Temple Themes

In the temple, the veil can be very thin sometimes inviting communication with heaven. If we could only see what’s happening on the other side of the veil. Elisha and his servant have such an experience.   Elisha is helping the king of Israel in a war with Syria. Elisha is telling the king of […]

We have examined the procedures for the rite of cleansing lepers in Leviticus 14 and the associated atonement symbolism. Two birds were used—one for a sacrifice and the other bird to be set free. The sacrificial bird was killed in an “earthen vessel over running water.” The body of Jesus was placed in an earthen

Oil was essential in ancient times and one of the first fruit products of the Holy Land. Kings (and queens) were anointed with oil. For example, in 1 Kings 1:39, Zadok the priest took a horn of oil out of the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. Washing and anointing occurred together in ancient times as a

In First Kings, chapter 22, we have a divine council setting. This follows temple rituals where an assembly is initiated into heavenly secrets. The famous verse in Amos 3:7 teaches this principle: “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” The Hebrew word for secret is

Joseph F. Smith saw in vision a “vast congregation of the righteous,” who would be leaders in fulfilling the Lord’s work on earth. Among these was Elijah, who “was to plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to their fathers, foreshadowing the great work to be done in the temples of the

There are striking similarities between the dedicatory prayer of Solomon’s Temple and the Kirtland Temple. They begin in a similar fashion. Here is the beginning of the dedicatory prayer for Solomon’s Temple: “And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands

King David has a realization that his own house is, in some respects, superior to the Lord’s. He said to Nathan, “See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains” (2 Samuel 7:2). But the Lord said through Nathan the prophet, “And when thy days be fulfilled,

There is much temple imagery in 1 Kings chapter 1. David is on his death bed and Adonijah attempts to seize the throne. Bathsheba intervenes upon Nathan’s advice and approaches and bows before the king. Approaching the king is in likeness of approaching God. The king asks, “What wouldest thou?” (1 Kings 1:16).   David

I love how you can have your choice in the scriptures. You can get the pure doctrine in the Doctrine and Covenants, or you can get the symbolic story in the Book of Mormon or the Bible. King David is a great example. As I read about David in 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel chapters

Second Samuel chapter 6 has the perplexing story of Uzzah, who steadied the Ark of the Covenant.   But first, I have to mention the story of Abigail. She is one of my favorite characters in the Bible. David is still running from Saul. He and his travel companions support themselves by defending farms and