Remember, Remember

The scriptures are replete with the idea of remembrance. "Remember the Sabbath day," the Lord commanded, "to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shall not do any work...For in six days the Lord made the heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it." (Ex. 20: 8-11) We are commanded to remember the creation of the world. Why? "Behold, the Lord hath created the earth that it should be inhabited; and he hath created his children that they should possess it." (1 Ne 17:36) For the express purpose of bringing "to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39) By proving "them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them." (Abr. 3:25) So in the beginning God created the earth and has commanded us to remember it each and every Sabbath day. The Lord has designed the Gospel to constantly bring us into remembrance so that his truth maybe written into our hearts, that he may seal us his, that we may return to live forever with him because we have become like him.

The scriptures state that for many days Adam did offer sacrifice after being expelled from the Garden. How long? Well we are told at least several generations. Then an angel of the Lord appears unto Adam asking, "why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me. And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth. Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forever more." (Moses 5:6-8) After this the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam as he was baptized. Adam was commanded to sacrifice, he was shown how do this in the Garden no doubt when the Lord prepared coats of skin for them to wear, as a reminder of the garments of light they no longer had but could obtain again if they were obedient.

So here we find Adam for many years sacrificing without a full understanding of what he was doing, but he was obedient nonetheless.  The angel instructs him that the sacrifice is in similitude of the sacrifice Jesus Christ will make in the meridian of time. That not only will sacrifice remind him Jesus Christ but Adam is commanded that everything he does must be done in the name of the Son. He must repent and call upon God in the name of the Son. Nephi taught, "ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul." (2 Ne 32:9) What does this mean? Elder Holland reminds us that, "You never check your religion at the door. Not ever." It means no matter what circumstance we are in we never cease to call upon God, repent, and labor as Jesus Christ would if he was there in your stead. Repentance is not simply asking for forgiveness, it is changing of one's heart and mind to be like Christ. It is take his virtues and make them your own. "What manner of men ought ye to be?," the Lord asked, "Verily I say unto you, even as I am." (3 Ne 27:27) This was the message the angel had for Adam. He was commanded to teach his children this, to remind them, to bring them into remembrance of the Gospel plan. The plan we were taught before coming through the veil of this world. B.H. Roberts stated, "faith is trust in what the spirit learned eons ago." We are remembering. Well we know how the story goes, most of Adam and Eve's children didn't listen and from that time forth men began "to be carnal, sensual, and devilish." (Moses 5:13) But Abel and Seth did. Of course, Abel was murdered, but Seth continued the patriarchal line, teaching his children and others to remember the Lord their God.

We get instances of the Lord reminding his children in Genesis. Enoch and his people triumphed and were thus taken to heaven. Melchizedek and his people followed suit. We have our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the important covenants the Lord made with them. We are reminded quite frequently in the temple about that, but I will talk about that later on. Then we go to Egypt and there arises a Pharaoh who did not know Joseph and the people Israel are enslaved for many years. Burdensome loads are put upon them, persecuted and beaten under the harsh rule of Pharaoh. No doubt we can ascertain from the scriptures the people began to forget the Lord with how quickly they turn to the Egyptian gods in the wilderness. We do not know how much Moses even knew of his Hebrew heritage. He was in Pharaoh's house for many years even married it seems from Biblical and apocryphal writings. Either way he became aware and awakened to the awful state of the Hebrews. And so he flees Egypt into the desert and comes under the tutelage of Jethro, the high priest of Midian, as descendant of Abraham. There Moses is taught who, or rather the Lord brings to his remembrance who He is. And we know how the rest of the story goes. He delivers Israel from slavery and then the harder task, to remove false traditions and teach the children of Israel who God really is. Here Moses commands Israel, "Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place." (Ex. 13:3) They are commanded to remember their deliverance. And so the holy days of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread begin. Important days of remembrance. I wonder too if we shouldn't remember those holy days today, maybe not the ritual customs that have been added, but to remember the deliverance of the children of Israel from their oppressors. To remember that it was God who did it and continues to deliver us.

Moses' task is difficult. He will never step foot in the promised land, neither will this generation. They are constantly reminded of God's goodness from the parting of the Red Sea, to the waters of Marah, to manna and quail. The Lord is teaching them to rely solely on him, to take no thought for tomorrow, as the Lord taught. Miracle after miracle to show them the only true and living God, and then what do they do when the opportunity arises for them to see the Lord as Moses had done, to be equated with him, to embrace him, the goal of Gospel? They reject it. "They said unto Moses Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die." (Ex. 20:19) They reject him, and the Lord removes the higher law and priesthood from among them. The lower law was given unto them, "even a very strict law; for they were a stiffnecked people, quick to do iniquity, and slow to remember the Lord their God; Therefore was a law given them, yea, a law of performances and of ordinances, a law which they were to observe strictly from day to day, to keep them in remembrance of God and their duty towards him." (Mosiah 12:29-30)

The Law of Moses has many feasts, fasts, sacrifices, and commandments. Some of them are mixed with case law as this was a theocratic republic as well. Here is a few of the feasts. There is the Feast of First Fruits which is 50 days after Passover, also called the Feast of Pentecost. This is a celebration of gratitude for the first harvest of the year. The Feast of Tabernacles or Booths is a big celebration of the harvest and remembering their wanderings in the wilderness. Feast of Trumpets begins with Rosh Hashanah, the shofars sounding in the New Year, a remembrance of the Resurrection, further symbolized in the temple ritual of the dying and resurrecting of the king. This Feast is ten days long with a focus on repentance and consecration unto God. It ends with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It was most holy day of year. The people of Israel fasted and sacrifices were made for their sins.  The high priest would then kill a bullock as a sin offering for himself and take coals off the brazen altar with incense into the Holy of Holies of the temple or tabernacle. He would put the incense on the coal so the smoke would cover the mercy seat of the ark. The blood of the bullock would be sprinkled on the east part of the mercy seat and then seven times before the mercy seat. Then he killed one goat as a sin offering for the congregation and sprinkled the blood in a similar manner. Blood was also sprinkled of both on the altar of incense. This would make atonement for the high priest, the congregation, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. Only the high priest was allowed into the Holy of Holies and only on this particular occasion due to the rejection by Israel and the removal of the higher priesthood and law. Atonement was then made for altar of burnt offering in a similar way. The scapegoat was brought forward and all the sins of the people were placed upon it and sent into the wilderness. Each feast, sacrifice, fast, and the commandments are rich with meaning and symbolism. They are a constant reminder to the people of Israel.

I mentioned the temple earlier. The Torah or the first 5 books of the Bible were recorded by Moses. They have since fell through many hands, so many edits, additions, and subtractions have been made. Moses gives us a brief history with Genesis. The book spans a couple of thousand years so much is left out and furthermore the edits have left out even more. We know Moses was commanded to build a tabernacle, a tent in the wilderness. A tent is an appropriate term as the people are semi-nomadic and have been since before the days of Abraham outside of their captivity in Egypt. They would live in tent communities much like the Bedouin today. The head or the Shiekh would have his own, it would be the most important tent. To become a member of his community you would be taken to him and he would place his robe over you making you a member of his household, his family, and under his protection. Likewise, the tent or temple of the Lord does the same thing. We enter the temple and ritually embrace the Lord making covenants with him and he in turn promises us a place in his household if we hold true and faithful. We are then under his protection. Even though Genesis doesn't precisely call it that, there were temples before Moses. The Garden of Eden was a type of temple. In fact the temple symbolically reverses the Fall. The Tree of Life being in the middle of the Garden on the mountain of the Lord, the tree of Knowledge being near it. Cherubim and a flaming sword are placed to guard the way to the Tree of Life. As Adam and Eve were expelled they passed from the presence of God into the Telestial world. The temple reverses this. On the curtains or veils of the temple are the cherubim as well as on the mercy seat. As you pass into the Holy Place there sits the menorah which represents the Tree of Life. From there you pass through another veil with cherubim on it into the Holy of Holies. Each time you are ascending. The Holy of Holies represents the mountain of the Lord, here he resides. You are brought back into his presence. The same thing happens in modern temples. So the Garden of Eden represents the first temple on Earth. There are others mentioned.

Any time a prophet goes on a mountain, we have a temple. The brother of Jared and Moses both, Abraham on Mount Moriah and at Bethel which means House of God. Jacob names a place Penuel which means face of God. The prophets build altars and sanctify the area. The Lord commands us to build structures around these holy sites so that they remain holy and sacred, set apart from the world. Temples are meant to remind us of God. They are the place to get one's bearings, as Hugh Nibley stated. One's bearings on the universe. The Gospel is hierocentric, everything revolves around the temple. The temple teaches us and reminds us of our place in the universe, who God is, and what we need to do to return to him. Rich with symbolism and remembrance.

The ancient Israelites were commanded to wear certain things in addition to the coats of skin already spoken of which are had elsewhere. They were commanded to wear tzitzit or fringes and tefillin to remind them of the Law. The high priest had special clothing too. All of this to bring them into remembrance. Matthew mentions Jesus' fringes with the healing of the woman who has an issue of blood. (Matt. 9:20)

It is clear that God wanted them and us to center our lives around the temple. The temple being the symbol of the mountain of the Lord where his presence lies. We are to be centered around him. We have further been commanded to make our homes into a sanctuary too, a temple. Our homes then being centered around God so that his presence may be welcomed there.

There were other ways the people remembered, in the naming of children. We have seen with Abraham and Jacob that they often named areas where important events happened such as Penuel. But the naming of children is very important. Far different from today where names are almost meaningless, the ancients would name with purpose. Sometimes it was out of jubilee for being bless with a child such as the naming of Joseph from Rachel. "And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach: And she called his name Joseph." (Gen. 30:23-24) Abraham received his name because he would be the father of many nations. (Gen 17:5) Jacob, whose name means heel grabber because he grabbed the heel of his brother Esau, has his named changed to Israel by the Lord which means wrestled or embraced God. (Gen. 32:28)

In Helaman 5, Nephi and Lehi remember the words of their father, Helaman. He said, "Behold, my sons, I desire that ye should remember to keep the commandments of God; and I would that ye should declare unto the people these words. Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how that it is said, and also written that they were good. Therefore, my sons, I would that ye should do that which is good, that it may be said of you, and also written, even as it has been said and written of them." (Hel. 5:6-7) The richness of names! The Lord himself had many names, each one with great meaning, Immanuel, Jehovah, Jesus or Yeshua, Christ or Messiah, and so on. The ancients were purposeful in naming.

This is but a taste of the ideas of remembrance in the scriptures. The scriptures in of themselves remind us to remember. As we study and become immersed in them we remember, we feel, and we understand what other's have gone through and learn from them. Nephi is rich with remembrance teaching us to surround ourselves with the word of God. "For my soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them, and writeth them for the learning and the profit of my children. Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard." (2 Ne 4:15-16) "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." (2 Ne 25:26) And blessed was he and his family. "Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out." (Deut. 28:6) We must center ourselves around God's holy altar. We must center ourselves on Jesus Christ.

During the Feast of Tabernacles, King Benjamin spoke to the people encouraging them to covenant with the Lord and to take his name upon them. He stated, "But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not." (Mos. 4:30) He urged them to remember, to change their hearts, and observe the commandments. And so we are back to Helaman and his words to his sons. "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if me build they cannot fall." (Hel. 5:12)

The scriptures help us to remember. The temple centers us and reminds us of our eternal home. "All things denote their is a God," Alma taught, "yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator." (Alma 30:44) Center ourselves on God and look through Heaven's eyes. Then you can see the path before you. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." (Ps. 119:105)

"And now, my sons, remember, remember..."