Temples & Sacred Geometry Part 6: Numbers, Space, and the Presence of God
Let’s take this topic to its most basic level: the practice of paying attention to the ways shape, proportion, number, space, and physical design can communicate spiritual ideas.
Temples & Sacred Geometry Part 5: Shape and Form
We are not merely human beings divided into work, play, and families. What we do in each segment of our lives bleeds into the others to make us whole. When we find balance in Christ Jesus, we truly connect with the Presence of God.
Temples & Sacred Geometry Part 4: Building Zion
And they had all things common among them; therefore, they were not rich and poor, bond and free; but they were all made free and partakers of the heavenly gift. ” –4 Nephi 1:4 [1:3] For many people, the word temple brings to mind sacred architecture, a beautiful building set apart from the ordinary world. Throughout scripture, mountains, sanctuaries, tabernacles, and holy cities have served as places where the Heavens and the earth meet. Yet if the story of the Restoration teaches us anything, it is that God never intended His presence to remain confined within walls of stone. The temple eventually leaves the mountains. The true temple(s) walks into villages, entering homes where it/they sit(s) around dinner tables. Visiting hospitals, it/they embrace(s) the lonely, welcome(s) strangers, and feed(s) the hungry. True temple(s) comfort(s) those who mourn. The true temple(s) is/are not diminished when leaving sacred buildings. Rather, this fulfills its true…
Temples & Sacred Geometry Part 3: Becoming the Living Temple
The purpose of sacred architecture is not merely to build holy buildings, it is to build a holy people.
Temples & Sacred Geometry Part 2: The Restoration as Living Creation
Rather than viewing sacred architecture as static, in Mormon Kabbalah we see every temple as a living lesson. Each one expands our understanding of God’s relationship with humanity.
Temples & Sacred Geometry Part 1: The Pattern of Heaven
Throughout history, people have been drawn to sacred places. Across cultures and civilizations, mountains, temples, circles of stone, gardens, tabernacles, and sanctuaries have been built with remarkable care and intention.
What is Sin?
“By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” -Romans 3:20-23
We have been told to abandon sin, to forsake sin, and not to sin. But what is sin? What does it mean to sin? And once we know, how do we avoid it?
When the Tree of Life Breaks
And in the circumcision of the heart, the qliphoth (husk) is removed, that Ha’Or En Sof (the everlasting light or the light of Christ) might shine forth to heal this creation, uniting the upper world of the heavens and the lower world of the earth.
–Zenock 27:34
Most readers of 1 Nephi encounter Laman and Lemuel as cautionary figures. They are examples of stubbornness, disbelief, or rebellion. But if we read their story only as a moral failure, we miss its deeper gift. The story of Laman and Lemuel is a mirror of our own spiritual blockages! In Mormon Kabbalah, scripture is not merely history or doctrine. It is a map of the soul.
The Tree of Life
“And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” -Genesis 2:9
In the Garden of Eden it is said there were two very important trees: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The fruit of the tree of good and evil is a representative of the impulsive or reflexive submission to God’s law vs the endowment of moral autonomy (Genesis 3:22). It is the ability to choose and discern good from evil autonomously. By contrast, the the tree of life represents God’s love through Christ.
Zenock, Alma, and the Path to God
Throughout human history, sacred texts have served as maps to the divine, guiding souls toward understanding, devotion, and spiritual fulfillment.
The Tree of Life in Spiritual Practice
In Mormon Kabbalah, faith is an action. We deepen our personal relationship with God, allowing the light of Jesus Christ to transform us.
Neum and Kabbalah
Behold, I am Neum, the Oracle, reader of the stars—I am she who pours out the libations for YHVH; I am she who still dances in prophecy when the daughters do sing, and the young men do play their harps and beat their drums.” -Neum 2:1-2 Neum is not a traditionally recognized Kabbalistic text in the sense of being a part of the core Kabbalistic literature like the Zohar, Sefer Yetzirah, or Bahir, but it certainly contains themes, imagery, and spiritual ideas that align closely with Kabbalistic principles. There are a few reasons why Neum can be seen as resonating with Kabbalistic thought, even if it isn’t classified as a Kabbalistic book. Let’s review a few of these reasons. The Mystical Relationship Between Israel and God One of the central motifs in Neum is the depiction of Israel as the bride of God, which is a key Kabbalistic concept. In Kabbalah, particularly in the writings of the Zohar, the relationship…