Temple Baptisms

[mandarin]

I know & understand that what happens in the Temple is scared and not to be talked about outside the Temple walls. However, I was looking at some Temple pictures and saw that the baptismal font was on the back of oxen. Could someone tell me why this is? Or do I need to wait until I attend the Temple/Temple Prep class?

[lestertheemt]

Here is your answer............from LDS.org

Modern-day temple fonts are patterned after the brazen sea in the Temple of Solomon. The sea sat in the outer court of the temple and was used by the priests to wash themselves before they performed sacrifices at the altar. It rested on the backs of twelve oxen, which represented the twelve tribes of Israel.

[bytebear]

The Scruptural referrence is found in 1 Kings Chapter 7

23 ¶ And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.

24 And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast.

25 It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.

Some details of the temple, particularly with the architectural symbolism are common knowledge. It isn't that things are secret, and you will find that many details about the temple are plainly declared in the scriptures.

Edited March 23, 2009 by bytebear

[Faded]

I know & understand that what happens in the Temple is sacred and not to be talked about outside the Temple walls. However, I was looking at some Temple pictures and saw that the baptismal font was on the back of oxen. Could someone tell me why this is? Or do I need to wait until I attend the Temple/Temple Prep class?

The important thing to remember is that it is the rest of the Temple ceremonies that are to be kept sacred, as we are told within the ceremony itself to keep them sacred. As for baptisms for the dead, it's a matter of public knowledge that we do them. There's not much information that isn't already open and available to anyone.

The twelve oxen has a few reasons:

1.) Solomon was instructed to build a basin of water in the same fashion. Twelve oxen representing the twelve tribes of Israel.

2.) The Lord revealed that we were to build the same thing and that this was the place where baptism for the dead by proxy was to occur.

3.) As the Church of Jesus Christ seeks the fulfillment of Malachi "And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." I think that remembering the 12 tribes of Israel is an important part of that work because it reminds us of the ancient house of Israel -- whose promises we are seeking to fulfill.

There are LDS religious tracts that have pictures of ALL of the rooms of the temple, and every temple open-house allows free access to all interested parties, irrespective of their religious affiliation, to all parts of the newly completed temple. Once the temple has been dedicated, then this free access ends. So the description of the rooms of the temple is not what we are to hold sacred. It is the ceremonies themselves.

Edited March 23, 2009 by Faded

[beefche]

Does anyone remember the special Ensign for Temples? It was released sometime around 1994--it was separate from the Ensign and contained nothing but information and pictures of temples--including the inside of the temples. The front cover has a lot of blue in it and I think it was the Salt Lake temple pic on it. I tried to find it online, but don't have a lot of time right now (at work). It would be great to link to it.

[blusun7]

Ditto on the comments.

[bytebear]

Does anyone remember the special Ensign for Temples? It was released sometime around 1994--it was separate from the Ensign and contained nothing but information and pictures of temples--including the inside of the temples. The front cover has a lot of blue in it and I think it was the Salt Lake temple pic on it. I tried to find it online, but don't have a lot of time right now (at work). It would be great to link to it.

This site has the pictures you are looking for, plus pictures from many other temples. There are also pictures from the 1912 book on the Salt Lake Temple by James E. Talmage. An interesting story there. It seems an authority of some sort (I forget who) decided to have photos taken of the temple and published them (without permission). Well, Church President Joseph F. Smith decided to have their own book officially published to stop the "forbidden" connotations of the previous book, and had Talmage write the accompanying text. It was written for non-members as a sort of virtual open house, and was updated with color photos later (which is where the Ensign magazine comes in).