Do not let yourselves be conformed to the standards of the ‘olam hazeh (the world). Instead, keep letting yourselves be transformed by the renewing of your minds; so that you will know what God wants and will agree that what he wants is good, satisfying and able to succeed.”
–Romans 12:2
In the last section, we touched on the numbers God has given us for the measurements of the Holy of Holies and how they can teach us about ourselves and our connection with God. At the end, we glanced at the connection of those numbers themselves as they connected to one another and our journey. In this segment, we will dive a little deeper into this concept.
From Receiving to Becoming
But to as many as did receive him, to those who put their trust in his person and power, he gave the right to become children of God.”
–John 1:12
When we look at the three dimensions given to us by the Lord in Doctrines of the Saints 124 for the Holy of Holies together—15, 20, and 30—we can see a possible spiritual progression. These numbers can be understood as more than measurements. They invite us to reflect on different stages of our relationship with God. We beginning by receiving His light, then we growing in that light in spiritual capacity and responsibility, and over time become more prepared to learn, teach, and serve others. let’s look at a quick review of the last segment.
15 — The Invitation
The 15 x 15 x 15-foot Holy of Holies can represent an accessible beginning, a place of invitation. It calls us to come closer, enter, listen, and receive. The association of 15 with the fullness of the moon offers a beautiful image for this beginning. Just as the moon reflects the light of the sun rather than producing its own light, we begin our spiritual journey by learning to receive and reflect the light of God.
The temple therefore becomes an invitation rather than an achievement. We do not have to arrive already knowing everything. We come as we are, willing to listen and willing to be changed.
20 — The Expansion
The 20 × 20 × 20-cubit Holy of Holies can be understood as a symbol of expanding spiritual capacity. As we grow in our relationship with God, we are asked to take on greater responsibility, develop greater maturity, and become capable of receiving and carrying more divine light.
As mentioned in the previous segment, the biblical story of Jacob provides an especially meaningful connection. Jacob spent twenty years serving Laban before he was finally prepared to leave and return to his own family (Genesis 31:38–41). His story reminds us that spiritual growth often takes time. We learn through experience, patience, service, difficulty, and perseverance. Becoming spiritually mature is not something that happens all at once; it is formed over the course of a lifetime.
30 — The Ascent
The 30 × 30 × 30-foot Holy of Holies can represent a further stage of maturity, one in which what we have received becomes something we are prepared to share. The Hebrew letter Lamed, whose numerical value is 30, provides a particularly beautiful image for this idea. Lamed rises above the normal line of Hebrew writing, suggesting aspiration, learning, teaching, and reaching upward. At this stage, the question is no longer simply, What can I receive from God? It becomes, What can I learn, what can I teach, and how can I serve? Like the moon, we receive light so that we can reflect it. We gain wisdom so that we can share it. We draw nearer to God so that our lives can become a blessing to others.
These associations should be understood as ways of contemplating the symbolism, rather than as claims that every ancient Israelite, Jewish teacher, or Kabbalist would interpret the numbers 15, 20, and 30 in precisely this way. Sacred geometry is most valuable when it invites us to think, pray, and explore rather than when it becomes a system of rigid answers. The goal is not to force meaning into every number, but to become more attentive to the patterns through which Scripture and creation may teach us.
From Heaven to Earth and Back Again
Don’t you know that your body is a temple for the Ruach HaKodesh who lives inside you, whom you received from God? The fact is, you don’t belong to yourselves.”
–1 Corinthians 6:19
Beneath all of these ideas is a larger pattern: the temple represents the meeting of heaven and earth. God is revealing something heavenly in the progression of the temples we explored in Part 2 and in the growth in measurements as the needs of the people change and a larger Holy of Holies is required, as discussed in Part 6. Human beings were given revelations on the temple’s physical form. The physical form in turn teaches us something about the spiritual reality it represents. Finally, the person who encounters that reality carries it back into the world through the way they live. It is a cycle of growth and of symbolism.
We might describe this movement as moving down from the Heavens, to the Temple, into the Human Being, and out into the world to fill the earth, healing the creation (Tikkun Olam). This is an important idea in Mormon Kabbalah. Divine light is not something we receive merely for our own spiritual enjoyment. We receive, we are transformed, we reflect, and we give. The temple, then, is not the destination of the spiritual journey, it is a place of transformation and preparation. The Holy of Holies is not important simply because it is an impressive or beautiful room. Its deeper purpose is to point toward the possibility that human beings themselves can become dwelling places for the Presence of God (the Shekinah). Paul expressed a similar idea when he taught that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).
The Book of Mormon also repeatedly connects holiness with the presence of God. King Benjamin taught his people about becoming a covenant people, and the Book of Mormon warns that God does not dwell in unholy temples (see Mosiah 2:37; Alma 7:21; Alma 34:36). The physical temple becomes a mirror for the spiritual life. The question eventually becomes personal: Is my life becoming a Holy of Holies?
Sacred Geometry Is an Invitation, Not a Secret Code
For ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.”
–Mosiah 3:9b [5:7c]
For those who are new to Mormon Kabbalah, there is an important distinction to make. As stated in Part 1, sacred geometry is not an attempt to discover a secret mathematical code that will suddenly explain every verse of Scripture. Nor does every number have a hidden meaning that must be uncovered. Instead, sacred geometry teaches us to notice relationships. As we discovered in Parts 5 and 6, a number can lead us to a Hebrew letter. A letter can lead us to a word. A word can lead us to various passages of Scripture. The Scriptures lead us toward Christ. Likewise, the temple can remind us of creation, and creation can turn our attention toward its Creator. The value is found in the journey of discovery.
This way of thinking also encourages humility. We may discover a connection that seems meaningful while recognizing that our interpretation remains an interpretation. We can explore possibilities without claiming certainty where none exists. In this sense, sacred geometry becomes less about possessing secret knowledge and more about developing a deeper capacity to see.
The Book of Mormon repeatedly encourages this kind of attentiveness to God’s creation. Alma teaches that the earth, its movements, and the order found throughout creation testify of the existence and wisdom of God (Alma 16:54-55a [30:44c-d]). Nephi receives revelation through powerful symbols and patterns. The brother of Jared encounters the Lord through light, darkness, stones, and divine presence in Ether 1:22-93 [2-3]. Lehi’s vision uses the tree, river, rod, path, and building to communicate profound truths about humanity’s relationship with God (1 Nephi 8). None of these accounts is a geometry lesson in the modern mathematical sense. Yet all of them demonstrate something important: God teaches through patterns. Sacred geometry begins with learning to recognize that possibility.
Learning to See
I pray that he will give light to the eyes of your hearts, so that you will understand the hope to which he has called you, what rich glories there are in the inheritance he has promised his people.”
–Ephesians 1:18
For someone encountering sacred geometry for the first time, the numbers 15, 20, and 30 may initially seem like nothing more than measurements: fifteen feet, twenty cubits, thirty feet. But sacred architecture invites us to look more closely. A measurement can become a symbol. A symbol can become a teaching. A teaching can become a spiritual practice. And a spiritual practice can gradually change the way we understand God, ourselves, and the world around us.
The proposed temple pattern of the Fellowship gives us an opportunity to explore this way of seeing. The 15 × 15 × 15 cube can invite us to think about beginning, receiving, reflection, fullness, and spiritual ascent. The 20 × 20 × 20 cube can lead us to contemplate growth, preparation, responsibility, and greater spiritual capacity. The 30 × 30 × 30 cube can point us toward learning, teaching, maturity, leadership, and the upward-reaching image of Lamed.
Together, these numbers can suggest a simple spiritual journey:
- We enter
- We receive
- We grow
- We learn
- We rise
- We serve
- We carry what we have received back into the world
Our Journey with God
And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.”
–Alma 17:36 [37:7]
That is ultimately what makes sacred geometry worth exploring. The purpose is not to become fascinated with numbers for their own sake. The purpose is to become more attentive to God. The Book of Mormon gives us several powerful examples of the relationship between sacred space and revelation. Nephi built a temple “after the manner of the temple of Solomon” (2 Nephi 5:16). Jacob taught his people in the temple. King Benjamin gathered his people at the temple to renew their covenant relationship with God. And when the resurrected Jesus Christ appeared to the Nephites, He came to them at the temple.
Again and again, sacred space becomes a setting for revelation, covenant, transformation, and encounter with God. Yet the journey does not end when we leave the temple, we leave carrying something with us. Perhaps it is a new understanding. Perhaps a renewed covenant. Perhaps a greater capacity to love. Perhaps a deeper knowledge of Christ. Perhaps simply a renewed willingness to serve. Whatever we receive, the purpose is ultimately to carry it into the world.
This may be one of the most important lessons that sacred geometry can offer us: the pattern of the temple can also become a pattern for the human soul. The Holy of Holies is a cube, suggesting wholeness and completeness. The temple has ordered spaces, reminding us that spiritual growth involves a journey. The path has an ascent, reminding us that we are continually invited to rise toward God. But the journey does not ultimately lead us away from the earth. It brings us back into the world carrying something of heaven with us. In that sense, sacred geometry is not really about buildings. It is about becoming.
The Heavens and the Earth
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars that you set in place — what are mere mortals, that you concern yourself with them; humans, that you watch over them with such care?”
–Psalm 8:3-4
We are learning to see heaven reflected in creation. We are learning to recognize patterns in Scripture. We are learning to contemplate the relationship between physical form and spiritual reality. And, most importantly, we are asking how those patterns might shape our own lives. For those already familiar with Mormon Kabbalah, the numbers 15, 20, and 30 offer another way to contemplate the Temple Path. For those just beginning, they provide a simple doorway into a much larger conversation about Scripture, Hebrew thought, symbolism, Restoration revelation, and the search for the presence of God.
And perhaps the greatest invitation is also the simplest: Look again. Look at the temple, look at Scripture, look at creation, and look at your own life. Then ask: What might God be teaching me through the patterns?
