Category Folklore
Chad’s Suggested Reading for Mormons
Today’s post is a list of books and essays that I feel like are a good starting place for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who have an interest in knowing more about their history and doctrine but aren’t sure where to begin.
Of Cain and Bigfoot
“She was sitting there and she noticed this person or this thing–whatever it was–coming at her. It was heading at her at this rapid pace and it looked like it was coming at her…. It loooked hairy and kind of tall, you know big in stature, and so she was really sacred. She was […]
The Tree of Life Part 6: The Tree and the Endowment
Part 6: The Quest for the Tree In Ancient Greece, “the victors of the Olympic games were crowned with branches and leaves from an olive tree growing near sacred altars at Olympia. The games represented the ritual process of obtaining the tree of life, a process described in many ancient cultures” (C. Wilfred Griggs, “The Tree […]
Tree of Life Part 5: the Tree and the Temple
Part 5: The Tree and the Temple In recent posts, I brought up some interesting things about the olive trees, the tree of life, and Christ. In lieu of that, let me make note of the olive tree’s use in ancient Jewish temples: “Beyond the… courts of the temple was a Holy of Holies. Two […]
The Tree of Life Part 4: The Olive Tree
Last time I talked about how the Tree of Life was symbolic of Christ and His sacrifice. I closed by mentioning that it doesn’t matter what type of tree the Tree of Life is (as we’ll see, many trees have been used to portray it), but that one of particular note was the olive tree. […]
The Tree of Life Part 3: Christ and the Tree
Part 3: Christ and the Tree Last week we talked about the Tree of Life and the Fall of Adam and Eve. As promised, this week the focus will be on the Tree’s symbolism of Christ. Going back to Nephi’s recounting of the Tree of Life Vision, he asked the angel who was his tour-guide […]
Tree of Life Post 2: The Tree and the Fall
In part 1 of this series of posts, the topic of the Tree of Life was introduced and a brief summary of its meaning within Mormon theology was given. Today, the focus will be on the Fall and the Tree. As established before, the Tree of Life symbolizes eternal life or the fullness of salvation. […]
The Tree of Life, Part 1
Truman G. Madsen—a BYU professor known for his love of history once wrote: “Religious literature, ancient and modern, is replete with images of a tree of life that is to be planted in a goodly land by a pure stream. Some typologies regard it as the link at the very navel of the earth—the source […]
Chad's Random Musings 