Lessons From The Font

I love symbolism and am especially captivated by all that can be conveyed by symbols. I saw this picture of the Salt Lake Temple baptismal font as it looked in about 1912 and loved pondering and learning.

The font sits of the backs of 12 oxen. We all know that the twelve oxen represent the 12 tribes of Israel. But why 12 tribes and 12 apostles? The answer is that 12 is the number that represents the priesthood. The next question is why did the Lord require the baptismal font to be placed on oxen. Why not horses or camels or elephants? The answer is that each of the 12 tribes had a symbol that represent the tribe. The tribe of Judah is represented by the lion and the tribe of Benjamin by a wolf, but not all of the tribal symbols were animals. For example, the symbol for the tribe of Zebulon was a ship and for Asher a goblet. But the tribe of Ephraim was an animal—a work beast known to carry heavy burdens—the ox.

Therefore, as we look at a temple baptismal font the message is clear. It is the task of the tribe of Ephraim through the priesthood power to find and bring the 12 tribes of Israel into the covenant through the waters of baptism.

Symbols can teach us so much! Ponder on this a little longer and see what else you learn!

Refuge!

It is a strange thing to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ in these latter days. I say strange because of the vastly different experiences we encounter. Today I am going to attend a wedding in the temple and in that holy place I will feel absolute peace and serenity. There will be joy and love all around me as family gathers and eternal vows are made. Everything good and beautiful will be there and then I will walk out the door and while I will take much of those feelings with me, I will suddenly find myself bombarded with newspaper headlines and music and the other enmities of the world.


But I like this “strange” and feel so sad for those of the world who never, ever feel the peace and joy—the people who don’t have places of sacred refuge.

Happy Anniversary to Me!

This is the room I was married in.

Forty-three years ago this morning, at six o'clock to be exact, Mr. J picked me up in his little red Corvair and drove me to Manti where we were married for time and all eternity. In some ways it seems like yesterday that all this happened, and in other ways it seems like the eternity part is all we've ever known. We've had ten children, sent one on to the next world where she's waiting for us. We've paced the floor with the other nine for reasons that included sickness, emotional crisis, and forgetting they had a curfew. We've worried about how we were going to put braces on their teeth and how we could help them through school. But despite the worry and because they are all such great kids, we made it through. We've loved, argued, laughed, disagreed, played, prayed, and loved some more for forty-three years, and now we find ourselves getting old together. What a blessing!

So today we are off to celebrate those forty-three years.We're going to Las Vegas to see the Lion King thanks to D2.We are excited not only to see the play, but because it is also a trip down memory lane. You see, forty-three years ago we went to Vegas for our honeymoon and we saw Hello Dolly. (We both love live theatre and especially musicals!

It isn't every day that I can tell you what I was doing forty-three years before. But today I can tell you what happened during almost every hour of the day. At exactly this minute I was getting into my wedding dress!

A Place of Restoration

I’m going to the Manti temple today and I’m excited. It was the place where forty-two years ago this month we were married. My grandfather was also president of the Manti temple for eleven years and so between those two things, going to the Manti temple feels like going home.

I have two favorite definitions of a temple. The first is that it is a place set aside by a prophet for observation. What a blessing to be able to step out of the busy, hectic, chaotic world and have a quiet, reverent place to think about heavenly things. But even better than thinking about them a temple is a place where I feel heavenly things.

The second definition of a temple that I love is that a temple is a place where one gets one’s bearings on the universe. It is so easy in this age of bombarding information to get your head so full of negative things that your thinking is warped and your attitudes poisoned. And since actions proceed from attitudes, that can tarnish a life. Going to the temple helps me keep an eternal perspective and to remember that God is in charge. He created this world. He will lead and guide me through it.

I always come out of the temple feeling the Savior’s words in every fiber of my being: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). What a gift temples are!

Out At Last!

Today I ventured out in the world. It felt soooo good! Mariah took me to the temple and we had a wonderful time. My heart was so full of gratitude that several times tears overflowed, and at the end of the session they flooded. I have been so blessed that I don’t even know how to express it. Nothing seems adequate. But I take that back—nothing is adequate! The Savior always blesses me more than I deserve.

It’s like King Benjamin said, “[the Lord] doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever” (Mosaih 2:24). The Savior will always be steps ahead of me. And I will always be indebted to Him. The best way for me to show my gratitude is to be obedient—to do what He has asked me to do.

Words

I often tell people that I have learned more about the gospel of Jesus Christ from a dictionary than any other source. They usually look at me like I’m crazy, but I’m not. (Don’t ask my family to verify that!) At any rate, let me show you what I mean. There are many words that we think we know and so we don’t ever look them up in a dictionary. For example let’s look at the word temple. My dictionary says that a temple is “a place set aside by a prophet for observation.” A second definition (my favorite) is “a place where one gets one’s bearings on the universe.” That expanded my feeling for what a temple is.

Elder John A. Widtsoe taught that “The endowment and the temple work as revealed by the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith fall clearly into four distinct parts: The preparatory ordinances; the giving of instruction by lectures and representations; covenants; and finally, tests of knowledge.” (“Temple Worship” The Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine 12[April 1921]:58.)

Let’s look at one of those words. Our word endowment means (1) To provide with property, income, or a source of income. (2) To equip or supply with a talent or quality. It is composed of the prefix en which means “to put into” and the root word dower which means “a natural gift; a dowry.” This definition is much more meaningful when we remember that throughout the scriptures the Lord is depicted at the bridegroom and the people of the church as the bride. Therefore, the endowment is the dowry given to the bride. It is a gift of power, priesthood power and those who are obedient to the covenants made in the temple will be empowered.

I hope I’ve got you curious. Next time you go to the temple, a church meeting, or study the scriptures remember just one word and then look it up and see how it enhances your understanding. A word doesn’t have to be sesquipedalian before you head for a dictionary! Words you’ve known for years can contain subtle nuances that have escaped your understanding. This means that looking up even the simplest of words can enlighten you. Try it!