"Seeing the Promises Afar Off..."

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!

Culture Shock and the Temple

Question: The endowment seems strange to me! What’s wrong with me?

Culture Shock

            The temple ordinances, especially the endowment, can result in a form of ‘culture shock’.  Wikipedia defines this as “the difficulty people have adjusting to a new culture that differs markedly from their own.”

            Why would we experience culture shock in the Lord’s house?  Isn’t it supposed to be a haven of peace—apart from the world?  Yes!  But I think we live in the world so much, and are attuned to telestial attitudes and beliefs that learning in the Lord’s house—a celestial environment—can overwhelm and confuse us at times.

            Our Sunday meetings have taught us one way of learning the gospel—through the spoken word, music and discussion among members.  This model follows us into the home also with family home evenings, etc. 

The temple learning experience is markedly different.  In his abundance and grace towards us the  Lord has given us the ‘endowment’—a series of instructions, rituals, ordinances and covenants designed to empower us with ‘the power of godliness’, his strength to help us return to him and become like he is.  And he has clothed his teachings in symbolism (both visual and tangible). 

We are used to ‘plain and simple’...and suddenly we find ourselves handed what appears to be symbols and actions without a manual to interpret them. 

This can result in frustration.

“Excitement may eventually give way to unpleasant feelings of frustration and anger,” Wikipedia explains, “as one continues to experience unfavorable events that may be perceived as strange and offensive to one's cultural attitude”

            Hopefully no one has it that bad!

 “Adjusting to a new culture can be difficult and frustrating,” Julia Ferguson agrees, “but it can also be a wonderful, thought provoking time of your life during which you will grow as a person.

“Remember, you are a guest in another country. Avoid at all costs disparaging the host country's culture. Once you have gained an understanding of the country and its customs, learned a few phrases, become familiar with the neighborhood, and made a few friends you are on your way to overcoming culture shock..."

Next we will explore these helps to getting over culture shock. 

Further Reading

Culture Shock 

A Question of Clothing?--Not Really

Intro to this post here.
 
Question 1: What is the doctrine (eternal why) behind the non-casual dress standard?  Who decided what the non-casual dress standard is?  How Come?

"I'm sure our Samoan brethren hope we never have a rule against deacons wearing skirts," Bishop Robert L. Simpson told the assembled General Conference attendees in 1970. "Our objective [regarding Sunday dress]," he continued, "should be grooming appropriate to the area and in all cases cleanliness."

"Anything that symbolizes either rebellion," he continued, "or nonconformity to the local community standard will likely be a distraction to those partaking of the Lord's Supper. Conservative dress and manner have always been the keynote of priesthood service. If there is a probability that the members you serve are thinking more about your non-standard appearance than about the atoning sacrifice of the Savior, then you had better take a long, hard look at yourself before next Sunday."

          That counsel was reiterated in our day.

          “How we dress,” Elder Oaks says a few years ago, “is an important indicator of our attitude and preparation for any activity in which we will engage. If we are going swimming or hiking or playing on the beach, our clothing, including our footwear, will indicate this. The same should be true of how we dress when we are to participate in the ordinance of the sacrament. It is like going to the temple. Our manner of dress indicates the degree to which we understand and honor the ordinance in which we will participate.”

          Why white shirts when passing the sacrament?

          Elder Holland reminds us: ““For sacred ordinances in the Church we often use ceremonial clothing, and a white shirt could be seen as a gentle reminder of the white clothing you wore in the baptismal font and an anticipation of the white shirt you will soon wear into the temple and onto your missions” (“This Do in Remembrance of Me,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 68).

 Satan is a master Illusionist...he can't hide truth under a basket because truth, like the sun, permeates everything...but that doesn't matter if he can distract our attention...which he does

The sacrament is the ordinance in which we renew our covenant...and in turn the covenant renews us...what power!  But if we are too focused on the culture having such an uncomfortable dress standard then we will miss out on what Pres. Hinckley described as "an ordinance without peer."

And that would be very sad.

Answers 'Caught' not 'Taught'

Questions are ways the Lord gets us to think—to learn and internalize eternal truths.  A question mark is but an upside-down hook reminding us that eternal truths are not ‘taught’ they are ‘caught.’

Elder David A. Bednar reminds us: “Instructors... point the way and help [us] take the steps to find [our] own answers...[the] answer we discover or obtain through the exercise of faith, typically, is retained for a lifetime. The most important learnings of life are caught—not taught.

The spiritual understanding you and I have been blessed to receive...cannot be given to another person. The tuition of diligence and learning by faith must be paid to obtain and personally “own” such knowledge.”

In order for the answers to sink in you must “catch” them (another way of saying search, ponder and pray). 

One interesting thing about questions is—they’ve been asked before.  And answered before.  You might not like the answer...it might not be your answer...but it has been addressed. To find those answers takes a little homework.

Behind every rule and practise is a doctrine (eternal why found in scripture) and a principle (the application of the why). See Elder Bednar’s talk  “Teach them to Understand."

As Wendy Watson-Nelson reminds us: "Questions come with that little hook at the end.  Therefore, they never come alone.  They hook throughts and feelings and possible actions.  One question can pull all of that into your heart and mind.  That'a a pretty powerful hook!" (see Change your Questions, Change your Life) 
In the next few posts I will go fishing in the living waters for some eternal truths...