Category Archives: Priesthood

The Jewish Legends of Jacob vs. Esau: The Birthright and the Blessing

By David Larsen | Published: March 4, 2010

I have had a crazy week, so all I have to offer on this week’s Old Testament Lesson 10 (“Birthright Blessings; Marriage in the Covenant) is two excerpts from Ginzberg’s Legends of the Jews. Now I realize that this work is not the best resource for reliable or primary-source material, but it is very interesting [...]

Also posted in Doctrinal Issues, LDS Interest, Scripture | Tagged birthright, blessing, Esau, garments, Ginzberg, Isaac, Israel, Jacob, Lesson 10, Old Testament, Scripture, Sunday School | 2 Comments

Melchizedek: King, Priest, and God and the Forbidden Degrees

By David Larsen | Published: February 1, 2010

The title of this post is actually somewhat deceptive as it implies that the post is going to be about Melchizedek, who can be considered a king, a priest, and also a god, and about the “Forbidden Degrees” (sounds tantalizing, eh?), which the title seems to suggest have some connection to Melchizedek. Well, as far [...]

Also posted in Apocalypticism/Mysticism, Doctrinal Issues, Early Christianity, Early Judaism, LDS Interest, Religious Scholars, Scripture, Temple | Tagged Andrei Orlov, Deification, First Temple, Hebrew Bible, High Priest, James Davila, Marquette, Melchizedek, Melchizedek Priesthood, Priesthood, Psalms, Qumran, Temple | 4 Comments

The Temple Studies Group Symposium III: Laurence P. Hemming

By David Larsen | Published: November 13, 2009

Laurence Hemming is one of the co-founders of the Temple Studies Group. He is currently a Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of Lancaster and a Fellow, tutor in Philosophy and Liturgy, and member of the Advisory Board, of St. Bede's Hall, an independent Catholic College in Oxford. He [...]

Also posted in Scholarly Conferences, Temple | Tagged chrism, conference, consecration, holy oils, Laurence Hemming, London, Priesthood, Roman Catholic, Temple Church, Temple Studies Group, Temple Studies Group Symposium, UK | 1 Comment

Temple Studies Symposium III: Archimandrite Ephrem

By David Larsen | Published: November 4, 2009

The Holy Oil in the Orthodox Church Although Prof. John Hall’s presentation was next after Dr. Barker’s, I am still working on the notes for his talk, so I will now post my notes from the esteemed Archimandrite Ephrem’s presentation covering the use of the anointing oil in the Orthodox Church, or, as he termed it, [...]

Also posted in News and Events, Religious Scholars, Scholarly Conferences, Temple | Tagged Anointing Oil, Archimandrite Ephrem, Baptism, Chrismation, Confirmation, Healing, Holy Anointing Oil, Myron, Olive Oil, Orthodox Church, Symposium, Temple Church, Temple Studies Group | 3 Comments

RBL Review of Margaret Barker’s “The Hidden Tradition of the Kingdom of God”

By David Larsen | Published: August 23, 2009

I apologize for the dearth of good, solid posts recently. As we have been preparing for our move to Scotland, I haven’t had much time for blogging. I’ll be spending some time in Utah for the next few weeks and then we are off to the UK, so I probably won’t be very settled until [...]