Exploring the Sacred and the Profane within Latter-day Saint Thought

"And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and clean." (Ezek. 44:23 KJV)

Over the last month I have felt the increasing need to write more. As I was going over possible topics while reading different books and scriptures the topic of the sacred and the profane stood out. These terms may be unfamiliar to you, but if you are somewhat familiar with the scriptures it should not be difficult to understand. I will be pulling a lot from the scriptures and a book by Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane. This is a classic work within the scholarly community and groundbreaking in its time. Eliade is a well known scholar of comparative religion and in this book he shows the comparison of many religions having similar aspects especially in dealing with the sacred and profane.

But let me first define these terms. I think many of us have an idea of what they mean. We probably most often define sacred as holy, which is just a synonym. So what does it mean? They both come from the same word. I will be pulling from the Hebrew meaning. When we talk about the Bible and the Book of Mormon these are people steeped in very similar cultures though they definitely changed as their stories drifted apart. Nevertheless the meaning of sacred is the same. The Hebrew word for holy or sacred is qodesh. In the KJV it is usually translated as holy as the above verse from Ezekiel shows. Another example is the commandment to write Holiness to the Lord upon the headplate Aaron wore in Exodus 28:36. Qodesh is used 468 times and is translated in the KJV as holy, sanctuary, most, holiness, dedicated, hallowed, consecrated, and others. Strong's Hebrew Lexicon defines it as apartness, sacredness, separateness, or to be set apart. It is wholly separate, set apart from everything else, heavenly. It is the withdrawal or separation of sacred things from the profane. It is consecrated ground. Profane on the other hand is the opposite. It comes from the Hebrew word hol which means outside of the sanctuary or common. It is unconsecrated ground. (Parry)

We get our modern word for temple from the Latin templum which "means a space marked out by the augur for taking observations." The augur would cut into the ground with two intersecting lines dividing the area into four equal parts, the lines intersecting at right angles. The center was considered the navel of the earth or cosmic mountain, more on that later. The four regions also known as the four corners of the earth, I will touch on that more later too. The temple helps one to designate what is sacred space from the profane. Our word for profane comes from the Latin word profanum which literally means outside of the temple just like the Hebrew word. The temple is the sacred space that is marked out, cut off from the profane space around it. The profane space is outside of it, the area which remains after designating the temple. (Parry)

This may make you think of another scripture. Moses 6:57 states, "Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence; for, in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a rigtheous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time." We are taught that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are holy, sacred, set apart and no unclean, unholy thing can dwell with them. It is even in Heavenly Father's name, Man of Holiness. They are completely set apart from anything that is profane. We are taught that we must be sanctified, made holy, consecrated, set apart, so that we can dwell with them. This of course is made possible because of Jesus Christ. Through His atonement we can become clean and pure thereby we are justified and sanctified.

To be clean and pure brings another scripture to mind, which will lead us into the rest of the blog. Psalm 24 is a Psalm most likely used in the ancient temple. In it we get the qualifications for entry into the temple. Some scholars have wondered if verse 3 is a question by the one petitioning for entry and the priest answering in verse 4. Either way it is clear that admittance into the temple which represents the presence of the Lord is not had by just anyone. "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully." If Heaven, where God and Jesus Christ dwell, is the epitome of sacredness, the earthly temple is its counterpart. And if entry into the temple is symbolic of entering God's presence then nothing short of being clean and pure should be allowed. It is in the temple that we truly understand the idea of the sacred and the profane. As well as our place in the universe. It is there we get our bearings.

In its most primitive or simplistic forms, the temple serves as sacred space and time here on earth. It can be represented simply as a stone, pillar, or an altar. But it can also be a building too. It can be anything that is dedicated and consecrated, thus becoming sacred. It is the object of the believer to draw as near to it as possible and remain there as long as possible. In fact, it is seen in many religions that there homes, villages, and communities were centered around a temple or a sacred object. This is traced back to the general beginning, the creation. Creation myths are in every culture and some are quite similar to the one we read in Genesis. We know in the beginning God created or organized the world, the universe, the cosmos. He organized it out of chaos. Just as the sacred and profane are opposed to each other, so are the cosmos and chaos. Chaos is often symbolized as water. Which is easily seen in Genesis. God organized the earth from chaos and separated the cosmos into three levels, heaven, earth, and the underworld. The earth and the underworld sit atop the cosmic ocean and the chaotic waters above are kept at bay by the firmament God places in heaven. Here God separates the earth from chaos, the profane. Thus all creation, the cosmos, becomes sacred.

As the creation unfolds, God causes the water to recede from the earth and the first dry land appears, the first mountain. This land is often referred to as the axis mundi, or cosmic pillar, universal pillar. Which is seen in many cultures. It represents the center of the world or the navel of the earth.  It "connects and supports heaven and earth and whose base is fixed in the world below." (Elaide, 36) It is how each level communicates with each other. It is the primordial mountain, the original temple, from there goes out all creation. "Since the sacred mountain is an axis mundi connecting earth and heaven, it in a sense touches heaven and hence marks the highest point in the world; consequently the territory that surrounds it, and that constitutes 'our world,' is held to be the highest of countries." (ibid, 38) The temples are replicas of the sacred mountain and serve as a binding link between heaven and earth. They are a piece of heaven on earth. The foundations of the temple also reaching into the netherworld connecting it with the earth. Having this connection to heaven, the temple acts as a navel feeding the earth like an umbilical cord, providing for it and sustaining it, making it sacred. Eliade quotes a Hebrew tradition that states, "The Most Holy One created the world like an embryo. As the embryo grows from the navel, so God began to create the world by the navel and from there it spread out in all directions." (ibid, 44) The four cardinal directions symbolize this spreading out often spoken of as the four corners of the earth. In modern temples, the oxen under the baptismal font are facing the four cardinal directions symbolic of gathering Israel from the four corners of the earth. Every temple built symbolizes the creation of the earth, God separating and organizing the cosmos from chaos. Separating the sacred from the profane.

The ancient Israelite temple further symbolized the cosmos in its construction. The outer courtyard represented the lower region, the underworld. That is where the brazen sea for purification rites was set which like baptism represents death and resurrection. Death requires entry into the underworld. The Holy Place represented the earth. The menorah representing the tree of life was in that area. The Holy of Holies represented heaven. Therein resided the ark of the covenant and throne of God. The temple is our connection to heaven. Sever that link and we lose it. That is why we are driven to be near it. Eliade states, "the religious man sought to live as near as possible to the Center of the World." (ibid, 43)

The temple ordinances and ceremony further symbolize the creation. This is seen in the yearly festival celebrating the New Year and it is not unique to Israel either. None of this is unique to Israel. That is not meant to dismissive of the truth. I firmly believe in the restoration of the Gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, as we well know we do not hold the patent on truth. Truth is in all religions at some level or another, so we shouldn't be surprised to see temple themes and creation myths show up in other religions. We should invite it. It is a further witness of God's work on the earth. But I digress. The New Year's Festival or Rosh Hashanah, was held every year, followed by Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement, and then Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles. I won't get into this too much, but scholars have put together the New Year's Festival that existed amongst the ancient Israelites using Psalms and other works of the ancient Near East. The point of the New Year's Festival was to replicate the creation of the world thus creating it anew. Chaos is symbolically battled often represented as a dragon or a sea monster and God triumphs over it. This was a very important festival much more important than the remnants we see today with our New Years. Eliade states, "victory of the gods over the dragon must be symbolically repeated each year, for each year the world must be created anew." (ibid, 49) Each year the ceremony symbolically recreates the world, triumphs over chaos, and the people are absolved of their sins. Everything is brought back into harmony and is made sacred again. Most likely Genesis was used with actors just as it is done today. In the modern temple, we symbolically participate in the creation of the world, triumph over chaos, and learn how to be sanctified as we take upon us the name of Jesus Christ and all that it entails.

"The temple continually resanctifies the world....it is by virtue of the temple that the world is resanctified in every part. However impure it may have become, the world is continually purified by the sanctity of sanctuaries." (ibid, 59) By participating in the temple the earth is renewed and we are renewed. The more temples are built the more sacred the world becomes, the more light enters the world, and the more darkness retreats. The original sanctity the earth had in its creation is recovered. The same for the participants as they symbolically regain admittance to the presence of God, to be able to return to paradise, to Eden. Just as the Fall demonstrates our being cut off from the presence of God in an outward motion from Eden, the temple symbolizes our return to Eden. This is the concept of the eternal return, a constant striving to return to God's presence, to return to sacred time and space. It seems to be inherent within us. And the closer we get, the more we want to be near it. "The more religious man is, the more paradigmatic models does he possess to guide his attitudes and actions. In other words, the more religious he is, the more does he enter into the real and the less is he in danger of becoming lost in actions that, being nonparadigmatic, 'subjective,' are, finally, aberrant." (ibid, 96) The paradigm is the myth, the creation story, New Year's Festival, the Endowment, and other temple ordinances. The real is sacred time and space. The world itself is not real, reality exists in sacred time and space. To enter the temple is to enter reality. That is where it dwells. As we approach the sacred and understand reality, the more the cares of the world pass away. "Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us," says the people of King Benjamin, "and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually." (Mosiah 4:2)

The things of the world cease to be interesting as one draws near the sacred. Soon the old ways are replaced with the sacred. As one draws nearer to God they are incrementally sanctified by the power of the Holy Ghost via the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This is the path of every true Christian.  "Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name. And whoso knocketh, to him will he open." (2 Ne 9:41-42) He opens to the righteous, those who have been faithful to their covenants. Not just the initial covenants made at baptism, but the further ones we make in the temple, and each Sunday when we partake of the sacrament, renew our covenants, and further covenant with the Lord that we are willing to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ, to always remember Him, and to keep His commandments. We take His name upon us by returning to the Temple where we can enter reality, sacred time and space, perform the most selfless work possible. Elder John A. Widtsoe stated, "Once only may a person receive the temple endowment for himself, but innumerable times may he receive it for those gone from the earth. Whenever he does so, he performs an unselfish act for which no earthly recompense is available. He tastes in part the sweet joy of saviorhood. He rises toward the stature of the Lord Jesus Christ who died for all."

Sacredness is had in the temple and as we return the more we are sanctified and the greater our desire is to do good continually. Our lives reflect that as our houses are turned into sanctuaries that are set apart from the world. Our lives become sacred as we spend time in the sacred and the more we pull away from anything that is profane. We carry the sacredness with us and in effect allow God's light to shine. This is the meaning behind so much of what we do. From wearing the temple garment, to keeping the word of wisdom and the law of the chastity. For The Strength of Youth is a wonderful resource that teaches more on making our lives sacred. A favorite talk of mine is "Our Refined Heavenly Home" by Elder Douglas Callister. Give it a read. As President Nelson has stated, "good inspiration comes from good information."

"Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place where on thou standest is holy ground." (Ex. 3:5)

My desire is to continue writing these blogs on different topics that I feel impressed to do or just enjoy the subject. I am by no means an expert, but I do love reading. Ever since I joined the Church the love for knowledge and understanding has grown in me. President Nelson counseled the sisters, but it is perfectly applicable to all of us, "to pray to understand your spiritual gifts--to cultivate, use, and expand them, even more than you ever have. You will change the world as you do so." In conjunction, with that I have felt the need to cultivate my own by writing these little articles. So expect more in the future.

Sources:
1. Parry, Donald W., "Temples of the Ancient World: Ritual and Symbolism" (1994). Maxwell Institute Publications.
2. Eliade, Mircea. The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion. Hancourt, 1987.
3. John A. Widtsoe, "The House of the Lord," Improvement Era, April 1936