Take note: this is meant to be tongue-in-cheek; something I found funny in a moment of recency effect.
In the April 1989 General Conference, Gordon B. Hinckley shared the following:
When I was a boy, we lived on a farm in the summer...We could identify some of the constellations and other stars as they were illustrated in our encyclopedia. Each night we would trace the Big Dipper, the handle and the cup, to find the North Star.
We came to know of the constancy of that star. As the earth turned, the others appeared to move through the night. But the North Star held its position in line with the axis of the earth. And so it had come to be known as the Polar Star, or the Polestar, or the Lodestar.
...Because of those boyhood musings, the Polar Star came to mean something to me. I recognized it as a constant in the midst of change. It was something that could always be counted on, something that was dependable, an anchor in what otherwise appeared to be a moving and unstable firmament.
Love is like the Polar Star. In a changing world, it is a constant. It is of the very essence of the gospel. It is the security of the home. It is the safeguard of community life. It is a beacon of hope in a world of distress [1].
Now, let's see what astronomers have to say about the North Star:
Here's what astronomers know: The Earth is like a wobbly top. As it rotates, its axis swings in a circle, pointing in different directions. As the Earth's position shifts, so does our perspective of the night sky.
For example, Rao said, we take the North Star, Polaris, for granted. It's the star most closely aligned with Earth's North Pole. But back when the pyramids were constructed, the star that aligned with the North Pole wasn't Polaris at all: It was a star in the constellation Draco called Thuban. In 12,000 years, Earth's North Star will be Vega, the brightest star in the constellation Lyra.
The complete rotation takes 26,000 years, Rao said.
"Everything in the sky is in flux," he said [2].
Maybe the North Star isn't the best example of constancy...
1. Gordon B. Hinckley, "Let Love Be the Lodestar of Your Life," Ensign (May 1989).
2. Stephanie Pappas, "Wobbly Earth Means Your Horoscope is Wrong," LiveScience (Jan. 13, 2011).
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Actually, the pole star, Polaris, the North Star, is a symbol of constancy because it now sits in the spot which was called the axis mundi by the ancients. That spot in our heavens, where Thubin once stood, is what the ancients recognized as constant, not the star. Even the ancient Egyptians recognized this truth. All the stars that either sit in or rotate around that figurative or virtual spot in the heavens were called the "circumpolar stars," the "stars that never set" because they don't disappear over the horizon in their motion. The Big Dipper, mentioned by Pres. Hinckley, was recongized as the primary constellation among the circumpolar stars. The Egyptians fashoned an adze-like ritual tool that took on the shape of the Big Dipper to use in their resurrection ritual, known as the Opening of the Mouth or Eye. In discussing the Dipper and the North Star, Pres. Hinkley put himself dead center in LDS cosmological and prophetic tradition. Joseph Smith recognized the historical meaning of the Big Dipper and the North Star. (See the Homer Brown story.) So did Brigham Young, who placed a replica of the Big Dipper on the west wall of the Salt Lake Temple. It's strategically located so that the two stars on its cusp actually do point to Polaris, just as the acutal Dipper does. Thus, the North Star and the Big Dipper hold significant cosmological meaning in the Restored Gospel, a meaning that is completely lost on most Latter-day Saints. Making these and other connections is truly vital for our understand of our religion, but we never make that important connection because we fail to realize that cosmology was and is an intergal part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you don't believe me, try reading Moses or Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price. Their visions are all about stars and planets -- cosmology. We would do well as church members to investigate the cosmological roots of our religion instead of ignoring them as we do. Nibley nobley invested considerable time, research and ink in that endeavor in an effort to educate the Saints. Cosmology - a knowledge of the stars - is the key to the symbolic/metaphoric language of the prophets and their visions. It is the key to many of the neglected teachings and revelations of our founding prophet. And most important of all, it is the key to understanding the symbols on our temples and the rituals we enact within.
ReplyDeleteWhich goes back to the astrology of the Book of Abraham. It doesn't have to be %100 accurate in order to draw valuable spiritual lessons from it.
ReplyDeleteI've edited my post to clarify that it is tongue-in-cheek. I read Hinckley's talk the other day and found this article today. I thought it was funny.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of reading the scriptures in their ancient cosmological context and the spiritual insight (particularly the temple symbolism) that one derives from them by doing so. A large portion of my past posts discuss this in one way or another.
With my luck, some Anti will spot this post and say, "See! Even a Mormon knows that his prophet is a false one!"
Any browsing of my past posts (particularly those on Creation and the Temple) will demonstrate my own efforts and wish to understand the messages of the prophets more clearly.
ReplyDeleteFor example, see http://walkstar.blogspot.com/2010/05/our-heavenly-family.html
Great comment, by the way, Anthony. More on the axis mundi: "Being an axis mundi, the sacred city or temple is regarded as the meeting point of heaven, earth, and hell...According to Indian beliefs, Mount Meru rises at the center of the world, and above it shines the polestar. The Ural-Altaic peoples also know of a central mountain, Sumeru, to whose summit the polestar is fixed...Hell, the center of the earth, and the "gate" of the sky are, then, situated on the same axis, and it is along this axis that passage from one cosmic region to another was effected" (Mircea Eliade, The Myth of the Eternal Return, Princeton University Press, 1954: pgs. 12-13).
ReplyDeleteEliade is a great source for understanding the myths and traditions of ancient cultures, just as are Nibley and Campbell. However, the missing key in their work, as well as that of most current comparative mythologists is the literal reality of those concepts as they apply to our ancient heavens. (See "Hamlet's Mill," for example.) Most see these as invented, esoteric, mythic and metaphysical ideas, communicated anciently through the process of diffusion, having little to do with the real world. I see them as concrete realities, things seen in the ancient heavens by all people in antiquity. Hence, there is a commonality to all their concepts. For example, Mount Meru in Indian beliefs and Sumeru of the Ural-Altaic people, as you cited, becomes Mount Olympus in the Greek tradition and Mount Zion or Mount Megiddo (Har Meggidon -- Armageddon) in the Israelite tradition. It is the sacred, central mountain of all ancient tradition, of all ancient cultures, replicated in sacred, monumental structures called pyramids, zuggurats and stupas the world over. Tell me, how does a polestar become located at the summit of a central mountain, a meeting point between heaven and earth, in the minds of ancient mankind when such a construct is nonexistant in our heavens? How does said mountain equate to a "gate," as well as a stairway, path or ladder to heaven? Eliade has much to say about this mythic "stairway to heaven." How could people in farflung locations all see some local mountain as the axis of heaven and earth located beneath the pole star? These are physical impossibilities ... unless one recognizes that the cosmic mountain was not an earthly mountain at all, but a very real, enhanced auroral display in the north that took on the form of a pillar or mountain seen to connect heaven and earth anciently. That was the literal reality behind all these concepts of an axis mundi, sacred city or temple at the pole. It's the reason that our temples are called "the mountain of the Lord's house," a metaphorical allusion to this very ancient cosmic apparition seen the world over. Our traditional, cultural model of this pillar or mountain at the pole with a city, throne or temple at its summit is our Christmas Tree! And on the west wall of the Salt Lake Temple is an illustration in stone of Ursa Major, the Big Dipper, whose pointer stars on its cusp point precisely at Polaris, the North Star, where that cosmic, sacred mountain once stood. Remarkable coincidence? I think not. It is purposeful imagery colocated on that sacred wall by prophets of God to teach us an eternal truth. It literally shouts, "This temple is the earthly equivalant of that sacred temple that once stood anciently on the summit of the cosmic mountain in the north."
ReplyDeleteMay I respectfully suggest that you try exploring the monographs on my blog and my videos on You Tube to see all the accumulated evidence for my assertions regarding what Nibley dubbed "cosmism," and how all this relates to the Restored Gospel taught by Joseph Smith. You can find links to all my online resources at www.mormonprophecy.com. I hope you'll take a few moments to investigate these fascinating, expository ideas.
"With my luck, some Anti will spot this post and say, "See! Even a Mormon knows that his prophet is a false one!" "
ReplyDeleteThat is why I posted. I know you aren't like that.
Allen,
ReplyDeleteYou know me too well. I'm just too irreverent. ;-)
Anthony,
Thanks again for a great comment. I actually did check out your blog after your first comment. Obviously, I haven't been able to read everything you've posted, but I nonetheless found what I read very interesting (especially the information on Saturn). Thanks for dropping by.