A number of passages in the Hebrew Bible describe the temple and its iconography. Two of the features of the temple are the presence of cherubim and seraphim. These were well known to the writers of the Bible, but the images that spring to the modern western mind are probably not correct. I will demonstrate what the ancient iconography of these figures was and how we know that this is correct.
| Presented at: | 2020 Temple on Mount Zion Conference Saturday, November 7, 2020 https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2020-temple-on-mount-zion-conference/ |
| Conference Proceedings: | The Temple: Past, Present and Future at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/the-temple-past-present-and-future/ |
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Perhaps some may be interested in my simple minded thoughts about Cherubim and Seraphim. It is my understanding that both cherubim and seraphim are spirits and righteous spirits can be sent by God to minister to men. Joseph Smith explained that angels have advanced beyond being just spirits and are tabernacled in physical bodies, either translated or resurrected, and they can also minister to men. In speaking about the demise of Judge James Adams, Joseph said he was now the spirit of a just man made perfect and if revealed now he must be revealed in flaming fire (TPJS 325) and to my understanding it is because spirits of the just have no physical body which they could use to shield their glory. The concept of being enveloped in flaming fire seems to fit quite well with the meaning of the word Seraphim.
If Cherubim are also spirits there is only one other kind of righteous spirit that I am aware of and that is the spirit of someone who has not yet been born in the flesh. That would explain why cherubim were set to guard the way to the tree of life in the Garden of Eden, because at that time no one had yet died and entered the spirit world as the spirit of a just man made perfect.
So in my mind Cherubim are the spirits of the yet unborn and Seraphim are the spirits of righteous men who have been through mortality and were justified.