from Dad

Dear family,   Grandma has returned to Tampico from her fortnight fling in the scenic Great Lakes Rust Belt and the balmy Canadian Riviera, bringing home a vivid, blow-by-blow account of her international adventures that took approximately five hours for her to deliver and two days for me to digest.  Except for her near-death experience while squatting on Mary's water closet, she apparently had a smashing visit with her two favorite children (Just kidding. She doesn't have favorites).   While Grandma was away I couldn't exercise because I had to be at the temple all day, and besides that I got so many lunch and dinner invitations that I actually gained weight.  I'm gradually working it off, but for now, just call me El Gordo.   With nothing else to do for two weeks, I decided to read a book about temples that Steve and Rachael gave me (The Gate of Heaven, by Matthew B. Brown).  It was so interesting that I could not put it down.  The book begins with the earliest temples, including natural temples like the Garden of Eden, Mount Moriah, Bethel and other sacred places Where God appeared to Adam and Eve, Enoch, Abraham, Jacob and others to give them what could be called an endowment and/or a celestial marriage.  Then it discusses Moses' attempt to have the children of Israel receive the same priesthood ordinances on Mount Sinai, but after they worshiped a golden calf, Moses was allowed to give them only the Mosaic law as a schoolmaster and the Aaronic priesthood, together with a mobile temple called the Tabernacle.  This was eventually replaced by Solomon's temple, which had the same design but was exactly twice as big and much more ornate.    The book describes the priest's purification rites and royal marriage ceremonies that took place in the Tabernacle and Solomon's temple to show their similarity to modern temple rituals.  Then it documents the continuation of these rituals by the early Christian Church during the time of the apostles and for hundreds of years afterward, showing the type of white clothing worn and the marks on the garments.  The similarity to what we do in our temples today is amazing: creation scenes, the garden of Eden, and the lone and dreary world, then the veil, prayer circle, tokens, marks, and entry into God's rest (the actual or symbolic presence of God).  The last part of the book gives a detailed account of all the rites and ordinances carried out in the Kirtland temple and the Nauvoo temple, followed by a discussion of the origins of Masonic rites (Many of the rites, marks and symbols were borrowed by medievel stone-mason guilds from apostate Catholic and Orthodox priestly rites, some of which are still in use today).  If any of you are interested, I would be happy to discuss this book in more detail with you individually sometime.   Tomorrow we spend all day in the temple.  Got to hit the sack.   Love you all,   Grampa Bentley