Posted by:
neogalileo
(
)
Date: March 16, 2017 03:54AM
I'm a sucker for Symbolism.
I enjoy the association of a Symbol with an underlying concept and philosophy and identity. Religion, product branding, jewelry, art, corporations, sports, and so forth, all rely heavily on Symbols and Symbology.
This is probably one reason I Stayed LDS for so long, despite an industrial-sized shelf.
This is why I enjoyed Boy Scouts as a youth and as a leader.
This is why I now enjoy eastern thought and philosophies, given the strong use of symbols and manifestations of sounds, of "gods", of life force, of human characteristics and tendencies, and of identity.
This is one reason that I was not freaked out by LDS Temple symbols and rites. I always felt a desire and took a great personal responsibility to learn and to understand the symbolism therein.
And, this is one reason that I jettisoned all things LDS, when I learned that Joseph ripped off all of the LDS Temple Symbols from Masonry, and now see LDS Temple Symbolism as hollow and a poor version of Symbols long established throughout history:
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http://www.mormonthink.com/temple.htmJoseph expropriated the Symbols but stripped them from their meaning, deep and historically meaningful explanations and thought.
The LDS preach to "learn by yourself" the meaning of the LDS Symbols, when in fact, the Symbols are already well documented in other traditions and are much more meaningful there than in LDS tradition. An example is:
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http://www.masonrytoday.com/index.php?new_month=9&new_day=10&new_year=2016Symbolism is not everyone's cup o' tea, but at least, if you are going to use it, use it and teach it correctly.
Neo-Galileo
p.s. I am convinced that Joseph created the Temple ceremony as a means to extract secrecy from those who entered into Polygamy. And that the Temple was not originally for anyone not involved in Polygamy.