Trust in the Chandelier

In the rooms where LDS marriages take place in temples there is an altar where the couple kneels, and in every one that I’ve seen there is also a chandelier hanging above the altar (see for example pg. 19 of the October 2010 Ensign).  I’ve thought as I’ve been in those rooms, “What can the chandelier teach us?  What does it symbolize?”  One natural interpretation is that the chandelier represents the Savior and His light.  
Many scriptures teach us to associate light with the Savior.  For example, He declared while on the earth, “I am the light of the world” (John 9:5).  The prophet Abinadi testified similarly that “He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened” (Mosiah 16:9).  In our dispensation the Prophet Joseph recorded that He is “the light and the life of the world, a light which shineth in darkness” (D&C 34:2).  So it seems that the chandelier in the sealing rooms of the temple could represent the Savior and His light.  We believe that marriage in the temple is not just a promise between husband and wife but that it is really a covenant with the man, woman, and with God.  Perhaps the chandelier’s presence teaches us that Christ is really there and an integral part of what takes place there.  The chandelier usually connects to the ceiling with a single chain and as far as the observer is concerned, the light comes directly from above and has no connection to the ground.  I’ve often wondered, though, as I’ve looked at the chandelier hanging over the couple by a single connection to the ceiling, “What if it breaks?  What if the chandelier falls?  Can that narrow chain and small connection to the ceiling really hold the heavy glass below it?”  If it were to fall, the weight of the chandelier would likely crush those below.  But there is no way to be at the altar where the marriage is performed without being under the chandelier.  You must trust that the chandelier will hold if you want to make the covenant with God and your spouse.  The gospel always requires faith, especially in the ordinances.  For example, Mormon taught that “baptism cometh by faith” (Moroni 8:25).  And marriage in the temple certainly requires significant faith.  Faith that Christ can indeed make the union last for time and in eternity; faith that marriage and family really is the central piece of the plan of salvation and the way of life the Lord desires of us; faith that the new couple will be able to teach and raise their future children in a way that bring them back to the Father.  Yes, marriage in the temple certainly requires great faith in God, and to me the chandelier reminds us of that.  We can only come to the altar if we trust in the security of the light from above—there is no other way to covenant with God but through complete trust in the Savior.  The greatest of blessings from the Lord come only as we put our trust in Him; as Paul wrote, “without faith it is impossible to please him” (Hebrews 11:6).  As we approach the altar of the temple to make the most significant of covenants with Him, we must believe that the light above will not fail us.

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