HIDDEN SYMBOLS OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE

Solomon's temple was truly a sight to behold. For the children of Israel who lived during that time it became a permanent house of worship that reminded them that the divine presence was ever near. The symbols that were purposefully carved into the building itself can teach us about the Savior, Jesus Christ, and our role as Gatherers in the last days.  Even the most hidden symbols of Solomon's Temple point to the glorious fulfilling of the Abrahamic Covenant in our day in latter day temples. What can we learn about ourselves in the pillars and Palm Trees that adorned the temple of Solomon? Much more than you probably think.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:11

Hello friends. Welcome to the Thinning of the Vell podcast. I'm your host, Tia Smith, and today we're going to be talking about hidden symbols in Solomon's Temple that not only point us to Christ, but also point to our work as gatherers in the last days. And I think you're going to be surprised at some of the symbols that we generally don't talk about and the meaning behind it all. You may notice as well that there are things going on on the podcast that are a little bit different as I try to navigate in making this podcast more efficient for me and more content created for you that I'm navigating this difference and hopefully it should write itself in the next couple of weeks. And I'm grateful for all the support behind the scenes. This has been a pulling out of hair of sorts for the last month and a half, trying to learn all these new things. But I know that it's just the Lord making this podcast better and moving it forward. At least that's what I'm hoping. A quick reminder about the Gathering of the Gathers community on Facebook is the Facebook group, and I'll leave the link in that description. It's wonderful to have so many people signing up and sharing their different thinning of the veil experiences. I also share experiences within that group that I don't normally share on the podcast. So I encourage you to go join and start to feel the camaraderie that comes from gathering online in a group that supports thinning of the veil experiences. And then lastly, I just want to thank you for support and ask for a huge, huge favor. Recently, for some reason, all heck is broke loose, literally. And for some reason, I am the target quite a bit lately from different subsets and groups that don't like LDS podcasters or us testifying of the Savior Jesus Christ. My comments section has been filled literally with negative comments, and it's hard to open up these apps and try to respond and when it's all negative. So this is what I propose. If you feel like you can support me and just flood the comment section with positive comments if you're enjoying the episodes, I would so I can't tell you how much greatly appreciate it because it is disheartening to be able to put all this work and effort in and have, I know people are watching it and are gaining um testimonies and experience from that, and and I'm grateful for that. But on my end, sometimes it's a little laborious when you do the work and then all you hear from is negative. So if you could flood the comment section with positive support, the things that you like on the episode itself and continue to, I would greatly appreciate it. It doesn't cost money and it's very little time, but it will help me a ton. So let's get into this episode about Solomon's Temple. Because for me, I when I studied about this, I was so surprised that I hadn't caught on to some of these things sooner. Okay, I'm gonna start with reading directly from the Come Follow Me manual because it sets the stage for what we're going to be talking about today. It says something important happened during the reign of Solomon that provided some hope for stability in the lives of the covenant people. Solomon built a temple. It was to be a more permanent house of the Lord than the tabernacle had been, and it would represent a more permanent presence of the Lord among his people. Solomon knew that the people would continue to face weakness and trials of various kinds. In dedicating the new holy house, Solomon pleaded with the Lord, if they return unto thee with all their heart, then hear thou their prayer. That's part of what temple covenants do for us. They create a connection to God. They secure for us the promise that through our repentance and his mercy, he can dwell among us and never forsake us. How does that have anything to do with our day? Come follow me, Manuel is inviting us to ponder upon that. We know that in any age of temple building, the purpose and the point of the temple is to bring souls closer to God. It's a permanent presence of the Lord among the people. And Solomon's time was a great joy because they had been wandering for 40 years plus. And now it was time to have a very specific stationary place where God could come and speak and be with his people. And in the dedication of the house, Solomon pleaded, as we all are, I'm assured, pleading now today, hear thou our prayer. We need stability in our lives right now. Everything in our lives is chaos as we're living in the latter days and has been prophesied. So what is it about Solomon's temple if we study the symbolism that can help us in our current situation? Now we're going to read again from the manual because it will help set the stage for the rest of the episode and what we should be pondering about. In 1 Kings 6 through 7, you'll find a detailed description of the sacred house that Solomon built for the Lord. The details may not seem as important to you as they were to the ancient Israelites, but reading these chapters might give you a sense for how important it was to them to have a house of the Lord. Why is it important to you? You might ponder what the different parts of Solomon's temple might symbolize. For example, consider what the cherubim, trees, and flowers in 1 Kings 6.35 might represent. We are at a disadvantage to a certain extent when we're reading the detailed descriptions of Solomon's temple. A lot of the imagery and the symbols that are in the temple have been lost to us, but were important to the ancient Israelites. And if we haven't studied, we may not understand what was the point of the pomegranate, what was the point of the palm? What was the point of the different aspects of dimension? So come follow me, manual this week is inviting us to say what is it within the construct of the Temple of Solomon that can help us understand in our day why those symbols are important to us. It's now an opportunity and an invitation for us to study and see what the Lord will teach us. And I'm hoping that the rest of this episode, as we point out, some maybe hidden symbols that we're not aware of will help in helping us with our gathering work in the latter days, hopefully giving us comfort, really, and some understanding that God knew us even in Solomon's time and was pointing the ancient Israelites actually to the house of Israel in the latter days. There is significance in learning about the symbolism of the Solomon's temple. Now, when we learn about that and how it relates to the role of the gathering, a lot of times when we talk about Solomon's temple, we talk about the more obvious parts of Solomon's Temple, right? And their meanings. Like the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy of Holies. Even a couple episodes back in Symbols of the Baptist Tree, we discussed the Lavers and the Molten Sea and how that related to Jesus Christ and also as our role as gatherers. So today I wanted to talk about some of the lesser-known ones, not the Ark of the Covenant today or the Holy of Holies or the Veil. We'll talk about those later. But it's even in the small details that we see significant pointing to our day. So let's first talk about the significance about where Solomon's temple was to be built, because even the land pointed to the latter day and the works that we are involved in. In Study Helps, it says this the hill of Zion seems to have been chosen by God as his dwelling place early in David's reign. The exact position of the temple, the threshing floor of Al Ranah, the Jebusite, was indicated by an angel of the Lord during the plague and the command received through the prophet Gad to build an altar there. This threshing floor is placed on Mount Moriah in 2 Chronicles 3:1. Now we know that Mount Moriah is a sacred temple in and of itself. But this position specifically on Mount Moriah matters to David and to also us because where it was placed had a significant purpose to it in sacrificing. We often talk about how sacrifice is sanctifying. And that clearly is no different in this case of why the specific location of Solomon's temple was chosen. The sacrifice that was previously offered before the temple was even built made it a sacred place. It was a sacred nature because of what happened there. James E. Faust describes this particular similar situation in our time and in David's time. He says, In Old Testament times the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel, and many people died. He commanded David to offer a sacrifice at the threshing floor of Al Ranah the Jebusite. When David went to see Al Runah, and Al Runah found out why he had come, he generously offered to give him whatever was needed for the sacrifice. David's response was profound. He bought the threshing floor, offered the sacrifice, and the plague ceased. Protection will come not with a sacrifice which costs us nothing. We can see that even in this process we see the Savior, right? We see that the threshing floor was bought through the atonement of Jesus Christ. He was the sacrifice that was offered. And because of the sacrifice, the plague ceased, the plague of death and sin, all of those ceased. So when the temple is now chosen, David understands that this is holy and that it has to come at some kind of cost to us, or the protection does not come. So first we need to ask ourselves: are we then in a similar situation as David? Are we experiencing plagues? And I obviously the answer to that question is yes. We have many plagues of spiritual, physical, mental, emotional plagues that are currently trying to take us out. This is Satan at his highest level, most effective level in the latter days. What was the solution in David's time? It was to go to the threshing floor, and we're going to talk about the significance of what a threshing floor is and offer a sacrifice. Now, the sacrifice in David's time is different than in our time. But the result is the same. It's protection and it's sanctification. Because in the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are not just trying to get by, we are trying to become. And there is no way that we can become who we are supposed to become, which are kings and queens, priests and priestesses, without sacrifice. Now, if it protected, and that word is huge, protected from plagues in the process of sacrifice, then as we also offer sacrifice on the chosen holy spots that we that's closest to us, we then find the same protection. But let's talk about what the modern day sacrifice is, as we know that it's not the same as David's. David's was a blood sacrifice. So what is our sacrifice that will save us from the plague-like conditions that we are currently in? In Doctrine Covenants 128, verse 24, and this wording is very, very, very, very similar to the process of threshing. It says, Behold, the great day of the Lord is at hand, and who can abide the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap, and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Therefore, let us, as a church and a people, and as latter-day saints, offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness, and let us present in his holy temple, when it is finished, a book containing the records of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptance. We can see a significant difference in the process of sacrifice. As we take our names to the temple, acting in our in our roles and capacities as sons and daughters of Levi, they are being purged and we are being purged. We are being threshed and they are being threshed. Yes, one of the sacrifices is to offer up a contrite spirit and a broken heart. But the thing that's uniquely Latter-day Saint, Latter day focused, fullness of the priesthood in the latter days is that our sacrifice and the invitation is to present in his holy temple a book containing the records of our dead, and not just a genealogical record, but it has to be worthy of all acceptation. Did Solomon's temple have the ability to help add records of the dead and add them to this book in heaven that is worthy of all acceptation? Generally, no. It's an eronic priesthood-focused temple. And it only helped those which were in proximity. There was no work for the dead up until that point. So this description in Doctrine and Covenants 128-24 helps us to understand. Remember, how are we protected and saved from the plague like conditions, as echoed in David's uh situation? Well, we go to the temple and present our ancestors, give them the power that they are worthy to be accepted in the kingdom of God. And that is specifically relating to our day in preparation for the second coming. I want to just hear a little bit from President Nelson. And I think that this is so cool because we're talking about threshing floors, and usually that was for harvest time. And when we talk, this talk was given in October 2020. So as we talk about the harvest time and the threshing floors, listen to President Nelson's description of our work in the latter days and how we overcome Satan in these latter days. And remember, this is in October 2020, one of the seasons we recognize as being a harvest season.

SPEAKER_01 16:27

During these perilous times of which the Apostle Paul prophesied, Satan is no longer even trying to hide his attacks on God's plan. Emboldened evil abounds. Therefore, the only way to survive spiritually is to be determined to let God prevail in our lives, to learn to hear his voice, and to use our energy to help gather Israel.

SPEAKER_00 17:02

President Nelson acknowledged the plague-like conditions we are in. But he also acknowledged and taught what is going to help us overcome these plagues. And it's very, very, very evident that we are being prepared and protected as we do the work for our dead, as we do templum family history work. Let's talk a little bit about this uh threshing, because the threshing floor mattered and it should matter to us. And how does that point us again? Remember, we're contemplating how does the threshing floor point to us in the latter days. Now we know as we're talking about threshing, this is from an insign article, and I love the description of what it teaches us about threshing floors. It says, Threshing precedes the final separation. So we've jumped from Solomon's time to our day. We are in the process of the final separation, in the process of the final threshing that is to take place. It says that threshing is a necessary step before the final winnowing, which separates the husks from the edible grain before the grain is ground and stored. Throughout history, the Lord has at times sent his judgments against wicked people. At his second coming, he will separate the wicked from the righteous in preparation for his millennial reign. Before this separation, his servants and his people helped prepare the world for the judgment to come by bearing witness through the power of the Spirit. We as his servants, we as his people are instruments in his hands on the threshing floor. Where is the threshing floor today? It's in the temples. It is in the houses of God that are dotting the earth in great numbers, because it is in preparation for the judgment that is coming. And as we thresh with the work that we provide and do in the temples, and also thresh by bearing testimony about the gathering through the Spirit, we are preparing the final winnowing, and it's going to separate some that can and some that can't, some that do and some that don't. But the important thing is that we are offering that help to those on the other side of the veil, and whether they take it or not, that's on them. But we are his servants, and we are acting within our capacities and helping, serving in on the threshing floors of the temple and separating the wheat from the chaff. He ultimately makes the decision about who's wicked and who's righteous. But to be in his kingdom, the temple work has to be done. So you can see this importance of threshing floors and temples and how it's the exact purpose and point of why they were even here. It is to create saints and separate those who will and those who won't. President Russell Melson said, Why are we building temples at such an unprecedented pace? Why? Because the Lord has instructed us to do so. The blessings of the temple help to gather Israel on both sides of the veil. These blessings also help to prepare a people who will help prepare the world for the second coming of the Lord. In the temple, we receive protection from the buffetings of the world. There it is. As we prepare, we're protected. Prepare, protect. As we thresh the nations, as we participate in the work of the gathering, there is protections and blessings that come. And the Lord sees fit to bless us and remove us from unnecessary dealings as we gather. And that's an important part of the temple for Solomon's time, obviously, and for our time as well. Now we're going to uh talk about the pillars. Now, this is pretty epic. When we're talking about the pillars of Solomon's temple, we see pillars in our native society all the time. But do we see pillars that are actually named? This is the cool thing about that because pillars are symbols, but also the names are symbols. In 1 Kings 7 21, we read, and he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple, and he set up the right pillar and called the names. Thereof Yaqin, and he set up the left pillar and called the name thereof Boaz. So everything, every detail in Solomon's temple mattered. Now, as we again start to ponder, what in the world do pillars have to do with us and the gathering in the last days? Well, you'll be surprised. First of all, what matters is the meaning of their names. Yaquin means he will establish. And Boaz means in him is strength. We see the immediate connection to Jesus Christ. He is establishing his kingdom on this earth. He has done his part in the work and continues to do his part. We also know that it's only in and through him that we find the strength to overcome and to help him in the gathering. So it's not only pointing us to the Savior, but it's also pointing us to our work. Are we acting within the capacity of the meaning of the word Yaqin? Are we an establisher? And Boaz, are we finding strength in him? And where and how does that happen? Let's first focus on Yaquin. Participation in the gathering is about establishing. We read in Doctrine Covenant 6.6, now as you have asked, behold, I say unto you, keep my commandments and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion. We are repeatedly invited to establish Zion, to establish the House of Israel, to bring forth and help the cause of Zion move forward. So are we represented in one of those pillars in Yaqeen? If you're establishing and helping to establish the House of Israel and Zion, then that particular pillar in the temple can point to you and the work that you're doing in these latter days as it did to the Savior. Now let's talk about Boaz and gaining strength. President Russell M. Nelson said, Most certainly the adversary does not want you to understand the covenant you made at baptism or the profound endowment of knowledge and power. You have received or will receive in the temple the house of the Lord. And Satan certainly does not want you to understand that every time you worthily serve and worship in the temple, you leave armed with God's power and with his angels having charge over you. It is through covenantal relationships that we gain strength. It's not about this physical strength, it's not about going to the gym and working out. The strength that Boaz represented was the strength of the power of the covenant within the house of the Lord. And it very, very clearly stood in front of the entrance to Solomon's temple, reminding everyone who came in that the strength and power that you need and I need to get through what we're going to need and are currently trying to get through is going to the temple and worshiping there. The cool thing about that is it's not just about receiving priesthood power, it's about having angels charge over you. Who are those angels? We've talked about that over and over again. Those angels that generally come are your ancestors. So not only because you're arming them with priesthood power, they then have the ability to watch over and protect you and help you walk through what you've been called to do in these latter days. But you also become a pillar as you gain strength from Him, the Savior, in the temple. So it clearly points to this kind of making of many pillars in God's kingdom. Servants' pillars, you can make the same argument that it's the same thing. And I love that that pointed to both the names on the pillars because they were there for a purpose and a reason. Those names were put there by Solomon very, very specifically. In LDS Symbols, it says the two pillars as two witnesses, their position flanking the temple entrance places them as permanent witnesses to all who enter, testifying to the divine establishment and strength that the temple represents. The pillar as witness and the pillar as divine presence are united in Yaqeen and Boaz. They stand as witnesses to the covenant made within, and their names declare the divine power that sustains it. So when we're talking about the two pillars, are we, as we flank the entrances and as we go to the entrances of temple, are we acting as pillars in being a permanent witness that in that house there is strength and you can be in the divine presence. Are we witnesses to that? Are we witnesses to the to the importance of the covenants made within? And when we do that, we are emulating the pattern of Solomon's temple in the pillars. We're going to learn something else now about the pillars. We're going to focus, shift our focus just a little bit. In 2 Kings 23, 3, it reads, And the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and with all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book, and all the people stood to the covenant. In various different times in history, kings would go to the actual pillar, and remember, this should echo our own temple worship. We are to become kings and queens. Now, the method that they used to a certain extent was the king would go and stand by a pillar and make the covenant there before the Lord. The promise was that if the statutes were kept with all his soul, the king, that the blessings would come, that as they performed the words of the covenant, they were written in the book, and all the people stood to that covenant. It is this kind of coronation part of a ceremony where where the king stood mattered. And it stood he stood before the entrance of the temple, acknowledging God and the covenant and the importance of it as they look to the temple. Are we doing the same thing in our preparation to become kings and queens? Are we standing by the temple, testifying of the importance of covenants being made in that holy house? That's part of our role is testifying of the importance of that. And in that testifying, you become a pillar of that temple. The pillar at the entrance to the temple is the place where covenants are made publicly and solemnly. The king standing by the pillar to make a covenant before the Lord encodes the pillar's function as the access of covenant commitment. To stand by the pillar is to stand at the point where heaven and earth meet and to bind oneself to the divine order. That is one of the reasons why kings would stand at the pillar, is because the top connected to heaven and the bottom of the pillar connected to earth, thus creating a conduit where one could stand, make the covenants to enter into the divine presence and to bind oneself to the divine order. Now, what is the divine order? They're talking about the patriarchal order of the priesthood, thus foretelling the work being done in our temples today. The most important descendant of Abraham was the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, who came through the royal lineage of Judah. In addition, those who receive the Abrahamic covenant and are faithful to it are promised they will become kings and priests or queens and priestesses unto God. As we contemplate what those titles mean, kings and queens, priests and priestesses, the temple becomes our sole focus as it did in Solomon's times and as it and for sure as it does in our day. As we make and keep the Abrahamic covenant, the promises made to the fathers, standing at the front of the temple where the pillars are, we become pillars and we become kings and queens. It's this great symbolism of a king and a queen becoming a pillar not only to the generation that are there to see it, but to the many generations after. Are you a pillar to your ancestors? Are you helping to establish their kingdom, their family relationship, their divine order? Are you giving them power in their time and place that they need on the other side of the veil? It's interesting when you start to think about the role of pillars. Now we're going to talk a little bit about the different definitions of pillars or the different ways it was used in scripture to also look at this divine power or the strength that we can get from temple worship because it's quite interesting. This play on words. In Joseph Smith History 116, we read, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head. It's interesting that Joseph Smith had this theophony, this major happening, this major vision, and he described it as a pillar of light. Remember, pillars connect heaven to earth. And within this construct, pillars can also be revelation, clearly. It's connecting God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ to Joseph Smith, who is on the earth and testifying of the eternal divine order of things. Now let's look at Exodus 13, 21, because it helps us to understand Joseph Smith's wording. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light to go by day and night. Okay, so we could very easily substitute pillar of cloud and pillar of fire to pillar of light, right? Pillar of um that pillar of light then becomes more important as we study glory. Because remember, we're trying to say, how does this pillar, these pillars, have to do with us and our work in the latter days? How do the these symbols teach us about who we are and how we are supposed to accomplish his work in the latter days? Well, we're supposed to be accomplishing it through pillars of light. And in the scriptures, glory often refers to God's light and truth. So you could very easily say, uh, I went, the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of glory, and by night in a pillar of glory. Joseph Smith very easily could have uh described it as a pillar of glory, which is God's light and truth. Now then that comes into play in Moses 1.39. For behold, this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. As we choose to offer the sacrifices in the temples that we are now surrounded by. And as we choose to do the work of bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of our ancestors, we are given glory. We then become pillars of glory little by little, sacrifice by sacrifice. And what does the pillar do? It leads them. And it leads us, it protects us, that's the whole point of a pillar, to give revelation from heaven to earth, and also to be a light, to guide, to direct, and to protect. James, Cephas, and John, who seem to be pillars, that was what Galatians said. So in our own scripture, it's referring to us as pillars if we are seeking to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. Now it goes further in Revelation 3:12. And this points to our day. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out, and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and I will write upon him my new name. The Lord is saying, I will make my sons and daughters who are willing, pillars in the temple. They will be protected, they will go no more out, because he will write his name upon us, and also the name of the city of God upon us. That is important as we look at the roles that pillars play, not only in the physical sense of Solomon's temple, but in the sense that we are now pillars of God. We are light unto the Gentiles, we are pillars on the threshing floor in the temple, in doing the work for our Savior Jesus Christ and helping him in his work. Think about this for just a minute, because it's glorious when you think about it. The pillar as a symbol of the faithful individual is one of the most theologically rich uses of the image in Scripture. To be made a pillar in the temple of God is the promise of permanent, unremovable establishment in the divine presence. The person who overcomes becomes the structural element of the heavenly temple itself. Think about that, my friends. As we become pillars of light by attaining glory to more glory, to more glory, we are not only being an image and a beacon of light to others, but in that process of becoming a pillar in the temple of God, we are being becoming a structural element of the heavenly temple. That's the work of the gathering. We're becoming pillars that cannot be removed out of God's presence. We are becoming part of God's kingdom, literally, as we gather glory. Latter-day Saint connection, the image of the exalted individual as a pillar in the temple of God, resonates directly with Latter-day Saint temple theology. The endowed member who keeps covenants is being prepared to become a structural element of the eternal order, not merely an inhabitant of the celestial kingdom, but a load-bearing member of its architecture. Are we a load-bearing member in the eternal order of our God? Are we becoming a structural element that bears off the kingdom, that acts as a pillar of light in helping our ancestors come back to them? It's this forging of becoming again, especially in this work of the latter days, because again, in Solomon's temple, they did not have the capacity to bring to pass the immortality in eternal life of man in mass. We are sitting in a very tumultuous time, but oh my friends, we are in a most unique position to save and to become. But to do that, we must be a load-bearing member of its architecture. A lot of times we excuse that, oh, we don't have the time to go, we can't go, I can't participate in the work, there's too much going on in my life. But it's in the bearing of the load that we become strong. And if you can't get to the temple and provide work for your ancestors, the Lord knows that. But you surely can participate in the gathering in some way, shape, or form. You want to be able to be a load-bearing member. You want to be at the end of the day, one who is looked at as a preparer and a thresher and a gatherer and a deliverer and a redeemer, all with little letters. Because that ultimately is how we become like them. Now we're going to talk about the palm. What's cool about the palm, and when I was learning about this, is that my name Tia in some languages means princess of the palm trees. So as I was learning about this, it kind of um spoke to my soul a little bit and helped me to understand and remind me of the role that I have been called upon to play in the latter days as an individual. And it was kind of this special message from Heavenly Father as I studied. Now, in the Bible dictionary, we read about the palm and its importance. So the temple walls were composed of hewn stone made ready at the quarry. The roof was of cedar and the walls were paneled with it. The cedar was carved with figures, cherubim, palm trees, and flowers, and was overlaid with gold fitted to the carving. So you have these cedar walls, which again there's a symbol in those as well. But you have these carved carvings in the walls that were overlaid with gold. And there was palms everywhere. Now, what is important about the palm to the ancient Israelites, and how is that important to us in our day? What I love about the palm and what I learned about the palm is that in the palm, why it was important is it signified deliverance. On that great palm Sunday where Jesus Christ was welcomed into Jerusalem and palms were thrown at his feet. They were thrown because the people were excited because they saw that the deliverance of their soul was nigh at hand. And that's how they honored him, and that's how they uh welcomed him into the holy city. Bruce R. McConkie points to it this way, though, and it's a prefiguring that happening on Palm Sunday during the life of the Savior Jesus Christ as to something that's going to happen in the future. So remember, in the palm there is deliverance. He writes, Only kings and conquerors receive such an extraordinary token of respect as this. Amid shouts of praise and please for salvation and deliverance, we see the disciples strewing our Lord's course with palm branches in token of victory and triumph. This whole dramatic scene prefigures that yet future assembly when a great multitude shall stand before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands, crying with a loud voice, Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb. This is yet to be, my friends. The pattern that happened in the Savior's time will also happen in our time, because there will be deliverance, because there is salvation. And there is a future time when those disciples who have chosen to be a part of his kingdom and his servants and be a pillar in the kingdom of God will stand before him before his throne. As they are closed. clothed with white robes which echoes temple and the robes of the priesthood with palms in their hands saying salvation to our God that is yet to be the palm matter to the ancient Israelites and the palm most assuredly matters to us and as we look forward to that day praying night and day for it to happen sooner rather than later when we act in roles of salvation and delivers there's something extraordinary that happens you have this Palm Sunday event happening you have a future Palm Sunday event that's going to happen but in the meantime we have this work that we've been called upon to do the gathering now how does that connect us to our ancestors and because there's this scene that's going to happen as well that's very very similar to what has happened in the past and the future this is pointed out by Truman G. Madsen. He says we do not comprehend what a blessing to them these ordinances are talking about our ancestors. In the resurrection Joseph taught Horace Cummings they will fall at the feet of those who have done their work embrace their knees and manifest the most exquisite gratitude. Can you see this very, very sacred happening this event that happened for Jesus Christ is also to a certain extent going to be offered and happened and happening to those who do the work of their ancestors. Wilford Woodruff said that there will be few if any who will not receive the ordinances of the temple when they are performed for them. An elder John W. Taylor while attending the Manti temple dedication concluded that only one in ten would refuse the ordinances. He added how many who are kept in prison are not ready to come out what an assurance when I go with my wife through a magnificent two-hour experience in the temple that we may have brought two converts into the kingdom of God in two hours. Now let's think about this for just a minute there will be a day when we will meet our ancestors what that reception looks like is completely on us. They either will fall at our feet and be grateful and we will weep together because in that day we knew that we will know that the salvation and deliverance of each other was interconnected. Or we will have that conversation with them they will look into our eyes and ask us with deep longing why did you not help to save me I think about that reunion quite often and I think about what I want to have it to be what kind of experience I would like it to be. I for one can't wait for the most holy party that we will have as we meet these ancestors and as they are so grateful for our work and I am grateful, I will tell them that I am grateful for their work in helping me from the other side of the bell the choice is ours what kind of reception we will receive is is completely up to us but it will happen and that's signified in the palms it's signified in the deliverer of Jesus Christ who if not for him none of this would be possible it would all be a sad day. In 1 Nepha we learn some more about the deliverance of source and strength right because we're talking about the palm now this is another play on words and it's significant to look at the palm in this way as we ponder deliverance that comes from our Savior Jesus Christ and his palm. In 1 Nephi 21 verse 5 it reads And now saith the Lord that formed me from the womb that I should be his servant to bring Jacob again to him which is deliverance though Israel be not gathered yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord and my God shall be my strength. That's echoing pillars of Solomon's temple. Remember strength that's one of the meanings of the Lord's pillars in Solomon's temple. So now as we read a little bit more in first Nephi we're going to listen to it being read to us. For those of you who are watching please look for symbols of the palm because it will surprise you really what we can attribute that to us in our day.

SPEAKER_03 49:19

And it's beautiful Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. It is a light thing that thou should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the ends of the earth, that thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth to them that sit in darkness, show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways and their pastures shall be in all high places. But behold, Zion hath said The Lord hath forsaken me and my Lord hath forgotten me but he will show that he hath not behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands thy walls are continually before me.

SPEAKER_00 50:12

Lift up thine eyes round about and behold all these gather themselves together and they shall come to thee so to recap that in 1 Nephi 29 it talks about the prisoners going forth that sit in darkness. How does that happen? In the temple a little bit further down in verse 16 where where well in verse 14 where it says the Lord hath forsaken me right this is the call this is the cry of the prisoner they have been scattered they've been in prison for how long right and their cry is the Lord hath forsaken me he hath forgotten me. But here is how the Lord answers those particular cries in verse 16 he says Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands the walls are continually before me. Lift up thine eyes round about and behold all these gather themselves together and shall come to thee and as I live saith the Lord thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all as with an ornament and bind them on even as a bride. Now think about that. When we go to the temple in helping to fill the promise that the Lord has not forsaken his sons and daughters in the active gathering what are we carrying in our palm especially during a lot of our temple worship in the palm of our hands we carry the name of an ancestor what is the significance of that remember in the palm is deliverance and salvation when we go to the temple we are remembering those lost sons and daughters in our hands and even when we log on to Family Search we take our phones we put it in our hands in the palm of our hand we get in and we reserve names we push the ordinances ready button it's in the palm of our hands that we're gathering my friends it's in the palm of the hand that we walk them through being clothed binding them to the Savior Jesus Christ the Savior has in remembrance all of us upon the palms of his hands. We likewise in our roles as saviors with little s in these latter days are literally walking into the temples of God acting in the same pattern carrying those sacred names of our ancestors in the palm of our hands we cannot forget them. We should not forget them for the Savior has said I hath not forsaken thee and I will send my sons and daughters in the latter days I will send my daughter Tia to show you that you are not forsaken as she carries the name of you your ancestor in her hand I love that connection to Jesus Christ. I love that symbolism of the palm not only in Solomon's temple but in the days to come the palm is going to matter and it will matter to them and us. When we do the work of salvation we emulate the Savior and I love that it's not forgetting the Abrahamic covenant. Remember it's the promise that the Lord I have not forgotten you and it's bringing them to the temple in the latter days. One thing though that we have to remember because we've been talking about how Solomon's temple relates to our day and how what we can learn from it there are certain things that are different. And even though Solomon's temple was grand and glorious it could not serve the full purposes of the Lord it was an operating Iranic priesthood temple. The only way that the forgetting wouldn't happen the Lord's promises would come to all people was that in the latter days the Melchizedek priesthood would be restored and our temples would be operating within that sphere and power it's in our day the fullness of times that our fathers and your fathers and the savior has begun to gather that promise is now being fulfilled now symbols are wonderful teaching tools but they in and of themselves cannot save and Solomon's temple did not have the capacity to save the generations as had been foretold every generation since Adam looked forward to our day. That's the importance of the temples that we now have they could not save en masse because they did not have first the amount of temples that were needed they did not have the priesthood power and the keys restored that brought the sealing power down. And here we sit on this precipice of glory and opportunity. As pointed out by Anne M. Matsen remember in this differing of Solomon's temple versus our temple says in the temple of Solomon worshippers brought a gift to the Lord in our modern day temples worshipers receive a gift from the Lord. It should be noted that some of the ordinances performed in temples since the restoration were available to a chosen few anciently but were likely given on mountaintops or in other venues. So very few endowments were performed especially in the Temple of Solomon and we look at the pattern the Temple of Solomon you were bringing a gift to the Lord but the endowment wasn't really in place yet and now in our day we are receiving the gift from the Lord as we offer sacrifices Brigham Young said it is true that Solomon built a temple for the purpose of giving endowments but from what we can learn of the history of that time they gave very few if any endowments just backing up the knowledge that endowments were not given until our day in the amount that it's happening now. So how should we look at our day should we be excited? Should we be scared? Should we be confused? Let's listen to Elder Bednar about his description of the latter days in this context of the work that we have ahead of us and the work that we are doing now is the only time that it could be done. And we should be excited about listen to Elder Bednar.

SPEAKER_02 58:11

The prophet Joseph Smith declared the building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of Zion in every age. It is a theme upon which prophets, priests and kings have dwelt with peculiar delight. They have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live and fired with heavenly and joyful anticipations. They have sung and written and prophesied of this our day. But they died without the sight. It is left for us to see, participate in and help to roll forward the latter day glory. On another occasion the prophet revealed that the heavenly priesthood bearers will unite with the earthly to bring about those great purposes a work that God and angels have contemplated with delight for generations past, that fired the souls of the ancient patriarchs and prophets. A work that is destined to bring about the destruction of the powers of darkness, the renovation of the earth, the glory of God and the salvation of the human family. The spiritual significance of the latter days has been the focus of prophetic attention for centuries and the special season in which we live is now and will continue to be filled with stunning spiritual developments and happenings.

SPEAKER_00 59:48

So you see my friends this is a work of God and angels and mortals and it's joyful anticipation that we should be looking at the opportunity that we have in front of us to be a gatherer. We should be looking at the opportunity and doing something about it. Solomon's temple was grand and glorious in its time and it was a much needed presence for the children of Israel. But the temples have been expanded in our time in the latter days to bring about the purposes of God that had that could not and have not yet been fulfilled because of the capacity and the priesthood power that had been restored. Now we are sitting here Solomon's temple this week the importance of the symbolism and how great a blessing it was to the ancient Israelites who lived in a proximity very very close to the temple site may we remember that the temples of the latter days are to bless the untold countless of others on both sides of the veil. It's fulfilling prophecy in mass in the last days Adam and Eve Noah Enoch all of them looking forward to our day and it is a work that is blessed with angels that will help us and because of the Savior and his work he will bless us with the power necessary to bring about the fullness of times as we become pillars to our ancestors and as we thresh the nations with the spirit of the gathering and be as our savior in remembering our ancestors taking them in the palms of our hands to the house of God we will be blessed and protected beyond measure. That was the promise to David and Solomon and that is same to us that as we navigate these horrible differing kinds of plagues in the last days we will find the comfort and salvation and deliverance in the temple and we will be blessed accordingly we do not walk this path alone we clearly walk it with the Savior and angels on the other side of the veil. Remember who you are my friends it matters who you are and the work of the gathering matters and it was echoed in symbols in Solomon's temple. Please remember that have a great week in studying the rest of the symbols and if you come to know some what the pomegranates mean and some of the other things put that in the comment section. Have a great week my friends bye