The Holy Place

I had the opportunity yesterday to see a replica of the tabernacle of the Old Testament that is on display for visitors to walk through. It was eye-opening to be able to get a visual of what the tabernacle that Moses’s people built in the wilderness actually looked like and to consider what their experience might have been like as they worshipped Jehovah there. As we think about the symbolism today we see lots of things that point us to the Savior. The sacrifices of animals performed there reminds us of the great and last sacrifice of the Son of God. The laver of water where people were washed and anointed points us to the Living Water who cleanses us from sin. The shewbread and wine in the holy place that was partaken of on the Sabbath day by the priests points us to the Sacrament of the Lord’s supper and He who is the Bread of Life. The mercy seat on top of the ark of the covenant where the high priest would come on the day of atonement and sprinkle blood teaches us of the mercy we have because of the blood of Jesus Christ which was spilled for us. The experience the ancient Israelites had there was centered on sacrifice, forgiveness, and redemption as they performed rituals to cleanse them of sin and take away their transgressions. Like the writer of the book of Hebrews, looking back we see in these rituals that the Lord was teaching them of the coming of the great high priest who would make the ultimate sacrifice to bring us back into the presence of the Father: “By his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:12).

                I wonder, though, how much of the Savior the Israelites understood or saw in these rituals as they went through the tabernacle. Did they know that there would be a great high priest who would come to sacrifice for their sins and that the animals they offered were only a representation of Him? The text of the Old Testament does not make that connection clear like later Christian writers would, though we do know from the Book of Mormon that Moses did “bear record that the Son of God should come” to the Israelites. That is not the focus of what we have in the Law of Moses as found in the Old Testament today, though. But Nephi suggested that Moses taught in the experience of the brazen serpent that “as many as should look upon that serpent should live, even so as many as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might live, even unto that life which is eternal” (Helaman 8:14-15). So the people must have known something of the coming of the Messiah, but without the perspective that we have knowing what His ministry entailed, they likely didn’t all see the same symbolism that we can see now. 

                And that may very well be how it is for us as we worship in our modern temples today. These are also full of symbolism like the ancient tabernacle, and I wonder if I don’t miss many of the symbolic teaching that would likewise point me to Christ and what He has done and will do in the future. President Nelson taught, “The temple lies at the center of strengthening our faith and spiritual fortitude because the Savior and His doctrine are the very heart of the temple. Everything taught in the temple, through instruction and through the Spirit, increases our understanding of Jesus Christ.” We should, then, seek more diligently to see Him in the temple and to be taught by Him through the symbols and rituals we perform in the house of the Lord today. We may find more meaning that points us to Him as we consider more carefully the clothing we wear, the rooms that we pass through, and the ordinances we take part in.   President Nelson gave us this promise: “He is providing opportunities for each of us to bolster our spiritual foundations more effectively by centering our lives on Him and on the ordinances and covenants of His temple. When you bring your temple recommend, a contrite heart, and a seeking mind to the Lord’s house of learning, He will teach you.”