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."