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.
The room is mostly quiet, except for the occasional whisper, and the children. Toddlers talk softly and babies cry or make other noises. A wave of coughs and throat-clearing passes through the congregation, a single hack jumping from one person to the next until it has run its course. The organist silently practices the next hymn by touching the keys, without depressing them. A husband whispers to his wife. A high priest falls asleep. A twenty-something woman is lost in thought about her job.
One middle-aged woman weeps quietly. She’s watching a sacred drama as it is played out around her. Symbolically, God the Father kneels beside an altar. He says a prayer, consecrating the offering covered in linen laying upon the altar. The words do not consecrate the body for burial, but for the sake of all mankind. Upon finishing, he rises, pulls back the covering, and gathers the collected blood from the ritually sacrificed offering, passing it to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit then goes about the room, offering the blood of the sacrifice to the whole church, just as it had done with pieces of the flesh moments before. He passes this token of the great sacrifice to each person, if they receive it.
Some accept it, others do not. Of those who accept, most are oblivious to their part in the drama. They partake mechanically, out of habit, and pass the sacred blood on to others, quickly returning to their whisperings, thoughts, and sleeping. Unlike the middle-aged woman, who fully realizes her part in the ritual drama, they see only a quiet opportunity to think, sleep, or practice the rest hymn. The flesh and blood offered them is only bread and water, an interruption.
Like many authors ranging from Victor Hugo and Shakespeare to James Redfield and James Ferrell, Dan Brown understands the power of a good fictional story. In reading his books, you realize that like the mentioned authors, he teaches ideas and concepts through a made up story instead of a true one. The advantages to this are twofold: 1. You don’t have to write a bibliography (or otherwise back up or defend what you say), and 2. More people will read it if the story’s engaging, regardless of the ideas being taught.
I remember laying in bed reading the DaVinci Code several years ago excited by the story, intrigued by the symbols and codes, and impressed by what seemed to be some restored-gospel truths about Christ and his possible marriage to Mary Magdalene. Originally I rejected the idea of the marriage, but after talking to some of my mentors of the time, decided that “we don’t know” is probably the only for-sure answer we are going to get for the time being.
Category : Ancient, Book of Mormon, Ceremony/Ordinances, Divine Potential, Doctrine & Covenants, Latter-Day, New Testament, Old Testament, Scriptures, Temple
Tags: Book of Mormon, Christ, Divine Potential, endowment, god, heirs, keys, Malachi, orders, ordinances, priestesses, priests, queens, sacrificial offerings, temple
If you haven’t already, I strongly recommend you read Part 1 and Part 2 of this article before reading this.
The title of this series of articles suggests that there might be scriptures that are “most important.” I don’t pretend to be capable of knowing what, of all God’s revealed scripture is the most important. However, Malachi 3 must be of great importance because, like many chapters of Isaiah it is given to us twice, and was given to the ancient Nephites by Christ himself. Malachi 4, in turn, must also be hugely important to us, because we have it many different times in the Latter-Day cannon of scripture. Of all things that Moroni could have told Joseph that night in his bedroom, he repeated Malachi 4, something Joseph already had in his Old Testament, and Moroni knew he would translate those verses from the plates that Moroni was there to announce to Joseph. Yet he gave them again. Why?
The Return of the Prophet Elijah
Elijah rebukes Ahab for turning from worshiping Jehovah to Baal.
We ended the last article with the indication that there were further ordinances that allow us to experience the things of Godliness. Clearly these ordinances are very important, perhaps most important. I personally believe that this is the reason we are given Malachi 4, several different times. Moroni even gives us different wording in the latter-day reciting. There are probably many reasons for this but I think two are very important: first, to help us better understand a scripture we may have become too familiar with, and therefore have stopped trying to extract deeper meaning from; and second, to help us take notice of it and ask the questions that will help us delve beyond the surface meaning.
Lets go to the scriptures. In. 3 Nephi 25 we read:
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord;
6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
In the last general conference, Elder Oaks gave a talk titled “Sacrament Meeting & the Sacrament.” In this powerful talk he specifically addresses various behaviors related to the sacrament and church. He also speaks of the importance of the sacrament in making the Atonement a part of our lives. This is the most important part of his message. However, he repeatedly hinted at the power and sacredness of the sacrament and sacrament meeting:
- “The ordinance of the sacrament makes the sacrament meeting the most sacred and important meeting in the Church.”
- “Its like going to the temple.”
- “This is a very sacred act.”
- “All who officiate in this sacred ordinance stand on sacred ground.”
- “For sacred ordinances… we often use ceremonial clothing, and a white shirt could be seen as… an anticipation of the white shirt you will soon wear into the temple….”
- “I sense that some in the rising generation and even some adults have not yet come to understand the significance of this meeting and the importance of individual reverence and worship in it.”
Rendering of Solomon's Temple
As suggested by several of these quotes, I believe that our church on Sunday is meant to point us to the temple. The Lord intended it to be a weekly reminder of the covenants we make in the temple, as well as encouragement to return often to learn the “weightier” things of the gospel. I hope that I can help those mentioned in the last quote (probably all of us) to better “understand the significance” of church and the sacrament.
I believe the Lord has setup church as a temple in the pattern of the temple in Jerusalem: An Aaronic Priesthood, lesser law, or Levitical temple that points us to the higher ordinances of the Higher Law.
Category : Ancient, Book of Mormon, Ceremony/Ordinances, Latter-Day, Old Testament, Sacrificial, Scriptures
Tags: Add new tag, Book of Mormon, Christ in America, Malachi, ordinances, sacrificial offerings
A lot has happened in mine and my wife’s life since I wrote Part 1 of this article. I believe some of it has helped me have a deeper appreciation for the truths contained in these chapters. I hope I can convey them well here, and show their importance.
First we need to go back and look a little more deeply into 3 Nephi 24 which is the same as Malachi 3. 3 Nephi 7 states “Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them.” While we previously discussed the idea that both ancient Israel, and us, “are gone away from” certain ordinances that the Lord calls His own, we didn’t address what these were.
What “ordinances” are we “gone away from?”
The Doctrine & Covenants is often a great place to find clarification on other scripture. Especially the Old & New Testaments, since they weren’t written for us, like the Book of Mormon was. D&C 84 was designated as “a revelation on priesthood” by the Prophet Joseph.
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Tevya
