Doctrine and Covenants 95 and Exodus 25 both give rough outlines of how the temple (tabernacle) is to be constructed.
1. The building/tent is to be constructed as directed
2. No unclean thing is to be permitted to enter (it must be cleansed should it be defiled)
3. It is to be dedicated to the Lord
4. The Lord fills it with His Spirit.
1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1. Our bodies are constructed, patterned after our Spirits, after the likeness of the Only Begotten of the Father.
2. We are repeatedly urged to not allow any unclean thing to enter through our minds, eyes, nose, ears, mouth, heart, skin, etc. (we must also be cleansed after defiling ourselves)
3. When baptized, we take upon us the name of Christ. We further dedicate ourselves to him through sacred covenants.
4. The Lord promises to fill us with His Spirit. Most obviously is in the words of the sacrament prayer, that His Spirit may always be with us.
This pattern of dividing/dedicating/sanctifying something to allow it to be filled with the Holy Ghost is often repeated. Moses and his sons were washed, clothed (symbolizing a new person), anointed, and sanctified (does that sound similar to baptism? more on that in a sec, if I remember) preparatory to their serving in the tabernacle where they would be acting in the name and stead of Christ.
The creation is outlined as three sets of dividing and filling with Spirit (or life, light).
First the light is divided from the dark; the waters above are divided from the waters below; and the earth (land) is divided from the water (seas). Going back around, the light is filled with life-giving light of the sun and the dark is filled with the lights of the moon and stars; the waters above are filled with fowl and the waters below are filled with fishes, etc.; the earth is filled with beasts (water already filled).
Wheat is separated from the tares and filled with Eternal Life. So are the sheep from the goats.
The Lord calls His people peculiar because they are to be separate from the world, divided from it, and then permitted to be filled with life and light.
Wheat is separated from the tares and filled with Eternal Life. So are the sheep from the goats.
The Lord calls His people peculiar because they are to be separate from the world, divided from it, and then permitted to be filled with life and light.
...
Going back to baptism and the setting apart of Levites, Exodus 28, 29 outlines that the priests were to be anointed, consecrated, and sanctified. This process is outlined in 29.
Anointing is washing (with water), being clothed with the garments of the priesthood (a new man), and anointed with oil. Olive oil was used to symbolize the Spirit. Its mundane purposes were for cooking food and being burned for light. Thus it provides nourishment and light (like the Spirit) and, not coincidentally, oil sinks in through your skin very readily. So, to become a priest the sons of Levi were washed with water, became a new man, and given the Holy Ghost.
Consecrating was done by smearing the blood of the sacrificial ram on the right ear, thumb, and big toe. This is to symbolize that what we hear/think, do, and where we go will be dedicated to the Lord. This parallels nicely the law of consecration, where we promise our selves and possessions to the Lord.
Sanctification was symbolically done by the priests ingesting the meat of the burnt offering. They ate the meat (body) of the animal that was sacrificed in similitude of the Lamb of God, not unlike how we weekly ingest the body of Christ in the sacrament. While we do not believe in transubstantiation, we are promised that through the keeping of our covenants, as renewed through the sacrament, the Holy Ghost may always be with us. The temple, sacred grove, various mountain tops (Sinai and burning bush, i.e.), and our bodies are able to be sanctified, purified, made holy by the presence of a member of the Godhead. This is to be sanctified, to have the Spirit of Christ dwell within you. This is done in response to our being cleansed, divided from evil, and dedicated to the Lord in what we hear/think, do, and where we go.
Going back to baptism and the setting apart of Levites, Exodus 28, 29 outlines that the priests were to be anointed, consecrated, and sanctified. This process is outlined in 29.
Anointing is washing (with water), being clothed with the garments of the priesthood (a new man), and anointed with oil. Olive oil was used to symbolize the Spirit. Its mundane purposes were for cooking food and being burned for light. Thus it provides nourishment and light (like the Spirit) and, not coincidentally, oil sinks in through your skin very readily. So, to become a priest the sons of Levi were washed with water, became a new man, and given the Holy Ghost.
Consecrating was done by smearing the blood of the sacrificial ram on the right ear, thumb, and big toe. This is to symbolize that what we hear/think, do, and where we go will be dedicated to the Lord. This parallels nicely the law of consecration, where we promise our selves and possessions to the Lord.
Sanctification was symbolically done by the priests ingesting the meat of the burnt offering. They ate the meat (body) of the animal that was sacrificed in similitude of the Lamb of God, not unlike how we weekly ingest the body of Christ in the sacrament. While we do not believe in transubstantiation, we are promised that through the keeping of our covenants, as renewed through the sacrament, the Holy Ghost may always be with us. The temple, sacred grove, various mountain tops (Sinai and burning bush, i.e.), and our bodies are able to be sanctified, purified, made holy by the presence of a member of the Godhead. This is to be sanctified, to have the Spirit of Christ dwell within you. This is done in response to our being cleansed, divided from evil, and dedicated to the Lord in what we hear/think, do, and where we go.
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