Temple Institute in Jerusalem “Sons of Aaron Prepare an Offering to the Lord”- The Dress Rehearsal

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Animal sacrifice Temple Institute

Sons of Aaron being instructed on the ceremony of animal sacrifice

“…For  the sons of Moses and also the sons of Aaron shall offer an acceptable offering and sacrifice in the house of the Lord, which house shall be built unto the Lord in this generation, upon the consecrated spot as I have appointed”  D&C 84:31

To recap, I was introduced to the Temple Institute in 2009 and since that time I have eagerly watched the events surrounding the Temple Mount in Jerusalem via the facebook group. You can find my first post here. The Temple Institute is a Jewish religious organization dedicated to every part of the commandment to build the Third Temple. The members of the Temple Institute, lead by Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, combine prayer and mourning ( Tish’ab’Av) with the Principle of Action.

Rabbi Ariel clearly demonstrates in his writings, the belief and conviction, as emphasized by Torah scholars and luminaries of earlier generations, that every generation is obligated to do all within its power towards rebuilding the Holy Temple. This, as opposed to those who believe that we must wait for the Messiah to arrive before it can be rebuilt.

 

Rabbi Ariel

Rabbi Yisrael Ariel instructing the Kohanim-in-training

On August 20, 2013, the Temple Institute along with the Mishmeret Kehunah (the Organization for the Renewal of the Priestly Shifts) created a new school dedicated to teaching the Kohanim (descendants of Aaron) the art of performing the temple services.

That evening, for the first time since the destruction of the Holy Temple, a historic practice drill of the daily Tamid offering was reenacted by a group of contemporary kohanim-in-training.  This event brings the time of the renewal of the Divine service closer than ever before!

 

The kohanim-in-training went thru a semi-dress rehearsal of the entire daily service from start to finish, reenacted step by step. All these activities as described in the Mishna and other sources of Torah understanding.The kohanim were dressed in the sacred priestly garments, manufactured for temple ceremony, and were barefoot, as shoes are forbidden  within the confines of the Holy Temple. The August 20th evening was described as:

“An atmosphere of great excitement prevailed throughout the entire evening and profoundly affected all those assembled – ‘players’ and audience alike. All were emotionally charged and visibly moved with the knowledge that here in Jerusalem, these sacred tasks are being reenacted, for the purpose of studious preparation, for the first time since the destruction of the Holy Temple. Despite the limited space and all the typical pressure which accompany first time efforts, the overall effect was spell-binding, as we witnessed a sacred ceremony, first described in Torah four thousand years ago, yet not attended to for two thousand years of exile, suddenly come to life before our very eyes. All at once, ancient texts and descriptions took shape as today’s descendants of Aaron, the first high priest and father of all kohanim, worked diligently to perform their assigned tasks.”

 

Welcome Back Sons of Aaron! I join with you in the hope you will soon, and once again, perform your sacred tasks in the 3rd Temple.

Also interesting to note, the destruction of ancient Jewish temple artifacts, by Waqf a Jordanian Muslim organization that controls the Temple Mount. Also the holes that have opened up beneath the Al-Aqsa (near the Dome of the Rock) Mosque. 

Also, if you visit Israel, you may tour the Temple Institute Visitor’s Center.

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About JA Benson

Joanna entered the world as a BYU baby. Continuing family tradition, she graduated BYU with a degree in Elementary Education and taught for several years. Growing up in Salt Lake County, her favorite childhood hobbies were visiting cemeteries and eavesdropping on adult conversations. Her ancestral DNA is multi-ethnic and she is Mormon pioneer stock on every familial line. Joanna resides in the Southeastern USA with her five children ranging in age from 8 to 24. Her husband passed away in 2009. She is an avid reader and a student of history. Her current intellectual obsession is Sephardic Jewish history, influence and genealogy. She served as a board member for her local chapter of Families with Children from China. She is the author of “DNA Mormons?” Summer Sunstone 2007 http://www.bycommonconsent.com/2007/04/dna-mormons/ and “Becoming Hong Mei`s Mother” in the Winter Sunstone 2009 http://theredbrickstore.com/sunstone/becoming-hong-meis-mother/.

16 thoughts on “Temple Institute in Jerusalem “Sons of Aaron Prepare an Offering to the Lord”- The Dress Rehearsal”

  3. If the Jews build their temple again, it will be with blood upon their hands, same as the temple of Solomon. The Lord commanded David in Chronicles 28:3 “Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou art a man of war, and hast shed much blood.”

    Likewise, the 3rd temple will only be built after stealing and desecrating the third most holy site in the world to 1.6 billion people, which the Muslims have owned since the 600s.

    Yes, the Jews will slaughter the Arabs with a great slaughter, just as they have been doing for the past decades, with billions of dollars in millitary support from the US, they will reclaim the temple mount, build their temple in unrighteousness, just like Herod did, and the world will rise up against their incredible wickedness, and I will surely stand with the world against them. Then Jesus will come and forgive them, just as He did when He came the first time.

  4. Sorry…I shouldn’t have barged in there with my anti-zionist sentiments. Of course the temple mount is of great interest to Mormons, and this was an interesting post.

  5. Nate, I appreciate your comments. Civil discourse is a good thing. I am biased toward Israel. I consider myself a descendant of the Jews. I do feel sympathy for the Palestine people, but I believe, the majority, are pawns in the hands of wicked powerful men.

    In regards to the area around the Dome of the Rock, the Islamic world acts like a spoiled child, who, when a playmate wants to play with their neglected toy, suddenly that toy becomes the most beloved toy. The al-Aqsa Mosque has not always been so beloved by the Muslim people. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwm3ExzoWbQ

    Not so sacred of a site, that a Muslim Brotherhood Rally calling for all our deaths, happens on the sacred site. See: http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2013/07/pro-muslim-brotherhood-demonstration-at-al-aqsa-mosque-us-france-britain-to-be-destroyed.html

    The area around the Dome of the Rock is very unstable. See:
    http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/What-is-Beneath-the-Temple-Mount.html and
    http://www.disclose.tv/news/Collapse_reported_on_Temple_Mount_near_the_Al_Aqsa_Mosque/92878

    The Muslims are blaming the Jews; the Jews are blaming the Muslims. The fact is, It is the Waqf who is digging under the fragile soil. See: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/7094#.Ui39R-BCcTM

    It would not take much of an earthquake to bring down the Mount. See: http://www.haaretz.com/news/recent-tremors-raise-fears-of-potentially-destructive-earthquake-1.239408

    The Jordanian-Palestinian Waqf is in control of the Dome of the Rock site. It has been so since 1967. See: http://www.jewishisrael.org/eng_contents/articles/73/Templmtreport.html

    Jews are not allowed to pray at all. If they whisper the “Shema” they are arrested. See:
    http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23924/Default.aspx
    http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/more-jews-arrested-for-praying-on-temple-mount/2012/10/03/

    Now the Muslims want to take away the right to pray at the Western Wall See:
    http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/09/08/30-arabs-arrested-in-rosh-hashanah-riots-on-temple-mount/

    It might not be a bloody takeover, or it might be. Probably will be horrific, but maybe not. The Temple Institute does not need a “building” a tent-like tabernacle will do. Also, it was remarkable to me as an adult, when the “Wall” dividing Germany just came down without a single shot fired. I never could have imagined the scenerio of events that not only brought down the wall, but the USSR as well. I pray something similar will happen.

  6. Thanks JA for the response to some of my issues. I used to be pro-Israel myself, like most Mormons. This subject was close to my heart because I recently visited my brother-in-law who is a UN worker in the West Bank, and I got to see a lot of Palestine and meet Palestinians, and hear lots of horror stories, see the Israeli bulldozers with bullet-proof glass that mow down Palestinian homes, and the fortress-like settlements marring the landscape like giant tumors. I came back from my trip very anti-Israel, and much less optimistic for any peaceful solution to the apartheid state there.

    To their credit, the Jews have not yet driven the Palestinians from the Temple Mount, and there are many moderate and liberal voices in Israel fighting for a two-state solution. This is remarkable, because the Jews could easily wipe Palestine off map, and decimate every Arab capital with the IAF at the same time. So I recognize that what looks like inhumane Israeli aggression is still quite tame by what it could be, and for what many Zionists and Orthodox are screaming for.

    I know both Muslims and Jews have mutually exclusive, fundamentalist world-views, but my prejudice is that Jews should know better, as they are an educated, first world culture, unlike their Palestinian counterparts. But when I realized that Orthodox Jews read the entire Book of Psalms every week of their lives, with its constant petitions to God to destroy their enemies, I realize I am being way too optimistic about the Jews. They worship an Old Testament God of war, a God who commanded them to slaughter the Canaanites and steal their land. Jesus tried to explain that only the meek would inherit the earth, and that they should love and bless their enemies, but they crucified him for it. They haven’t changed much. Some Orthodox Jews throw rocks at cars driving on the Yom Kippur, and I saw them walking down the center lanes of major highways on the Sabbath in Jerusalem. So I’ve lost all hope of any kind of reason or compromise prevailing with this lot.

    So when Jesus comes back to the 3rd temple, I hope he will bring a whip again, and drive out the den of thieves.

  7. I can see I went overboard again with the inflammatory rhetoric, sorry about that. I think I’m just trying to process all of this, and its difficult because it encompasses the contradictions we as Mormons also face because of our love for the Jews, and our love for the Old Testamant.

  8. Nate I appreciate your point of view. I have had Muslims friends in the past. My kids have Muslim friends. I think I even gave the Muslim Brotherhood $20 in Richardson, TX 20 years ago when I did not know who they really were. 🙂 There are jerks and good people on every side. I think with both peoples, with all the unrest and inflamed passions; coupled with guns and bombs pointing at everyone in every direction; bad feelings and PTSD get piled up fast. Judging from me and mine with our DNA; we Mediterranean/Middle Eastern types are a passionate hot-headed bunch!

    The real point of my post is, significant events ( i.e. Biblical prophesies) are possibly happening in the Middle East and I am giving you all the heads up. I have been impressed with the Temple Institute. I enjoy knowing what is happening on the Temple Mount, on a almost daily basis. Just know, when the “Sons of Aaron offer a righteous offering to the Lord”, on the stone alter; the Bensons donated $50 dollars for it’s construction! Legacy!

    Also as an aside, to put in a plug for the Reformed Jews in Middle Tennessee; they are a wonderful loving kind people. They pray for Israel and they repent for the actions taken against the Palestinians by Israelis. I think it helps to be extra civilized when we are raised and live in such a wonderful place as suburban America. Others, not as fortunate, can be a product of their environment. G-d knows; and you and I know, only He can judge.

  9. I agree with JA that the Palestinians are a pawn. Those that live inside of Israel have the right to vote and be citizens (as long as they are peaceful). Those who have been refugees in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon and elsewhere for 50 years are still refugees, having never been offered citizenship in the lands they now have lived in for 2 generations.

    Israel is really rather kind to them, considering history. Back in the early 1950s, Arafat was actively protesting the Jordanian king, insisting Palestinians be given full power in Jordan. The king offered to share power, but Arafat refused. After several years of terrorism, the king did the only thing he could do: he started slaughtering Palestinians by the thousands. After a couple years of this, Arafat backed down and selected a new target: Israel. The Palestinian people are still pawns to radicals that seek the destruction of Israel.
    The Palestinians and others have done a lot of damage to Israel, as well. During one intifada, they destroyed the sacred grave of Joseph of Old. The Waqf are destroying sacred artifacts at the temple site, hauling tons of material out of the area via dump truck, so they can build another mosque underground.
    We tend to demand Israel to play fair, but don’t expect the same thing from the Arabs. There are many victims on both sides here.

    On a side note, do you feel this fulfills the prophesy of John the Baptist as he ordained Joseph and Oliver?

    “Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.”

    Does this practice offering satisy the demand, or must it be an offering done inside the completed temple?

  10. rame- The photos you see and what the Temple Insititute is reporting is the preparation for the fulfillment of this prophesy. Rabbi Ariel is training the Kohanim on “how to do” the ceremonies. At such time, the Lord sees fit, plans are in in place to rush the tools, the clothes, and the altar to the top of the Temple Mount. At that time, the true rites will be performed.

  11. Thank you for the post. I appreciate what you have observed. It has given me a lot to think about and consider especially considering todays anniversary.

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