Has anyone heard of this? Apparently, there's a story that the designers of the San Diego temple were inspired to use this symbol, one square overlaid by another to form an eight-pointed star, as an architectural motif. At some later point, Hugh Nibley identified it as the seal of Melchizedek, and there are various non-Mormon art pieces integrating this symbol.

Does anyone know what this symbol is called outside of the Mormon world? Is it still the seal? Is there any significance to it?

I scanned the article from the BYU Religious Studies Center, which may be worth reading to you if you have an intense interest in the subject, but the conclusion to the article says it all:

"Weighing all of the evidence presented above, it seems clear to this author that the Ravenna murals made so popular by Nibley’s Temple and Cosmos have utilized the design in question either as an aesthetic pattern, a means of multiplying right angles, or a symbol for the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, we will never be able to identify the true intention for sure, as the unknown artist of the murals left no known explanation of his objective.

"What we can say for sure is that the design is not an ancient symbol of Melchizedek or priesthood authority (at Ravenna or in any ancient source). We know that it is primarily an aesthetic rather than religious design and that when it was used anciently, it never had a defined meaning.

"By popularizing this image, a handful of Latter-day Saints have created a new symbol—a modern Star of David or cross. The pattern of interlocked squares or eight-pointed star has been endowed with religious meaning, and an entire folklore has developed around it to show that divine origins have been behind the symbol and its employment on certain temples.[87] Through a simple misunderstanding of a caption under a picture in a book, Mormons have unintentionally created a symbol that has erroneously been connected with Melchizedek and his priesthood.[88]"

https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/volume-11-number-3-2010/seal-melchizedek-0


Basically, it's a Mormon FPR ("Faith Promoting Rumor")/urban legend that has run amok. My guess (pure speculation) is that a lot of Mormons are embarrassed by the pentagrams (upside-down, five-pointed stars) that occur on some Mormon temples and are perceived as associating with satanism. Many were hungry for a new, "cool" symbol that they could identify with, and the overlapping squares (eight-pointed star) was a natural fit.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/12/2016 03:58PM by lurking in.

My family were friends with the Bill Lewis family (The architect of the SD temple). I will say that Bill Lewis was as TBM as they come. He really tried to live the gospel with all of his might. He fasted once/week and sought divine inspiration during his temple-designing process. I felt that he became a little bit disillusioned with SLC as the temple project wore on and the Church took lots of cheaper shortcuts to building the temple. The original plans called for white marble walls and translucent marble window lights. Bill honestly thought that the temple was to represent the very best that man could offer god and he was surprised that the church leadership balked at the expense. In the end the walls were covered with stucco. Still the seal of melchizedek was something that spouted from Hugh Nibley's mouth and that was good enough for the SD mormons to go on repeating the story.

We all admired brother Lewis and I still do on some level even though he remains TBM. He was very passionate about the temple project and it shows in the design of the building. It remains an iconic LDS temple and a symbol of religion run amuck.

Oh, Bill said that the design of the interlocking squares came to him in a dream. He proudly emblazoned the motif everywhere on the temple. He felt that this was divine revelation and that is that. I think Nibley just made up the rest.

The design is also used in Islam and Buddhism among other world religions. It is a primitive design so it is not surprising that many other religions claim it's use.

... and have a few bucks to throw away ... and don't mind supporting whoever it is that's profiting off a crazy cult, here's your chance!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/s-MELCHIZEDEK-PRIESTHOOD-SYMBOL-Antique-PIN-mormon-lds-/121837999236