“The Veil of the Temple was Rent in Twain” (Matthew 27:51)

Right after Jesus Christ “yielded up the ghost” (Matthew 27:50) upon the cross the scriptures record that the “veil of the temple was rent in twain”. There is much controversy on what this symbolized in the tumultuous religious world of doctrine and opinion. Having this questions recently posed to me, as an intellectual myself I was interested to see what it implied from not only an LDS perspective but from the perspective of many Christian denominations, how they differ, and how they are similar.

First I think it is incredibly important that we establish (for the sake of understanding between reader and writer) what exactly the purpose of the veil in the temple was both in Old Testament times, New Testament times, and (for the LDS among the audience) modern times as well. Exodus 26:33 in the King James publication of the Bible reads that the vail (as spelled in this verse) “shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy.” Within the same chapter, the verses go on to explain that the veil was designed to cover the ark, the mercy seats, and the symbol of divine presence. The word “veil” in Hebrew means a screen, divider or separator that hides. So what was the veil hiding exactly? Essentially its main purpose was to obscure the view of the individual from the divine. To many it stood, and still stands, as a figurative and literal obstacle between mankind and God.

The book: Temples of the Ancient World edited by Dr. Donald W. Parry explained that “throughout the ancient world, the veil of the temple is the barrier between ourselves and both the hidden and mysteries of the temple and the boundless expanses of cosmic space beyond” (Parry 572). The book goes on to explain that a veil was used rather than a door to show that the barrier between the spiritual and the secular is not completely impenetrable and that messengers could pass through it. This idea is also set forth by a passage well known by Latter Day Saints: “The veil was taken from our minds, and the eyes of our understanding were opened” (Doctrine and Covenants 110:1). In this verse it is not a physical veil like the woven tapestry of the tabernacle and the temple but rather a figurative spiritual veil that kept the Saints of this dispensation from understanding the things of God.

Religions and secular scholars alike acknowledge the fact that in Old Testament times anyone except the high priest who entered the Holy of Holies would die. Even the high priest, God’s chosen mediator with His people, could only pass through the veil and enter this sacred dwelling once a year, on a prescribed day called the Day of Atonement. In order to cross the barrier between man and God this high priest had to make special preparations.  He had to wash himself, put on special clothing, bring burning incense to let the smoke cover his eyes from a direct view of God, and bring blood with him to make atonement for sins. In his letter to the Hebrews Paul explains: “But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people” (Hebrews 9:7). To put it simply, the high priest was a mediator between the people and God who made sacrifices within the realm of the holy of holies

So what exactly did the tearing of this sacred veil mean? Well in light of what has previously been discussed the tearing of the veil was essentially the rending of the barrier between man and God. With Christ’s death, suddenly man could again return to God despite being a sinner, through the atonement and blood of Jesus Christ. Many Christian faiths, for some reason, uphold the notion that Latter Day Saints under appreciate this important fact by claiming that because they claim to have a prophet, who acts as a mediator for the entire Church before God, they do not believe that they need Christ to approach the Father. However in Doctrine and Covenant (a compilation of modern revelations from receive by the modern day Prophet Joseph Smith from Jesus the Christ)  in Section 45 there is a beautiful verse about this belief in the words of Christ himself which reads “Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him- saying: Father, behold the suffering and death of him who did no sin, in who thou was well pleased, behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified; Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life.” (D&C 45:3-5). So thus far the beliefs are the same. To both denominations the renting of the veil represented the dissolution of the barrier between God and man.

Referencing once again Paul’s letter to the Hebrews he relates to them “Having therefore brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh” (Hebrews 10:19-20). I’m no expert on the Bible, however let me propose that this scripture is essentially saying that Christ established a “new and living way” for us to return to God, that is that through him and his atonement we can return to the presence of God by means of repentance. During his Earthly ministry Christ taught “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). With the rending of the veil this was reaffirmed. To go along with what the Bible teaches about the need for atonement the Book of Mormon confirms “Wherefore it must needs be an infinite atonement- save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, the flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth to rise no more.” (2 Nephi 9:7)  This means that without the atonement of Christ we would have no hope of getting back to God. The splitting of the shroud as Christ’s death symbolized that opportunity. Abinadi, a prophet of the Book of Mormon admonishes the wicked of his time “And now, ought ye not to tremble and repent of your sin, and remember that only in and through Christ ye can be saved?” (Mosiah 16:13)

Yet another question remains from all this; It seems that all Christians (yes even Latter Day Saints) believe that with the death of Christ and the rending of the veil our journey back to God was no longer hindered by our sins because of the blood of the Lamb of God. So why the need for a priesthood? Why the need for modern revelation and a prophet? If Christ acts as our mediator and advocate before the Father why do we need revelation today if we can receive it ourselves? Though there are many answers (which I wholeheartedly invite you to learn about by studying the Book of Mormon and asking me if you so desire) it essentially comes down to the need for ordinances such as baptism. When Christ was baptized he taught “Except a man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5)  Thus the Son of God puts forth the need for baptism. If we are not baptized we cannot return to the presence of God. Another witness of the importance of baptism comes in the Book of Matthew. When Christ comes forward to be baptized by John, the Elias refuses, claiming he [John] , if anything, has need to be baptized by Christ. The Lord responds “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:15) So baptism is meant to fulfill all righteousness. What in the world does it mean to fulfill all righteousness? Again humor me and refer to your Book of Mormon. Nephi (another prophet of the Book of Mormon) provides a great clarification when he says “Know ye not that he (Christ) was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that , according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments... And again it showeth unto men the straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which they should enter, he having set the example before them” (2 Nephi 31:6,9).  Well there you have it my friends. Christ was setting the example for us (He is the ultimate example after all) and in being baptized He demonstrated His will to submit to the Father and showed us that “For wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14); so must we demonstrate our willingness to submit to His will and be baptized.

Now, let me clarify something very important. Latter Day Saints do not believe that it is ONLY through baptism that we are saved (though we will always uphold that baptism is a stepping stone towards salvation). A literal article of our faith declares “We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, second, repentance, third, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins and fourth, the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Article of Faith #4). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints if often accused of believing that it is through works, not faith, that we are saved. However in the Book of Mormon Christ teaches us “My grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me: for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them” (Ether 12:27). We believe that. We believe that Christ’s grace is sufficient to save us. We believe in the importance of works as a demonstration of our love before God. Many opposers of the Church will use the scripture 2 Nephi 25:34 which says “it is by grace that we are saved after all we can do.” Yet what gets me is no one ever asks us “what exactly is all that you can do?” The answers can once again be found in the book which we uphold as doctrine from God, the Book of Mormon. Alma 24:11 reads “And now behold my brethren since it has been all that we could do, (as we were the most lost of all mankind) to repent of all our sins and the many murders which we have committed, and to get God to take them away from our hearts, for it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God that he would take our sins.” Faith, repentance, baptism, keeping the commandments, obedience, diligence, continuing in humility and enduring in faithfulness to the end: those are examples of our works. Those are things that we can do for ourselves. Then comes God’s grace. He forgives us because we cannot forgive ourselves only after we repent. Asking a Latter Day Saint if we believe we are saved by grace or by works is like asking if we prefer to cut with one blade of the scissors or the other. In our minds you need both because you cannot receive grace without accepting Christ ( a work) and you cannot accept Christ without his mercy being extended towards you (grace).

So certain ordinances are necessary for our salvation (though these ordinances have no bearing without the atonement and grace found through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ). These ordinances, such as baptism, cannot be performed without the priesthood. Since I do not want to stretch your synapses any further than I already have with all that I’ve shared with you up to this point I will leave you with a leading verse of sorts to prepare you for my next post. In the first epistle of Peter, Christ’s senior apostle writes to the Christians of old and to the Saints of today “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;” (1 Peter 2:9).  The prophets of the Book of Mormon only second the need for the priesthood when Alma explains “Now they were ordained after this manner- being called with a holy calling, and ordained with a holy ordinance, and taking upon them the high priesthood of the holy order, which calling, and ordinance, and high priesthood, is without beginning or end-“(Alma 13:8). It has been a pleasure my friends. I hope you have been enlightened and edified by what you have taken the time to read. May the Lord bless you until you read again.