….We Seek After These Things!

My third installment of understand religious symbology will discuss the book A Guide to Scriptural Symbols, by Joseph Fielding McConkie and Donald W. Parry.
I have to give a shameless plug to Brother Parry; after all he used to be my gospel doctrine teacher and put up with me debating and asking questions. He once told me he didnt mind because it kept him on his toes, I appreciated his patience because he helped me to understand and not just take things because someone said so.

The book is somewhat like a reference book. It is set up in Three sections.
1^st. It discusses scriptural symbols. Words are set up in alphabetical order so if you find something you want to understand all you have to do is look it up and read what is there.
2^nd It discusses Symbols, Names and Titles for Deity. I have found this section to be so enlightening that many doctrines that people have issue with can become clearer just by reading this section. Obscure and difficult concepts are turned into Ah-Ah moments that can aid in understanding how the prophets have taught us about the love of God.
One of the biggest for me is the first one mentioned, Adam as a title for the Son of God because he was the first born into immortality. It is just one of the many to think about when pondering the scriptures.
3^rd- It outlines Symbolic and Theophoric names.
The introduction talks about 2 important things to understand when reading the scriptures and trying to understand the levels of symbolism they contain.

First you need to be guided in all instances by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost. It is through him that we are taught and can be lead to further truths than what might be immediately noticed.
Second you need to have a firm grasp, and understanding of the plan of salvation. If you do not have good gospel scholarship it will be harder to learn and expand your knowledge by symbolism.

To interpret Scriptural symbols you need to understand the 7 figures of speech as follows.
1. Metaphors- Thisis that one thing is or represents another, or comparison by representation. An example of this is the phrase, The Lord is my Shepherd.
2. Similes- A declaration that one thing resembles another, or comparison by resemblance. An example of this is He shall grow as a tender plant.
3. Hypocatastasis, or implication. This is a declaration that implies the resemblance or representation; or comparison by implication. An example of this is the statement Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine.
4. Symbols revealed in plain language. Nephi receives the meaning of Lehis dream. What meaneth the rod of iron….?…. It was the word of God.
5. Metonymy. This is a figure by which one name or noun is used instead of another, to which it stands in a certain relation. Neither shall the sword go through your landSword meaning war.
6. Synecdoche or transfer. This is the exchange of one idea for another associated idea. An example is the instances where blood is used to represent a persons guilt, not his actual blood.
7. Scriptural parallelisms. This is a huge topic and not one I explain or understand very well. An example of this is that mountain is a symbol for temple.

All of these figures of speech are discussed in a book referenced by the authors, titled Figures of Speech Used in the Bible by Bullinger.

If there is one thing I can stress further is the need for the guidance of the Holy Ghost. I am just learning how to read symbols in the scriptures and applying them to my life. If you study pray and read as you ponder these thoughts you never know when the Holy Ghost will teach you something that you had never understood before. As you do this many other things will begin to open your minds and hearts, particularly temple ordinances and the teaching that can be found there. This book is worth having just for the reference material. I have it underlined and marked, it is amazing to me that amount of information in this book that is not quite 200 pages. I am of course someone that is willing to learn from the hard work and understanding of others. I am very grateful for people that have this ability to understand principles, teach them clearly, and are morethan willing to share of this gift.
I hope you could find this work beneficial in your study of the scriptures.