The breastplate and the Urim and Thummim

I just read Exodus 28:30

And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually.

Aaron and his sons, the priests of the tabernacle, wore a breastplate in which they put the Urim and Thummim. Some scholars believe that there was some sort of pouch on the breastplate that could fit the two stones. We know that Joseph Smith also had a breastplate and a Urim and Thummim. According to his younger brother, William, the breastplate had a

pocket [that] was prepared in the [Nephite] breastplate on the left side, immediately over the heart. When not in use the [interpreters were] placed in this pocket, the rod being of just the right length to allow it to be so deposited.

Admittedly this is a late account. But if William remembers correctly, the similarities to Exodus and the way Aaron and his sons anciently used the breastplate and Urim and Thummim, are striking. More information on this topic is given in this article. What the article does not mention, is that Joseph Smith did not seem to know about the Urim and Thummim at the time when he translated the Book of Mormon. Otherwise, critics could claim that Joseph simply read Exodus 28:30 and imitated that as he fabricated a story (except the witnesses actually saw the breastplate and interpreters too). But Joseph Smith never once mentioned the Urim and Thummim before, during or shortly after the Book of Mormon translation. They are not mentioned in the Book of Mormon either. Joseph consistently referred to the stones as "the Nephite interpreters". In the Book of Mormon itself, they are described as "interpreters" (Mosiah 8:13), "two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow" (Mosiah 28:13) or simply "two stones" (Ether 3:23).

Not until 1833, the name Urim and Thummim starts being used. Someone, and it does not even seem to be Joseph Smith, made the connection between the Nephite interpreters and the ancient Urim and Thummim mentioned in the Bible. The earliest account that we have where this name is being used and this connection is being made is found in the January edition of the Evening and Morning Star

It was translated by the gift and power of God, by an unlearned man, through the aid of a pair of Interpreters, or spectacles-(known, perhaps, in ancient days as Teraphim, or Urim and Thummim)

This was written by W. W. Phelps. The "perhaps" seems to indicate personal speculation rather than information from Joseph Smith. But this seemed to gain traction since numerous accounts after this use "Urim and Thummim" as names for both the Nephite Interpreters and Joseph Smith's seer stone. I don't know how critics would explain the fact that the Nephite Interpreters seem to be carrying on an ancient Israelite tradition and knowledge of the Urim and Thummim. Joseph just copying the Bible does not hold up to scrutiny, unless we believe that he purposely did not say anything and hoped that someone else like W.W.Phelps would make the connection later on. Seems far fetched to me.

More on the number 8

Even though we have addressed symbolism and ancient Hebrew frequently on this blog, we have not discussed the significance of numbers much. In ancient Hebrew, there is much meaning and symbolism connected to numbers beyond the numerical value. In fact, there are no separate numbers in Hebrew, but rather letters that also have a numerical value. Like A = 1, B = 2, etc. This is very common in ancient languages and I would guess most likely also the case among the Nephites. 

I was thinking of writing a post on the number 8, but Lord Wilmore beat me to it. (Yes, we read the same Val Larsen paper). I am still going to piggyback off of his post to add a few thoughts.

As he wrote, the number 8 represented new beginnings. On a grand scale, Israelites measured time in "worlds" or ages. There were seven days of creation. So the eighth day marked a new beginning, a new age with man in the paradisiacal garden. We know little about the time there. But from the fall we also count seven millennia, before a new heaven and a new earth. Seven is the completion of a full circle (seven itself being the number for completeness and perfection) and eight therefore the number representing a new age and a new beginning.

There are many examples of this symbolism in the scriptures. For instance:

• In Israel, boys were circumcised on the 8th day. This is connected to the covenant and a new creation. 
• In 1 Peter 3:20, Peter makes a point of there being 8 people saved in the flood, representing a new beginning for the earth
• In addition to the earth's baptism with Noah, 8 is obviously connected to baptism today as well because we are baptized at 8 years
• Jesus was resurrected on the "first day of the week", which is the day after the sabbath and can therefore be considered the eighth day

In addition to the eight generations before "new beginnings" in the aftermath of Nephite destruction, there are other uses of the number 8 fitting into this pattern. This post shows parallels between the Nephites and the Jaredites in fleeing Babel/Babylon before journeying to the promised land. Another parallel is the number 8 connected with the sea journey to a new beginning.

In 1 Nephi 17, Nephi is building a ship to sail to the promised land. Just before that, Nephi mentions that they spent eight years in the wilderness. In Hebrew, the number eight is "shemoneh" and comes from the root, "shamen", which means "to grow fat" and is therefore also linked to abundance. Notice what 1 Nephi 17:4-5 says:

4 And we did sojourn for the space of many years, yea, even eight years in the wilderness.
5 And we did come to the land which we called Bountiful, because of its much fruit and also wild honey; and all these things were prepared of the Lord that we might not perish. And we beheld the sea, which we called Irreantum, which, being interpreted, is many waters.

Bountiful certainly has that abundance and the eight years mark the new beginning. We find the number eight in the story of the Jaredites too, also connected to the sea journey (hat tip to Lord Wilmore for reminding me of that). It is mentioned in passing in Ether 3:1

And it came to pass that the brother of Jared, (now the number of the vessels which had been prepared was eight) went forth unto the mount

Things like these are always a bit speculative. Perhaps the authors simply wanted to write how many years they spent in the wilderness or how many ships they built without further meaning. But I find it likely that Nephites brought Hebrew culture with them and, just like the authors of the Old Testament, frequently used symbolism of various numbers to highlight particular points or teach deeper lessons. 

Fallen -- Part 2 (The Brother of Jared)

In part 1 I described the plan of salvation in terms of down and up movements. The fall and exaltation are key parts of the plan. But even though the fall was part of the plan and it is also normal to slip during the ascension on the covenant path, we must be careful not to become fallen again by abandoning the covenant completely as exemplified in certain Book of Mormon passages.

I may have given the impression in that last post that the downward movement is always negative and the upward movement is always positive. It's a bit more complicated than that. For instance, we can be lifted up in pride. This is a type of false ascension and is not sustainable. We also read that King Benjamin's people had fallen to the earth and begged for mercy through the atoning blood of Christ in Mosiah 4:1-2. Obviously a good thing.

For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted (Luke 14:11)

The point is not any ascension but the right kind of ascension. The right kind comes by first humbling yourself (which can somewhat ironically be considered a downward movement) and then covenant with a being that exist on a higher level than yourself with the power to lift you up. Sometimes that even entails beings on a higher level descending to get you and pick you up. This is the ministry of angels. They need to descend to reach us with their ministry (see Mosiah 27:11 and 3 Nephi 17:24, for instance). When the high priest in the ancient temple had been in the Holy of Holies symbolizing the celestial realm, he went out again to serve the people and symbolically atone for their sins again the next year. Similarly, Nephi, the Brother of Jared, Moses and others went down from those mountains to fulfill their mission on a telestion earth and teach others. Christ has been seen descending out of heaven too on several occasions, see 1 Nephi 1:9, 1 Nephi 11:7 and 3 Nephi 11:8. He even descended below all things (D&C 88:6).

With this as backdrop, we will take a closer look at the Brother of Jared, because there is a lot of play on this theme in his story.

First of all, and this is something I have posted about before, the name, "Jared", in Hebrew means "descend" or "go down". As we often see in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon, there are puns on his name in the text. In the Book of Ether, the story of the Brother of Jared figuratively starts with him symbolically coming down from the Tower of Babel (Ether 1:33). Then he goes down into the valley (1:42, 2:1, 2:4), falls down before the Lord (3:6), goes down out of the mount (4:1, 6:2), bows down in the promised land (6:12) and goes down to the grave (6:19, 6:21). The interesting part is that the Brother of Jared obviously has his own name, it's through the use of his brother's name that the word-play is working.

Keeping in mind that Christ descended below all things and other similarities, it makes sense to view the Brother of Jared as a type of Christ. But in addition to the puns on his name (or rather his brother's name), there is an intricate play on this theme in the story of the Brother of Jared on the mount.

We know the story. He is on the mountain with the stones and offers a humble prayer.

...we know that thou art holy and dwellest in the heavens, and that we are unworthy before thee; because of the fall our natures have become evil continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee... (Ether 3:2)

Again, in verse 6

And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord; and it was as the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood; and the brother of Jared fell down before the Lord, for he was struck with fear.

This is one of those puns. If you translate "Jared", you read that "go down fell down". The Brother of Jared humbles himself as advised in that verse in Luke. After this, the Lord tells him to arise (verse 7) and brings him back into his presence (verse 13). "he that humbleth himself shall be exalted". But as mentioned, he doesn't stay on that mountain but goes down again. He has a mission to fulfill, just like Christ went down to fulfill his mission. This is specified in Ether 4:1

And the Lord commanded the brother of Jared to go down out of the mount from the presence of the Lord, and write the things which he had seen; and they were forbidden to come unto the children of men until after that he should be lifted up upon the cross

So there is another pun when the Lord commands the brother of "Go down" to go down. But the theme continues. He is commanded to write what he saw. But it is "forbidden to come unto the children of men" until after Christ is "lifted up" on the cross. We are not told why, but the Brother of Jared undoubtedly saw wonderful things pertaining to exaltation on that mountain, which is only made possible through Christ being "lifted up".

 

The meaning of the veil

Growing up in the church, we learn about the veil as something that we pass through on our journey from the pre-mortal existence to mortal life. Similarly, we read about ancient temples where a veil separated the holy of holies, God's presence, from the rest of the temple. This is familiar also to a latter-day saint who has been through the modern temple. Until recently, I didn't think much about the fact that this concept is quite unique in latter-day saint theology. At least to my knowledge, this kind of symbolism is not used in other christian churches.

I am currently reading Margaret Barker's very interesting book called "Temple theology", where she explains the meaning and theology connected to the first temple of Solomon and also argues that the early Christian theology to a large degree was based on it. She describes the meaning of the veil in this temple. According to her research, the veil represented

the web of matter that conceals the throne of God from human perception

When making the portable proto-temple in the wilderness, Moses was instructed:

And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount. (Exodus 25:40)

Barker uses extra-biblical sources as evidence that the creation account was revealed to Moses on the mountain (which fits nicely with the Pearl of Great Price) and that the temple was built after the pattern of the creation account. Just as God created "heaven and earth", the temple had the holy of holies with the throne of God (heaven) and a veil separating it from "earth". The veil represented the second day of creation when the firmament was made to separate the waters above (heaven) from below (earth).

In Barker's words:

Those who passed beyond the veil found themselves outside time.

Passing through the veil was thus a transition from earth to heaven and from time to timelessness or infinity, from mortality to eternal glory. This symbolism is very recognizable to a latter-day saint.

I have previously written about the heaven-earth pairing in the scriptures. See here and here. I didn't mention the veil in those posts, but the idea of bringing heaven and earth together is very relevant in this context since the veil separates the two. We sometimes talk about the veil being thin in certain circumstances. There are also examples in the scriptures where the veil can be rent. When Christ died on the cross, the following happened: 

And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent (Matthew 27:51)

The heaven-earth posts I linked explain that the heaven earth connection is typically made in conjunction with creation, atonement, restoration or covenant making in general. The rent veil brings heaven and earth together. In this example from Matthew, Christ's atonement opened the way for man into the holy of holies, God's presence.

With all this background, I will finally turn to the Book of Mormon, more specifically, the story of the Brother of Jared. His interaction with the Lord after he brings the sixteen stones to the mountain is very interesting in a temple context.

• In Ether 3:6, the Lord "stretched forth his hand" and the veil was removed enough for the brother of Jared to see his finger
• An interaction follows where the Lord asks some questions and the brother of Jared answers
• Then in verse 13, the brother of Jared was "brought back into [the Lord's] presence"

The brother of Jared had passed through the veil and found himself in the holy of holies or the celestial sphere, God's presence. Notice how verse 25 describes the timelessness, where both past and future are right in front of him

And when the Lord had said these words, he showed unto the brother of Jared all the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that would be; and he withheld them not from his sight, even unto the ends of the earth.

Compare with D&C 130:7

But they reside in the presence of God, on a globe like a sea of glass and fire, where all things for their glory are manifest, past, present, and future, and are continually before the Lord.

Moroni explains how this way through the veil is available to us and that the brother of Jared shows a pattern to follow. 

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)

Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you—yea... then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. (Ether 4:15-16)

Notice also how the heaven-earth pairing appears in Moroni's comments to this story about the brother of Jared.

And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are... And at my command the heavens are opened and are shut; and at my word the earth shall shake (Ether 4:7-9)

Summary

• In the beginning, God created heaven and earth. He also separated them. The veil in the temple, ancient and modern and the use of this word in the scriptures, symbolizes this separation.
• The intention was not to keep them separate. Rending the veil and unifying heaven and earth is the goal. But we first need to learn to see with the "eye of faith" and walk the covenant path
• The story of the brother of Jared and the temple shows a pattern for how we can pass through the veil

 

 

The interpreters and "gift and power of God"

For the first time in the Book of Mormon, we are introduced to the "interpreters" in last week's "Come Follow Me" lesson in Mosiah 8.

13 Now Ammon said unto him: I can assuredly tell thee, O king, of a man that can translate the records; for he has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date; and it is a gift from God. And the things are called interpreters, and no man can look in them except he be commanded, lest he should look for that he ought not and he should perish. And whosoever is commanded to look in them, the same is called seer.

14 And behold, the king of the people who are in the land of Zarahemla is the man that is commanded to do these things, and who has this high gift from God.

We don't really learn what these are or where Mosiah II, the king in Zarahemla, got them from. This is information likely found on the large plates that were lost. Since we jump back in time in the next chapter, we don't get to the part where Mosiah actually gets these records and uses the interpreters to translate them until Mosiah 28. Here we learn that they are "two stones fastened into the rims of a bow".

11 Therefore he took the records which were engraven on the plates of brass, and also the plates of Nephi, and all the things which he had kept and preserved according to the commandments of God, after having translated and caused to be written the records which were on the plates of gold which had been found by the people of Limhi, which were delivered to him by the hand of Limhi;

12 And this he did because of the great anxiety of his people; for they were desirous beyond measure to know concerning those people who had been destroyed.

13 And now he translated them by the means of those two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow.

14 Now these things were prepared from the beginning, and were handed down from generation to generation, for the purpose of interpreting languages

We also learned that they were handed down from generation to generation. So Mosiah II probably got them from his father, Benjamin, and so on. How were they obtained initially? At least we know that the Brother of Jared obtained a pair

23 And behold, these two stones will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write.

24 For behold, the language which ye shall write I have confounded; wherefore I will cause in my own due time that these stones shall magnify to the eyes of men these things which ye shall write. (Ether 3)

In the next chapter, these two stones are referred to as interpreters, (Ether 4:5). In D&C 17:1, we learn

Behold, I say unto you, that you must rely upon my word, which if you do with full purpose of heart, you shall have a view of the plates, and also of the breastplate, the sword of Laban, the Urim and Thummim, which were given to the brother of Jared upon the mount, when he talked with the Lord face to face, and the miraculous directors which were given to Lehi while in the wilderness, on the borders of the Red Sea.

Here, the "two stones" or "interpreters" are called the "Urim and Thummim". This is a term that is not used in the Book of Mormon but we find it in the Old Testament. Eventually they started using that term too in Joseph Smith's time as they made this connection. From this verse we learn that the Urim and Thummim that Joseph Smith found buried with the plates are the same that the Brother of Jared received. It is also very likely that the interpreters that Mosiah II had that were "handed down from generation to generation" are the same that Moroni buried together with the plates. The question is then how they were passed from the Jaredites to Mosiah II's forefathers?

Church historian, Don Bradely, writes about this in his book on the lost 116 pages. He is quoting a very interesting source, where a man named Fayette Lapham relates what Joseph Smith Sr. told him about the contents of the large plates. One story goes like this.

They...found something of which they did not know the use, but when they went into the tabernacle, a voice said, "What have you got in your hand, there?" They replied that they did not know, but had come to inquire; when the voice said, "Put it on your face, and put your face in a skin, and you will see what it is." They did so, and could see everything of the past, present, and future; and it was the same spectacles that Joseph found with the gold plates. The gold ball stopped here and ceased to direct them any further.

No names are mentioned, but this happened after they had settled in the promised land. Don Bradley argues that it was Mosiah I. We know from the Book of Omni that Mosiah I found the people of Zarahemla and that Corinatumr, the last survivor of the Jaredite nation, had been found by them and stayed with them. We also learn that 

in the days of Mosiah, there was a large stone brought unto him with engravings on it; and he did interpret the engravings by the gift and power of God. (Omni 1:20)

It does not say how he translated it, but I'm convinced he had the interpreters/Urim and Thummim by then and used it. Here we also have the link between the Nephites and the Jaredites and although we don't have all the details, we can trace much of the history of the interpreters. The Lapham account helps us with the missing link and informs us that it was probably not handed from the Jaredites to the Nephites but that the Nephites found it in the area where the Jaredites had lived.

One reason Don Bradley thinks that Mosiah I had them and used them to translate the large stone, is the use of the expression, "gift and power of God". This seems to be the code for translation through the interpreters by someone who has been "commanded to look in them", i.e. a seer. I will quote all uses of this expression in the Book of Mormon

after thy seed shall be destroyed, and dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of thy brethren, behold, these things shall be hid up, to come forth unto the Gentiles, by the gift and power of the Lamb. (1 Nephi 13:35)

Clearly a prophecy about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. In the Book of Mormon title page, probably written by Mormon:

To come forth by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof

The three witnesses' statement in the Book of Mormon uses the expression too, probably because Joseph Smith himself used it on several occasions:

And we also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God

Finally, back to Mosiah 8 that we started out with, we don't have the exact expression but in Mosiah 8:16, where Ammon and King Lamoni discuss the interpreters, we read

And Ammon said that a seer is a revelator and a prophet also; and a gift which is greater can no man have, except he should possess the power of God, which no man can; yet a man may have great power given him from God.

We don't have a lot of details, but what we have is fascinating.

Redeemer - kinsman -- Part 2

In part 1, we saw how Lehi talked about a "Redeemer of the world", an idea that seems to fly in the face of the Old Testament tradition of the redeemer only redeeming his kin. What Lehi had understood, however, was that Jesus Christ is our brother, regardless of nationality and that everyone who repents is of the House of Israel, an understanding not all Jews at his time or later shared.

Still, the Book of Mormon is consistent with the idea of Redeemer as a kinsman, most notably through the expression "redeem his people". Even though it is consistent with the kinsman-redeemer idea, the expression is not found in the Old Testament and only once in the New Testament (in Luke 1:68 when Zacharias can finally talk again and starts praising the Lord). In the Book of Mormon, this expression is found 12 times.

The closest we get to "redeem his people" in the Old Testament is Isaiah 52:9

the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem

This is from the passage that King Noah's priests ask Abinadi about. Abinadi keeps quoting and paraphrasing this Isaiah passage throughout his sermon and his sermon accounts for 5 of those 12 "redeem his people" occurrences in the Book of Mormon. But according to Abinadi, not only Isaiah, but Moses in particular, said that "God should redeem his people".

For behold, did not Moses prophesy unto them concerning the coming of the Messiah, and that God should redeem his people? (Mosiah 13:33)

I searched the 5 books of Moses and could not find the word redeem used in this sense. It is only used in conjunction with the Jewish law regarding obligations of the kinsman or to describe how God redeemed his people out of Egypt. Either Abinadi is seeing these as types for the redemption through Messiah or there are actual more direct prophecies about this from Moses that have become lost. I wouldn't be surprised if the latter is the case. 

Another aspect of the use of "Redeemer" in the Book of Mormon is something that connects to Job in the Old Testament. We don't know exactly when Job was written, but chronologically at least it is the first time "Redeemer" is used in a Messianic sense. 

25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God (Job 19:25-26)

Job's connotation, that being redeemed is to see God, is a common meaning in the Book of Mormon too. Here are some examples

Wherefore, I know that thou art redeemed, because of the righteousness of thy Redeemer; for thou hast beheld that in the fulness of time he cometh to bring salvation unto men. And thou hast beheld in thy youth his glory. (2 Nephi 2:3-4)

Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you. (Ether 3:13)

the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory (2 Nephi 1:15) 

But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord. (Helaman 14:17)

This is not the first time I have observed or been informed about Book of Mormon terms being consistent with the ancient Hebrew understanding, but in subtle ways as to indicate that the Book of Mormon prophets had an understanding that reflect ancient ideas that our current Bibles have only left traces of.