Ark of the Covenant

Lots of people know about the Ark of the Covenant. I mean, Indiana Jones basically summarized everything people need to know. It was the container that the ancient Israelites put the tablets containing the ten commandment into and was considered it's holiest relic. Anyone who touched it who wasn't suppose to died, but I don't know about weird ghost things and people's faces turning into mayonnaise. For more information you can look at the Bible Dictionary page.

Not many of the Old Testament scriptures jumped out to me this time around, but what really stuck out to me was 1 Chronicles 22:19:

19 Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the Lord God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of theLord.

When you walk into a Mormon church, you'll notice that it has some nice art on the walls, but no real relics for worshiping. During the service the bread and water are blessed at a table set aside for that purpose, but there isn't anything amazing about the table. The sacrament trays aren't fancy or expensive, and the blessed water is served in miniature plastic or paper cups that are thrown away afterward. The left over bread it's self loses it's specialness once the sacrament is over and is thrown away or left out for the birds to eat. Because of the simplicity of our ceremony some people may say that Mormons can't relate to the sacred, but that isn't true.

We don't have objects that we believe were blessed by God, but we do have temples. And in those temples there is a sacred atmosphere where everything inside is treated with respect because it is God's House. Our weekly service is done so simply that it can be held anywhere in the world under almost any circumstance, but the temple is where the sacred reverence mirrored in how the Israelites treated the Ark of the Covenant comes to mind. Though we aren't doing the same ceremonies as thousands of years ago, the ceremonies that are performed there have the same purpose of learning, growing closer to God and securing our place in His eternal family.

Ark

These scriptures are about Noah's Ark, as in the Bible story of the big boat and all the animals and it raining for forty days and forty nights. You know, that story. What was interesting for me was how many times the Noah story is referenced in the scriptures. This scriptures list has seven scriptural references - I did not know that this story was so referenced!

The scripture that really stuck out to me is from Hebrews 11:7:

7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

I love this chapter in any case because of the great insights it give me to faith, but I thought it was very interesting that the story of Noah was used as an example of faith.

When you hear the story as a kid, it sounds a lot like a boss/employ relationship between God and Noah - God gave him a job and Noah went off and did it. I've heard modern comedians and commentators try and put a more human element into it of Noah being skeptical, but they always made it so humorous that I guess what they were trying to say was lost on me.

I think I've said in the past that I see faith as a mental decision to choose to believe when you really have nothing to convince you. With this definition in mind, I wonder what Noah's experience actually was like. Was it really a voice from the sky, or was it more of a quite inspiration that lead him sometimes to wonder if he was just crazy - but he chose to move forward anyways.

Noah is remembered at being obedient and a great builder, but I would also like to remember him as a man of faith. That even on days that he might not have felt anything, he chose to keep on building.

Arise, Arose

Topics without scriptures: Arimathaea.

These scripture have three main topics that I could take a post writing about for each. One for our rising up and doing God's work, the next about the resurrection and the dead rising up, and the last is about the miracles of Christ in healing the sick and raising the dead.

What I found interesting reading these topics is what I had always hoped I would notice when I started this scripture reading project. As I was reading through the scripture list, I was reading about the resurrection and contemplating it's significance, when I continued down the list and read about the man with palsy. I stopped in my tracks as I realized something I hadn't before. Here is a scripture about the resurrection from Isaiah 26:19:

19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

And here is the scripture about the man with palsy in Matthew 9:6:

6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.

What if the stories of Christ healing the sick is not just stories portraying his power and compassion, what if they were meant as types of Christ bringing about our resurrection? That we were dead, but then Christ will call us to life?

When I was very sick a couple of years ago and couldn't leave my bed very often, I use to look at the picture of "Jesus Raising Jairus's Daughter" by Greg K. Olsen. I'm a little fuzzy about the copyright laws, so just go to the link to see it. I remember looking at it and seeing the trust and the knowledge in the girl's eyes, that she had heard Christ call her back and that she knew who he was. And then the look in Christ's eyes, that he knew her and loved her - and that he had the power to call her back from the dead. Look at these two scriptures first from Ephesians 5:14, and then from Mark 5:41:

14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

41 And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.

I use to look at that picture and imagine Christ raising me up off my bed like her, knowing that it probably would not happen in that way, but also knowing that the truth's reflected in the eyes of the painting where truths that did apply to my life.

Is this how it is going to be at the resurrection? Will I be there, looking steadfastly towards Christ to call me? I don't know the details of how exactly the resurrection is going to happen, but from these stories of healing I can begin to understand what I might be feeling when it does happen.

Aright

Topics without scriptures: Areopagus; Argument; Ariel.

I started this topic with a trip to dictionary.com to find out the definition of "aright." I could guess what it meant by looking at the parts of it, but as it was an unfamiliar word I wanted to make sure. Not surprisingly, this is what I got:

Aright (adverb): rightly, correctly, properly.

In other words, something is "aright" if it is done or said how it should be done or said. But who makes the standard of what is correct? That is an easy answer in the context of scriptures, as all the standards and definitions of what is correct come from God. In Jeremiah 8:6 it says:

6 I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.

In this scripture, it is speaking about how people are not speaking aright - or they are not preaching the word of God, and because of it they have no direction in their life.

Last weekend was a big event for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, as it was our semi-annule world general conference. Unlike most conferences where you go to hear new policies or vote on decisions, this conference consists of ten hours spread out over three days (one of them is the weekend before) to listen to sermons by leaders in the Church. The highlight of the conference is the sermon given by the President and Leader of the Church Thomas S. Monson. I always try and pay extra attention to what he says, not only so I can have a response to the question "Oh, you have a living prophet? What has he said recently?", but also because I take what he says seriously as things I need to be working on right now.

In this last conference, President Monson spoke on how this world is loosing it's footing and that it is because of the belief in moral relativism, or in other words that everyone is free to do whatever they wanted and that there is no "right" and "wrong." He declared that the standards of God are not old fashion for a past age, that they are to be lived in our day and that we are as accountable to those laws as ever. He also pretty much said the exact same thing as Jeremiah - that without these standards set by God we end up drifting in this life.

I believe what he says. I can see proof of it around me everyday in my own life and in the lives of others. I can tell you right now, that our living prophet "speaks aright," and that we should listen.

Archangel

Topics without scriptures: Aquila; Arabia; Arart.

In the scriptures, there are many angels who are messengers from God. They rebuke wickedness, warn righteous people, declare good tiding, and a host of other tasks. But in the scriptures there is only one archangel and he only appears once at the end of the world to usher in the second coming of Christ, the resurrection of all and the final judgement. It reads in 1 Thessalonians 4:16:

16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

Something else we know about him from Jude 1:9 is that his name is Michael:

9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

And that is as far as the Bible goes in telling us more about him, who he is and what he does. However, in LDS modern scripture from prophet's of this dispensation we can know a little more about him. In Doctrine and Covenants 107:54 we find out that the archangel actually had a much larger role to play in God's plan for the Earth:

54 And the Lord appeared unto them, and they rose up and blessed Adam, and called him Michael, the prince, the archangel.

In case you did not catch that, we believe that the archangel Michael is also Adam, the first man to ever live. This might seem weird to some people, but think about it. Why did Adam get to be the first person ever to get a body? Was is random selection, or was it because he was already an important player for God's side? In the second coming, Michael will bring in the host of heaven to the Earth and ultimately clear the path for Christ to come - how is that different than what he did the first time in making it possible for the host of heaven to come to Earth in body's and initiate the Fall so Christ could then come to fulfill the atonement?

This information, though interesting, is not really that important for us in getting to Heaven - in other words there are bigger things to sweat. Personally though, this little tid-bit of information brings some peace to me. It tells me more about who God is. He said that all things are one eternal round and having the first man also as the one to bring in the second coming helps me understand that everything, from the beginning to the end, was constantly in his sights. If that is true for the entire existence of the world, then I can also know that he's watching out for my life. From the beginning down to the end, I can have faith that he has a plan.

Aprons

The scripture for this topic is Genesis 3:7 which says:

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Though this scripture and the idea of Adam and Even making themselves aprons may not be very startling on the surface, I want to point out a few things I've learned about this story.

First is the idea of modesty. Though little children do not seem to mind running around without clothes on, adults have an instinctive idea and desire for modesty. If anything, this furthers the idea that Adam and Eve were once at the stage of little children, and after partaking of the fruit they began to "grow up."

The second point is a look into Adam and Eve's attempt to cover themselves. They did not have that many resources available to them, and they did the best they could, but there is no way a couple of leaves would be able to provide adequate coverage for them. In the next few verse, we find out that the Lord made coats of skins for them.

Now here is the interesting idea behind all this. Adam and Eve transgressed and would have to go out into the world and be exposed to the elements. They did their best to cover themselves, but ultimately it was a hopeless effort. The Lord stepped in and killed an animal to make a covering for them. Or in other words, a sacrifice was made so that they would be protected from the fallen elements of this world.

This is all about the atonement. We sin and are exposed to the fallen nature of this world. We can try and do our best to make everything ok, but in the end we fall hopelessly short. Our only hope is in our Savior to step in and provide protection for us through His sacrifice on the cross.

The Old Testament is amazing - if you are paying attention even the smallest things bare testimony of Christ.