It is very important to understand the symbolism of our God and how he uses symbols, types, shadows, patterns, figures, and likenesses to teach us. Here are several scriptures where the Lord informs us how he has used these likenesses to teach:
Moses 6:63
63 And behold, all things have their likeness, and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me.
2 Ne 11:4
4 Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him.
Mosiah 3:15
15 And many signs, and wonders, and types, and shadows showed he unto them, concerning his coming; and also holy prophets spake unto them concerning his coming; and yet they hardened their hearts, and understood not that the law of Moses availeth nothing except it were through the atonement of his blood.
D&C 84:46
46 And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit. (emphasis added)
We understand from the Lord's teachings that so much of what He does must be interpreted. The above scriptures help us by giving the keys for interpretation. There is a caution that we need to be aware of. One symbol may represent many things, therefore, what one sees in a symbol does not eliminate others interpretations that may also be represented in the same symbol. We know that all truth is integrated into one whole, therefore, some symbols may also overlap and blend into other symbols. Much symbolic interpretation is personal and does not have to be accepted by others. Some symbols have meaning in many cultures and may have universal interpretation others do not.
From our own Doctrine and Covenants we learn that the earth is living the law of a Celestial Kingdom (D&C 88:25-26). What all that entails we do not know. But, we can see a pattern that was set in creation. The earth focuses on the sun which the scriptures teach us is a pattern of Christ. Every twenty four hours she shows us what it is like to live in darkness and invites us to live in the light of the sun (son). She rotates around the sun every 365 days which gives us four seasons in which we can see a pattern for the fall, death, resurrection, and harvest of souls into the kingdom of God. At the flood the earth is baptized and at the second coming she receives the baptism of the Spirit. In D&C 101:23, the Lord refers to the earth as His temple. Just as temples point us to Christ so does the Lord's temple in its solar setting. So much of what the Lord has done is a visual aid to help us come unto him.
The following image is one possible interpretation of being "enlightened through the world" (D&C 84:46).
(click on image to enlarge)
1 comment:
Wow ~ another great entry! I just love reading your posts. I recently learned about the symbolism of the Nauvoo Temple (moon, stars, sun, etc.) on the Joseph Papers (KBYUTV). I love how the Lord uses symbolism in everything. And I so appreciated your sensitivity about how others learn. Some things stand out at certain times to me in different ways, and have different (deeper) meanings. I think the key is, like you said, to "look to Christ in all things both in Heaven and earth."
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