

There it is, in all its simplicity. Believe in Christ, repent, be baptized, be visited with fire and with the Holy Ghost. This is the way God has ordained for us to find access to the Atonement of Christ. This is also what has been lost through the apostasy, and obscured throughout the ages as dispensations have come to an end. Does the simple formula outlined by the Savior above exclude love and other things found in the scriptures?

I think that many things are subcategories found under headings of faith in Christ, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Faith in Christ leads to hope and charity; love is not missing. What about other principles? Ammon explains what we need to do in order to learn the deeper things: "Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed..." (Alma 26:22). Excel at repentance and faith, and you will learn the other things because you are ready for them. To learn deep things and mysteries without having a firm foundation is like building the top of the pyramid without the base. There is nothing for the pinnacle to rest on.

Jacob 4:14: "But behold, the Jews were a stiffnecked people; and they despised the words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought for things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall; for God hath taken away his plainness from them, and delivered unto them many things which they cannot understand, because they desired it. And because they desired it God hath done it, that they may stumble."

I hope that as we explore the fulness of the restored gospel, we do not neglect the basics. I also hope that we do not fool ourselves into thinking that we have successfully mastered them. Who has perfect faith in Christ? Who no longer needs to repent? Who keeps their baptismal covenants perfectly? Has anyone ever received the Holy Ghost fully? These are life-long pursuits, not items on a checklist. Jesus said, "...the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me." This instruction is comprehensively inclusive across space and time, touching everyone.

I remember a recent Elders' quorum meeting. The teacher asked us to pause near the end of the lesson, and meditate for a few moments about what each member of the quorum needed to eliminate or improve in our personal lives. During those few seconds of silence, I felt the Spirit more profoundly than I have in a long time. It was a divine stamp of approval on what transpired. Contemplating repentance was what we were supposed to be doing.

What Can We Learn From the Old Temple: The Ark of the Covenant

The Ark of the Covenant was the central, perhaps most important, piece of furniture in the entire Old Temple. David wanted to build the Temple specifically so that the Ark would have some place to rest. Little wonder—either the lid or the front of the Ark was referred to as the “mercy seat,” literally the throne of Jehovah on earth. The Holy of Holies, the most sacred space in the Temple, was the resting place for the Ark. It was flanked by two giant golden statues of angels whose wingtips touched each other above and behind the Ark, and touched the right and left walls of the Holy of Holies. This meant that each one had a wingspan of ten feet, since the space inside the Holy of Holies in Solomon’s Temple was about twenty feet wide, twenty feet tall, and twenty feet deep, a perfect hollow cube shape. On the lid of the Ark were two golden cherubim, and Jehovah would meet the high priest between them, once a year, on the day of Atonement.

“Ark” means coffin. The Ark was a rectangular box with loops on the sides for poles that served as handles for transport. No one but the priests were allowed to handle or move the Ark. Once, when the Ark was being transported, it began to tip, and a man who was not a priest stretched out his hand to steady it. God smote him, and he died. This is where we get the phrase, “steadying the Ark”—someone putting their nose in a situation to exert influence when they have no business or authority in it.

Getting to Heaven

Reaching the Holy of Holies was the culmination of all the rites of the Temple, and it happened only once a year, on the Day of Atonement. It seems strange that the celestial portion of the Old Temple would be completely dark, but darkness is not always negative. During the day, we grovel and sweat in the heat of the sun, toiling away with our faces to the ground, minding worldly concerns. The courtyard of the Temple reflects this. At night, our gaze turns heavenward, and we witness God’s handiwork (and even God Himself according to D&C 88:45-47). The Israelites in Egypt would have worked all day long, and only found relief from enforced drudgery when night came. (I wonder if this is partly why Jews begin Sabbath observance at sundown.) At the dedication of the Old Temple, we hear Solomon say, "...The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever" (1Kings 8:12). The light source was Jehovah himself.

To enter heaven is to enter the presence of an innumerable company of heavenly beings, the Church of the Firstborn. The cherubim on the Veil, the Ark, and in the Holy of Holies, reflect the notion of that homecoming. While many things are promised to the faithful, I am convinced that to be in the presence of Jesus Christ is the main reward itself. "...I will come unto you, and ye shall behold the joy of my countenance...I will visit you with the joy of my countenance...the lord of the field...tarried with him all that hour, and he was made glad with the light of the countenance of his lord." (D&C 88:52, 53, 56). Ten of the eleven Apostles at Jerusalem chose to come quickly into the presence of their Lord when they died, while only John remained as a translated being. Nine of the New World apostles also wanted to go quickly to His presence. We think of other things, immortality, health, knowledge, family relationships, as the great gifts of heaven, but leave the greatest one off our recited lists when we dream of our mansions above.

Face to Face

Paul says that one day we will see as we are seen, and know as we are known (1Cor. 13:12). "The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not; nevertheless, the day shall come when you shall comprehend even God, being quickened in him and by him" (D&C 88:49). We will see the Lord as He sees us, and that sounds to me like getting a view from the edge of the Grand Canyon—astonishing vastness. What is the the inner essence of a person? One day we will be privileged to find out. Joseph Smith said, "You don't know me. You never knew my heart. No man knows my history. I cannot tell it. I shall never undertake it. I don't blame anyone for not believing my history. If I had not experienced what I have, I could not have believed it myself...When I am called by the trump of the archangel and weighed in the balance, you will all know me then.” Who knows what discoveries lie ahead for us? This statement is a tantalizing glimpse.

Marriage at an Altar

If rectangular shapes signify altars in the Temple, then the Ark itself is an altar. Jesus is “Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.” The Temple begins with one Altar symbolizing Jesus’ sacrifice, and ends with another altar, a meeting place for Him to meet the world. The two symmetrical cherubim on top of the lid evoke the image of a man and a woman kneeling at an altar.

Just as the Temple begins and ends with altars, the cycle of generations begins and ends with marriage. Man and woman have children, children grow up, and they marry and begin the process over again. D&C 132 mentions "eternal lives." Those who are exalted will beget an infinite number of children in eternity. Promises made to Abraham were of infinite posterity, and the things he needed to care for them all: promised lands, property, and priesthood. You need real estate for children to live on, especially if they will be innumerable. (The phrase, “worlds without number” suddenly makes sense in this light.) You also need materials like food and clothing to care for them, and Abraham was given treasures and flocks by Pharaoh himself. Children grow up, get married, and start having their own kids; Abraham needed the sealing keys, the priesthood, in order to secure their ability to take care of their own children in time and in eternity, and to bind them to himself. The priesthood is the power through which the worlds are and were created; infinite lands and material for Abraham’s infinite posterity.

If you do not have an eternal increase of children, you do not need “all [the] father hath.” It takes great powers, property, and possessions to preside over an infinity of children; to be separate and single for eternity does not. (It takes great virtues, like patience and mercy and forgiveness, also.) Lehi traded his comfortable home in Jerusalem for two continents. Adam and Eve were given this entire planet as a wedding present. These are not just throw-away gifts; they are investments by the Lord in us, and we are to use them to procreate, to multiply our talents. Those who do not multiply their talents will lose them. During an average lifespan, the peak of human ability to procreate also coincides with the time when the body reaches its greatest health, strength, and energy. We can waste that energy pursuing worldly red herrings (O, they are abundant! Such dignified looking games and toys), or we can use that energy to chase kids around the house, drive them to school, change diapers, carry babies, feed them at 2 a.m., attend soccer games, etc. We can help in the Lord’s work of bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, or we can be consumed by a short-term hobby that excludes family, like money, travel, academics, or politics. The choice is ours, and we show God what we really want eternally by our choices here on earth. Taking care of children here must resemble raising children in heaven, or it would not be a fair test. One thing we know for certain: Jesus taught us that God’s preferred name, the one we are to address Him by, is Father. We will need the power to think of billions of things at once when we have billions of kids of our own to care for and listen to. There is no such place as a heaven where family is not central. Every other option is a step backward, a cut below. D&C 132:17 is painful to read. “Separately and singley” are the coldest, prickliest words in all scripture.

Marriages are performed at altars. An altar is a place of sacrifice, not an ATM. We make certain promises there with God, and He makes promises in return. Read the promises in D&C 132:19-20. Could a mortal provide those blessings? Could a mortal apply appropriate justice when covenants are broken? I do not believe we make promises to other mortals in Temples, even marriage.

It is tempting to look for finish lines where there are none, and the Temple presents us with at least the hope that we will one day "enter into the rest of the Lord." It is reassuring to note that the earthly equivalent of a bar of judgement, where prisoners are arraigned for trial, is called the mercy seat. Still, the thought of meeting God scares anyone with any intelligence at all. Alma and Amulek were right: This life is the time to prepare to meet God. Intimidating as it may seem, that interview WILL take place, ready or not. As President Monson has often reminded us, "When the time for performance arrives, the time for preparation is past."

What Can We Learn From the Old Temple? The Veil

Heb. 10:20 talks about the Old Temple, and equates the Veil with the flesh of Christ. This is an interesting designation. In this life, our flesh acts as a veil, keeping us from seeing in many ways. It impairs judgment—the mists of darkness in Lehi’s dream were the temptations of the devil. He gets his power over us through our bodies. In John 9, Jesus makes clay from dirt and spit, and anoints the eyes of a blind man. He tells the man to wash his eyes in a certain pool and "came seeing." Enoch anointed his eyes with mud and washed them at the Lord's instruction, and became a seer. I believe that in these scenarios, dirt represents matter, and liquid represents the spirit. Just as water and mud make living clay, spirit and matter combined create living beings. But the mud obscures our vision. Washing the mud off with a great amount of water, i.e. baptism of the Spirit, removes the obstacle and lets us see through the eyes of the Lord. Enoch became a seer; he saw into the spirit world.

An Unseen World

The Veil of the Old Temple was embroidered with images of cherubim, or angels. There is an unseen world that affects our physical world the way wind drives a sailing ship. The invisible and intangible greatly affects the visible and tangible.

We are inclined to see the heavier things around us as being of greater import and influence than lighter things, but Calum Coates has pointed out that the hierarchy is reversed. Energy (wispy and intangible) from the sun heats the atmosphere, which blows on the water, which churns incessantly against the hard rocks of the shore and breaks them into sand. Who is the boss here? Gravity, the weakest of the known forces, ultimately overcomes everything, swallowing whole planets and stars into massive black holes, inescapable even for light when it comes too close. Truth, zero-dimensional and weightless, is the hinge on which everything in heaven turns. If something is true or correct, and we rebel at it, we immediately receive less spiritual light (see D&C 88). Truth is a knowledge of things as they are, as they were, and as they really will be. Faith cannot be genuine unless it is exercised in regard to something unseen AND true (Alma 32:21). There are many things seen and true, many things unseen and false, a few illusions seen and false, and a horde of unseen fictional falsehoods. But to believe in any of them does not constitute genuine faith. Jesus said “I am…the truth.” The veil is what adds the element of "unseen" to our mortal probation. "For now we see through a glass (veil), darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith..." (1Cor. 13:12).

Wispy Flesh, Firm Spirit

The body is a wonderful servant, my mission president taught me, but a horrible master. Indeed, when the body is in control of the spirit, it is like a horse trying to ride a human. Neither of them can get anywhere; neither benefits from the other’s strengths. Horses can run fast and carry heavy loads, while humans can think clearly and plan ahead. When spirit rules matter, joy is the result; when the spirit surrenders its job of being the boss to the body, death and misery result. The body wants to overeat, oversleep, exact revenge, steal, take the easy route, have sex on a whim, and other shortsighted behaviors. Food, sleep, justice, property, efficiency, sexuality, etc., are not evil in themselves, but need proper timing and restraint to keep them productive rather than destructive. “Bridle your passions” does not mean shoot the horse. It means use it properly.

Margaret Barker described Lehi’s Jerusalem as a place where two forces were competing, and one swallowed up and dissolved the other. The first force was the Aaronic priests, with their outward ceremonies, a focus on Moses and the carnal commandments, rule books, regulations, proscriptions, etc. The second force was Melchizedek priests, who focused on the writings of Enoch and the influence, ancient and modern, of angels. How inconvenient for the first group to have unseen beings and current revelations interfering with their interpretations of scripture. How indispensable for the second group to have current communication from heaven and divine assistance. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true Church because it belongs to Christ, but it is a living Church because it has the Holy Spirit. Joseph Smith cited that as the main difference between our faith and all others.

Necessitating Faith

The veil over our eyes and memories serves an important function in the plan of salvation. It makes us less accountable for our sins because we are acting on faith, in the dark as it were, rather than with perfect knowledge. This allows us to exercise greater faith when we are doing what is right, and keeps us from being fully accountable when we are doing the wrong thing. As to when this veil over our premortal memories will be removed, I can only speculate, but it seems to be after the resurrection when full restoration of memory will happen. Till then, the game is still on, the test is still being administered. Alma 32:17-19: "Yea, there are many who do say: If thou wilt show unto us a sign from heaven, then we shall know of a surety; then we shall believe. Now I ask, is this faith? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe, for he knoweth it. And now, how much more cursed is he that knoweth the will of God and doeth it not, than he that only believeth, or only hath cause to believe, and falleth into transgression?" To accept the gospel with full memory of premortal realm and events would be no test at all. So I believe that the veil is still over our minds, even after we die. But that is my conjecture based on scriptural accounts, not the result of experience.

The veil is permeable rather than opaque. It is a barrier, but one through which information and assistance can pass in both directions. When we work in the Temple on behalf of our ancestors, we are saviors on mount Zion, and we empower them. They in turn are then able to help us. Priesthood means power to gather posterity, and I assume that means on either side of the veil.

Ministering Angels

The Veil in the Old Temple was decorated, embroidered, with images of cherubim, or angels.

Nephi was borne up into an exceedingly high mountain on the wings of the Spirit. This imagery evokes the Veil of the Old Temple very well. The Temple was atop a mountain, and the Holy of Holies, separated from the rest of the Temple by the Veil, was both literally and figuratively the top of the mountain, the place where one communed with God. Whether a staircase led to the Veil or not, one was moving upward when approaching it. In 1Ne. 11-14, an angel gives Nephi a grand vision of the future, which is now our history and our future. He was forbidden to write more, and refers us to Isaiah and John to get the fuller account of what he was privileged to see. Isaiah and John both talk about angelic administrations they received in connection with their visions. The entire Book of Revelation is an account of an angel guiding John through a vision of world history (just like Nephi), including the Second Coming.

This story of Elisha incorporates many familiar elements: "And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha" (2Kings 6:15-18). A messenger of God helps one young man sees through the veil; a group of wicked people is smitten with blindness. Just because you can see something does not mean it is reliable; just because you cannot see something does not diminish its power. Elisha relied on the unseen army and escaped the visible one.

God introduced Himself personally to Joseph Smith in the first vision, but thereafter it was typically angelic messengers who instructed him. In the Old Temple, the priest prayed at the Altar of Incense before the Veil with its cherubim. Joseph prayed to dedicate the Kirtland Temple in D&C 109, and the Lord appears in D&C 110 to accept it. Accompanying the Lord were angelic messengers who restore keys, including Moses and Elijah.

Isaiah 6 records Isaiah’s prophetic calling. Whether the events were literal or part of a vision he witnessed, the imagery is saturated with Old Temple symbolism. It takes place in the Temple, and there is smoke everywhere. He sees the Lord, but feels unworthy, being a man of unclean lips. An angel intercedes on his behalf, taking a live coal from the Altar and placing it on his lips. He is then worthy to accept his calling as a preacher and a prophet. Angels, live coals, altars, are all found in the Old Temple.

When Abraham was about to be sacrificed, an angel saved his life. An angel also saved Isaac’s life when Abraham was about to sacrifice him as well. Metatron was the name of the angel who interrupted both sacrifices, according to extra-scriptural accounts. This Metatron was Enoch in mortality. The Lord had promised to call on the inhabitants of the earth and show them mercy because of Enoch’s special pleading for Noah and his descendants. "...Enoch continued his cry unto the Lord, saying: I ask thee, O Lord, in the name of thine Only Begotten, even Jesus Christ, that thou wilt have mercy upon Noah and his seed, that the earth might never more be covered by the floods. And the Lord could not withhold; and he covenanted with Enoch, and sware unto him with an oath, that he would stay the floods; that he would call upon the children of Noah; And he sent forth an unalterable decree, that a remnant of his seed should always be found among all nations, while the earth should stand..." (Moses 7:50-52). We are doubly indebted to Enoch's pleading and intercession for our very survival.

In Gethsemane, when Jesus’ disciples were asleep, He prayed for relief, and an angel came, strengthening Him.

Sentinels and Ushers

The cherubim on the Veil, as well as the two giant pillars at the door of the Temple, invoke images of sentinels, guardians who bar the way. We must be qualified before we can proceed any further. But they are also ushers, who give us the keys we need in order to proceed further. Jesus taught that the Spirit would “teach us all things and bring all things to our remembrance.” This is more than semantic information; we can be endowed with keys to breech barriers between ourselves and God. How to act, what to say, whom to listen to. “Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (D&C 88:63). “Angels speak the words of Christ...by the power of the Holy Ghost,” says Nephi (2Ne. 32:3).

The Veil in the Old Temple was only approached once a year, by one man, on the Day of Atonement. (By contrast, we enter the celestial areas of modern Temples daily.) The Veil was a point of interface, and the high priest was required to speak the forbidden name of God before he was admitted into the Holy of Holies. He would first put a pan filled with burning stones of incense through the Veil, and enter after the room was filled with the smoke. The Holy of Holies was without windows, and completely dark, unless the Lord Himself was there as the light source.

All these elements are reflected in the meeting between the Lord and the Brother of Jared atop the mountain. Jared goes up the mountain with man-made stones to get a light source for otherwise darkened vessels without windows. The Lord speaks to him in a cloud. The man-made stones are glowing by the middle of the account. The Brother of Jared sees the finger of the Lord through the veil, and gets new information about the Lord: He is in the form of a man. The Brother of Jared has a dialogue with the Lord, after which the Lord reveals Himself in entirety to him.

The Veil...Beginning to Burst

"...all they who call on my name, and worship me according to mine everlasting gospel, should gather together, and stand in holy places; 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 101:22-23). "And there shall be silence in heaven for the space of half an hour; and immediately after shall the curtain of heaven be unfolded, as a scroll is unfolded after it is rolled up, and the face of the Lord shall be unveiled..." (D&C 88:95).

Enoch and his Zion will come down from heaven, and Zion below will be caught up to meet them: "...And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem. And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other; And there shall be mine abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for the space of a thousand years the earth shall rest." (Moses 7:62-64). Enoch and his people will repeat the salvation of Abraham and Isaac at the Second Coming.

What Can We Learn From the Old Temple: Altar of Incense

The Altar of Incense stands in contrast to its larger brother in the courtyard. The Altar of Sacrifice is public, visible to people outside the Temple. It is noisy, dirty, large, covered in blood and black smoke and ash. It is a place for killing animals and making destructive sacrifices. It is about expiating and cleansing and atoning for sin. The Altar of Incense is private—only one person is allowed in the Old Temple at a time. (This is a holdover from the days of Moses. The people were invited to come up the mountain and personally meet Jehovah, but they declined, asking that Moses act as an intermediary instead. The Melchizedek priesthood was taken from them, and the Tabernacle and Temples they received would only admit one patron, a priest acting on behalf of the people in Moses’ role.)

The Altar of Incense was small, about waist height, and had a small fire burning under a pan to ignite the stones of incense placed there by the priest. The smoke was white and fragrant and sweet. It was immediately in front of the Veil separating the rest of the Temple from the Holy of Holies. Nearness to God during prayer is implicit, and the priests were required to burn incense and offer prayers here morning and evening, every day of the year. There were many priests descended from Aaron, and so they would draw lots to see which of the many priests would offer the prayer. It was probably a once in a lifetime experience for most priests.

Zacharias was chosen to perform this ritual, and was praying in the Temple when Gabriel interrupted him to tell him that his prayers for children had been heard, and would be answered. In other words, he and his wife Elizabeth had been miraculously (and silently) healed of their infertility. Angelic intervention seems to be a theme of prayers, especially at this altar. He must have been praying for himself to receive such a visitation, as well as offering an intercessory prayer for Israel. Indeed, although the priest is alone in the Old Temple, he is in the company of many people at once, in a figurative and symbolic sense, in several ways. While Zacharias was in the Temple, the people participated by praying outside.

It seems that the prayer offered at the altar was a catch-all prayer, including people in expanding concentric circles encompassing larger and larger groups. Self, friends, enemies, the whole world—all were eventually included in these prayers. Think of the prayer offered by Enos. First he prays on his own behalf, then on behalf of his people, then his enemies, and eventually he is praying about the rest of the world, people who will receive the Book of Mormon in the last days. This seems to be the pattern of a high priestly prayer, and such prayers occur throughout the scriptures. Jesus offers such prayers in the Sermon on the Mount, in John 17, and several times in 3Ne. Joseph Smith prays for his people in Liberty Jail, as well as dedicating the Kirtland Temple in D&C 109. (His prayer in the Sacred Grove may have unintentionally been on behalf of every person who ever knelt in prayer and asked the same question he did.)

The priest offering the prayer was also symbolically accompanied by all Israel. At the Table of Shewbread, there were twelve loaves of bread, one for each tribe. There were also twelve stones of incense. In other words, burning incense on the altar signified all the people offering themselves to God at once. Whereas the Altar in the courtyard was for destructive sacrifices, the offering made at the Altar of Incense signified a people uniting, coming together to build something, a community. It was a constructive sacrifice. Everyone shared a token presence at this Altar. And the sweet, white smoke ascending before the Veil evokes the sweetness of prayers offered throughout the world ascending to God. The sacrifice in the courtyard was for sin, or symbolized sacrificing one's sins, or repentance; the sacrifice on this smaller alter indicated that Israel was now clean enough to be offered to God in their totality, with no need to chop off or scrub anything impure.

The prayers offered by Jesus near the Temple in 3Ne., and the various goings-on recorded with the event, give us a look at how to pray like a high priest. He teaches the people about Himself, showing them the marks in His hands, feet, and side. He teaches the people how to get along with each other. In 3Ne. 17:7-9, He heals their sick. "Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy. For I perceive that ye desire that I should show unto you what I have done unto your brethren at Jerusalem, for I see that your faith is sufficient that I should heal you. And it came to pass that when he had thus spoken, all the multitude, with one accord, did go forth with their sick and their afflicted, and their lame, and with their blind, and with their dumb, and with all them that were afflicted in any manner; and he did heal them every one as they were brought forth unto him."

He then gathers the little children around Him. He mentions being troubled by the wickedness of the house of Israel, and then He prays for the people and their children:

"So they brought their little children and set them down upon the ground round about him, and Jesus stood in the midst; and the multitude gave way till they had all been brought unto him. And it came to pass that when they had all been brought, and Jesus stood in the midst, he commanded the multitude that they should kneel down upon the ground. And it came to pass that when they had knelt upon the ground, Jesus groaned within himself, and said: Father, I am troubled because of the wickedness of the people of the house of Israel."

Jesus identifies a problem, and then begins to apply a solution to the problem:

"And when he had said these words, he himself also knelt upon the earth; and behold he prayed unto the Father, and the things which he prayed cannot be written, and the multitude did bear record who heard him. And after this manner do they bear record: The eye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father; And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father."

I can imagine hearing a prayer, but what did they "see" Jesus speak?

"And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying unto the Father, he arose; but so great was the joy of the multitude that they were overcome. And it came to pass that Jesus spake unto them, and bade them arise. And they arose from the earth, and he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full. And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them. And when he had done this he wept again; And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones. And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them. And the multitude did see and hear and bear record; and they know that their record is true for they all of them did see and hear, every man for himself; and they were in number about two thousand and five hundred souls; and they did consist of men, women, and children" (3Ne. 17:12-25).

Notice the involvement of the entire community in this prayer.

His prayer becomes the solution to the problem he mentioned, the wickedness of the house of Israel. He breaks the cycle of parents passing on wicked and foolish traditions among one particular branch of Israel, the Nephites. Angels come down and minister to the people. Ending the wickedness of Israel, physical healing of sickness, and angelic ministration were also themes of Zacharias’ personal experience while praying on behalf of the people in the Temple.

Jesus established a Zion society, where they had all things in common (4Ne. 1:3) and lived in peace, righteousness, and prosperity for two hundred years. Jesus solved the problem of their wickedness for two centuries. That is an extremely powerful and efficacious prayer!

Joseph Smith prayed at the Kirtland Temple on behalf of his people and his nation. Angels participated in the dedication of that Temple as well. There were many miraculous manifestations. Joseph tried to set up a Zion economy in Kirtland, but it failed because of infighting and covetousness among the people.

The Brother of Jared was chastened for three hours because he had failed to pray on behalf of the people. His submission and acceptance of that correction led to a most magnificent experience atop a mountain, where he prayed for himself and his people.

In 3Ne. 18:18-23, Jesus reminds us over and over to pray in His holy name. We are to pray for ourselves, our friends, and sinners who are estranged from God, outsiders. In 3Ne. 19:24 it says "...it was given unto them what they should pray...," and they did not multiply many words. Jesus’ first prayer was about healing physical maladies and curtailing spiritual illness, expelling evil. His prayers here seem to be about establishing the relationship between His church and its leaders, about getting the people infused with the power of the Holy Ghost, instilling righteousness in them. The disciples pray for the Holy Ghost, which they desired above all else, and Jesus prays for them, and those who believe on their words. Jesus' countenance and robe is white, and begins to glow with otherworldly brilliance, and the clothes of the twelve disciples also take on this whiteness as Jesus smiles upon them. When the prayer ends, He commands them not to cease to pray in their hearts. The command to “always” do something occurs rarely in scripture. We are commanded to always remember Jesus in the sacrament prayers, and commanded to pray always.

The closeness of the Altar of Incense to the Holy of Holies is indicative of our closeness to God when we offer sincere prayer.

Abraham was willing to die publicly—to be offered as a sacrifice, because he knew the current king and his idols were not responsible for creation, and he was willing to say so. One account claims 900,000 people were witnesses to this event. He had received no revelation yet; he was willing to die for truth alone. An angel came as he prayed to God, sparing his life and killing the priest who was about to murder him. Later, Abraham was asked to sacrifice his only son atop a mountain. This was a private event, between him and Isaac. He was not just putting his son on the altar; he was about to sacrifice his reputation, his converts won through missionary work, as well as the love of Sarah. He was about to sacrifice his promises—his promised posterity, and continuation of the succession of patriarchal priesthood. We were present at that moment in an uncomfortably literal sense—we would not be here today if Isaac had died then. The twelve stones of Incense are a reminder of that stark reality. Abraham was literally putting everything (everyONE) on the altar. An angel intervened at the last moment, sparing Isaac. The promise Abraham received for his willingness to give all was an innumerable posterity, and we are part of his blessing today. A private offering, yet an innumerable audience.

Zion is not made of money or bricks or Temples. It is “the pure in heart.” In the parable of the talents, the servant who hid his talent was sent away. Did the master care how much money they made? Maybe profit margins bore some importance unto themselves. But it seems that if the servant had come back with any increase, he would have received the same reward as the other servants who received more talents. The condition of his heart was the main reason he was sent away, not a concern for the boss’s bottom line. Stewardship was the test he failed to pass.

In Deuteronomy, Moses shifts from a third person narrator to a first person voice, and speaks directly to the people. He reminds them that they would have been destroyed had he not offered an intercessory prayer on their behalf. He then begins to describe how the people are to relate to each other, and the two roads they can take with regard to his counsel. They can accept the rules of treating each other well, and be blessed with a paradise of prosperity in the promised land of Canaan, or they can disregard the covenant and be subject to horrific problems, and eventual annihilation (like the Nephites). Jacob encapsulates the spirit of what Moses wanted Israel to do: "And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted" (Jacob 2:19). What will we do with the material blessings the Lord has given us? That is the great test in this life (Abraham 3:24-26).

Solomon prayed with the people to dedicate the Temple, and the prosperity enjoyed under his reign was legendary. On a smaller scale, Peter was trying to get the people to consecrate what they had during his tenure as prophet, to share all things in common (Acts 4:34-37). Acts 5:1-11 recounts what happened to Ananias and Sapphira for breaking their covenant to consecrate their material wealth to building up the church.

The rich young ruler also refused to consecrate his worldly wealth to the building up of the kingdom, and he went away sorrowing. It is a difficult hurdle to clear; Peter asked what he would receive for having succeeded. Jesus describes his reward in heaven, but also warns Peter that those who make themselves first shall be last, and the last shall be first. Just because Peter could clear one hurdle did not mean he would not trip later. It seems that this is the pattern of life—to be tested with one thing, and when we succeed, we are tested with another, and another. It is tempting to look for finish lines where there are none, and the rich young ruler made that mistake when he approached Jesus to get a rubber stamp of approval on his life. It is worth noting that, however personal sacrifices may seem, when the Lord requires something of us our whole family, even generations unborn, and our larger community, are all present. Would we know the name of the rich young man if he had given up everything and followed Jesus? His name would be on our tongues in Sunday school two millennia later, and philanthropic societies would bear his name in the form of an adjective. "Rich-younger-ruler-istic" would be part of the lexicon. That would be a mightier legacy than any of the "great" possessions he owned.

Just as the Altar of Incense is before the Veil, so it seems that we must learn to get along with each other, functioning as members of a peaceful, generous, righteous community before we can get to heaven. This is the hurdle we must clear in order to get to heaven—establishing a Zion on earth. Elder Nelson recently said, "In God's eternal plan, salvation is an individual matter; exaltation is a family matter."

What Can We Learn From the Old Temple: The Menorah

The Menorah is iconic, easily the most exotic and recognizable item associated with the Old Temple (and possibly all Judaism). Its parallels to scriptural objects and imagery are numerous. (The shape of the Menorah itself is a model for the literary device of chiasmus.) If we think of the path through the Temple as the course of a person’s spiritual life, I believe that the Menorah is symbolic of the point at which a person is spiritually reborn. Jesus said we must be born of water, and of the Spirit. The Font, Laver, or Brazen Sea, resting on the backs of twelve bronze oxen, represents that birth by water; the Menorah, with its seven lamps of gold, each branch decorated with almonds, resting on two six-sided hexagonal bases (twelve again) represents the birth of the Spirit.

Alma 5:14, "And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?" Matt. 6:22, "The light of the body is the eye..." D&C 88:67, "And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things." D&C 50:24, "That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day." Whenever I am aware of the light (or darkness) in another person’s countenance, I am reminded of Alma’s phrase, “O then, is not this real?” I cannot deny it. There is more to a person than a body. Physical light allows us to see clearly, to discern what is real. Spiritual light allows us to discern truth.

Numbers

Numbers dominate the structure of the Menorah. It has larger and smaller hexagonal bases, so we get the number twelve, along with seven lamps. There are twelve tribes of Israel, twelve apostles, as well as twelve signs of the Zodiac. (The images carved in the Arch of Titus, depicting the triumphal return of Roman soldiers from Jerusalem, show a Menorah with Zodiacal signs on the panels of the Menorah's base. It is easy to forget that the Bible takes place in the context of ancient cultures of the real world, rather than in complete insulation from them.)

The number seven has many natural and scriptural references. There are seven vertebrae in the neck, which rest upon the twelve thoracic vertebrae in the back. There are seven points of light on the Menorah, and seven stars comprising the Big Dipper and Orion. We read of seven days of creation. There are seven "planets," bodies in our solar system visible to the naked eye. The Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, give us the names of our seven days of the week. Christ has seven wounds (two in the feet, two in the wrists, two in the palms, and one in the side). Revelation gives us seven thousand years of history represented by a book with seven seals, and seven angels around the throne of God, along with the seven churches. Isaiah speaks of seven women taking hold of one man. Seven years of plenty and seven years of famine plagued Pharoah's troubled dreams.

A Golden Pearl of Great Price

There are seven dispensations (Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith). Each of their testimonies is recorded in the Pearl of Great Price, our most exotic book of scripture. Joseph Smith receives revelation about the lost writings of Moses, which contain the words of Enoch, who tells Adam’s story about his spiritual rebirth. Moses writes of being a son of God, while Abraham writes of seeking for the blessings of the fathers. (Father and Son are both titles of Jesus.) Jesus Christ prophesies of the future destruction of Jerusalem, and prefigures the destruction before His Second Coming. While it is not overt, the undertones in the Pearl of Great Price are procreative, a succession of generations, lineages of priesthood passed through the eons of time. The story of the Creation and Adam and Eve is recapitulated not once, but twice. Begetting life makes more people, who multiply and multiply. Finally, Joseph Smith records the greatest theophany in scripture, the First Vision.

The Pearl of Great Price gives details about our premortal existence not found anywhere else in scripture.

Jesus is the Son of God, but also the Father of our spiritual rebirth: "I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins of the world, even as many as will believe on my name, that they may become the sons of God, even one in me as I am one in the Father, as the Father is one in me, that we may be one" (D&C 35:2).

Oil Olive

Pure olive oil, specially prepared, fueled the seven lamps of the Menorah. Olive oil was also used to anoint, and the title of Messiah, or Christ, means “The Anointed One.” In 1Ne. 11, Nephi asked to know the meaning of the glorious, glowing tree of life in his father’s dream, and he was shown the newborn Savior, Jesus, in Mary’s arms. He immediately (mysteriously, to me at least) understands that the tree represents "the love of God," shedding "itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men." In the previous chapter, He is referred to as the Messiah eight times, and an olive tree is mentioned twice.

These intersecting themes of trees, anointing, olive oil, procreation, birth, etc., link Christ to the Menorah, and identifies Him with it inextricably. In a sense Jesus IS the Menorah. Jesus Christ is depicted as being in the midst of the seven candles in the Book of Revelation (1:13), further tightening the association between Him and the Lamps. Jesus is the Light of the world, the Light of Life, and the Light of Truth. Just as the Table of Shewbread is counterpoint to the Menorah, the Forbidden Fruit contrasted with the Tree of Life, so the world we live in stands in contrast to the world Jesus will bring about in the Second Coming.

His mortal ministry demonstrates that He is able to reverse the conditions of Adam’s fall—He reverses death, reverses the need to sweat for food, reverses the diseases that afflict the body, gets rid of Satan and replaces his lies with the truth, teaches peace instead of war, and ends spiritual death, our separation from God, by bridging the gap separating us from God via the Atonement. He dies so that we can live; He suffers so we can avoid punishment; He carries our sicknesses and infirmities so we can be healed. This chiastic symmetry echoes the symmetry of the Menorah, the Tree of Life. He is the main symbolic reference of the Menorah.

A Flaming Sword

Just as the tree of life had a flaming sword about it, so all this procreation and begetting of life has a darker aspect, violence. Biologically, the two are linked; testosterone increases sexuality and aggression. Animals duke it out in mating season to demonstrate their fitness to mate. Sex and violence form comorbid intersections in the scriptures as well.

Commandment number six tells us not to kill, while number seven tells us not to commit adultery.

David’s life reads like a soap opera, filled with passion, murder, betrayal and intrigue.

James 4:1 warns us that wars proceed from our lusts that war in our members.

Alma 39 records an outrageous, grievous violation of the law of chastity—a missionary, Corianton, seeks out the harlot Isabel—and we get a hint that it was not an isolated incident, but part of a pattern, a blossoming industry ("...she did steal away the hearts of many...," Alma 39:4). The exchange of money for sex is a prelude to a violent cultural shift. The war chapters immediately follow.

The great promises regarding exaltation and eternal increase recorded in D&C 132 are made contingent on committing "no murder whereby to shed innocent blood..." (vs. 19).

The woman taken in adultery in John 8 is about to be stoned to death. She is dragged before Jesus, who (we suppose) wrote the sins and transgressions of the accusers on the ground. Her accusers dismissed themselves, and Jesus dismissed her. After a debate about sonship and being Abraham's seed, minutes later the people are ready to kill Jesus instead.

Lust sees people as objects, things to be used for gratification, or expendable obstacles to selfish ends. The natural consequence of this objectification is to disregard others, hence to disregard the sanctity of human life. Almost all convicted prisoners in America are male. The cure for all of this? Individually, it is spiritual rebirth; universally, it is Jesus’ millennial reign: "And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plow-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks—nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come ye and let us walk in the light of the Lord; yea, come, for ye have all gone astray, every one to his wicked ways" (Isaiah 2:4-5).

Spiritual rebirth for an individual signals the end of "lusts that war" in our members; this parallels the Second Coming’s effect on the whole earth.