These findings demonstrate that Book of Mormon authors had access to at least some of the Psalms, either from the plates of brass or from memory. In 3 Nephi 19:25, after Jesus had prayed with his chosen disciples, the record states:Īnd it came to pass that Jesus blessed them as they did pray unto him and his countenance did smile upon them, and the light of his countenance did shine upon them, and behold they were as white as the countenance and also the garments of Jesus … The Why 8 The sight of the shining face of the Lord was supposed to effect a transfiguration in those who saw it so that their faces would also shine, as was the case with Moses on Mount Sinai ( Exodus 34:29–35).Īgain, this is exactly what happened during Jesus’ visit to the Book of Mormon people. This was part of the priestly blessing ( Numbers 6:24–26) and is mentioned repeatedly in the Psalms. There, they had the opportunity to experience in reality what the ancients had sought by going to the temple-they saw the face of the Lord their God ( 3 Nephi 11).Īnother related and important part of the ancient temple rites was the idea that when the Lord appeared, He would “lift up” the light of His countenance and His face would “shine” upon the people. What is certain is that this expectation was fulfilled very literally in the Book of Mormon when the people gathered around the temple in Bountiful and received the visitation of their Savior, Jesus Christ. We cannot know if ancient Israelite temple pilgrims expected to literally (rather than symbolically) see the Lord upon arriving at the Lord’s house in Jerusalem. 6 Alma, in his great discourse to the people of Zarahemla in Alma 5, mentioned the requirement of having “a pure heart and clean hands” in the context of “look up to God” and standing in His presence ( Alma 5:18–19). For example, Nephi prophesied that the Jews will come to recognize Jesus as their true Messiah when they worship the Father “with pure hearts and clean hands” ( 2 Nephi 25:16, citing Psalm 24:4). This psalm is used multiple times in the Book of Mormon. The psalm then states those entering the temple went there to “seek the face of the God of Jacob.” 5 Psalm 24, a “temple entry” psalm, declares that in order to “ascend the hill of the Lord” and “stand in his holy place,” one must come with “clean hands and a pure heart” ( Psalm 24:3–4). For example, Psalm 17:15 declares, “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.” Psalm 11:7 is similar: “For the Lord is righteous he loves righteous deeds the upright shall behold his face.” The idea that the original purpose of going to the temple was to “see the face of the Lord” is supported by other passages in the Psalms. The ancient reading of the text was likely: “When all Israel comes to see the face of the Lord.” 4 3īiblical passages such as Deuteronomy 31:11 state that the purpose of such temple gatherings was not only to hear the law of God taught, but also for “all Israel come to appear before the Lord.” Scholars have determined, however, that this was not likely the original meaning of the passage. It is evident that Jacob, for example, understood the relevance of these particular psalms to his temple teachings because he used parts of Psalms 95, 118, and 145 in his writings. These pilgrimages were probably quite similar to the gatherings at the temple that we read about in the Book of Mormon, such as those in which Jacob ( 2 Nephi 6–10 Jacob 2–3) and King Benjamin ( Mosiah 1–6) taught their people. The people of Israel would ascend up to Jerusalem and enter the temple grounds in order to be taught the word of God, offer sacrifices, and participate in other temple rites. 2 Descriptions like those found in Psalms 24, 42, 68, 95, 118, 122, and 132 suggest that periodic pilgrimages to the house of the Lord were an important part of ancient temple worship. There is much that the Psalms can teach us about the ancient temple, as they are full of references to the temple and depictions of its rituals. About 50 such references have been identified and many of them allude to a temple context. What most readers likely do not realize is that phrases and expressions from the Psalms are often used in the Book of Mormon. The Psalms have been called the “hymn book” of the ancient temple because many of them were likely read or sung during temple rituals and ceremonies. The Psalms mention the word “temple” more than any other book in the Old Testament except for 2 Chronicles.
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