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LDS
FLAG™ SYMBOLISM
and Information LDS FLAG symbolizes: Faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ Repentance Baptism
by Immersion "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Acts 2:36 The
Gift of the Holy Ghost "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; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost." The Prophet Joseph Smith. REMEMBERING PROMISES MADE AT BAPTISM:
White also represents: the purity of
the heart; the Savior's atonement; the spotlessness of the repentant
spirit (a new and pure life); cleanliness of thought; word,
and deed; the radiance of great faith; the devotion of Zion;
the spirit of the Lord; the gift of the Holy Ghost; the celestial
kingdom; the clarity of eternal truths; the morning of the first
resurrection; constancy; valiancy; fidelity; eternity; wisdom;
happiness; joy; peace; and God's love for his children. More LDS Flag Information I
DIDN'T KNOW LDS HAD A FLAG? Joseph
Smith met in council at Nauvoo and made plans to move the church
to the West under a special banner. "Seek a healthful
and peaceful home for the Saints in the West where a specially
prepared ensign of truth or standard of liberty might be raised
as a beacon to all nations." Where Is Ensign Peak and why is it called Ensign Peak? Ensign Peak is the summit of a hill just north of downtown Salt Lake City; in fact, Salt Lake City was built exactly south of Ensign Peak. The peak rises 1,080 feet above the valley floor and stands out as a prominent geological formation evident from all directions. The summit is rounded, devoid of vegetation, and capped with a hard conglomerate stone formation. It is part of the foothills of the Wasatch Range. On 26 July 1847 Brigham Young and several others climbed to the top which he named "Ensign Peak," as he reported the event in his journal. They used the view from the summit to visually explore the entire valley. The significance of the name, according to the pioneers, comes from the biblical prophecy: "He will lift up an ensign unto the nations. . . . He lifteth up an ensign on the mountains." (Isa 5:26; 18:3). The pioneers did not erect the U.S. Flag on the Peak on 26, July 1847 as widely reported. Most church authorities point to Heber C. Kimball raising a handkerchief on a walking stick on their first ascending to the top of Ensign Peak, but it is clear they intended to raise a banner and did so on later occasions. Pioneer journals indicate that the LDS Flag's earliest display on Ensign Peak was during the first official Utah Pioneer Day in July of 1849 and raised in a celebration on Ensign Peak as their "Standard of the Nations." Isa. 2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the tops of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. WHERE CAN YOU FIND "ENSIGN" IN THE SCRIPTURES? Isa. 5: 26 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly: Isa. 11: 10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. Isa. 11: 12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Isa. 18: 3 All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. Isa. 30: 17 One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill. Isa. 31: 9 And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem. Zech. 9: 16 And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. 2 Ne. 15: 26 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth; and behold, they shall come with speed swiftly; none shall be weary nor stumble among them. 2 NE 21: 10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek; and his rest shall be glorious. 2 NE 21: 12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. D&C 64: 42 And she shall be an ensign unto the people, and there shall come unto her out of every nation under heaven. D&C 105: 39 And lift up an ensign of peace, and make a proclamation of peace unto the ends of the earth; D&C 113: 6 Behold, thus saith the Lord, it is a descendant of Jesse, as well as of Joseph, unto whom rightly belongs the priesthood, and the keys of the kingdom, for an ensign, and for the gathering of my people in the last days. Source: Joseph Smith, History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ed. B. H. Roberts, 6:528. Deseret News, April 16, 1853, Minutes of General Conference Church News - Unfurling of Truth's Banner on 'Zion's Hill' Commemorated by Hundreds at Annual Hike,' July 31, 1993 Journal of Mormon History, 1982, Vol 9, p85-111 David L. Bigler, Forgotten Kingdom, 1998, p48. E. Cecil McGavin, The Nauvoo Temple, 1962, p41 John D. Lee, Journal, 13 January 1846, Church Historical Department. Wilford Woodruff, Journal, 29 May 1847, Church Historical Department. Joseph F. Smith,The Encyclopedia of LDS History, Vol 2, p155-156. Journal of Discourse 1:188 delivered 9 June 1853;.Vol 13, p85. Mary E. Lightner, Journal, June of 1844. Council of twelve minutes, Outside Nauvoo, March 17, 1846. Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church, 3:275-278. Hymns of The Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, High On A Mountain Top, p.5; The Morning Breaks, p.1; They, The Builders of the Nation, p. 36. Blue and white used by ancient Israel
There were blue/purple and white colors used by Israel in the
ancient dye tekhelet, mentioned many times in the bible (Numbers
15:37-39). This color was used to dye a thread of the ritual
fringes, or tzitzit that all Jewish males are commanded to wear,
and which are tied to the corners of the ritual garment, the
tallit. This is a specific color, derived from the dye produced
by the snail Murex trunculus, known in Hebrew as the hilazon.
This is the same dye known historically as Tyrian purple. The
confusion of shades comes from the fact (rediscovered recently)
that when wool dyed with the dye from Murex was exposed to sunlight,
the dye became a bright blue, but when the dyed wool was hidden
from light, the color produced was that of royal purple. This
change is due to the exposure of the compound dibromoindigo
(purple) to ultraviolet light, producing the compound indigo
(blue, chemically identical to the vegetable dye). These two
colors were seen as deriving from the same natural source (the
Hebrew word argaman was used for the purple shade). This color
is of immense symbolic importance in Judaism and was used in
many articles in the Temple in Jerusalem as well, including
the outer robe of the high priest. It is frequently said that the Israeli flag (Blue and White) is designed (1948) to resemble a Jewish prayer shawl (tallit). The fringes, as worn in antiquity (on many garments, not just prayer shawls — any four-cornered garment must have them, and garments of that kind [e.g. togas] were more widely worn back then; now, without such garments, the prayer shawls are specially made) and again by many today, are both white and blue, with the white, in some opinions, outnumbering the blue. It is said that when the source and process of dying was lost about 1500 years ago, and Jews were left with only white threads (a practice anticipated and approved of by the Talmud, the corpus of Jewish law, about three hundred years earlier), they began to incorporate colored stripes into their garments to commemorate the lost blue threads (with white still predominating, as it may have on the threads themselves, leaving colored stripes on a white garment). The color here was not important, as it was only custom — there are all-white shawls, white-on-white stripes, rainbow stripes, and many others. Black came to predominate, at least in Europe. This may be because black dye was cheapest, or because of a misreading of Maimonides' law code — he uses a word which could mean either "dark" or "black" to describe the original, fringe-dye. He obviously means "dark," as in "dark blue," as the fact that it was blue was well known (see below), and he was limiting it (other opinions range from reddish or purplish blue all the way to greenish blue or green). However, some read this as "black" and dyed their stripes accordingly. Others, however, especially in Africa and Asia, had their stripes the original blue. I have even heard an opinion that this was an ancient practice, dating to when dyed fringes were worn — the shawl was dyed to match the threads, white with some blue (stripes). With the blue fringes lost, some changed the stripes to black, so it would only be a commemeration. The Rev. Ezra Stiles of Yale University in the 18th Century reports that Rabbi Isaac Carigal, an emmissary from Turkey and Israel, wore blue stripes on his tallit, by the way. And why blue? The Talmud explains that it is meant to evoke the sea, both in color as well as in source (a sea snail). The sea's color reminds us of the heavens' color (blue), and, of course, heaven reminds us of God. Scorce: On Ancient Israel Blue can be found at the website http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/index.html |
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