Temple Quote

"For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas….Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. "
—Jonah 2:3–4

Can anyone tell me what is so profound, so inspiring, so poetic about that quote?

Compare and contrast with these:

SUNNY SOUL
M. A. Kidder

To the sunny soul that is full of hope,
And whose beautiful trust ne'er faileth,
The grass is green, and the flowers are bright.
Though the wintry storm prevaileth.

HOPE
Max Ehrmann

Deny me all the good of earth —
All joy and soul-rebounding mirth,
All wealth and rank and love's great days;
But leave one thing by which to cope
With ebbing life's dim evening rays —
Leave me but hope.

A HOPE
Anonymous

The past is not, — the hues in which 'tis drest
Fond memory supplies;
The future is not, — hope-born in the breast
Its fancied joys arise;
The present is not, — like the lightning's gleam
Its brief illusions seem;
This is the life allotted unto man,
A memory, - a hope, - a fleeting moment's span.

There's nothing profound about that quote. The only thing of note is that it *mentions* a temple. Good enough! Job done!

Exactly. “We built a temple, so you should ‘look toward’ it” (i.e. pay your tithing and do what you’re told).

My take:

There are a lot of Mormon Corridor diaspora in the DC area, working in the government or related things, who really miss Zion and its familiar, comforting, validating, majority culture. They feel like they've been cast into a sea of gentiles. But the big shiny temple by the Beltway makes them feel better.

It's better than "The glory of God is intelligence", but not as good as "Wherever you go, there you are".