Question: What do you do with questions about the endowment?
The Better Country
The book of Hebrews recounts the faith of the early Patriarchs:
“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
“For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
“And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
“But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city...”
How do we get to this better country? The temple ordinances take us there symbolically through symbol, ritual and story.
John A. Widtsoe reminds us: “The temple ordinances encompass the whole plan of salvation...this completeness of survey and expounding of the Gospel plan, makes temple worship one of the most effective methods of refreshing the memory concerning the whole structure of the gospel.”
Gain Understanding of Culture and Customs
Symbols are divine short-hand—a wealth of inexhaustible meaning held by one delicate symbol. The temple instruction, like scripture, is given us through
- Symbols
- Story
- Order
- Ritual
But unlike reading scripture we are interacting with it and this move from passive reception to active participation can be alarming—
Left in our own cultural perceptions we would struggle to understand the symbols by our own reason. But the culture we enter is not ours but belongs to “that better land.” In scripture the Lord outlines how we can understand the language he uses in the temple ceremonies--
“the power of my Spirit quickeneth all things...” the Lord says in one revelation.
And what does “quicken” mean? The 1828 Webster’s dictionary provides us with these definitions:
- To communicate a principle of grace
- To revive; to cheer; to reinvigorate; to refresh by new supplies of comfort or grace
Interesting isn’t it? Quicken implies both knowledge (principles of grace) and feeling (cheer, refresh, comfort).
Instead of using our finite reasoning and ending up frustrated trying to force understanding we are invited instead to be “quickened” by the Spirit who “knoweth all things”
Is this a fast, effortless and easy learning process? No. Henry Ward Beecher assures us "A man’s religion is not a thing all made in heaven, and then let down, and shoved into him. It is his own conduct and life."
“Coming to the Savior requires continual coming,” as Cheryl C. Lant reminds us.
Learned a Few Phrases
How do we learn a few phrases of this new country we are entering into? The language is symbol and the scriptures are full of them and their interpretation.
Familiar with the Neighbourhood
If you were moving to a place you had never been before you might study a map to get where you are going and avoid detours that take you away from your destination. Likewise the scriptures outline our mortal journey.
Made a Few Friends
Friends—people who know the country and culture you desire to visit and can give you tips—are great to cultivate before going to a unknown land. Likewise the scriptures are full of people who have seen an overview of the gospel plan. See, for example, the stories of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Nephi and John the Revelator. If you think they are a little archaic try your Conference Ensign instead. Or local priesthood leaders. Know that they might just point you to the scriptures. The stories are old but not outdated.
In Sum
What do you do with questions about the endowment? You take them to the temple, you take them to the scriptures, you take them to Father in Heaven in prayer.
And then, seeing the promise afar off, you press forward “continually...”
Happy Journeys!
