Sacred Symbolic » Learning truth through symbolism

FAIR Conference: Apologetics, Kirtland Papers, More

Posted 7th August 2010 by Tevya

Category : Apologetics, Church History, Joseph Smith, Scriptures

The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR – fairlds.org) held a conference Thurs., and Fri., in Sandy, UT. They had an impressive lineup of speakers. Some that were previously unknown to me, but gave as powerful—or more powerful—presentations than those that were known to me.

All in all, it was a great conference and held many amazing insights and explanations. For me it was a powerful spiritual boost and increased my desire to improve in various ways including studying the gospel with more focus and dedication. I also found it very accessible. Some might think I’m something of a scholar because of this blog, but that’s not the case, I’m nowhere near the level of scholarship that many of these presenters are. Yet most seemed very accessible, even to those who don’t study the kinds of subjects they spoke of, on a regular basis. I’d like to share notes and some links from the conference.

Why Apologetics?

Before you stop reading because you don’t like apologetics, you should read some of my notes from Daniel C. Peterson’s closing presentation on Friday:

Lost: A Sheep, A Coin, & 2 Sons – Part 3

Posted 30th July 2010 by Tevya

(0)

Category : Allegory & Parable, New Testament, Scriptures

Make sure you read parts 1 & 2 before reading this.

The Lost Coin

In Luke 15: 8–10 Jesus tells a parable with similarities to that of the lost sheep, but some key differences. Here, a woman looses a coin, then lights a candle, sweeps the house, searches diligently, and rejoices when she finds it.

detail of 'Parable of the Lost Drachma', by Domenico Feti, 1618-22, Gemäldegalerie, Dresden

Context

Just like the shepherd in the previous parable, the woman can be compared to Christ in many ways. Also like the shepherd, she doesn’t represent Christ in this parable. But who does she represent? The leaders of the Church like the shepherd? Or somebody else? In many scriptural references an unspecified woman represents the church. This comes from the symbolic imagery of the church as a woman or bride. A quick example of this recurring scriptural theme is found in Isaiah 62:5 “…as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.” Jesus is the bridegroom, the church is his bride. First of all, the value of the silver coin is about a day’s labor. Remember though, that they didn’t have an 8 hour workday in those days. So the value of that coin was probably more like 10-12 hours of hard labor. Lets just say $200 in modern US money. Where did the money come from? Well most likely from the man of the house. He goes out and works, and she has the result of his 10 days hard labor. She looses one day’s worth. If the woman is the church and Christ is the husband, then his work is that of saving souls, of bringing them unto him. Thus, if we’re to put His work in mortal terms, this coin might represent a lost soul (just like the sheep) or perhaps several people, like a family. Understanding these symbolic constructs, the parable applies to all of us members of the church, perhaps even more so than that of the shepherd. With that in mind, what instruction can we pull from Christ’s parable?

Leading LDS Blog, Conversation with E. Bednar, & Updates

Posted 1st July 2010 by Tevya

(0)

Category : Leadership, Media & Internet, Mormon Life, Video

Leading LDS

There’s a new blog called Leading LDS that you can find at LeadingLDS.com. It’s similar to this blog in that the purpose is to help inspire, motivate, and correct wrong attitudes. Where this blog takes the approach of teaching correct doctrine and looking beyond the sunday-school answers, Leading LDS focuses on teaching correct leadership and moving beyond the easy “coasting through this calling” level of leadership in the church.

Conversation with Elder Bednar

One of the most recent posts is a video from the church’s HR department entitled “A Conversation on Leadership With Elder David A. Bednar.” Kurt, the author of the blog states that this video “is exactly what [his] site is about.” I’ve got to say, everyone should watch this video. So click one of the links, check out this awesome blog, and make sure you watch/listen to this fireside with Elder Bednar. I just can’t tell you how powerful and helpful it is for anyone who is, or ever will be in a leadership position, in—or outside—the church.

Lost: A Sheep, A Coin, & 2 Sons – Part 2

Posted 21st June 2010 by Tevya

(0)

Category : Allegory & Parable, New Testament, Scriptures

If you have not already, read Part 1 of this article by clicking here.

Philippe de Champaigne: The Good Shepherd - 1650. From OceansBridge.com

Missunderstanding the Shepherd

One of our main misconceptions of who the shepherd in this story is, comes from within the story itself. There is an undeniably Messianic message in this story. If the shepherd were Christ, he descends into the wilderness (this telestial world) to save the sinner from their sins. Literally carrying them, because His grace—born of the Atonement—does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. So we see pictures of Christ carrying the lost sheep back to the fold. Even The Book of Mormon refers to Jesus as “the good shepherd,” and suggests we need to be his sheep (see Alma 5:38 & Mormon 5:17). Its only natural that this parable should also have a type of Christ in it, as “all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him” (2 Ne. 11:4).

Faith Before Evidence

Posted 13th June 2010 by Travis

(0)

Category : Allegory & Parable, Apologetics

Apple seeds

Jesus said, “Faith cometh not by signs, but signs follow those that believe” (D&C 63:9). In short: believe first, then see the sign.

Many who don’t believe in God claim that there is no evidence of him. But if what Jesus said is true, they’ll never find this evidence until they believe.

I’m holding an apple seed in my hand. It came from inside an apple.

If you take this seed and plant it in the ground, and if you nurture it for a long time, years perhaps, with water and sunlight, then it will produce apples. Real apples, with seeds in them like this one I’m holding. But it’s a long process.

A sign seeker is one who picks up the seed and says, “If you show me an apple from this seed, THEN I’ll know it works, and THEN I’ll make the effort to help it grow into a producing apple tree. I will be completely willing to do what it takes. But just show me an apple from this seed first.”

In the real world, nobody would ever ask to see the apple before the seed. It goes contrary to logic.

Maybe that’s why God responds this way when people expect that from him. He said, “Signs come by faith, unto mighty works, for without faith no man pleaseth God; …wherefore, unto such he showeth no signs, only in wrath unto their condemnation” (D&C 63:11).

An apple really can grow from this seed. But there’s only one way to find evidence of this.

Lost: A Sheep, A Coin, & 2 Sons – Part 1

Posted 10th June 2010 by Tevya

(1)

Category : Mormon Life, New Testament, Scriptures

Re-reading Luke 15

The following is from notes of my thoughts during a priesthood lesson over a year ago.

Luke 15 tells us three stories, all are about loosing a prized possession. But each teaches a very different lesson. As I recall, the priesthood lesson that brought the Spirit and helped me learn the following, quickly descended to the normal, modern-Mormon interpretations of these parables, when the teacher opened it up for commentary. It’s unfortunate that Luke wasn’t familiar with these modern interpretations when he recorded these three parables together, in what is now chapter 15 of his book.

Context

Luke sets up these parables with the context that “the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, [Jesus] receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” So we must assume that what follows is Luke’s perception of Christ’s response to these accusations.

Image of a shepherd with his flock from Bible-Archaeology.info

Lost Sheep

The first story is of a lost sheep (Luke 15:3–7). If one in a flock goes missing, how does that happen? Well a shepherd can’t watch his flock 24-7, he must sleep. As he does, the flock continues grazing, moving in a direction, but generally staying in a group. If one sheep finds a particularly lush patch of grass, or some other distraction, it will become “lost” simply by staying where it is. The church can work in much the same fashion. We never want to leave people behind, yet the goal & purpose of the church is that its constantly moving forward, progressing on both an individual level as well as on the whole. Thus a person can get left behind, simply by not continuing to move forward with the group. Sins of omission still make one a sinner.

Mormon Life Hacker – Coming Soon

Posted 16th May 2010 by Tevya

(3)

Category : Misc, Mormon Life

I’m a fan of Tim Ferriss and websites like lifehacker. In fact, my wife will tell you “he’ll do anything that Tim Ferriss tells him to.” I counter that it’s not true because Tim’s main flaw is a fairly selfish bent and basis for a lot of what and why he does things. Besides, to do everything he recommends is impossible, since you’d spend way too much time on it, and not adhere to the fundamental premise behind his book: simplify life (including income flow) so that you can enjoy life your way, not the way somebody else dictates. The same goes for lifehacker.

However, I feel that this underlying message resonates with those of us who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We’ve been repeatedly told to simplify our lives and focus on the things that really matter. Thus for me, shortcuts, tips, tricks, and “lifehacks” that help me cut down on the garbage and focus on what’s most important, are a key part of becoming a better husband, father, ward member, home teacher, and the man Heavenly Father wants me to be.

I thought it would be great if somebody did a “Lifehacker for Mormons.” Part of the idea came from things like my information on how to pay your tithing online (which I posted as a page, instead of an article, because it didn’t seem to fit the purpose of this blog), or Travis’ great scripture study hack he called “spiritual cross-training” which helps keep daily study interesting and powerful. Since there are many very unique aspects of the way we live our lives, it would be great to have a place where people share their hacks for Mormon life.

A Saturday’s Journey to Gilgal

Posted 6th May 2010 by Tevya

(1)

Category : Ancient, Ceremony/Ordinances, Images, Joseph Smith, Old Testament, Sacred Places

Just over a 2 weeks ago, we visited a site in downtown Salt Lake that I’ve been wanting to see ever since I first stumbled across some information on it, on the internet.

Its called the Gilgal Garden, and is located at 749 E 500 S, Salt Lake City, UT. The gardens were built by Thomas Child, who worked on it throughout his life. He named the place after the location where Joshua had the Israelites take 12 stones and place them together as part of a covenant and memorial, after crossing the Jordan river on dry land. Bro. Child was sculptor and put his own interpretations of scriptures, into stone. The piece for which he named the garden, features 12 stones in a circle, with an etching of “The Captain of the Lord’s Host” standing at the head. Because it was basically his backyard, the garden is somewhat secluded and hidden. You can read more about the garden at Wikipedia, or I have uploaded a scan of the walk-through self-tour guide.

Decoded: TV Show Needs Middle-Age Co-host

Posted 29th April 2010 by Tevya

(0)

Category : Iconography, Media & Internet, TV & Movies

I was recently contacted by Elya Beer, who’s associated with a new TV show called “Decoded.” Its essentially a show exploring symbolism. I assume they’re going off the popularity of Dan Brown’s novels & the movies made from them. From what the email says, it sounds like they want a real-life Robert Langdon:

Lessons from Birth, On the 2nd Coming

Posted 7th April 2010 by Tevya

(3)

Category : 2nd Coming, Book of Mormon, Family, Jesus Christ, New Testament

I recently heard my wife have the following conversation. She was on the phone, so I heard only her side:

“No, she didn’t predict when he’d come.”

“Because she’s smarter than that. She’s been delivering babies long enough to know that any prediction is going to be wrong. But the chiropractor did, sorta.”

“No, he just said that everything’s lined up now, and he gave his permission.”

“Yeah, he said I could go into labor anytime now.”

Our Baby: Colter

As I heard this, a phrase from scripture came into my head: “of that day, and hour, no one knoweth; no, not the angels of God in heaven…” (JS-M 1:40). And I thought, ‘that’s a wise midwife.’

Nobody can predict when a baby will come no matter how long they’ve been in obstetrics. My wife’s good friend who had a baby about 5 months ago, was told by her OB that she wouldn’t have their baby until well after his due date, so he’d see her for a regular appointment in a week, a few days after the due date. The baby arrived 4 days later, on his due date.