Temple Themes

The children of Israel were delivered from bondage thanks to a three-part revelation from the Lord to Moses. There is a lesson here. Revelation comes a piece at a time and “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little” (2 Nephi 28:30; see also Isaiah 28:13). Those precious gems of […]

The word hand occurs 21 times in these Come Follow Me chapters of Exodus 7-13. In every case, in these chapters, it’s the Hebrew word yad. This is the open hand meaning power, means, or direction. The phrase “to give the hand,” is equivalent to making a pledge or entering into a covenant.   The

I am profoundly grateful for the influence of the temple in my life. As I contemplate the atonement of Jesus Christ during this Holy Week, my heart is full of gratitude and love for my Savior! I think of how Jesus rescued me when I was a practicing alcoholic with no sobriety in seven years

When Moses is called to deliver the children of Israel from bondage, he asks the Lord saying, “Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say

The presence of God is personified as the Lord appears to Moses at the burning bush. To stand in the Lord’s presence and not be consumed is to experience the glory of God. Moses sees “the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed” (Exodus 3:2). Jesus gave the parable of the rich man and

Just before Jacob yields up the ghost, he gives each of his sons a patriarchal blessing. In your own patriarchal blessing, you can find your declaration of lineage and attach the corresponding tribe to your personal blessing. I add a word of warning though. Unless you descend through Ephraim, Manasseh, or Judah, you will have

The Lord commanded Jacob to return to Beth-el (house of God). In preparation to approach the house of God (or temple), he tells his household, “Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: And let us arise, and go up to Beth-el; and I will make there

As Jacob travels to meet his brother Esau, he encounters a host of angels. He has already seen messengers from God ascending and descending on a ladder (staircase). He finds out that Esau is coming to meet him with 400 men. I often wondered why the scriptures, and especially the Book of Mormon, refer to

The model covenant pattern is revealed in Genesis 31. I will break this down into five major components, although some scholars have noted as many as seven parts.   Historical Background   Genesis 31:36-42 gives the reader a historical background describing the relationship and history between Jacob and his uncle and father-in-law, Laban. In verses

Genesis 28 is one of the most poignant temple texts in scripture. Jacob travels from Beersheba (meaning “well of the covenant” or “well of seven”) to Haran. The text reads:   “And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of