Rending the veil

Both Lord Wilmore and I have written about the veil before. See here and here. God's presence (heaven) and the material creation (earth) are separated by a veil. Rending the veil opens the pathway for man into God's presence and unites heaven and earth. This is symbolically represented by the temple. There are different ways and occasions where the veil can and will be rent. This became clearer to me as I read D&C 101 recently, which I will get to soon. Here are three ways of rending the veil:

Rending the personal veil of unbelief

This has been discussed on this blog before. Having been sent to earth, we are surrounded by the material creation and need to exercise faith to see beyond the veil.

And there were many whose faith was so exceedingly strong, even before Christ came, who could not be kept from within the veil, but truly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye of faith, and they were glad. (Ether 12:19)

The brother of Jared is one example of rending the veil by seeing with the eye of faith. King Lamoni also has an experience where the veil of unbelief is dispelled.

the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God (Alma 19:6)

The veil being removed and the light shining, in fact reminds of the veil taken off from the eyes of the Brother of Jared and seeing the finger of God giving light to the stones in Ether 3. The point is that unbelief and pride is withholding a portion of light from us, preventing all of us from seeing clearly.

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 88:67)

The glory of God is represented by the holy of holies / celestial room in the temple. If our eye is single to his glory, we are seeing beyond the veil into the light. Even though Christ has prepared a way into the holy of holies as I soon will show, we must each rend our personal veil of unbelief to walk that way. 

Christ's first coming: The way to salvation prepared

I think I have mentioned this symbol a few times before on this blog. I bring it up again for context since it is leading into my next point that I just learned. When Christ had completed the atonement and died on the cross, the veil of the temple in Jerusalem was "rent in twain" (Matthew 27:51). As the true high priest, Christ entered into the holy of holies, God's presence, like many high priests symbolically had done before him once a year on the day of atonement. But rending the veil meant that something was different this time. This was the ultimate sacrifice. Now the way was prepared so that anyone could enter in. This is why the holy of holies in the ancient temple was restricted to the high priest symbolizing Christ and the celestial room in the temple today is open to anyone who is willing to enter into covenants. Christ rent the veil of the temple through his atonement so that anyone who has rent their veil of unbelief can follow him into the holy of holies, God's presence. 

Christ's second coming: His glory revealed

Christ completed his atoning sacrifice when he come to earth the first time in a mortal tabernacle. He promised to come again in glory. D&C 101 explains that he will rend the veil separating heaven and earth at his second coming. Notice the temple symbolism. 

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 101:23)

There is also an apt reference to Isaiah 40, that I did not pick up until I read the footnote of the verse.

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together (Isaiah 40:5)

According to Bible scholar, Margareth Barker, the setting of Isaiah 40 is the holy of holies. The glory of God was exactly what King Lamoni could see when the veil was cast away from his mind as I just quoted in Alma 19. At the second coming ("the revelation which is to come"), the veil of the temple shall be lifted once more in a way that reveals his glory to the whole earth and all flesh shall see it. Those who are not prepared will be consumed. D&C 101 continues:

24 And every corruptible thing, both of man, or of the beasts of the field, or of the fowls of the heavens, or of the fish of the sea, that dwells upon all the face of the earth, shall be consumed;

25 And also that of element shall melt with fervent heat; and all things shall become new, that my knowledge and glory may dwell upon all the earth.

The material creation cannot endure this glory. This is why a veil must separate the two in the first place. But we can prepare to endure the day by rending our personal veil of unbelief and follow Christ into the holy of holies. Then we can dwell on an earth where also his "knowledge and glory" dwells, an earth that is no longer separated from heaven by a veil. The bride removes her veil after she has become married to the groom. When the earth lifts her veil, we have a marriage of heaven and earth.

Scriptural repetition -- Book of Mormon examples 1

I introduced this topic in my previous post, citing heavily from a paper by Alan Goff. It has made me think of other previous posts on this blog giving examples of such "types of repetition and shadows of history" in the Book of Mormon that perhaps have not been framed in this context. Consider for instance:

• The first and second Moses. People as types is common in the Old Testament and ancient Hebrew tradition. It is clear to me that the Book of Mormon authors follow that same tradition. Here is another example.
• Think about the times when the tree of life from the Garden of Eden shows up again in visions and teachings. There are several blog posts discussing this topic
• Many allusions to the creation account are made in the Book of Mormon. See here, here, here and here. In many cases, "creator of heaven and earth" or similar phrase is used. This is a good example of metalepsis that I introduced in the previous post. By quoting a key phrase you invoke the entire previous story or concept. 
• Another good example of metalepsis are the references to the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants, invoked by "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" and "keep my commandments and ye shall prosper in the land", respectively.
• Lord Wilmore has identified several theological patterns, like the office of the ministry of angels, crying out for mercy and finding it through Jesus Christ and sermons with specific, repeated and consistent doctrinal teachings (that he has labeled "the sermon").
• The Book of Ether is a miniature Book of Mormon within the Book of Mormon: The rise and fall of a nation in the promised land. Moroni compiles the story on the Jaredite plates, including their fall, which undoubtedly reminds him of the fall he has just witnessed among his own people. This post also points out the common roots in Babel/Babylon and this post shows how both journeys are related to the number 8 symbolism.
• The exodus out of Egypt and to the promised land is a type and shadow of the latter-day gathering of Israel, our modern day exodus out of sin and into Zion. See this post. Isaiah also plays a lot on that imagery.

And so we could go on. But in addition to what has been written already, I can think of several other examples. Here are a couple and I will also save some for the next post:

Alma and Samuel

Alma's first attempt to preach the gospel in Ammonihah results in him being cast out. We read about it in Alma 8. He is about to give up and move on, but an angel stops him and asks him to go back. Alma is obedient, finds another entrance to the city, meets Amulek, and the rest is history as we say. Had this not happened, we would not have the subsequent chapters in the Book of Mormon.

This story is echoed 75 years later. Samuel the Lamanite attempts to preach the gospel in Zarahemla but is cast out. (Cast out becomes a major theme in both of these two stories). "He was about to return to his own land" (Helaman 13:2) but the voice of the Lord told him to go back to Zarahemla. He was obedient and creative finding his way into the city climbing the city wall. Had this not happened we would not have the subsequent chapters in the Book of Mormon. 

In both stories, the people are wicked and God needs to give them a warning. The warning is an echo of many Old Testament prophets: "Repent or be destroyed". The people don't (except a few that are cast out) and the cities are both destroyed some time later (see Alma 16 and 3 Nephi 8).

Was Joseph Smith running out of ideas here, just drawing on a previous narrative? So the critics would probably claim but the argument is too shallow in my opinion. The differences between the stories display more originality than the similarities display lack thereof. I will try to explain: The similarities are found in the main outline of the stories. The differences are found in the sermons. If we compare Alma and Amulek's sermons in Alma 11-13 with Samuel's sermon in Helaman 13-15, they are very different. Of course, they talk about Christ's atonement, repentance and the plan of salvation, as one would expect from any Christian sermon, but the approaches and detailed contents are very different. After an explanation of the Nephite monetary system in Alma 11, Alma goes back to the Garden of Eden to lay the groundwork for an explanation of the ministry of angels, including the ancient High Priestly role and the Hebrew concept of rest in Alma 12-13. Samuel prophesies of the signs of Christ's birth and death in Helaman 14 and addresses the Nephite/Lamanite tension in Helaman 15. 

Reading only the sermon part of these two stories, one would not see any parallels whatsoever. And that is my point: The sermons with all their detailed prophecies and expansions of doctrine make up the vast majority of these chapters. In other words, Joseph could easily have left out the story of being cast out and returning in at least one of the accounts to avoid displaying his lack of creativity without losing much of the text. For me, this points to an ancient text written by people who had a worldview similar to Israelites of old, where God's ways are "one eternal round" and history repeats itself, in different times and circumstances.

One might object to this notion by arguing that these were actual events regardless of the worldview of the authors. Obviously, I believe there was a real Alma and a real Samuel, who were both cast out and asked to return to warn the people. This fact is independent of the worldview of the people who wrote down the stories. So I view this as confirmation that God in fact does deal with his children in certain ways following distinct patterns. But I do believe that the authors recognized that and that their worldview influenced how they recorded it. They were eager to identify and point the reader to these patterns because they witnessed of God's hand.

The dramatic conversion of Lamanite kings

I have not thought much about it before, but anybody who reads Book of Mormon will notice that King Lamoni and his father both faint as part of a rather dramatic conversion to the Lord. This is a very specific example of the old rabbinic saying, "what happens to the father, happens to the son". But in this story, the order is reversed. It happens to the son first and then the father. I don't know if there is any significance in that, but it marks some sort of shift/reversal with the Lamanites embracing the gospel.

The repetitive element is clear. A Nephite missionary stands in front of a king, who is ready and willing to listen and even says he is going to believe whatever they tell him. 

And the king answered him, and said: Yea, I will believe all thy words. (King Lamoni to Ammon in Alma 18:23)

And if now thou sayest there is a God, behold I will believe. (King Lamoni's father to Ammon's brother in Alma 22:7)

After they have been taught the gospel, the cried unto the Lord in mighty prayer and fall to the ground as if they are dead. Again, the circumstances are different, what happens next is different, but this particular pattern is repeated in both events, for son and father.

What are we to make of it? I am not exactly sure but later in Alma, Mormon inserts a comment after Ammon has had a similar experience.

16 And it came to pass that as Ammon was going forth into the land, that he and his brethren met Alma, over in the place of which has been spoken; and behold, this was a joyful meeting.
17 Now the joy of Ammon was so great even that he was full; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength; and he fell again to the earth.
18 Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness. (Alma 27)

This passage contains two examples of internally consistent references. "The place of which has been spoke" in verse 16 refers back to Alma 17:1. Alma 17-27 consist of a long flashback and now we are back at the starting point. "Fell again to the earth" in verse 17 is also a very subtle example of internal consistency. There is no other mention of Ammon falling to earth in Alma 27. We need to go all the way back to Alma 19 when he taught King Lamoni.

Now Ammon seeing the Spirit of the Lord poured out according to his prayers upon the Lamanites, his brethren, who had been the cause of so much mourning among the Nephites, or among all the people of God because of their iniquities and their traditions, he fell upon his knees, and began to pour out his soul in prayer and thanksgiving to God for what he had done for his brethren; and he was also overpowered with joy; and thus they all three had sunk to the earth. (Alma 19:14)

This reference ties Ammon's second falling to the earth to his first in the king's palace so that Mormon links his comment also to the conversion of the Lamanite kings. But as Ammon fell to the earth, both the first and the second time, he was a faithful missionary with much gospel knowledge unlike the Lamanite kings who had barely heard about God. But they all experienced this same joy. Perhaps the lesson is that no matter our circumstances and knowledge of the gospel, whether we are recent converts or lifelong members, we must be "truly penitent and humble seeker[s] of happiness". 

I will leave this post with these two new examples and give some more in the next post.

"Left by the hands of those who slew them to molder" versus "grafted into the true vine" (Creation-in-reverse)

My last post ended with a brief discussion of "creation-in-reverse," which is my term for a process described in the scriptures in two different ways.

Here is a very brief summary of each type:

1. Covenant makers experience "creation-in-reverse" by "rend[ing] that veil of unbelief" (see Ether 4:15) and experiencing the "light of the glory of God" (see Alma 19:6). This joyful process is symbolically represented in ancient temple worship. 
2. Covenant breakers experience "creation-in-reverse" of a different sort, in that their wickedness leaves them unprotected and "cut off" from God's presence. The decay of their bodies is often described in detail, often emphasizing the return to dust (see Alma 16:10-11; Alma 28:11; Mormon 6:15) or being buried in the deep (see Alma 44:22). 

Compare Genesis 1:2-4

Let's review the earliest description of the creation process:

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1)

Before the addition of light, and the division of light and darkness, the creation was:

• without form (tohu)
• void (bohu)
• dark (choshek)

When we reject the covenant, we simultaneously reject the purpose of the creation. In a sense, our soul becomes formless, void, and dark. The creation spoils around us.

And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? (Jeremiah 4:30)

Jeremiah preaches against Israel's wickedness and connects their covenant-breaking with a spoiling of the creation around them:

22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger.
27 For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.
28 For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it. (Jeremiah 4)

Notice how Jeremiah uses those same three descriptors for the earth from Genesis 1:2, positioned between a description of the covenant people's wickedness and the description of the creation's response. (Notice also that in verses 25-28, there is a mention of the elements of creation in reverse order -- "man" then "bird" then "fruitful place" then "land" then "heavens" becoming "black.")

Connecting "creation-in-reverse" and scriptural descriptions of hell

This leads into a bigger topic of study, one that I've been working on for several weeks. It began as I was working in my yard. My wife and I had lopped off some dead branches from a tree we are trying to revive (using Jacob 5 as our instruction manual, of course, even though it isn't an olive tree).

One Saturday, my task was to decide the fate of this pile of dead branches.  I chose fire. For about an hour, I stood in front of the firepit, gradually feeding in these dead branches. As I worked I entertained two thought processes at once: chemistry and scripture. The chemical reaction we call fire involves the breaking down of the "organized" hydrocarbon elements of the wood into more fundamental elements: water vapor, carbon dioxide, and, well, dust. 

At the same, I thought of Mormon lamenting the fate of his people:

...and their flesh, and bones, and blood lay upon the face of the earth, being left by the hands of those who slew them to molder upon the land, and to crumble and to return to their mother earth. (Mormon 6:15)

I hadn't ever thought of this description of the fate of the bodies of the wicked as a symbol of hell, but it fits. 

Consider other related phrases, such as "hewn down and cast into the fire." King Benjamin (and others) describe the result of rejecting the word: 

25 ... if they be evil they are consigned to an awful view of their own guilt and abominations, which doth cause them to shrink from the presence of the Lord into a state of misery and endless torment, from whence they can no more return; therefore they have drunk damnation to their own souls.
26 Therefore, they have drunk out of the cup of the wrath of God, which justice could no more deny unto them than it could deny that Adam should fall because of his partaking of the forbidden fruit; therefore, mercy could have claim on them no more forever.
27 And their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever.

There is a lot to unpack in these verses, including references to justice and Adam.   I'll pick this up in a future post, but for now it's enough to point out that the fire of guilt and torment that afflicts the wicked who knowingly reject the word is a result of their decision to reject the plan of mercy. Thus we can reinforce that the purposes of mortality have much to do with the plan of mercy.

Connection to 'The Two Ways'

Mormon also summarizes the contrast between the righteous and the wicked very nicely after describing the aftermath of a war:

10 And from the first year to the fifteenth has brought to pass the destruction of many thousand lives; yea, it has brought to pass an awful scene of bloodshed.
11 And the bodies of many thousands are laid low in the earth, while the bodies of many thousands are moldering in heaps upon the face of the earth; yea, and many thousands are mourning for the loss of their kindred, because they have reason to fear, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are consigned to a state of endless wo.
12 While many thousands of others truly mourn for the loss of their kindred, yet they rejoice and exult in the hope, and even know, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are raised to dwell at the right hand of God, in a state of never-ending happiness.
13 And thus we see how great the inequality of man is because of sin and transgression, and the power of the devil, which comes by the cunning plans which he hath devised to ensnare the hearts of men.
14 And thus we see the great call of diligence of men to labor in the vineyards of the Lord; and thus we see the great reason of sorrow, and also of rejoicing—sorrow because of death and destruction among men, and joy because of the light of Christ unto life. (Alma 28)

Light versus darkness

The symbolism here boils ties in with the very fundamental elements of creation -- light versus darkness. This fundamental contrast is emphasized multiple times in the scriptures.  Here is a notable example:

23 And that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness.

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.

25 And again, verily I say unto you, and I say it that you may know the truth, that you may chase darkness from among you;

26 He that is ordained of God and sent forth, the same is appointed to be the greatest, notwithstanding he is the least and the servant of all.

27 Wherefore, he is possessor of all things; for all things are subject unto him, both in heaven and on the earth, the life and the light, the Spirit and the power, sent forth by the will of the Father through Jesus Christ, his Son. (Doctrine & Covenants 50)

See also Doctrine & Covenant 88:6-13.

Choosing the light is the way of life. Jesus Christ, of course, is both the light and life of the world (John 8:12 and John 1:4).

Conclusion

Once again we connect the temple covenant with the creation, quite directly. God created the light as He separated the light from the darkness. "Let there be light" may be seen by us as a divine injunction in addition to a declaration by God during the creation process. Mortality is all about seeking the light and cleaving to it. When we do, God promises to send us more and more, until the day comes when we can rend the veil of unbelief and experience the "marvelous light of [God's] goodness—yea, this light [which] infuse[s] such joy into [our] soul, ... that the light of everlasting life [becomes] lit up in [our] soul ... overcom[ing] [our] natural frame, and [we are] carried away in God" (Alma 19:6).

"Therefore he sent angels to converse with them, who caused men to behold of his glory."

The title of this post comes from Alma 12:29. This verse encapsulates both a major theme from the temple and a major theme from the scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon. It's been on my mind quite a bit lately. This concept helps us connect the teachings of the temple to the scriptures.

After studying Alma 12-13 recently, I noticed something interesting that I had not previously considered:

Angels are the source of the name of Christ.

This principle is taught very clearly in many places in scripture. 

• Jacob makes it abundantly clear that an angel revealed to him the name of Christ (see 2 Nephi 10:3). 
• Jacob makes it clear that "all the holy prophets" before him "knew of Christ," "had a hope of his glory" and "believed in Christ and worshiped the Father in his name." (See Jacob 4:4-6.)
• Benjamin rehearses the words given to him by an angel, which includes the name of Jesus Christ. (See Mosiah 3:8.)
• Samuel the Lamanite was commanded by the voice of the Lord to "prophesy unto the people whatsoever things should come into his heart." This included the name of Christ, which he received from an angel of the Lord. (See Helaman 13:3, 6-7.) 

Here are some related examples:

• In a vision, Lehi is given a book by a divine messenger which "manifests plainly of the coming of a Messiah" (see 1 Nephi 1:19), though we are not certain whether Christ's name was given to him at that time. 
• Part of the message Abinadi was sent to deliver "with power and authority from God" included the name of Christ. (See Mosiah 13:6 and Mosiah 15:21.)
• Ammon acted in the role of the angel for King Lamoni and his people. (See Alma 18:29.)
• Interestingly, Alma-2 does not learn the name of Christ from the angel who visits him.  Rather, after the visitation of the angel and while he suffered intense agony and pain of spirit, he "remembered also to have heard [his] father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world." (See Alma 36:17.) Thus it seems this verse teaches Alma-2 the importance of earthly messengers -- prophets -- and the need to hearken to their word. (Recall that a central theme in Alma 36 is Alma teaching his son through poetry how his word became God's word through conversion to Jesus Christ. See this post.)

It is that final example that leads us to my next point, which is that priesthood authority is given to man on earth to help the sons and daughters of God be reborn into new creatures, spiritual creatures, who are then able to spread the word and help others in the same way they were helped.

This is taught quote plainly in Alma 12-13. I quoted Alma 12:29 in the title of this post.  Here is the very next verse:

30 And they began from that time forth to call on his name; therefore God conversed with men, and made known unto them the plan of redemption, which had been prepared from the foundation of the world; and this he made known unto them according to their faith and repentance and their holy works.

Reiterating an ancient doctrine

Alma-2 certainly isn't breaking new ground here. Rather, he is reiterating a doctrine as old as Adam and Eve. Thankfully, the Book of Moses offers us a glimpse into how this unfolded.

The connections between Alma 12-13 and Moses 4-6 are intriguing. A recent Interpreter article lists numerous connections between the Book of Mormon and Book of Moses in general.  Below I'll note a few verses specific to Alma 12-13 which are worth studying.

 Compare Alma 12:33 -- 

33 But God did call on men, in the name of his Son, (this being the plan of redemption which was laid) saying: If ye will repent, and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son;

...with Moses 6:23, 52, 62 --

23 And they were preachers of righteousness, and spake and prophesied, and called upon all men, everywhere, to repent; and faith was taught unto the children of men.
...
52 And he also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you.
...
62 And now, behold, I say unto you: This is the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only Begotten, who shall come in the meridian of time.

The connections don't end there. Alma's sermon in Alma 13 teaches us more about what it means to participate in the "holy order of God." These priests were ordained by God "to teach these things unto the people" (Alma 13:1). Notice what Adam is described as doing right after the account of his baptism and receipt of the Holy Ghost:

1 And it came to pass that Enoch continued his speech, saying: Behold, our father Adam taught these things, and many have believed and become the sons of God... (Moses 7)

Adam learned "these things" at least in part from the angel who came to him and taught him the meaning of sacrifice: 

7 And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.
8 Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore. (Moses 5)

It is vital to remember that the account of Adam's baptism by water and the Spirit (at the end of Moses 6) and teaching (at the beginning of Moses 7) comes to us by way of an account of the teachings of Enoch, who was also called and chosen by God to be a teacher of these same things.  So all of this is a story within a story, which is very interesting. As if Enoch (the name means "the initiated one") is being taught to understand himself as an Adam of sorts.

Conclusion

The Holy Order of God goes all the way back to Adam. Angels do indeed bring glad tidings. God calls upon men not only to repent but also to "work righteousness" and "teach these things unto the people." (See Alma 13:1, 10.)

Ancient temple theology in the Book of Mormon

In my last post, I wrote about the veil and its symbolism. Learning more about the first temple and associated theology from Margaret Barker's Book, "Temple theology", I find it remarkable how well it matches temple imagery in the Book of Mormon. I mentioned in my last post that the first temple mirrored the creation account. This is one aspect of the creation-covenant connection that Lord Wilmore (the other blogger for those who are new to this blog) has posted extensively about. I also mentioned that the veil reflected the second day of creation. The holy of holies or the inner sanctuary of the temple, reflected the first day of creation. According to Barker

In the second temple, it was empty, yet the mystical and apocalyptic texts from that period were set in a richly furnished holy place, a place of fire where the great Holy One was enthroned before countless angels.

This can be seen in the Book of Enoch. In chapter 14, Enoch, a high priestly figure, has a vision

the vision caused me to fly and lifted me upward, and bore me into heaven

Here he enters into a heavenly temple 

And its floor was of fire, and above it were lightnings and the path ¹⁸ of the stars, and its ceiling also was flaming fire. And I looked and saw therein a lofty throne: its appearance was as crystal, and the wheels thereof as the shining sun, and there was the vision of ¹⁹ cherubim. And from underneath the throne came streams of flaming fire so that I could not look ²⁰ thereon. And the Great Glory sat thereon, and His raiment shone more brightly than the sun and ²¹ was whiter than any snow.

When Barker argues that Enoch's vision reflects ancient temple practice, it's very natural to conclude the same for Lehi

8 And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.
9 And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day.
10 And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament. (1 Nephi 1)

The context is also interesting. Lehi was a prophet living in Jerusalem born in the mid-7th BC century, a few decades prior to the deuteronomic reform. I will not go into that in detail here, but this article provides more context. The main point is that Lehi probably came from the high priestly first temple tradition that Barker writes about. Consequently, it is reasonable to assume that the Nephite temples and theology corresponded to the high priestly theology associated with the first temple. In 2 Nephi 5:16, Nephi built a temple and wrote that he "did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon".

With this background, I came to the surprising realization of a possible temple setting for King Lamoni's story. I touched upon this in a previous post with the heaven-earth theme but without making the temple connection. Since the holy of holies reflects the first day of creation, the creation of "heaven and earth", we naturally associate it with the "heaven" part and the light that was created on the first day.

To recap briefly, in Alma 18, Ammon makes an allusion to the creation account when he asks King Lamoni if he believes in God who "created all things which are in heaven and in the earth". Lamoni responds that he only knows the earth but is not familiar with heaven. In a temple context, the veil has blocked Lamoni's view of the holy of holies. He has not walked the covenant path through the temple that ultimately will allow him to enter, as I describe in the previous post that I linked to.

But this all changes at his conversion. In Alma 19:6, we read:

Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness—yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew that this had overcome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God

This seems like a temple setting. King Lamoni, who knew nothing about heaven (holy of holies) because of the veil, had the veil cast away from his mind. It permitted him to see the light that was created on the first day and that the holy of holies in Nephite temples would represent. Notice also the "glory of God" that was the name Enoch used in his temple vision quoted above. In my previous post, I also quoted Barker's statement about "those who passed beyond the veil [who] found themselves outside time". This is the "light of everlasting life" that was lit up in Lamoni's soul. "Carried away" is another covenant/temple marker as Lord Wilmore explains in this post.

My guess is that an "endowed" Nephite reading this, would immediately recognize the temple allusions here as the author probably intended. Who knows, perhaps Lamoni, the king and first Lamanite convert, went on to become a high priest in a temple in the land of Jershon?

"Carried away" -- part 1

I got carried away (pun intended) in a recent post and stumbled upon a really interesting covenant term with a double meaning --"carried away." That post was already far too long, so this post will fill in the details.

Stisa has already created a two-part series of posts (here and here) with some overlap to what I'll be covering here.  I also attempted to connect this term to Zion in a series of posts around the same time (here, here and here).

This post will focus on two usages of the term "carried away," one positive and one negative. 

Opening example

To begin, let's take a look at the first example I found that clearly shows the double meaning, from the very first chapter of the Book of Mormon:

7 And it came to pass that he returned to his own house at Jerusalem; and he cast himself upon his bed, being overcome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen.

8 And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.

9 And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day.

10 And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament.

11 And they came down and went forth upon the face of the earth; and the first came and stood before my father, and gave unto him a book, and bade him that he should read.

12 And it came to pass that as he read, he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord.

13 And he read, saying: Wo, wo, unto Jerusalem, for I have seen thine abominations! Yea, and many things did my father read concerning Jerusalem—that it should be destroyed, and the inhabitants thereof; many should perish by the sword, and many should be carried away captive into Babylon. (1 Nephi 1)

There is quite a bit packed into this passage, but it begins with the positive version of "carried away" and ends with the negative version.

Positive examples

19 And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!

20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms. (1 Nephi 11)

29 And I also beheld twelve others following him. And it came to pass that they were carried away in the Spirit from before my face, and I saw them not.

30 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the heavens open again, and I saw angels descending upon the children of men; and they did minister unto them. (1 Nephi 11)

I'll have more to say about this in a future post. I believe these verses subtly explain a really important truth about what an angel really is.

25 And upon the wings of his Spirit hath my body been carried away upon exceedingly high mountains. And mine eyes have beheld great things, yea, even too great for man; therefore I was bidden that I should not write them. (2 Nephi 4)

See also 1 Nephi 14:30 and 1 Nephi 15:1.

6 Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness—yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew that this had overcome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God (Alma 19)

16 Now, when I think of the success of these my brethren my soul is carried away, even to the separation of it from the body, as it were, so great is my joy.

17 And now may God grant unto these, my brethren, that they may sit down in the kingdom of God; yea, and also all those who are the fruit of their labors that they may go no more out, but that they may praise him forever. And may God grant that it may be done according to my words, even as I have spoken. (Alma 29)

Negative examples

5 And they that kill the prophets, and the saints, the depths of the earth shall swallow them up, saith the Lord of Hosts; and mountains shall cover them, and whirlwinds shall carry them away, and buildings shall fall upon them and crush them to pieces and grind them to powder. (2 Nephi 26)

16 And there were some who were carried away in the whirlwind; and whither they went no man knoweth, save they know that they were carried away. (3 Nephi 8)

 13 O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe. (2 Nephi 1)

See also 2 Nephi 6:8, 2 Nephi 25:10-11.

 

Conclusion -- The Two Ways

Thus we see that "carried away" is yet another covenant-related term with a clear double usage pattern.

Each of us will be "carried away," one way or another. It's inevitable. The good news is that we can choose the way of eternal life, by which we bind ourselves to God through covenant and are carried away by the wings of the Spirit upon exceedingly high mountains (Zion), where we can sing praises and dwell in safety and righteousness forever. (See 2 Nephi 10:23-24, 2 Nephi 4:25, Mormon 7:7, Moses 7:20) 

The alternative would be to allow Satan to bind us and allow ourselves to be carried away captive  down to hell through unrighteous use of our agency, where our guilt will ascend like smoke to heaven and we would fain command the rocks and the mountains cover us to conceal us from the piercing eye of of the Almighty God at the great day of judgment. (See 2 Nephi 28:21-22, Mosiah 3:25-27, Alma 12:14, Jacob 2:10)

In the next post, I'll outline what I learned as I looked into the Hebrew roots of "carried away."