"He is the light and the life of the world"

Frequent readers of the blog know that we think there is a strong case to be made for Lehi's and Nephi's faith being defined by what Margaret Barker would call temple theology. This is related to the first temple and an older sophic worldview, uncorrupted by the Deuteronomist reform and the second temple. The reform took away physical objects from the temple but also many of the associated teachings. There are many aspects of this that could be discussed. One is the holy anointing oil that I recently read about in this paper.

The temple of Nephi

Before I get into the holy anointing oil, I want to examine the temple in the land of Nephi. Details about what happened inside of Nephite temples are not given in the Book of Mormon. But we read in 2 Nephi 5 that Nephi built a temple and he built it "after the manner of the temple of Solomon" (2 Nephi 5:16). It would reflect temple worship and theology from the first temple period before the Deuteronomist reform.

I believe that this temple of Nephi is the same temple that is mentioned in Mosiah 11. I will not go into the long-winded explanation of why I think that is the case, and I may be wrong. There may have been several temples in the land of Nephi or Zeniff and his group may even have built one when they went back to the land of Nephi. But I think most likely that the part of the land that they were granted by the Lamanite King included the old temple of Nephi. 

If this is the case, Nephi's temple was in use from the time it was built in 2 Nephi 5 and until Mosiah and his group fled the land in the Book of Omni. Perhaps it was used after that too but at least by the time Zeniff and his group returned to the land, there seems to have been only Lamanites there. The temple of Nephi had remained unused for a while or perhaps used for other purposes.

Zeniff's brief account in Mosiah 9 and 10 does not mention the temple at all. But in Mosiah 11:5, we read

For he put down all the priests that had been consecrated by his father, and consecrated new ones in their stead, such as were lifted up in the pride of their hearts.

I have previously thought that the priests of king Noah were more like royal advisers or servants, but we know there was a temple in the land and at least in Old Testament times, "priest" would be associated with temple service. The temple is mentioned some verses later

And he also caused that his workmen should work all manner of fine work within the walls of the temple, of fine wood, and of copper, and of brass. (Mosiah 11:10)

So to continue my speculations, the temple of Nephi had been an integral part of Nephites religous life until Mosiah with his group had fled the land. It had been unused for a time but restored and perhaps rededicated under Zeniff upon their arrival. But his wicked son, Noah, corrupted it by consecrating new priests "lifted up in the pride of their hearts" and caring more for the "fine work within the walls" than the worship and ordinances within the walls.

The holy anointing oil

What does this heading have to do with the previous section? In the paper I linked, Margaret Barker explains:

In the seventh century BC, during the reign of King Josiah, there had been a revolution in Jerusalem, and many of the treasures of Solomon’s temple that had been kept in the holy of holies were hidden away. The ark disappeared, the manna disappeared, Aaron’s rod disappeared, and the holy anointing oil disappeared. All, they said, would all be restored in the time of the Messiah. Indeed, there could be no Messiah until the oil was restored, and no holy temple.

King Noah was not king Josiah and we don't know in what ways he could have corrupted the temple. But when his priests and himself claimed to follow the law of Moses and denied the coming of Christ (in fact, they executed Abinadi for teaching it), it bears striking resemblance to the Deuteronomist view and their corruption of the temple. In any case, I find it likely that the holy anointing oil, once used in the temple of Nephi after the manner of the temple of Solomon, among many other things, had been discarded or misunderstood. 

Barker explains what this oil originally meant. She uses many biblical and extra-biblical sources to demonstrate that the holy anointing oil was closely linked to both resurrection and light. I will refer to her paper rather than quote all her examples, but they show how the holy oil was used to anoint the person receiving a resurrected immortal body. This is exemplified by Enoch and happened in the holy of holies in the temple. The light symbolism is also prevalent in the temple. The seven-branched lamp (menorah) was to burn continually from evening to morning to ensure that there was always light in the temple. Barker explains

In the Zohar, the holy oil has two roles in the temple: it is the oil of the light, which means the heavenly source of light that never ceases, and the oil for the light, which burns in the seven branched lamp in the temple, the symbol of the tree of life. The tree of life was remembered as a tree of fire; Enoch described it as beautiful and perfumed, gold and red like fire.

I find it likely that these ancient teachings and symbols were found in the original temple of Nephi but had become corrupted with king Noah, if not before. When Abinadi is put on trial, he challenges king Noah and his priest to answer if salvation comes through the law of Moses. They answer yes. Abinadi goes on to explain about the coming of Christ that the whole law is pointing towards, something they have apparently missed. Then he says:

8 But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.
9 He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death. (Mosiah 16)

A light that is endless is symbolized by the menorah in the temple, something king Noah and his priest apparently not had understood or perhaps even removed from the temple completely. In general the light and the life (resurrection) fits the ancient holy anointing oil symbolism in the temple. Knowing that king Noah had a temple but rejected Christ that the symbolism was pointing to, I don't think it is a big stretch to assume that Abinadi was inserting temple symbolism in his sermon to get his point across. A few verses later he says:

Therefore, if ye teach the law of Moses, also teach that it is a shadow of those things which are to come (Mosiah 16:14)

Everything points to Christ, including the law of Moses, the temple and the holy anointing oil, even though king Noah and his temple priests had misunderstood. This was Abinadi's message, a message that he was willing to sacrifice his own life for.