FAIR

Temples

Mormon FAIR-Cast 108: Jeffrey Bradshaw on Temple Themes in the Scriptures

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Dr. Jeffrey Bradshaw discusses his book, Temple Themes in the Book of Moses as well as some examples of temple worship among early Christians, and the Jews. He also touches on the Book of Enoch, the Council in Heaven and ancient temple architecture.

Jeffrey M. Bradshaw (Ph.D., Cognitive Science, University of Washington) is a Senior Research Scientist at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) in Pensacola, Florida. Formerly, he led research groups at The Boeing Company and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He has authored hundreds of research articles and edited several volumes on topics relating to human and machine intelligence and interaction. Jeff was a missionary in the Belgium-Brussels mission, and has since served in a variety of teaching and leadership capacities including early-morning seminary teacher, bishop, high councilor, counselor in a stake presidency, stake executive secretary and temple ordinance worker. He and his wife Kathleen are the parents of four children.

Dr. Bradshaw has published a number of books addressing temples themes in the scriptures including “In God’s Image and Likeness,” “Temple Themes in the Book of Moses,” and “Temple Themes in the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood.” Each is available for purchase at the FAIR Bookstore, here.

Dr. Bradshaw also gave a presentation at the Temple on Mount Zion conference in Provo, Utah on September 23, 2012 regarding temple symbolism in the story of Noah’s ark, and is available for viewing on YouTube.

This recording is posted here by permission of K-Talk Radio. The opinions expressed in this interview do not necessarily represent the views of FAIR or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 106: Temple Study Fireside 3–Importance of the Temple

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This is the third in a series of on-line fireside discussions of the book Temple Worship: 20 Truths That Will Bless Your Life, by Andrew C. Skinner. This discussion discusses the temple as being the “ultimate” of our worship, what it means to “serve” in the temple, where temples or temple worship can take place on the earth, the first endowments given in the Nauvoo Temple attic, temple “work” vs. temple “worship,” the fact that the Nauvoo temple was only in use for 2 months (8 weeks) before it was destroyed which makes us reflect on the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in ancient times, what it means to have a “fullness of the Holy Ghost” which we can attain to in the temple, and the profound importance of the temple in the lives of Latter-day Saints and in our worship in the Church. Panelists include Bryce Haymond, Gary Anderson, Gerald Smith, and William Hamblin.

This discussion was conducted live on August 22, 2012 through Google’s Hangouts on Air. It was streamed live on TempleStudy.com, where the video can also be found. A rough transcript of the discussion can be found here.

Andrew C. Skinner is a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University, was dean of Religious Education and the first executive director of BYU’s Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. He holds master’s degrees in Biblical Hebrew and Jewish Studies and a Ph.D. in Near Eastern and European History, specializing in Judaism.  He is the author or co-author of over 100 publications.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 105: Temple Study Fireside 2–the Dead Sea Scrolls and Jacob at Bethel

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Professor William J. Hamblin leads the second of this series of on-line fireside discussions of the book Temple Worship: 20 Truths That Will Bless Your Life, by Andrew C. Skinner. This discussion focusses on the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Essenes, Qumran, the Temple Scroll, Jacob at Bethel the symbolism of Jacob’s Ladder, as well as some thoughts from Elder Carlos E. Asay. Others who participated in this disussion were Bryce Haymond and Gary N. Anderson. This discussion was conducted live on August 16, 2012 through Google’s Hangouts on Air. It was streamed live on TempleStudy.com, where the video can also be found. A rough transcript of the discussion can be found here.

Andrew C. Skinner is a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University, was dean of Religious Education and the first executive director of BYU’s Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. He holds master’s degrees in Biblical Hebrew and Jewish Studies and a Ph.D. in Near Eastern and European History, specializing in Judaism.  He is the author or co-author of over 100 publications.

“The Temple on Mount Zion” Conference

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The Temple on Mount Zion

Saturday, 22 September, 2012, 9:15 am – 5:30 pm

3rd floor Ballroom, Provo Public Library,

550 North University Avenue, Provo, Utah 84601

In honor of Matthew B. Brown, who passed away unexpectedly last year, there will be a conference this month on September 22, 2012, from 9:15am – 5:30pm entitled “The Temple on Mount Zion.” It will be held at the Provo Public Library. Br. Brown was the original organizer of this annual conference which is now being organized by David Seely and William Hamblin.

The conference focuses on LDS conceptions of ancient and modern Temple theology as reflected in the Bible and LDS scripture.

Admission to the conference is free, but seating is limited to about 300. During the lunch hour you can bring a bag lunch to eat in conference room, or visit some of the restaurants around Center St. and University Ave, a few blocks south of the library. The underground garage at the library is available for parking, but cars must be out at 6 pm.

The program and abstracts are available online.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 104a: Temple Worship Fireside, Introduction, pt. 1

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Bryce Haymond of TempleStudy.com hosts this first in a series of on-line fireside discussions of the book Temple Worship: 20 Truths That Will Bless Your Life, by Andrew C. Skinner. Bryce is joined in this discussion by Frederick M. Huchel, Gary N. Anderson, Steve Reed, and Tevya Washburn. This discussion was conducted live on August 5, 2012 through Google’s Hangouts on Air. It was streamed live on TempleStudy.com, where the video can also be found. A rough transcript of the discussion can be found here. In this session, the participants discuss such things as what details about the temple can be discussed outside the temple, and the temple as a model of the universe.

Andrew C. Skinner is a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University, was dean of Religious Education and the first executive director of BYU’s Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. He holds master’s degrees in Biblical Hebrew and Jewish Studies and a Ph.D. in Near Eastern and European History, specializing in Judaism.  He is the author or co-author of over 100 publications.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 97: Building the Nauvoo Temple

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The Nauvoo Temple was both the second and the 113th temple constructed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The temple has remained close to the hearts of members of the Church ever since the time the Saints in Nauvoo had to leave the temple behind when they fled the city and moved West. Once the temple burned to the ground in 1848, it seemed lost to history. Yet, with its iconic Sunstones, it remained an integral part of the panorama of American religious history. So in 1999, it was with great excitement that the news was received that the temple would be rebuilt.

Steve Goodwin was the project architect on the Nauvoo Temple. In this interview, he shares his experiences researching the original design of the temple and seeing the project through to its magnificent finish. He also shares his insights regarding symbolic aspects of the temple and the way in which modern temple architects approach symbolism in their designs.

For more information about the symbolism of the Nauvoo Temple, see the FAIR Wiki entry found here.

The opinions expressed in this interview do not necessarily represent the opinions of FAIR or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 90: Mormons on the BBC

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This episode of the BBC World Service program, World Have Your Say, features members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The five-member panel answers questions from listeners from all over the world, including: Whether Mormons want to be recognized as a mainstream religion? What part of the Mormon faith is influenced by the Bible, and what part is influenced by the culture of its founders? Why is polygamy stereotypically linked to Mormonism? Would Mitt Romney be expected to spread the Mormon faith as a president? Why are Mormons secretive? Why are they not as open as other churches? What effect will the past ban on ordaining African Americans to the priesthood have on Mitt Romney’s ability to win over minority voters? What is the purpose of temples? What has generated the rapid spread of Mormonism? What would Christ think of a religion that teaches that it is the only true church? What is the Mormon view on the separation of church and state? What is it like to be a female member of the Church and a member of the Relief Society, the largest women’s organization in the world?

This program is posted here by permission of the BBC. The opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily represent the opinions of FAIR or of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint.

Another Look at Baptism for the Dead

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THE topic of vicarious or “proxy” baptisms performed by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has recently received a lot of attention, both positive and negative. (And both factual and lacking in accuracy, it’s fair to say.) I’m sure the topic will come up again, so even though it’s not at this moment a hot topic bouncing around the news, I’d like to share a few of my own thoughts about this issue and the way it’s been characterized as a horrible, disrespectful thing to do on behalf of the deceased. [Read more…] about Another Look at Baptism for the Dead

Sally Hemings and the Gods Themselves

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Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens

[Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain]

—     Friedrich Schiller, The Maid of Orléans

The vicarious temple ordinances performed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the “Mormons”) are back in the news.  This time, it is because someone has reportedly sealed Sally Hemings to Thomas Jefferson. (Hemings was a slave owned by Jefferson.  She bore children that have Jefferson DNA.  [1])

As usually happens with such things, the media and the blogosphere are a-bubble.  Some are well-intentioned expressions of concern, others are ill-informed, and some seem to just want to pile on and make the Church look bad, or use this as an opportunity to push their own reforming agenda on the Church.

The unspoken assumption seems to be that the Church can be “shamed” or at least “public-pressured” into “doing the right thing.”  In this case, the right thing would presumably be not performing vicarious sealing of slaves to former masters.  (The more hostile want temple work vastly curtailed or stopped altogether, but we’ll leave them to one side—it isn’t going to happen.)

This is not, however, simply one more case of “Mormon institutional insensitivity” to go with performing temple rites for Holocaust victims (despite what some have suggested).  LDS policy forbids performing Holocaust victims’ temple rites.  The people who did so had to circumvent fairly significant warnings and technological obstacles to do so.  (Those obstacles have since been increased even further.)

Likewise, it has never been LDS policy to seek out female slaves and seal them to their former masters and/or rapists.

Now, I wholeheartedly endorse the idea of not sealing slaves to masters.  The idea is obscene.  I don’t know any sensible person that would endorse it.  And that, unfortunately, is precisely the problem—I said sensible person.

Let me explain.

[Read more…] about Sally Hemings and the Gods Themselves