Consecration, Temple Incense, and Noah's Ark

My recent posts have dealt with symbols involving incense, noses and smells. We've connected these symbols to the concept of consecration. The symbolism surrounding incense is an aspect of temple worship (both ancient and modern) that is so foreign to our way of thinking that it really takes some effort on our part to draw meaning from the symbols.

In one of my recent posts I mentioned a fascinating presentation recently given by Dr. John Thompson. In it, he compares ancient Egyptian priestly rituals with later Israelite temple rituals. Incense plays an important role at multiple stages in both. My interest was sparked when he showed these images of priests carrying incense in cup-shaped objects held in their outstretched hands:

The paper I referenced near the end of that post details the connection between incense and the "hand as a cup" -- ancient priests carried temple incense in special object shaped like cupped hands:

From this paper

As the caption of the figure above mentions, Hebrew has these symbols embedded in its structure. Hugh Nibley points out that the Hebrew letter kaph means palm:

Incense was often burned in special holders made in the form of a cupped hand, the “golden spoons” of Exodus 25:29 . . . the “filled hand” (the Hebrew letter kaph כ means “palm”) is the widespread sign of offering sacrifice. (Hugh Nibley, “Sacred Vestments,” Temple and Cosmos, 106.)

The ancient pictograph for this letter resembles a cupped hand:

 (source)

Kaph is connected to the word "kaphaph" meaning bow down, bent, or bowed. 

This leads us to the second connection to the Hebrew language itself: male' yad.  This is an important term for consecration. It literally means "filled hand" and is used in connection with the temple many times in the Old Testament (see page 7 of the linked paper for a complete set of Biblical references).

Getting back to Noah's Ark

Here's where it gets really interesting. In the past several posts I've connected this concept of "sweet savour" to Noah, entering into the ark/covenants, and making sacrifice to God as a sign of consecration to Him. The "savor of rest" is the sign of a consecrated life that pleases God. With the idea of 'filled hand' in mind, notice this verse from Moses 7:

43 Wherefore Enoch saw that Noah built an ark; and that the Lord smiled upon it, and held it in his own hand; but upon the residue of the wicked the floods came and swallowed them up.

Noah's ark filled the hand of the Lord (playing the role of incense) while those who would not hearken to God's word were consumed by the floods. That's deep! (Pun intended.) And it really makes you wonder how this subtle symbol of consecration/hand-filling from biblical Hebrew made its way into the Book of Moses in 1830.

Think of God holding the ark in His hand and then look back at the Egyptian pictures up above of the priests holding incense. Beautiful symbolism.

Nichoach (נִיחוֹחַ) -- "A Savor of Rest"

As I studied about incense and some of the related symbolism (see this recent post), I came across an alternative translation for Genesis 8:21, which describes God's response to Noah's sacrifice after the flood. The KJV translates this "a sweet savour" but the 1599 Geneva Bible translates the same words this way:

And the Lord smelled a savor of rest... (source)

Here is the accompanying footnote: "That is, thereby he showeth himself appeased and his anger to rest." What is so sweet that it can appease God and put His anger to rest? The Hebrew word is:

nichoach (נִיחוֹחַ): a quieting, soothing, tranquilizing (source)

Biblehub goes on to say this word derives from "nuach" (to rest), from which the name Noah is derived. So the "sweet savor" of the sacrifice is part of the deeper wordplay on the name of the central character in the story. Noah's sacrifice, a symbol of his consecrated life, pleases God and allows Noah to enter into His rest.

The NIDOTTE connects this willing sacrifice to the consecrated life of a Christian:

Perhaps the most theologically significant of all the occasions of the word is the last one (Ezekiel 20:41), where God says that the people themselves will be the “fragrant incense” to the Lord when he brings them home from the nations. As all the prophets had said again and again, it was not the people’s sacrifices that God wanted, but it was themselves, as symbolized in their sacrifices. (New international dictionary of Old Testament theology & exegesis, Vol. 3, p. 59, emphasis added by me)

What a beautiful symbol of the temple!  In the temple, we willingly "enter in" to covenants with God, wherein we promise to consecrate our lives to Him. The "sweet savor" isn't about merely burning a precious substance.  It is a symbol of a consecrated life.

In the next post, we'll carry this symbolism a little bit further by looking at the deeper meaning of an important Hebrew term for consecrate: male’ yad

A follow up note on "sweet savor"

In my last post, I attempted to describe/define what it might mean to "smell" the word of God. The essence of the symbol is this:

Hearing the word of God and seeing the heavenly light creates a strong desire to worship God and offer Him praise for His mercy and love. 

I stand by that definition.  In searching the scriptures to learn more, I came across a few gems in the Bible:

1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. (Ephesians 5)

15 ·Our offering to God is this: [or For God’s sake; or To God] We are the ·sweet smell [aroma; fragrance] of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are ·being lost [perishing; headed for destruction].  (2 Corinthians 2, EXB)

41 I will accept you as fragrant incense when I bring you out from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will be proved holy through you in the sight of the nations. (Ezekiel 20, NIV)

It pleases the Lord when His children earnestly and humbly seek to make an offering to Him that is acceptable.  This must be done in the context of purity and humilty:

3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. (Psalm 24)

Hearing, Seeing, Smelling, and Speaking the Word of God

In this post I'm going to introduce a concept from a fascinating presentation given by John Thompson, PhD, as part of the Interpreter Foundation 2021 Egypt Lecture Series. I'll have more to say in future posts on this presentation, but this post will focus on a one-minute segment dealing with ancient Egyptian anointing rituals.

Here is the one minute clip:

When he mentioned seven openings to the head and how each one is anointed, my curiosity was piqued. These rituals he is describing are extremely old, far older than Moses or Solomon's temple. The tombs in which this iconography is found are from ~2600 BC. 

Dr. Thompson points out that the Book of Abraham offers an intriguing explanation for where these rituals came from:

26 Pharaoh, being a righteous man, established his kingdom and judged his people wisely and justly all his days, seeking earnestly to imitate that order established by the fathers in the first generations, in the days of the first patriarchal reign, even in the reign of Adam, and also of Noah ... (Abraham 1)

In other words, these rituals were sincere imitations of the Priesthood ordinances established and passed down by Adam.

Hearing, Seeing, Smelling, and Speaking the Word of God

Three out of four of these are pretty easy to connect with the Gospel.  We "hear" the word of God by hearkening to the messengers and to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit.  We "see" the word of God when we rend the veil of unbelief and see the heavenly light. Let's skip the nose for now. And, of course, Nephi teaches us quite clearly how we can "speak" the word of God:

2 Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost?
3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do. (2 Nephi 32)

Most of my life, I interpreted "speaking with the tongue of angels" in a very broad and generic way.  Anytime anyone speaks words that are inspired by the Spirit, they are speaking with the tongue of angels. I still believe that is an entirely valid interpretation. But like so many Gospel principles, there is deeper covenant significance to be found when we understand the doctrine and symbols of the temple (modern and ancient).  Recent experiences in the temple and in the scriptures have opened my eyes to a deeper meaning for speaking with the tongue of angels. The ordinances of the priesthood literally add power -- priesthood power -- to our prayers to God. Our walk on the covenant path is an ascension. Metaphorically speaking, that added elevation takes us out of the world and draws us closer to heaven, where our prayers will be heard by God in a way not previously possible.

Notice these beautiful closing words from the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple, including the three-fold repetition "O hear" in verse 78:

77 O Lord God Almighty, hear us in these our petitions, and answer us from heaven, thy holy habitation, where thou sittest enthroned, with glory, honor, power, majesty, might, dominion, truth, justice, judgment, mercy, and an infinity of fulness, from everlasting to everlasting.

78 O hear, O hear, O hear us, O Lord! And answer these petitions, and accept the dedication of this house unto thee, the work of our hands, which we have built unto thy name;

79 And also this church, to put upon it thy name. And help us by the power of thy Spirit, that we may mingle our voices with those bright, shining seraphs around thy throne, with acclamations of praise, singing Hosanna to God and the Lamb! (Doctrine & Covenants 109)

"Speaking" the word of God, then, involves fully embracing His covenant path and "mingl[ing] our voices" with the angels who constantly sing praise to God. Notice also the tight connection in 2 Nephi 32 and D&C 109 between the "power" of the Holy Spirit and the voice of angels. We'll come back to that after we tackle the mystery of the nose in all of this.

So now we've covered "hearing," "seeing," and "speaking." What about "smelling"?

How does one "smell" the word of the Lord?

In short, temple incense, or to put it a little bit more accurately, the desire to serve God according to His divine pattern. I think we can summarize the essence of what it means to "smell" the word of the Lord as the natural effect that hearing the word and seeing the heavenly light has upon a person -- it creates a strong desire to worship God and offer Him praise for His mercy and love. 

Stisa covered much of this in this post, and one point he makes in that post is key:

The reyach [sweet savor associated with temple sacrifice rituals] should be done with ruach [the Spirit]. 

The sweet aroma produced by the burning incense is a symbol of the Spirit. Anciently, only with a broken heart and a contrite spirit could a disciple of Christ please God by sacrificing an animal, shedding its blood, and burning it on an altar. It was to be done with humility and according to the specifications given by God. The ritual, in addition to producing a "sweet savor," would also point the mind to the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God.

When Noah exited the ark, he emulated Adam and built an altar and offered sacrifice, which created a "pleasing odor" to the Lord (Genesis 8:21 NRSV). God then covenanted with Noah and gave him commandments (see Genesis 9:1-17). (More to come on that "pleasing odor" in a future post.)

As an aside, this a great example of a symbol that would have been so obvious to any temple-worshipping Israelite that it would have gone without saying, but for us it is almost completely foreign, especially since we do not use incense at all in our modern temple worship. Instead, we have certain symbols which evoke the image of temple incense when understood in their original context. This paper summarizes the symbolism associated with incense in the temple.

Conclusion

There are seven openings in the head, and the arrangement and function of each outlines a heavenly pattern. As part of "becoming a new creature" in Christ (see Mosiah 27:26), each of these openings can be consecrated for the purpose of seeking the word of God. Ears to hear, eyes to see, a nose to smell (a symbol of our humble efforts to worthily worship and praise God), and a mouth to speak with the tongue of angels.  

The arrangement of these openings also points to unity with God. The ears are situated on opposite sides of the head, and we see progressive closeness with the eyes and then the nostrils, until we are united with God and the angels and are taught to speak (through one mouth) with the tongue of angels and the power of the Spirit. 

This is a beautiful set of symbols. I am constantly amazed by the layers of depth embedded in these sacred things.

In the midst -- Part 1

This has been mentioned several times on the blog before, but for the benefit of new readers and because many do not know about this ancient Israelite tradition (I didn't until quite recently), I will repeat some things about covenant making. At a time and in a culture where literacy was rare, covenants were not signed at the bottom of a piece of paper. In the Hebrew language, you literally cut a covenant. That does not make sense in English and is therefore translated differently. But it is found frequently in the Old Testament. This reflects the (somewhat grotesque to the modern Westeners) practice of cutting animals in half and walking through the carcasses. This act is the signature and a declaration that the covenant is taken very seriously. ("Let me be cut in half like these animals if I break the covenant").

This happens in Genesis 15:10 when God makes a covenant with Abraham. But in this case, Abraham falls asleep after he has cut the animals and God himself, in the form of a burning lamp, walks through the carcasses (see Genesis 15:17-18). God is the active part in the Abrahamic covenant giving all the promises. Back to verse 10, we read

And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.

"In the midst" in the Old Testament

I happened to look up the word, "midst", and how it is being used in the scriptures. This is the Hebrew word, תָּוֶךְ (tavek). It comes from an unused root meaning "to sever", which makes it hard for me not to see the covenant relations of this word. It is sometimes used in a literal sense in the scriptures, but quite frequently, it seems to be used in a more spiritual sense. For instance, 1 Kings 6:19 describes King Solomon preparing the "inner sanctuary inside the temple". But the "inside" in this case is translated from the Hebrew tavek, even though we know that the holy of holies was not physically in the middle of the temple. Rather, it was the focal point, the most holy place, the center of attention, the heart of the covenant, so to speak.

Similarly, we find this word constantly popping up in the Old Testament in relation to important covenant themes.

• In the creation account, God made a firmament in the midst (tavek) of the waters to separate the waters of heaven and earth (Genesis 1:6)
• In the Garden of Eden, God planted the two trees in the midst (tevek) of the garden (Genesis 2:9 and 3:3).
• God talked to Moses out of the midst (tavek) of the burning bush (Exodus 3:2, 4) and again from the midst of the cloud on Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:16). The covenant theme is especially evident when the events are recounted in Deuteronomy 4:12-13

12 And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst [Hebr. tavek] of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.

13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.

• In an act similar to the creation in Genesis 1:6, Moses parts the Red Sea and the Israelites walk in the midst (tavek) of the sea followed by the Egyptians (repeated over and over in Exodus 14:16, 22, 23, 27, 29, 15:19)
• In Exodus 25:8, the Lord instructs Israel to build a tabernacle

And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among (Hebr. tavek) them. (A more literal translation would be "dwell in their midst")

• According to Psalm 116:19, Solomon's temple was also in the midst of Jerusalem. Again, whether it was physically in the middle of Jerusalem is probably not the main point here.

Ancient Israel had the tabernacle and temple in their midst. It was God's dwelling place and represented his presence. In other words, God, the author of the covenant, was in the midst of Israel, just like he walked in the midst of the carcasses that Abraham had prepared. This is also expressed repeatedly in the Old Testament. Here is one example:

Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the Lord dwell among (Hebr. tavek) the children of Israel. (Numbers 35:34)

"In the midst" in the Book of Mormon

Not surprisingly, we see a similar pattern in the Book of Mormon. I noticed in particular how Jesus is repeatedly described as being in the midst of the people in 3 Nephi. 3 Nephi is the heart of the covenant, the new covenant that Jesus brought to the Nephites. Consider these examples:

And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them. (3 Nephi 11:8)

12 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.
13 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. (3 Nephi 17)

And it came to pass that while the angels were ministering unto the disciples, behold, Jesus came and stood in the midst and ministered unto them. (3 Nephi 19:15)

And Jesus again showed himself unto them, for they were praying unto the Father in his name; and Jesus came and stood in the midst of them, and said unto them: What will ye that I shall give unto you? (3 Nephi 27:2)

Just like ancient Israel had God in their midst, a branch of Israel in the Americas now had the resurrected Jesus in their midst.

There are many other examples of God/Jesus being in the midst. So many, in fact, that I will save them for my next post. But I want to end with a different example related to Lord Wilmore's recent posts about Nephi-II, Moses and Elijah. He made a point of the division "hither and thither" in this verse, echoing the parting of the sea by Moses and Elijah.

And it came to pass that there arose a division among the people, insomuch that they divided hither and thither and went their ways, leaving Nephi alone, as he was standing in the midst of them. (3 Nephi 10:1)

See his comments here under the subheading, "creation by division". "The midst" shows up again, echoing the creation and Moses parting the Red Sea, among other things. When the two-edged sword divides, that sword, often symbolizing the word of God, is in the middle of whatever it divides. In this case, Nephi as the conveyor of the word, played that role. God/the Word/the covenant in the midst can have this divisive effect. But hopefully, like the Nephites in 3 Nephi, we can all let Jesus take the center stage of our lives without causing division.

In part 2 we will see how this symbol is used in the uniting of heaven and earth.

'New life' as an early Christian/temple theme (and major mantic symbol), part 3

My previous two posts (here and here) lay the foundation that 'new life' is an ancient doctrine re-taught by Christ and early Christians rather than invented by them at that time. Joseph Smith learned this through revelation. 'New life' doctrine is taught numerous times in the Book of Mormon.  We also find it in the Book of Moses, where Adam is taught the purpose of the Gospel:

59 That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory; (Moses 6)

This is supported by archaeological discoveries which came later. I'll outline a few ancient examples below.

The Damascus Document

This is a Jewish text discovered relatively intact in 1897 and then found in fragments among the dead sea scrolls in the 1940s.  This text is from the pre-Christian era and includes language that sounds surprisingly Christian, including talk of eternal life through God making atonement and "hidden things" revealed in connection to the covenant (also insinuating that all Israel had gone astray, perhaps by suppressing this teaching).  For example:

But with them that held fast to the commandments of God, who were left among them, God confirmed His covenant with Israel for ever, revealing unto them the hidden things in which all Israel erred: His holy Sabbaths and His glorious festivals, the testimony of His righteousness and the ways of His truth and the desires of His will which a man shall do and live by them. He opened before them and they digged a well of many waters, and he that despises them shall not live. But they wallowed in the transgression of man and in the ways of the unclean woman. And they said that it belongs to us. But God in the abundance of His wonder made atonement for their sins and forgave their transgression. And He built them a sure house in Israel, the like of which never arose beforetime and hitherto. They who hold fast to Him are for the life of eternity, and all glory of man is for them; as God confirmed it to them through Ezekiel, the prophet, saying: "The priests and the Levites and the sons of Zadok that kept the charge of His sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from them they shall bring near unto me fat and blood." (Damascus Document ch. 5, source here)

Notice the mention of the "sure house in Israel" connecting the concept of the Atonement for sin and eternal life.  This is a clear reference to the temple, where those sin offerings were to be made according to the law of Moses to point the mind forward to Christ. For me, this is clear evidence that branches of Jews maintained the original understanding of their religion and looked forward to Christ who would come and make atonement for sin, leading them to eternal life. 

Qumran Hymns

These hymns come from the same Jewish sect living in exile from Jerusalem in the centuries leading up to the time of Christ. Margaret Barker quotes the hymn known as QHXVIII: "Thou hast taught them thy marvelous mysteries ... that he may stand before thee with the everlasting host ... to be renewed with all the living and to rejoice together with them that know."  Multiple hymns "tell of someone raised to the everlasting height to be part of the congregation of the sons of heaven." (The Great High Priest, p. 26-27)

Conclusion

History is written by the winners.  This applies to doctrine as well.  It is important when we look at truth claims of the restoration to be wary of assuming the mainstream view of a doctrine is the correct or original version of that doctrine.  In light of the general human trend to drift from mantic to sophic, and in light of the evidence that indicates the original Israelite religion knew of the importance of the Messiah, we should be cautious in how we approach the topic.

'New life' as an early Christian/temple theme (and major mantic symbol), part 2

This is a continuation of my last post. In part 1, we looked at the ancient story of Cain and Abel and how the same lessons were taught by Jesus. To someone unfamiliar with the ancient symbols found in the Cain and Abel story, it might seem that Jesus was teaching radical new doctrine, when in actuality He was restoring the original understanding of the doctrines of the Israelite religion, which had been suppressed centuries earlier. Hundreds of years before Christ, Jacob preserved a wonderful summary of the original religion in Jacob 4:4-10. He wasn't the only one -- we'll get to some additional examples in the next few posts.

Grasping this idea can unfold new layers of meaning in very familiar verses, as we have already seen with Matthew.

As this concept clicked in my head, I understood the words of Paul on faith in a new light. Here is what Paul said about Abel as he spoke about what it means to have faith (I've included the KJV first followed by the same verses from the Expanded Bible, which offers some helpful notes and alternate translations):

3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. (Hebrews 11, KJV)

3 It is by faith we understand that the ·whole world [universe; cosmos; ages] was made by God’s ·command [word; Gen. 1] so what we see was ·made by something that cannot be seen [L not made from/by visible things].

4 It was by faith that Abel offered God a ·better [more acceptable] sacrifice than Cain [Gen. 4:4–8]. God ·said he was pleased with [commended him for; bore testimony to] the gifts Abel offered and ·called Abel [commended him as; testified that he was] a ·good [righteous] man because of his faith. Abel died, but through his faith he is still speaking [12:24]. (Hebrews 11, Expanded Bible)

Faith led to Abel's more acceptable offering to God, an animal sacrifice in the manner taught to Adam by the angel (see Moses 5:5). Obedience to that ordinance (and an understanding of the doctrine of Christ underpinning that ordinance) allowed Abel to find life eternal (though he died, "through his faith he is still speaking"). From this we learn that true faith (as it was initially taught by angels) is centered on a belief that God is the Creator, that He knows best, and that we must constantly strive to hearken to His voice.

In the following chapter, Paul makes another reference to Abel's offering in direct comparison to Christ. All of this is given in the context of a description of God's church that is loaded with temple/covenant imagery:

22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. (Hebrews 12, NRSV)

What happens to our faith when we begin to view the temple the place where we come to exercise our faith in God, the place where we can "come to Mount Zion ... and to innumerable angels in festal gathering"? What is being celebrated? That we have found new life in Christ, the "mediator of a new covenant" through His blood which was shed for us.

Faith begins with hope in a better world and that hope leads us to a new life in Christ. Everything we do as we follow Him is best thought of as a celebration of what He did for all mankind. To reiterate Jacob's words from the last post, "... we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us." (Jacob 4:4)

How can we know if these are new ideas or ancient ones?

The Book of Mormon provides a key to answering this question, but as I mentioned above, it is not the only place where these ancient understandings were recorded. Margaret Barker (a Methodist scholar of the Bible) has spent her life uncovering the most ancient understanding of Israelite temple worship and symbols.  She is an excellent resource on this topic. In the next post, I'll review some of the sources she cites to demonstrate that the concept of "new life" is an ancient doctrine of the first Israelite temple, not an early Christian invention.

Water, bread, fruit and the temple

This post is a continuation of previous posts on food and drink metaphors in the Book of Mormon. See here, here and here. To enable the reader to skip those post, the next paragraph gives a short summary:

The scriptures and the Book of Mormon in particular are full of food and drink metaphors: (Living) waters, bread (of life) and fruit (from the tree of life). The symbolism is obvious. Just like food and water is necessary to sustain physical life, we need spiritual nourishment to gain eternal life. But this is scratching the surface and I want to dig a bit deeper. The previous posts I linked show a pattern where food and drink metaphors are coupled with judgment. At first, this seemed puzzling. Then I realized that these metaphors represent the word of God. Judgment consists of an examination to see if the word is found in us (see Alma 12:12-13). This is only the case if we have partaken of the fruit, the bread and the living waters.

Having pondered this some more, I realize this is rooted in the ancient temple. This video is a good explanation of the temple of Solomon. It contains all the elements I mentioned, water, bread and tree/fruit. As explained in the video, the water was outside in the molten sea and in the bronze water basins for washings. Fruit is found in the form of pomegranates on the pillars at the entrance and the clothing of the high priest. The menorah, that was in the form of a tree, was inside the holy place as was the table with the shewbread.

As the video also explains, the Garden of Eden is believed to be the first temple of sorts, or at least the tabernacle was modeled after or representing the Garden of Eden. The tree and fruit symbolism is obviously very prevalent there, but there is also water in the form of four streams. See Lord Wilmore's post about that here. What about the bread? It is not something that is found in the Garden of Eden per se as far as we know, but it is mentioned. 

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Genesis 3:19)

When man was cast out of God's presence in the Garden, it was not meant to be forever. The temple represented the journey back. When the Book of Mormon prophets talk about water, bread and fruit in a spiritual sense, I believe these to be temple references. This is part of the spiritual journey, represented by the temple, back to God's presence, represented by the Holy of Holies. When I have noticed previously that these metaphors appear together with judgment in the Book of Mormon, I now understand that they appear together with the concept of being in God's presence. The journey there is what the temple symbolizes. In order to get there, we need to drink or cleanse ourselves with the living waters, eat the bread of life. We need to produce good fruit to one day be able to partake of the fruit of the tree of life.

This would be well known to Alma, who was the high priest.

Yea, he saith: Come unto me and ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life; yea, ye shall eat and drink of the bread and the waters of life freely (Alma 5:34)

It is also believed that this sermon in Alma 5 was spoken in conjunction with renewal of covenants and admission of temple entry in a so-called sabbatical year, according to the Law of Moses. See this article for more information. After asking several probing questions related to worthiness in Alma 5, Alma extends this invitation to partake of the fruit, bread and water. In other words, he invites the people to temple worship and the preparation that is necessary to enter into God's presence. If we have not done that, we will also be brought before him, but we will be judged and not able to dwell in his presence.

"Strip yourselves of all uncleanness"

Moroni's words in Mormon 9 stood out to me:

28 Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God.

What is the opposite of stripping ourselves of uncleanness? Perhaps clothing ourselves with purity? Compare with the words of Jacob:

14 Wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness. (2 Nephi 9)

This matches the language of the strong exhortation from Moroni to "those who do not believe in Christ" found at the beginning of Mormon 9:

1 And now, I speak also concerning those who do not believe in Christ.

2 Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation—behold, when the Lord shall come, yea, even that great day when the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought to stand before the Lamb of God—then will ye say that there is no God?

3 Then will ye longer deny the Christ, or can ye behold the Lamb of God? Do ye suppose that ye shall dwell with him under a consciousness of your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could be happy to dwell with that holy Being, when your souls are racked with a consciousness of guilt that ye have ever abused his laws?

4 Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell.

5 For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God, and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you.

6 O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day.

Notice that the solution for the unbelieving, offered in verse 6, involves "cry[ing] mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus" -- an obvious reference to Priesthood ordinances -- as well as a description similar to that of the garments of the righteous from 2 Nephi 9:14 -- another obvious temple covenant reference.

In the outer court of the ancient temple, the rituals involved washing and cleansing to prepare to enter the holy place. In a similar fashion, in modern temples we change into white clothing. This corresponds to "strip[ping ourselves] of all uncleanness" and prepares us to be "clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness."

Old Testament Temple Symbolism -- Exodus 25

 My list of topics to study almost always far exceeds my time constraints.  As a result, I often find myself unable to get to something in a reasonably timely manner.  When I do manage to go back and study that topic, I inevitably find myself wishing I had learned those lessons earlier!

This post is an example of that.  In the April 2019 General Conference, Elder David A. Bednar spoke about preparation to enter the temple.  In his talk, Elder Bednar quotes a talk given by President Nelson in 2010, inviting members to prepare by reading Exodus 26-29, among other suggestions. This has been on my "to do" list ever since, and today I finally began to check it off.

This excellent video gives an overview of some of the symbols of the ancient tabernacle.

I'd like focus this series of posts on symbols found in Exodus 25-29 which can also be found in the Book of Mormon. I added Exodus 25 to my studies and found a few notes worth sharing. I don't intend for this list to be comprehensive. Instead, I'll limit my focus to symbols of the ancient tabernacle which readily connect to Book of Mormon themes.

An offering from the heart

With that introduction out of the way, let's start in Exodus 25.  There is an important verse which caught my attention at the very beginning of this chapter:

2 Tell the Israelites to take for me an offering; from all whose hearts prompt them to give you shall receive the offering for me. (Exodus 25, NRSV)

Moses was to receive offerings, given willingly according to the promptings of the heart by the children of Israel, from which he would construct the temple.

This is beautiful. A gift given freely from the hearts of the covenant people to build the house of God, wherein man and God may become one.

The Book of Mormon speaks volumes about the importance of having a soft, willing heart. It is the key to understanding the word of God. Consider this post, in which Stisa demonstrates the connection between a soft heart (soil), the word of God (a seed), and the tree of life (harmony with God) which will spring up in our hearts as we nourish and nurture the word. Alma-2 touches on these topics in Alma 5, Alma 12, and Alma 32.

This leads us quite naturally to the next symbol -- the lampstand.

The lampstand, a symbol of the tree

31 “Hammer pure gold to make a ·lampstand [L menorah]. Its base, ·stand [shaft], flower-like cups, buds, and petals must all be joined together in one piece [C its tree shape suggests that the Tabernacle represented Eden where God and humans lived in harmony]. ... 40 Be very careful to make them by the ·plan [pattern] I showed you on the mountain [25:9]. (Exodus 25, Expanded Bible)

The Expanded Bible is a study tool I particularly like.  The dots and brackets indicate places where multiple readings are worthy of mention. 'L' indicates a literal reading of the Hebrew. 'C' indicates a comment by the translator. Notice the comment at the end of verse 31, which tells us that the tree shape should point our minds to Eden, "where God and humans lived in harmony."

When Alma teaches us to plant the seed in our heart, he builds the case that by so doing we will find everlasting life:

41 But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.

42 And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.

43 Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you. (Alma 32)

The description of the fruit in verse 42 mirrors Lehi's description of the fruit of the tree of life (see 1 Nephi 8:11-12)

Note also that the lampstand is to be made of "pure gold," which suggests to me (as I'll demonstrate in future posts) a connection to the celestial realm. Furthermore, it is to be "all ... joined together in one piece," symbolizing unity and harmony with God. Alma's father speaks of this unity at scene of covenant-making at the waters of Mormon: 

21 And he commanded them that there should be no contention one with another, but that they should look forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another.

22 And thus he commanded them to preach. And thus they became the children of God. (Mosiah 18)

Notice similar wording in Alma 32:41 above, where Alma exhorts us to "[look] forward to the fruit thereof." That fruit comes not only by looking to God but also seeking harmony with the saints.

The lampstand seems to be one of those symbols that was very well known to covenant-keeping Israelites, but might not be as familiar to us.  Learning about the importance of the lampstand in ancient temple worship, to quote President Nelson, "underscores the antiquity of temple work and the enduring nature of its ordinances.”

The lampstand sat in the Holy Place and provided the only light that was allowed in that space. In modern temple worship, lighting or physical progression/movement is used to symbolize rejecting the ways of the world and the philosophies of men and committing to live by the light of God's commandments. Only then are we prepared to receive a greater portion of the word. (See Alma 12:9-11)

The Book of Mormon presents two different versions of the "tree of life" theme. In one sense, we walk the covenant path, led by divine messengers (cherubim holding the word of God) upwards to the tree of life. This is found in 1 Nephi 8, Alma 5, Alma 12-13, for example.  In the second sense, we prepare our own ground, our heart, and plant the word of God there. Over time, with faith and great diligence, we find the tree of life springing up inside us and bringing forth fruit. This is found in Alma 32 and to some degree in Mosiah 18.

Both presentations are beautiful, and each version emphasizes different aspects of the purposes of mortality. 

It is worth taking the time to read this excellent post from Stisa summarizing many Book of Mormon connections to creation themes. There is a deep interconnectedness in the scriptures, pointing us to this rich and rewarding line of study.

Conclusion

I'll end this post with the final instruction of the Lord to Moses regarding the creation of the lampstand:

40 Be very careful to make them [the lampstand and lamps] by the ·plan [pattern] I showed you on the mountain [25:9].

The temple is indeed the sacred space between heaven and earth, where we can learn God's patterns. Just as Nephi went to the "mount oft" and there was shown "great things" by the Lord (see 1 Nephi 18:3), so we prepare to live with God through our temple worship. 

The next post in this series will cover temple symbols in Exodus 26.