Why is temple symbolic

[pooter1]

Been thinking about why I do not enjoy going to the temple. I do not understand a thing thats going on. Why is it so symbolic? Why do we have to guess whats going on? Why not just tell us?? Why is it a guessing game? I want to understand.I want to enjoy going. Every time I go I leave feeling confused and very cultish.Ive been a member all my life and have been to the temple many times. The only parts I do get is baptism for the dead and being sealed and the covenants we make. The rest freaks me out! I guess I won't be held accountable for not going if I don't understand it. Why not just tell us!!!??

[McLainDow]

The best advice is to continue going. You can talk about the ordinances of the temple in the celestial room , so bring someone along who has an understnading. Also, check out the book "The gate of heaven Matthew B. Brown. It will shed some light while remaining true to what is sacred.

[james12]

God wishes to bless us to bring us back to Him. But we are like the people of Israel in Moses day who were stiffnecked and hard hearted. The problem is, for the most part we don't even recognize it, we are content. What if the separation between the earthly man and the man of heaven was so great that we were not even prepared to be with one of that realm? What intermediate steps could be taken to prepare a people? Enter the Temple. It is the tool to bridge the gap between Earth and Heaven. We as individuals and as a people must be reshaped or reborn to see the Heavens.

The Temple is not meaningless symbolism mixed with hallow ceremony, but God's method to prepare a people for the visions of eternity. Here is God's word, "Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest. And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh; for without this no man can see the face of God even the Father, and live" (D&C 84:20-22). When we see the ordinances and covenants as God's personal invitation for us to return to him we will have glimpsed the truth. We will see that the symbols and ceremony do not need to change but that we need to change in order to be prepared for what God has in store for us.

Edited October 9, 2013 by james12

[Dravin]

I do not understand a thing thats going on.

If the above isn't hyperbole then I'm having a hard time identifying, while there are certainly aspects of the Endowment one can spend a considerable amount of time pondering there are parts that are fairly straight forward. Indeed, there are portions where you are told the meaning of some of the symbolism involved. I just don't understand how one could be paying attention during multiple attendances and literally not understand a thing that is going on. Now I can understand how one can feel they are missing a lot, but missing everything?

I want to understand.

What have you done to try to understand? Have you tried to talk with the the Temple President? Have you talked with your priesthood leaders to understand general concepts connected to the endowment (which can be discussed outside of the temple)? Have you fasted and prayed both prior to attending the temple and afterwards in seeking understanding? Have you studied talks and scriptures pertaining to temple worship? Have you invited someone you consider knowledgeable to attend with you so you can share insights in the Celestial room?

Now to answer the question asked by the title of the thread I recommend reading this talk: Why Symbols? - Ensign Feb. 2007 - ensign

Edited October 9, 2013 by Dravin

[pooter1]

Yes I have!!!!! Without saying specific things that Im not suppose to say.If you do understand then thats great for you! Oh how I wish I could understand what it all means.Why we do certain things in the temple?? I already stated the things I do understand in the temple.That is it.Thats all I understand.My question is why doesn't god just tell us what he wants us to know.Why do we have to guess what this means and what that means. I still haven't had that answered yet.Does anyone know? Same thing about parables.Just tell me what you need to tell me. Drives me nuts. I guess I shouldn't have stated that I don't understand a thing because I do understand a few things.Only most of it I don't understand.

Edited October 9, 2013 by angel333

[Dravin]

Oh how I wish I could understand what it all means.

There is a big difference between, "I don't understand everything." and "I don't understand anything." The former I can identify with, as honestly I don't think there is an end to the insight one can gain through the endowment because it can act as a catalyst for revelation. The latter is difficult because there are portions during the endowment where they tell you what things mean. You say you want them to tell things straight but, unless you are engaging in hyperbole, you still don't understand those things they tell you straight. If you are engaging in hyperbole I suggest you desist as hyperbole tends to cloud issues.

Does anyone know?

Did you miss the link at the end of my post? Or did you find it insufficient?

Edited October 9, 2013 by Dravin

[Guest]

Even the prophets say that they learn something new every time. If you've made up your mind that that won't happen for you, it won't. You have to be open to being taught by the Spirit. You could begin by changing your attitude. Stop thinking of and referring to it as "cultish". Humble yourself enough to realize that just because it's unfamiliar doesn't mean it's "weird" or "cultish". Have the patience to accept truth line upon line. We rarely gain enlightenment by demanding it.

[Just_A_Guy]

Frankly, the temple is the last venue of the Church where we aren't spoon-fed doctrine. No standardized manuals; no collection of GA quotes defining and explaining every little thing to the exclusion of all other interpretations. If we choose to make it so, the temple can become a bastion of individualism, free thought, intellectual rigor, and theological experimentation in an otherwise highly correlated Church.

I can't honestly say I learn some thing new every time I go to the temple--but when I don't, often I at least become ready to unlearn one of my earlier preconceptions. And sometimes, that's enough. In the temple I can reduce Mormonism down to its fundamental building blocks, and I have the freedom to reassemble them in the way that's the most spiritually effective for me.

Edited October 9, 2013 by Just_A_Guy

[Dravin]

Frankly, the temple is the last venue of the Church where we aren't spoon-fed doctrine. No standardized manuals; no collection of GA quotes defining and explaining every little thing to the exclusion of all other interpretations. If we choose to make it so, the temple can become a bastion of individualism, free thought, intellectual rigor, and theological experimentation in an otherwise highly correlated Church.

I can't honestly say I learn some thing new every time I go to the temple--but when I don't, often I at least become ready to unlearn one of my earlier preconceptions. And sometimes, that's enough. In the temple I can reduce Mormonism down to its fundamental building blocks, and I have the freedom to reassemble them in the way that's the most spiritually effective for me.

This I think is one of the powers of symbols as a teaching method, symbols can deepen in meaning as we gain understanding. Even within the highly correlated Church my understanding of the symbols deepens as I gain understanding. I agree though, that when symbols are defined in concrete by some authority we tend to stop searching for additional meaning because 'we understand everything about that symbol now'. When we allow that to happen we limit ourselves to the meaning and understanding behind the symbolism that the authority either knows, such as a Sunday School teacher, or the level the authority feels they needed to communicate, such as when general authorities speak on subjects.

Also, when speaking about the Endowment, while it shouldn't be needlessly difficult to understand, it is an opportunity to be endowed with power and knowledge from on high. The Endowment is an opportunity to receive an extremely precious gift, and blessings very often require some effort on our part before they are given. If the Endowment were laid out like a primer text with the idea that, "That's it folks, that is all there is in it." We'd be loosing a lot of potential depth and power inherent in the Endowment in my mind. Not that I'm without flaw in this department, I have a tendency to think, "Eh, I've got this portion completely figured out..." and I think I rob myself when I do so.

[skippy740]

Christ taught in parables. Some we can plainly understand today, yet some didn't back then.

The temple is the "University of the Gospel" where the Savior teaches in His way.

You can always ask the temple workers questions you have, as the temple is the place to discuss such questions.

[Traveler]

Been thinking about why I do not enjoy going to the temple. I do not understand a thing thats going on. Why is it so symbolic? Why do we have to guess whats going on? Why not just tell us?? Why is it a guessing game? I want to understand.I want to enjoy going. Every time I go I leave feeling confused and very cultish.Ive been a member all my life and have been to the temple many times. The only parts I do get is baptism for the dead and being sealed and the covenants we make. The rest freaks me out! I guess I won't be held accountable for not going if I don't understand it. Why not just tell us!!!??

Ask your Bishop (bishopric) about attending the temple prep instructions. If for some reason this is not being taught in your area - I suggest you obtain the teachers manual for the course and carefully and prayerfully go through the manual. You can also Google information about the ancient Hebrew temples. Become more familiar with covenants - you may want to begin a personal study of covenants in scripture. Hugh Nibley is an excellent source as a scholar on temples and temple covenants.

I would also advised that the task on which you are about to embark is not as simple as many may seem to indicated. This could be a lifetime effort that hardly scratches the surface. Packed into the symbolism of the temple are "things" that cannot be learned by just being told.

The Traveler

[Vort]

Been thinking about why I do not enjoy going to the temple. I do not understand a thing thats going on. Why is it so symbolic? Why do we have to guess whats going on? Why not just tell us?? Why is it a guessing game? I want to understand.I want to enjoy going. Every time I go I leave feeling confused and very cultish.Ive been a member all my life and have been to the temple many times. The only parts I do get is baptism for the dead and being sealed and the covenants we make. The rest freaks me out! I guess I won't be held accountable for not going if I don't understand it. Why not just tell us!!!??

The temple does tell you, as clearly as possible, what it's trying to say. There is no obfuscation for the purpose of making things hard. That is not God's way. Rather, God gives to all those who ask and shows to all who seek.

Why symbolism? Simply because we do not have the experience or even the words to understand and talk about heavenly things.

Suppose you were to try to explain music to an outer-space alien who has never experienced music. Words like "rhythm" and "melody" have no meaning to him, much less words like "key" or "chord". How would you possibly explain it to him? You would use symbolism, metaphor and such. You would compare it with things the alien (hopefully) does understand, like food and artwork and mathematics and birds chirping and the glorious sky at night. You would talk about love for your spouse, excitement, despair in life. You would compare music to all sorts of things that really have nothing at all to do with music, at least superficially.

That's what the temple is doing for us. It takes heavenly things and renders them into a symbolism that our mortal, limited minds and spirits can begin to comprehend.

[pooter1]

Vort, Are you saying that it is a different way to communicate? Your music analogy helps me a little to understand why. that makes sense to me.An Alien would not understand music the way we understand it.They would be from a different world and have different ways of learning .We are learning heavenly ways of doing things.This makes sense to me of why! Thanks Vort!

Draven Im getting ready to read the article right now. ill get back on what I thought.

[pooter1]

Its just what Vort.said.A different way of communicating.We are not from this world.The temple is Gods home.he talks to us a different way.A way we are probably use to in his world.

The article I read helped a lot on WHY there is so much symbolism.Here is an excerpt from it that kind of hit home.“Symbols are the universal tongue. …

Symbols bring color and strength to language, while deepening and enriching our understandings. Symbols enable us to give conceptual form to ideas and emotions that may otherwise defy the power of words. They take us beyond words and grant us eloquence in the expression of feelings. Symbolic language conceals certain doctrinal truths from the wicked and thereby protects sacred things from possible ridicule. At the same time, symbols reveal truth to the spiritually alert.

“… Symbols are the language in which all gospel covenants and all ordinances of salvation have been revealed. From the time we are immersed in the waters of baptism to the time we kneel at the altar of the temple with the companion of our choice in the ordinance of eternal marriage, every covenant we make will be written in the language of symbolism.” 2

Now that I feel a little better on why maybe I will start learning this language.

[prisonchaplain]

Am I wrong or do a significant number of people struggle with what they experience in the temple? On the other hand, there are likely many who are drawn to the mystery and spirituality of it. I remember when I toured Temple Square. One of the sister missionaries must have perceived that I would be in the latter camp. She looke at me and said, "You know...I can get you started on being able to go inside the temple. There are just a few steps you would need to take before hand...smile smile...wink wink."

Edited October 9, 2013 by prisonchaplain

[Vort]

You are not wrong. My own suspicion is that we as a society are so unfamiliar with explicitly figurative speech and drama that many simply don't know what to make of it. I have never found any element of the temple ceremonies offensive or particularly "weird", but others close to me have. I expect that, as with a great many other things, temple teachings might seem strange until you get familiar with them, at which point they don't seem strange any more.

[pam]

I've been thinking a bit about angel's questions and concerns today since she posted.

We all learn and interpret things in different ways. Some are very literal while others can see the messages behind the parables and symbols. I'm a visual and a hands on learner in many ways. In order for me to understand some things I have to do in order to understand many times.

Perhaps just giving some suggestions, as many have done, in how she might understand things better or different is much more helpful. I see some posts that are small attacks to her intelligence and understanding. That just adds to frustration.

[pooter1]

Pam you are right.I don't comprehend like others do. When Vort told it in a different way a lightbulb flickered on for me and understanding of why came to my mind. I feel so much better about this then I did a day ago.

[skalenfehl]

Been thinking about why I do not enjoy going to the temple. I do not understand a thing thats going on. Why is it so symbolic? Why do we have to guess whats going on? Why not just tell us?? Why is it a guessing game? I want to understand.I want to enjoy going. Every time I go I leave feeling confused and very cultish.Ive been a member all my life and have been to the temple many times. The only parts I do get is baptism for the dead and being sealed and the covenants we make. The rest freaks me out! I guess I won't be held accountable for not going if I don't understand it. Why not just tell us!!!??

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[ElectofGod]

A friend of mine wrote this book. I believe it will help you.

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