The Seventh Day

Here is a fascinating insight from John H. Walton's book entitled The Lost World of Genesis One:

"In the traditional view that Genesis 1 is an account of material origins, day seven is mystifying. It appears to be nothing more than an afterthought with theological concerns about Israelites observing the sabbath - an appendix, a postscript, a tack on.

"In contrast, a reader from the ancient world would know immediately what was going on and recognize the role of day seven. Without hesitation the ancient reader would conclude that this is a temple text and that day seven is the most important of the seven days. In a material account day seven would have little role, but in a functional account, as we will see, it is the true climax without which nothing else would make any sense or have any meaning.

"How could reactions be so different? The difference is the piece of information that everyone knew in the ancient world and to which most modern readers are totally oblivious: Deity rests in a temple, and only in a temple. This is what temples were built for. We might even say that this is what a temple is - a place for divine rest. Perhaps even more significant, in some texts the construction of a temple is associated with cosmic creation.

"What does divine rest entail? Most of us think of rest as disengagement from the cares, worries and tasks of life. What comes to mind is sleeping in or taking an afternoon nap. But in the ancient world rest is what results when a crisis has been resolved or when stability has been acieved, when things have 'settled down.' Consequently normal routines can be established and enjoyed. For deity this means that the normal operations of the cosmos can be undertaken, This is more a matter of engagement without obstacles rather than disengagement without responsibilities."

In light of what Walton outlines in his book it is interesting to examine Jesus' statement in Matthew 8:20:

"And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head."

Jesus' intent may have been to condemn the second temple and to declare his divine identity. In any event Walton's statement regarding the seventh day of creation is super interesting. I have not read the book in its entirety yet but it is certainly on my "to-read" list.

The Creation

"The creation scene from the movie "Noah" was released on YouTube Saturday by Protozoa Pictures, the production company owned by writer and director Darren Aronofsky.

 "The scene consists of Russell Crowe as Noah telling his children the story of the creation. While the narration follows the biblical account, Aronofsky's animation depicts a process that incorporates aspects of evolution and creationism, beginning with The Big Bang and making its way to Adam and Eve."

From Deseret News (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865602990/Creation-scene-from-Noah-released-on-YouTube.html)

Plan of Salvation

Every missionary of my generation was at least aware of and probably used the familiar diagram which laid out in visual form the Church's teachings regarding our premortal, mortal and post mortal existence. The diagram is an attempt to simplify the Church's teachings and help investigators understand these new ideas.

While the diagram is very useful, especially in missionary work and when teaching children, and not inaccurate per se I do believe there is another way the diagram could be presented that is more consistent with the plan as it is presented in the temple. I have put together a diagram illustrating this alternative but I really want to emphasize that this is all very tentative and subject to revision. I do believe, however, that this diagram is consistent with the teachings of the Church and the teachings found in ancient and modern temples, so here is the diagram, let me know what you think:

You'll notice that the diagram is chiastic which I believe is significant and that it is consistent with this diagram which is fairly well known:

Ancient and Modern Temple Parallels

This weekend I put together this short video pointing out a parallel between ancient and modern temples. I hope you enjoy it.

The Creation and the Temple

In the video above you will notice that each day of creation is associated with a different furnishing of the temple. Regarding this Margaret Barker (on page three of her paper Creation Theology) has stated:

The Temple was a model of the creation, and the liturgy of the temple preserved the creation.Genesis 1 was not an account of the historical process of creation, but a record of the great vision granted to Moses and others of how the world is made. In the six days when Moses was on Sinai, before the LORD called to him (Exod. 24.16), he saw the six days of creation, and was then told to replicate these when he built the tabernacle. A few ancient sources say that Moses saw the heavenly temple; but most assume that he saw the process of creation, and that the tabernacle represented this. Ancient material such as this is sometimes difficult to read, but the last section of Exodus 40, describing how Moses assembled the tabernacle, corresponds well to the days described in Genesis 1.

To read the paper in it's entirety go here.

According to Margaret Barker the days of creation are represented by the temple furnishings as follows:
Day 1 - The Holy of Holies
Day 2 - The Veil
Day 3 - The Table of Showbread
Day 4 - The Menorah
Day 5 - The Altar
Day 6 - The High Priest

You'll notice that in the video the list is not exactly the same as the list given by Margaret Barker so they used different sources but the point is that the temple represented the vision of Moses which he had of the creation. The creation is also a central theme of modern LDS temples which is a testament to their ancient origin.

Brigham City Temple Fountain

Brigham City Temple Fountain

This past summer my wife and I took our kids to the Brigham City Temple open house. I was very impressed by the beauty and design of the temple and enjoyed having the chance to see it prior to its dedication. It was a wonderful experience but the thing that impressed me the most was not the building itself but the fountain on the temple grounds. It is not a large or especially spectacular fountain but its symbolism is very striking. To understand its symbols it is helpful to understand the ancient Hebrew conception of the cosmos and how they understood the creation. It is also helpful to understand the prophecies regarding the New Jerusalem and the temple which is to be built there.

The Cosmic Mountain

In his essay entitled "What is a Temple? A Preliminary Typology" found in Temples of the Ancient World, John Lundquist explains that "The temple is the architectural embodiment of the cosmic mountain" (84) and that "the cosmic mountain represents the primordial hillock, the place that first emerged from the waters covering the earth during the creative process" (86).  To the ancient Israelites the earth emerged from the ocean of chaos during the creation (see Genesis 1:9-10). They believed that the first point to emerge was the cosmic mountain (aka the axis mundi or the omphalos) which they associated with the Garden of Eden (see Parry, Donald W. "Garden of Eden:Prototype Sanctuary" in Temples of the Ancient World, pp. 133-37).

Therefore, to put it simply the cosmic mountain, the Garden of Eden and the temple were all associated with one another. The temple was seen as a representation of the creation and the Garden of Eden.

Sacred Waters

Genesis 2:9-14 explains there was a river that began in Eden and split into four branches. Each river was thought to have flowed to one of the four cardinal directions (see Brown, Matthew B. The Gate of Heaven, p. 28). The names of the rivers were the Gihon, Pison, Euphrates and Hiddekel. In several places in the scriptures rivers are associated with the temple. John the Revelator saw in his vision a river flowing from the throne of God and the Tree of Life which were located in the temple (see Rev. 22:1). Nephi also saw the Tree of Life in vision which was associated with a fountain of living water (see 1 Nephi 11:25) and Ezekiel saw in vision a river flowing from threshold of the temple (see Ezekiel 47:1-12).

The fountain on the east side of the Brigham City temple seems to incorporate these themes into the design of the fountain. It is reminiscent of the cosmic mountain rising up from the waters of chaos from which is flowing the four rivers of Eden and it is a very appropriate symbol for a temple.

The New Jerusalem


Folio 55r of the Bamberg Apocalypse depicts
the angel showing John the New Jerusalem,
with the Lamb of God at its center.

 In John’s apocalyptic vision of the last days he saw the New Jerusalem descend from heaven and heard a voice from heaven proclaim that “the tabernacle of God is with men” (see Rev. 21). He then was shown the city in detail and saw that the city was laid out in a perfect square which was aligned to the compass.

Each side of the city square contained three gates for a total of twelve. Verse 22 explains that there was no temple in the city because the entire city itself was a temple.

Additionally, in chapter 22 John explains that he saw a river of pure water flowing out of the throne of God and of the Lamb and the Tree of Life. 

The Brigham City Temple fountain seems to reflect this imagery with its design. The fountain itself is laid out in a square with three water channels on each of its four sides similar to the gates of the New Jerusalem. Also, the fountain preserves the imagery of the fountain of living water flowing out from the abode of God.

So, while the fountain at the Brigham City Temple is not particularly large or grand it is a fascinating object. It’s simple design incorporates many temple related symbols including the creation, the Garden of Eden and New Jerusalem and to me is the most interesting portion of the entire structure.