Tight Like Unto the Ark of Noah

In a recent podcast, Brother Michael Cottle suggested that the ark of Noah is a symbol of for the temple. The scriptures give us this description of the ark: “Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits” (Genesis 6:14-15). In other words, it was a rectangle. He remarked, “This is the fashion of it. The Lord's giving him some specific instructions on how to make this. When I read that, my mind goes to the instructions God has given Moses in creating the tabernacle. He gives some specific instructions. It's kind of a rectangle. The general shape is pretty much the same as that tabernacle. Joseph Smith is given the fashion of the Kirtland temple…. The Lord is giving him instructions on this temple. Verse 16, A window shalt thou make in the ark and in a cubit thou shalt finish it above and the door of the ark thou shalt set in the side thereof, with lower the second and third stories shalt thou make it. You used to climb levels in the temple. So I think there's again this connection with temple that we ought to think about is some imagery here, symbol for it. And if nothing else, just be thinking of celestial, terrestrial and telestial.” Like a temple, the Lord invited all the righteous to come into it for protection and safety. Like a temple, Noah’s family entered the ark to be preserved and saved together. Like what happens in the temple, the ark celebrated the creation by bringing in all kinds of animals so they too could be preserved. The ark was a vessel of salvation for Noah and his family, just as the temple is for us today.  

One of the scripture helps also says this about the coating of “pitch” for the ark: “God told Noah to ‘pitch’ the ark, meaning to cover it with pitch, a tar-like substance, to seal it and make it waterproof. The Hebrew word translated as ‘pitch’ is also the root word for ‘atone.’ It has been suggested that ‘the atonement of Jesus Christ provides us with a protective covering; it shields us from the power of the adversary, just as the pitch protected the ark from the life-threatening waters.’” In the temple we physically receive a protective covering, like the pitch of the ark, in the garment, which “endowed members of the Church wear… as a reminder of the sacred covenants they have made with the Lord and also as a protection against temptation and evil.” The pitch physically protected the ark from the waters; the temple and its endowment, including the garment, spiritually protect us from the attacks of the adversary. In another “vessel” story from the scriptures, the brother of Jared similarly made the barges for his people in a way that would protect them from the dangers of the waters around them: “And they were built after a manner that they were exceedingly tight, even that they would hold water like unto a dish; and the bottom thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the sides thereof were tight like unto a dish; and the ends thereof were peaked; and the top thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the length thereof was the length of a tree; and the door thereof, when it was shut, was tight like unto a dish” (Ether 2:17). They were also built tight so that they would let no water in while on the ocean. Moroni directly linked this to Noah’s ark: “And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters” (Ether 6:7). The temple likewise is a place that is “tight” in that we don’t let the wickedness of the world in, but we can find there rest and focus on the things of God. This verse, not originally about the temple, certainly describes well what we hope will happen there: “And it shall be wholly dedicated unto the Lord…. And ye shall not suffer any unclean thing to come in unto it; and my glory shall be there, and my presence shall be there” (Doctrine and Covenants 94:7-8). The ark of Noah, the barges of Jared, and the temple in our day all provide protection from that which is harmful and unclean. The story of Noah and his family entering the ark should remind us that we will find peace and safety as we get our family to the house of the Lord.