El Mormonismo y los templos/Simbolismo

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El simbolismo en los templos mormones

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Pregunta: ¿El Templo de Nauvoo muestra símbolos que son ocultos o masónicos?

  NEEDS TRANSLATION  


The "occult connection" exists only in the mind of the critic

I've heard there are some strange symbols on the Nauvoo and Salt Lake temples. My non-member friend claims these have an "occult" significance. Some people are of the opinion that they are Masonic. [1]

LDS Temples are directed to the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Symbols can have multiple applications in different cultures; the intent of LDS symbols have been explicitly described by the prophets, architects, and craftsmen involved. All are focused on the worship of God and His Son. The "occult connection" exists only in the mind of the critic.

Plantilla:Epigraph

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Symbols Shown By Vision

The symbols located on the exterior of the Nauvoo Temple can be directly connected with a vision shown to the Prophet Joseph Smith.

In a revelation given on 19 January 1841 (which is about the Nauvoo Temple) the Lord Jesus Christ stated: "I will show unto my servant Joseph all things pertaining to this house" (D&C 124:42; emphasis added).

Joseph Smith later confirmed to the temple's chief architect, William Weeks, "I have seen in vision the splendid appearance of that building." The Prophet insisted that it be built according to the "pattern" that he had been shown.[2]

The Prophet was once asked by a stone carver, with regard to one of the sunstones he was working on, - "Is this like the face you saw in vision?" To which the reply was, "Very near it".[3]

Sequence of the Symbols

Even though the exterior symbols on the pilasters of the Nauvoo Temple are the sun, moon, and stars it should be understood that they are not arranged in the sequence that is associated with the three degrees of glory (i.e., star on bottom = telestial kingdom; moon in the middle = terrestrial kingdom; sun on top = celestial kingdom). Rather, the sequence on the Nauvoo Temple is moon (bottom); sun (middle); star (top). The physical arrangement of the symbols on the outside of the Nauvoo Temple indicate that they do NOT represent the three degrees of glory.

Meaning of the Symbols

These symbolic images can be matched up with information provided in the Joseph Smith Translation of the 12th chapter of the book of Revelation. There it is said of a vision that was shown to the ancient apostle John, "And there appeared a great sign in heaven, in the likeness of things on the earth; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars" (vs. 1). Thus, the moon is placed at the bottom, the sun in the middle, and the stars on top. In verse 7 of the same chapter the Prophet clarifies that "the woman . . . was the church of God."

Wandle Mace—the foreman for all of the framework done on the Nauvoo Temple—left behind a statement that makes a clear connection between the visions of John the Revelator and Joseph Smith. He said,

The order of architecture [on the Nauvoo Temple] was unlike anything in existence; it was purely original; being a representation of the Church, the Bride, the Lamb's wife. John the Revelator, in the 12[th] chapter [and] first verse of [the book of Revelation] says, 'And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.' This is portrayed in the beautifully cut stone of this grand temple.[4]

Thus, the symbols on the outside of the Nauvoo Temple are a representation of the Church of God. And since the symbols are displayed in a heavenly setting they can naturally be associated with the Lord's heavenly Church, or what is sometimes referred to as The Church of the Firstborn. The Encyclopedia of Mormonism indicates that "the Church of the Firstborn is Christ's heavenly Church, and its members are exalted beings."[5]This is significant because on 4 May 1842 Joseph Smith gave the Nauvoo-era temple endowment for the first time to several of the Saints. The Prophet said that these ordinances consisted of "washings, anointings, endowments and the communication of keys pertaining to the Aaronic Priesthood, and so on to the highest order of the Melchisedek Priesthood, setting forth the order pertaining to the Ancient of Days, and all those plans and principles by which anyone is enabled to secure the fullness of those blessings which have been prepared for the Church of the Firstborn."[6] Therefore, it appears that the Lord had symbols placed on the outside of the Nauvoo Temple that represented the nature of the ordinances that were to take place inside of that building.

Inverted Five-Pointed Stars

Artículo principal: Inverted Stars on LDS Temples

Critics of the LDS Church are uncomfortable with the inverted five-pointed stars found on the stones and in the round windows of the Nauvoo Temple because in modern times they have come to be associated with Satan and devil worship. It should be noted, however, that this association did not occur until after the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith.

It should be further noted that Latter-day Saints publicly disclosed their interpretation of the inverted five-pointed star when they built the Logan Temple in northern Utah. A contemporary newspaper report states that the star was symbolic of "the Star of the Morning"[7]—which in the New Testament is a title of the Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 22:16).


Pregunta: ¿No es la estrella invertida de cinco puntas en algunos templos mormones realmente un símbolo del mal?

  NEEDS TRANSLATION  


A connection between the "inverted pentagram" and Satan "is almost certainly a 19th century invention by Eliphas Levi"

Some critics of the LDS Church claim that the inverted five-pointed star on some of its temples are a symbol of evil and thereby demonstrate that Mormonism is not really a Christian religion.

The Prophet Joseph Smith indicated that he received the pattern for the Nauvoo Temple by revelation (cf. D&C 124:42). He told the architect of the project, "I have seen in vision the splendid appearance of that building illuminated, and will have it built according to the pattern shown me."[8] The Prophet also stated that he had seen at least one of the exterior symbols of that temple in this vision.[9]

The inverted five-ponted star was first displayed on the exterior of an LDS temple in Nauvoo, Illinois in the early 1840s. (See here here here here)

One of the foremen who helped to build the Nauvoo Temple recorded what the emblems on its exterior represented. He said,

"The order of architecture was unlike anything in existence; it was purely original, being a representation of the Church, the Bride, the Lamb’s wife. John the Revelator, in the 12 chapter [and] first verse of [the book of Revelation,] says, 'And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.' This is portrayed in the beautifully cut stone of this grand temple."[10]

Joseph Smith revealed the connection between the heavenly woman of the apostle John's vision and the restored Church. In the Prophet's revision of the King James Bible he modified Revelation chapter 12 verses 1 and 7 to read: “And there appeared a great sign in heaven, in the likeness of things on the earth; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars . . . the woman . . . was the Church of God.” (JST Revelation 12:1,7).

This is the same arrangement of the symbols on the exterior pilasters of the Nauvoo Temple -- moon (bottom), sun (middle), and stars (top).

The stars are associated in the book of Revelation passage with a "crown" which is a symbol of royalty. In another section of the book of Revelation Jesus Christ proclaims His descent through the royal lineage that is within the house of Israel and then pronounces one of His titles: "I am the . . . offspring of David, and the bright . . . morning star" (Revelation 22:16). This is the title that nineteenth century Latter-day Saints assigned to the inverted five-pointed star. One of these emblems was put into place on the east tower of the Logan, Utah temple in 1880. An eyewitness to the event reported the following which was printed in a major newspaper: "Carved upon the keystone is a magnificent star, called the Star of the Morning."[11]

In 1985 LDS Church Architect Emil B. Fetzer stated that the inverted stars on early LDS temples were not sinister but were “symbolic of Christ.” He said that when the LDS Church “uses the pentagram or sunstone in an admirable, wholesome and uplifting context, this does not preclude another organization’s using the same symbols in an evil context.”[12]

A connection between the "inverted pentagram" and Satan "is almost certainly a 19th century invention by Eliphas Levi," who was a "defrocked priest."[13] He did not begin publishing references to this idea until 1854, a decade after the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Examples of the inverted five-pointed star in ancient Christian usage and also numerous modern usages that have nothing to do with the occult or satanism

Below are links to examples of the inverted five-pointed star in ancient Christian usage and also numerous modern usages that have nothing to do with the occult or satanism.

Christian Churches

Christian Artwork

Jewish Synagogue

Medal of Honor

Boy Scouts of America

Coat of Arms

Flags

Miscellaneous


Pregunta: ¿Por qué está presente el símbolo masónico del "Todo Ojo que Ve" en el Templo de Salt Lake?

El ojo que todo lo ve de Dios no era un símbolo creado por la fraternidad masónica y, de hecho, se utilizó como un emblema en la arquitectura cristiana mucho antes de la masonería especulativa se convirtió en una organización

La afirmación es a veces hecha por los críticos que desde el ojo que todo lo ve de dios se exhibe en el exterior y el interior del templo de Salt Lake[14] Y el ojo que todo lo ve es un emblema utilizado por los masones, entonces el uso mormón debe ser una indicación de una conexión entre los templos mormones y la masonería.

El ojo que todo lo ve de Dios no era un símbolo creado por la fraternidad masónica y, de hecho, se utilizó como un emblema en la arquitectura cristiana mucho antes de la masonería especulativa se convirtió en una organización.

Los Santos de los Últimos Días como un grupo se involucraron en la masonería a principios de 1842, pero como se observa en la línea de tiempo siguiente, el Ojo Todo Visible de Dios era un símbolo bien establecido entre los mormones mucho antes de esta afiliación.

1828–29 – “ruego al Dios de mi salvación que me mire con su ojo que todo lo escudriña” (2 Ne. 9:44).

1828–29 – “y bajo la mirada del ojo penetrante del Dios Omnipotente” (Jacob 2:10).

1828–29 – “bajo la mirada de su ojo que todo lo penetra” (Mosíah 27:31).

diciembre 1830 – “puedo extender mis manos y abarcar todas las creaciones que he hecho; y mi ojo las puede traspasar también” (Moisés 7:36).

2 enero 1831 – “Así dice el Señor vuestro Dios, Jesucristo, el Gran Yo Soy, el Alfa y la Omega, el principio y el fin, el mismo que contempló la vasta expansión de la eternidad y todas las huestes seráficas del cielo antes que el mundo fuese hecho; el mismo que conoce todas las cosas, porque todas están presentes ante mis ojos. . . . que mis ojos están sobre vosotros” (D&C 38:1–2, 7).

13 agosto 1831 – “mis ojos están sobre los que todavía no han subido a la tierra de Sion” (D&C 62:2).

1 noviembre 1831 – “Escuchad, oh pueblo de mi iglesia, dice la voz de aquel que mora en las alturas, y cuyos ojos están sobre todos los hombres” (D&C 1:1).

noviembre 1831 – “He aquí, mis ojos están sobre vosotros” (D&C 67:2).

31 julio 1832 – “Mi corazón está desnudo ante los ojos de Dios continuamente.”[15]

4 enero 1833 – “Los ojos de mi Hacedor están sobre mí.”[16]

mayo 1835 – “El ojo escrutador de 'Aquel con quien tenemos que hacer.’”[17]

29 enero 1836 – “[El] Señor tenía [Su] ojo sobre ti.” [18]

9 mayo 1836 – “Están desnudos y expuestos al ojo penetrante de Jehová.” [19]

mayo 1836 – “Dios no se burla de la impunidad. Todo su ojo que ve, te contempla en todo momento. . . . Su ojo que todo lo ve examina toda su vasta creación.” [20]

abril 1837 – “El ojo escrutador de Jehová está siempre sobre ellos.” [21]

junio 1837 – “En vano intentan esconderse del ojo escrutador de Jehová.” [22]

20 marzo 1839 – “He aquí, mi ojo ve y conoce todas sus obras.” [23]

3 julio 1839 – “El Dios de Jacob tiene Su ojo sobre ti.” [24]

septiembre 1840 – “El ojo todo investigador de un Dios Omnipresente.” [25]

enero1841 – “Dios que manifiesta misericordia; Teniendo Su ojo al mismo tiempo dirigido hacia Su pueblo del pacto.” [26]

13 diciembre 1841 – “No se suponga que a los enfermos ya los indigentes se les debe negar las bendiciones de la casa del Señor; Dios no lo quiera; Su ojo está siempre sobre ellos para siempre.” [27]

Notas

  1. ↑ "Vigilant, Saints Alive in Jesus website, "Sinister Sites – Temple Square, Utah," (6 April 2010).
  2. ↑ Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 volumes, edited by Brigham H. Roberts, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1957), 6:196–197. BYU Studies link
  3. ↑ Josiah Quincy, Figures of the Past: From the Leaves of Old Journals (Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1883), 389.
  4. ↑ Wandle Mace, autobiography, 207, L. Tom Perry Special Collections Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.
  5. ↑ Ivan J. Barrett, "Church of the Firstborn," in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow, (New York, Macmillan Publishing, 1992), 1:276. off-site (Inglés) off-site (Inglés)
  6. ↑ Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 volumes, edited by Brigham H. Roberts, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1957), 5:1–2. BYU Studies link
  7. ↑ Deseret Evening News (20 August 1880): 3.
  8. ↑ Plantilla:Book:Smith:History of the Church
  9. ↑ Plantilla:Book:Quincy:Figures of the Past
  10. ↑ Wandle Mace, Autobiography, 207, Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.
  11. ↑ Deseret Evening News, vol. 13, no. 228 (20 August 1880): 3.
  12. ↑ "The Public Forum," Salt Lake Tribune (13 November 1985): A–15.
  13. ↑ The Mathematical Gazette, vol. 78, no. 483 (November 1994): 319.
  14. ↑ The All-Seeing Eye of God can be seen on east and west center towers of the Salt Lake City temple and also in the interior in the Garden Room (see Ensign, October 1990, 39; March 1993, 33).
  15. ↑ Letter by Joseph Smith Jr. in Dean C. Jessee, ed., Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, rev. ed. (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and BYU Press, 2002), 269; hereafter cited asPWJS.
  16. ↑ Letter by Joseph Smith Jr. in ibid., 298.
  17. ↑ Statement by Oliver Cowdery in Messenger and Advocate, vol. 1, no. 8, May 1835, 121; hereafter cited as M&A.
  18. ↑ Joseph Smith Sr. statement in Dean C. Jessee, Mark Ashurst-McGee, and Richard L. Jensen, eds., The Joseph Smith Papers: Journals Volume 1, 1832–1839 (Salt Lake City: The Church Historian’s Press, 2008), 176.
  19. ↑ Letter by Parley P. Pratt dated 9 May 1836 in M&A, vol. 2, no. 8, May 1836, 318.
  20. ↑ [cita requerida]
  21. ↑ Statement by William Marks in ibid., vol. 3, no. 7, April 1837, 493.
  22. ↑ Comment by William Marks in ibid., vol. 3, no. 9, June 1837, 525.
  23. ↑ Letter by Joseph Smith Jr. in PWJS, 435.
  24. ↑ Epistle of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles signed by Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John E. Page, Wilford Woodruff, John Taylor, and George A. Smith in Brigham H. Roberts, ed., History of the Church (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1930), 3:394; hereafter cited as HC.
  25. ↑ Orson Pratt, An Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions (Edinburgh: Ballantyne and Hughes, 1840), 27.
  26. ↑ Article by Brigham Young and Willard Richards in Millennial Star, vol. 1, no. 9, January 1841, 223.
  27. ↑ Epistle of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles signed by Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Pratt, William Smith, Lyman Wight, Wilford Woodruff, John Taylor, George A. Smith, and Willard Richards in Times and Seasons, vol. 3, no. 4, 15 December 1841, 626. Notice that the all-seeing eye is being indirectly connected with the temple.
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