The Light of the Chandelier

As I sat in a temple sealing room yesterday I thought about the meaning and purpose of the chandelier hanging over the altar.  It comes down from above on a chain that ascends upward as if directly from heaven.  To me it seems clear that the chandelier is meant to point us to Christ, and several scriptures come to mind which bear out the symbolism.  Isaiah wrote of the people that walked in darkness and saw a “great light” (Isaiah 9:2).  Matthew later quoted this verse as being fulfilled with the Savior’s coming, and he changed the language slightly: “The people which sat in darkness saw great light” (Matt. 4:16).  As we also sit in the temples and gaze upon the “great light” that descends from heaven, we are pointed to the Great Light that came among men.  Another image that comes to mind is that of the children of Israel being led in the wilderness.  We read in Exodus that “the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to given them light; to go day and night” (Exodus 13:21).  This text gives us an image of a light hovering miraculously above the people, just as a large chandelier hovers above us in the temple without seemingly any connection to the ground.  The Savior also spoke of light when He gave the Sermon on the Mount: “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 5:15-16).  The Savior expounded on this idea further when He told the Nephites, “Hold up your light that it may shine unto the world.  Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up” (3 Nephi 18:24).  We are to offer light to the world through our deeds, and that light ultimately is the Savior.  So just as the temple holds up its great chandelier to us as it tries to teach us of the Savior, we are to go out into the world and hold up light that points others to Christ.