Friday, October 16, 2009

The Jaredite Voyage and the Manti Temple: Ether 6: 2-3

"For it came to pass after the Lord had prepared the stones which the brother of Jared had carried up into the mount, the brother of Jared came down out of the mount, and he did put forth the stones into the vessels which were prepared, one in each end thereof; and behold, they did give light unto the vessels.
And thus the Lord caused stones to shine in darkness, to give light unto men, women, and children, that they might not cross the great waters in darkness." (Ether 6: 2-3)

When Jaredites left the terrestrial land of Bountiful to be driven by the winds toward the fullness of the promise, they had to travel in special ships which were designed to serve also as temples. It was for this reason that the Lord made the brother of Jared ask for his hand to touch the stones and fill them with light instead of simply doing so on his own initiative: a temple cannot be sanctified by God without a dedicatory request by an authorized human servant of God. It is also in memory of this ancient temple that the Lord later called shipbuilders to construct a roof for the temple in Manti: the first created after the Saints had been driven from initial destinations to an unexpected promised land.

9 comments:

  1. I have never looked at the barges as serving as temples. I would like to look more deeply into that idea. I like the dedication observation.

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  2. As you look more deeply into the idea, let me know what you come up with! I do think the three part journey of the Jaredites from telestial Babel to terrestrial Bountiful to celestial Promised Land is interesting. I think the way the ocean serves as a great veil to pass through only with the aid of God is interesting. From there, it's up to you to find or create connections.

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  3. you have given me a lot to consider and i thank you. ccc

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  4. I read an essay on Exodus imagery in the Book of Mormon yesterday which compared the "curious workmanship" of Nephi's boat to the "curious works" of the tabernacle.

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  5. Very insightful. I also just realized yesterday that there's a very strong similarity between the Brother of Jared and the Lord (who only shows his hand before removing the veil) and a certain familiar ceremony.

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  6. I just found your blog, and I love it! I've never thought of the telestial, terrestial, celestial symbolism before. The symbolism I've seen in this story is the vessels being our bodies. The Lord asks Jared, "What will yet that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?" Jared then moltens stones out of the rock, which the Lord then lights with his finger. It can be a symbol of the light given to each person to prepare them for this world, a light molten out of the Rock of our Redeemer.

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  7. Thank you for your insights -- such satisfying concepts to ponder.

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  8. There's a similar point to be made about the tower of Babel perhaps being an attempt at at temple, and Noah's ark being either a temple or symbolic of one.

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