I love the story of Cinderella. I don’t know what it is, the idea of dancing at a ball, the glass slipper, the ugly step-sisters, don’t know what it is. I just really like this story and I like all the old and modern versions I’ve seen and read. It’s just a delight.
So, here we are again in a kingdom far, far away. However, in this particular story our heroine is not necessarily royal. She comes from wealth and prominence, but that’s all we know of the situation. In the earliest stories she has no name in the beginning. Cinderella is a name of derision given by the step-sisters. We do know that her mother dies and her father re-marries. Sounds like Snow White, doesn’t it?
In all of these stories the father figure is pretty uninvolved in what’s going on under his own nose, so many versions assume he dies. I’d like to think these father figures represent the world, or mortality - this world in which we live - a place of opposites and opposition. These fairy stories also come out of a time where men did not pay much attention to family matters. The woman of the house was responsible for hearth and home. The man was responsible for work and money. It was rare for either one to cross the line into another’s world, in fact, it was strongly discouraged. In our version of Cinderella from “Best Loved Fairy Tales,” compiled by Joanna Cole, the father of Cinderella is alive and well, but unaware of what is happening. Whatever the reason for his indifference, he does not cross the line and interfere in the doings of the household, the domain of his wife, even as it relates to his daughter. He is as impartial as mortality, which allows each of us to make our own choices.
The woman father marries has two daughters of her own which she brings into the family, and like most mothers, she can’t help putting her own children first. Jealous of Cinderella’s beauty, she assigns the girl servants work, gives her rags to wear, and no place to sleep but in the kitchen with the cinders. Her own daughters are given fine clothes to wear and no chores at all. They are pampered and given every privilege. The soot on Cinderella’s face cannot mask her beauty, and the fine clothes of the step sister’s cannot hide their ugliness.
So who are all these women?
I believe we can identify Cinderella as the Church of God. And just as the nickname “Christian,’ originally meant as an insult, becomes the positive definition of a follower of Christ, Cinderella comes to mean one raised from a lowly to an exalted place. Cinderella is beautiful and her nature is kind, compassionate and humble. She serves without complaint in an unfair situation.
We can pin-point the step-mother as the whore of all the earth. The usurper. She is very like the vain queen from Snow White. She likes prominence and social status and teaches her daughters the same values. She is jealous of Cinderella’s beauty and so thrusts her out of her site and into obscurity.
But who are these step-sisters? This took some pondering and piecing bits of history together, but I think I know who they represent. Let’s look at the history of Western Civilization at the time of the Apostosy.
In the year 306 A.D., a roman by the name of Constantine, the son of a Breton woman and a Roman military ruler, Constantius, had managed to maneuver himself into a position as one of the 3 rulers of Rome after the death of the emperor Diocletian (a severe persecutor of Christians and Christianity). His parents were not married and so by Roman standards, he was illegitimate, with no right to rule. But he had learned well from his father and was a great military strategist. He was not content to be one of three rulers and over the next few years managed to war his way to the title of “Augustus Caesar.”
It is reported that Constantine had a dream before his final battle with his last rival. Quoting Wickepedia, “Eusebius describes another version, where, while marching at midday, ‘he saw with his own eyes in the heavens a trophy of the cross arising from the light of the sun, carrying the message, In Hoc Signo Vinces or "In this sign, you will conquer."’ The sign is described as the Chi Rho, the Greek sign for Christ. It is said Constantine put that sign on himself and all his soldiers, and because of it, won the day.
As emperor, Constantine, elevated Christianity from a persecuted sect of Jews to the state religion - with a few changes to doctrine, of course. The Church in Rome grew under state funds. Constantine then moved the capital of his government from the city of Rome to the small town of Byzantium (present day Istanbul in Turkey) and renamed it Constantinople. There were now two competing capitals - and two competing Churches. And they hated each other.
During the apostasy, there were many crying lo here and lo there, but none were as big, as wealthy and as powerful as the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church. They both claimed authority from the Apostle Peter. They had wars with each other. They each called the other heretics and blasphemers. They both clothed their leaders in scarlets and gold and fine linen and laces.
They were the two ugly step-sisters.
Next week: Part two - “The Prince is having a ball!”
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Sleeping Beauty: The Apostasy
Here were are again, reading a story with a familiar theme. There is a kingdom, far away. There is a king and a queen. They desire to have a child. At long last, the desire is granted. They have a baby girl.
We have already laid a lot of ground work about fairy tales (please see previous blogs on Snow White). So what makes this story different? As I pondered the various versions of the Sleeping Beauty story I have read, there is one common point to them all. A fairy is slighted and so, gives the baby a deadly gift. When the child shall reach adulthood she shall prick her finger on a spindle and die.
I knew our Sleeping Beauty, Briar Rose, Aurora, whatever her name, represented the Church. I knew the kingdom was the kingdom of God and our rescuing Prince was Christ. Even the fairies are a symbol. In Chapter 12 of Revelation, the woman wears a crown of 12 stars upon her head. In the older versions of this story, it is 12 fairies who are invited to the celebration feast. Could they represent the 12 tribes of Israel? Interesting thought.
But what was so different about this Fairy Tale? To me, it prophecies of an apostasy and fall from the true Church of Christ and how it will happen.
That there would be an apostasy, or a falling away from true doctrine, was no secret in the New Testament. We often point to Second Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 3 and quote the Apostle Paul who cautions that the second coming of Christ will not happen “except there come a falling away first,...” But there are many other clues and warnings. Even in Matthew, chapter 24, the Lord cautions and warns that many things have to happen. I’m not going to quote it all here, but please read Matthew 24: 4-12. He points out that many false prophets will arise and deceive many.
So does the story of Sleeping Beauty give us any clues as to what some of the factors were that contributed to this apostasy? Let’s get back to our story.
11 of the fairies give their gifts of beauty, grace, song, etc., all the refinements of the spirit. They are interrupted by the slighted fairy, upset for having not been invited. This is the fairy who gives the deadly gift. However, it’s the youngest fairy, who had not yet given a gift, that softens the curse. The girl shall not die, but go into a deep sleep.
But why a spindle? Why not some other instrument? Hmmph?
Several years ago, I picked up at Deseret Book a collection of audio tapes made available through F.A.R.M.S - The Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies. The collection was called, “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” a lecture series originally recorded in 1954 by Hugh Nibley. It was only 2 dollars, so I thought, why not? I then settled down on my stationary bike and peddled and listened my way through this series of lectures for radio. As I listened to tape after tape of fascinating tid-bits about the ancient world, I wondered where all this was going. It was on the last lecture he gathered up all the bits and pieces like fish in a net and brought in the great haul.
He pointed out that one of the primary reasons for the apostasy and fall of the ancient Church that Jesus Christ had originally set up, was the infiltration of Greek philosophy into the doctrines of the Church.
Bam! The spindles! the Greek Fates, who spin the threads of one’s life, either long or short, and weave them into the tapestry of life.
Greek Philosophy was BIG, I mean BIG business during the time of Christ and his Apostles. Rome may have ruled the world, but you were unschooled and unlettered if you couldn’t speak and read Greek or been educated in one of the best Greek schools. And what was the emphasis of these schools? Philosophy! Everything else, healing, astronomy, physics, law, all the rest of it, was an appendage to philosophy.
In a video lecture series from “Great Courses: Ancient & Medieval History,” the instructor, Philip Daileader from the College of William and Mary, pointed out that Augustine of Hippo, the Roman Priest who redefined the doctrine of Grace in the 5th century, a doctrine that guided the Roman Catholic Church for over a thousand years, was himself a student of Greek Philosophy. He joined the Christian faith with hope and energy, but just couldn’t get rid of his philosophical roots.
It’s sad, really. I can understand why so many Greeks joined the Church. When you really learn about the Greek Gods, you learn what professor Elizabeth Vandiver of the University of Maryland, in her lectures on the Illiad and the Odyssey (another “Great Courses” product) tells us - that the Greek Gods are not merciful, nor all knowing, nor omniscient, nor just. They are just fickle, powerful immortals you hope you can appease. Man, I’d join that new religion too! A God who loves me? Is merciful and just? Sign me up!
Sadly, we bring a lot of our upbringing with us into any religion and that’s pretty hard to overcome. Look at our own society. We are basically Roman in our culture. We’re patriarchal and land oriented. Not all peoples are like that, but that is another discussion. Yet Christ’s Church was founded in a middle eastern culture that was both paternal and maternal and land was viewed differently among a semi-nomadic people.
But philosophy (the glory of the mind of man and his reasoning ability) isn’t the only thing that caused the apostasy. The other cause can be found in the thorny hedge that surrounds Sleeping Beauty’s castle while she sleeps. Let’s look at the parable of the Sower in Luke, Chapter 8. The Sower sows seed in a field. Some fall by the way side, some on a rock, some among the thorns and some on good ground. Look at the Lord’s explanation of the thorns in verse 14, “And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to perfection.”
There you have it - the two major reasons for the apostasy: not being able to let go of our own cultures and embrace the culture of God with all our heart, might, mind and strength - and, not being able to let go of riches, pleasures and self aggrandizement.
All of that from a spindle.
One last thought about that thorny hedge. It’s a really thorny hedge. When the prince who will waken Sleeping Beauty arrives, we learn that many a young man had already tried to waken Sleeping Beauty, but they all failed, impaled on the thorns. Yet, when our prince approaches the hedge, it moves aside for him. It encumbers him not at all. He enters the castle, kisses the girl, loves her and marries her, awakening the kingdom and bringing new light.
I read the part of the thorny hedge and think of Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and all the other valiant souls who made the effort to awaken the sleeping princess and return Christianity back to it’s ancient roots, but failed. Yet I am grateful to them. Their sacrifices made the restoration of the Church possible. However, only Christ and his duly appointed servants could bring His Church out of obscurity.
I’m happy to report Sleeping Beauty is now awake and she’s dancing at the Prince’s Ball.
Next week: Cinderella and the Emerging Church.
We have already laid a lot of ground work about fairy tales (please see previous blogs on Snow White). So what makes this story different? As I pondered the various versions of the Sleeping Beauty story I have read, there is one common point to them all. A fairy is slighted and so, gives the baby a deadly gift. When the child shall reach adulthood she shall prick her finger on a spindle and die.
I knew our Sleeping Beauty, Briar Rose, Aurora, whatever her name, represented the Church. I knew the kingdom was the kingdom of God and our rescuing Prince was Christ. Even the fairies are a symbol. In Chapter 12 of Revelation, the woman wears a crown of 12 stars upon her head. In the older versions of this story, it is 12 fairies who are invited to the celebration feast. Could they represent the 12 tribes of Israel? Interesting thought.
But what was so different about this Fairy Tale? To me, it prophecies of an apostasy and fall from the true Church of Christ and how it will happen.
That there would be an apostasy, or a falling away from true doctrine, was no secret in the New Testament. We often point to Second Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 3 and quote the Apostle Paul who cautions that the second coming of Christ will not happen “except there come a falling away first,...” But there are many other clues and warnings. Even in Matthew, chapter 24, the Lord cautions and warns that many things have to happen. I’m not going to quote it all here, but please read Matthew 24: 4-12. He points out that many false prophets will arise and deceive many.
So does the story of Sleeping Beauty give us any clues as to what some of the factors were that contributed to this apostasy? Let’s get back to our story.
11 of the fairies give their gifts of beauty, grace, song, etc., all the refinements of the spirit. They are interrupted by the slighted fairy, upset for having not been invited. This is the fairy who gives the deadly gift. However, it’s the youngest fairy, who had not yet given a gift, that softens the curse. The girl shall not die, but go into a deep sleep.
But why a spindle? Why not some other instrument? Hmmph?
Several years ago, I picked up at Deseret Book a collection of audio tapes made available through F.A.R.M.S - The Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies. The collection was called, “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” a lecture series originally recorded in 1954 by Hugh Nibley. It was only 2 dollars, so I thought, why not? I then settled down on my stationary bike and peddled and listened my way through this series of lectures for radio. As I listened to tape after tape of fascinating tid-bits about the ancient world, I wondered where all this was going. It was on the last lecture he gathered up all the bits and pieces like fish in a net and brought in the great haul.
He pointed out that one of the primary reasons for the apostasy and fall of the ancient Church that Jesus Christ had originally set up, was the infiltration of Greek philosophy into the doctrines of the Church.
Bam! The spindles! the Greek Fates, who spin the threads of one’s life, either long or short, and weave them into the tapestry of life.
Greek Philosophy was BIG, I mean BIG business during the time of Christ and his Apostles. Rome may have ruled the world, but you were unschooled and unlettered if you couldn’t speak and read Greek or been educated in one of the best Greek schools. And what was the emphasis of these schools? Philosophy! Everything else, healing, astronomy, physics, law, all the rest of it, was an appendage to philosophy.
In a video lecture series from “Great Courses: Ancient & Medieval History,” the instructor, Philip Daileader from the College of William and Mary, pointed out that Augustine of Hippo, the Roman Priest who redefined the doctrine of Grace in the 5th century, a doctrine that guided the Roman Catholic Church for over a thousand years, was himself a student of Greek Philosophy. He joined the Christian faith with hope and energy, but just couldn’t get rid of his philosophical roots.
It’s sad, really. I can understand why so many Greeks joined the Church. When you really learn about the Greek Gods, you learn what professor Elizabeth Vandiver of the University of Maryland, in her lectures on the Illiad and the Odyssey (another “Great Courses” product) tells us - that the Greek Gods are not merciful, nor all knowing, nor omniscient, nor just. They are just fickle, powerful immortals you hope you can appease. Man, I’d join that new religion too! A God who loves me? Is merciful and just? Sign me up!
Sadly, we bring a lot of our upbringing with us into any religion and that’s pretty hard to overcome. Look at our own society. We are basically Roman in our culture. We’re patriarchal and land oriented. Not all peoples are like that, but that is another discussion. Yet Christ’s Church was founded in a middle eastern culture that was both paternal and maternal and land was viewed differently among a semi-nomadic people.
But philosophy (the glory of the mind of man and his reasoning ability) isn’t the only thing that caused the apostasy. The other cause can be found in the thorny hedge that surrounds Sleeping Beauty’s castle while she sleeps. Let’s look at the parable of the Sower in Luke, Chapter 8. The Sower sows seed in a field. Some fall by the way side, some on a rock, some among the thorns and some on good ground. Look at the Lord’s explanation of the thorns in verse 14, “And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to perfection.”
There you have it - the two major reasons for the apostasy: not being able to let go of our own cultures and embrace the culture of God with all our heart, might, mind and strength - and, not being able to let go of riches, pleasures and self aggrandizement.
All of that from a spindle.
One last thought about that thorny hedge. It’s a really thorny hedge. When the prince who will waken Sleeping Beauty arrives, we learn that many a young man had already tried to waken Sleeping Beauty, but they all failed, impaled on the thorns. Yet, when our prince approaches the hedge, it moves aside for him. It encumbers him not at all. He enters the castle, kisses the girl, loves her and marries her, awakening the kingdom and bringing new light.
I read the part of the thorny hedge and think of Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and all the other valiant souls who made the effort to awaken the sleeping princess and return Christianity back to it’s ancient roots, but failed. Yet I am grateful to them. Their sacrifices made the restoration of the Church possible. However, only Christ and his duly appointed servants could bring His Church out of obscurity.
I’m happy to report Sleeping Beauty is now awake and she’s dancing at the Prince’s Ball.
Next week: Cinderella and the Emerging Church.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Woman Forced to Flee Into the Wilderness, Part 3
We left our seven little men mourning for the death of Snow White. She is so beautiful they cannot bear to bury her in the ground, but instead build a glass coffin for her and one keeps vigilance by her side every day. Miraculously, she does not decay.
Then one day, a prince happens by and sees the glass coffin in the wilderness. He is struck by Snow Whites beauty and loves her. He wants to take her to his kingdom, coffin and all. .
This prince is, of course, Prince Charming. Charmed, I’m sure!
I think we do our young people a little disservice taking sacred stories and turning them into children’s picture story books. Every little girl now wants to be a princess and marry a handsome prince. Every little boy wants a sword and to slay a dragon.
These things are OK in and of themselves. It’s when we overlay these sacred and divine expectations on mere mortals that we start to get into trouble. The beautiful princess is not a real girl. She’s the representation of the Church, whom the Savior refers to has his “bride.” And now we know who the prince is - THE Prince, wonderful, counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Charmed. Enchanted. Once again, not of this world. He is the one who will inherit the “Fairy,” or kingdom not of this world. He is the Bridegroom.
Certainly every girl needs to aspire to be like Snow White, devoted, gracious, humble, virtuous. And every boy must aspire to be like Christ, strong, capable, filled with true love. But these attributes can take a lifetime to develop. When we start looking for a marriage companion we’re in our teens and early twenties. We’re pretty young. And the older I get the younger you all look! Someday I’ll write about ‘falling in love’ with mere mortals and the lie that it is. In the meantime, suffice it to say that adoration belongs to God and God alone.
There is only one Prince Charming, and He is Christ. There is only one Snow White, and she is an institution. The rest of us mortals get sick, look awful in the mornings, do things our spouses don’t like, and occasionally rise above ourselves with God’s help. So to any young person who may be reading this, I encourage you to stop looking for the divine in another person. Get rid of any and all pedestals, grab a normal, good person by the hand, and start running, with both feet on the ground, toward the Celestial Kingdom where Prince Charming and Snow White are waiting to receive you.
Isn’t that what the Book of Revelation is all about! It’s about restoration and salvation and the redemption of Christ.
And it’s about True Love. There is only one who loves truly, Christ. He wrought the atonement because He loves us. This is an unconditional love. Your resurrection is assured. The way of salvation is open to you if you will walk that road. But that is a topic for another day. Let’s finish up with Snow White.
In all our Fairy Tales, only the Prince can awaken Snow White, or Sleeping Beauty. Only he can rescue Cinderella. She stays in obscurity, or in a deep sleep, until he arrives to awaken her. Therefore, only Christ can bring his Church out of obscurity. No one else can do this. When we get to Sleeping Beauty, we will learn that many have tried and failed.
The prince has his servants pick up the coffin of Snow White and carry it on their shoulders. As they travel, these men stumble over a bush. The coffin gets a severe jolt. The bit of apple is dislodged from her throat and she comes to herself. Suddenly, there is the prince. “I would rather have you than anything in the world. Come with me to my father’s castle and you shall be my bride.”
Here it is, the Wedding Supper of the Lord. This is what the millennium is all about. Christ and his Church are finally brought together, never to be parted.
“And they lived happily ever after.” Remember, this statement does not apply to mortal marriage. Marriage is work. The happily ever after is the Celestial Kingdom where we are reunited with our Father in Heaven, whole, complete, pure. Perfect!
So what happens to the vain queen? She thinks her victory over Snow White is complete. Then, one day, she gets an invitation to attend the wedding feast of the prince of the neighboring kingdom. She dresses in her finest and approaches the mirror with her question. She is informed that though the queen is fair, the bride is a thousands times more fair than she. She rails and curses, but goes to the wedding anyway, out of curiosity and is shocked to find Snow White. The prince knows everything about the queen and when she arrives, the prince has prepared a pair of red-hot iron shoes for the queen to dance in until she falls down dead.
Thus comes to an end the whore of all the earth, that great and abominable church that sets itself up with finery, scarlet, gold and every worldly thing (see Revelation, Chapter 17). It’s those red-hot shoes that get her, which the Prince has prepared.
And the earth shall be cleansed by fire!
And there ends the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Next week (finally): Sleeping Beauty: The Apostasy.
Then one day, a prince happens by and sees the glass coffin in the wilderness. He is struck by Snow Whites beauty and loves her. He wants to take her to his kingdom, coffin and all. .
This prince is, of course, Prince Charming. Charmed, I’m sure!
I think we do our young people a little disservice taking sacred stories and turning them into children’s picture story books. Every little girl now wants to be a princess and marry a handsome prince. Every little boy wants a sword and to slay a dragon.
These things are OK in and of themselves. It’s when we overlay these sacred and divine expectations on mere mortals that we start to get into trouble. The beautiful princess is not a real girl. She’s the representation of the Church, whom the Savior refers to has his “bride.” And now we know who the prince is - THE Prince, wonderful, counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Charmed. Enchanted. Once again, not of this world. He is the one who will inherit the “Fairy,” or kingdom not of this world. He is the Bridegroom.
Certainly every girl needs to aspire to be like Snow White, devoted, gracious, humble, virtuous. And every boy must aspire to be like Christ, strong, capable, filled with true love. But these attributes can take a lifetime to develop. When we start looking for a marriage companion we’re in our teens and early twenties. We’re pretty young. And the older I get the younger you all look! Someday I’ll write about ‘falling in love’ with mere mortals and the lie that it is. In the meantime, suffice it to say that adoration belongs to God and God alone.
There is only one Prince Charming, and He is Christ. There is only one Snow White, and she is an institution. The rest of us mortals get sick, look awful in the mornings, do things our spouses don’t like, and occasionally rise above ourselves with God’s help. So to any young person who may be reading this, I encourage you to stop looking for the divine in another person. Get rid of any and all pedestals, grab a normal, good person by the hand, and start running, with both feet on the ground, toward the Celestial Kingdom where Prince Charming and Snow White are waiting to receive you.
Isn’t that what the Book of Revelation is all about! It’s about restoration and salvation and the redemption of Christ.
And it’s about True Love. There is only one who loves truly, Christ. He wrought the atonement because He loves us. This is an unconditional love. Your resurrection is assured. The way of salvation is open to you if you will walk that road. But that is a topic for another day. Let’s finish up with Snow White.
In all our Fairy Tales, only the Prince can awaken Snow White, or Sleeping Beauty. Only he can rescue Cinderella. She stays in obscurity, or in a deep sleep, until he arrives to awaken her. Therefore, only Christ can bring his Church out of obscurity. No one else can do this. When we get to Sleeping Beauty, we will learn that many have tried and failed.
The prince has his servants pick up the coffin of Snow White and carry it on their shoulders. As they travel, these men stumble over a bush. The coffin gets a severe jolt. The bit of apple is dislodged from her throat and she comes to herself. Suddenly, there is the prince. “I would rather have you than anything in the world. Come with me to my father’s castle and you shall be my bride.”
Here it is, the Wedding Supper of the Lord. This is what the millennium is all about. Christ and his Church are finally brought together, never to be parted.
“And they lived happily ever after.” Remember, this statement does not apply to mortal marriage. Marriage is work. The happily ever after is the Celestial Kingdom where we are reunited with our Father in Heaven, whole, complete, pure. Perfect!
So what happens to the vain queen? She thinks her victory over Snow White is complete. Then, one day, she gets an invitation to attend the wedding feast of the prince of the neighboring kingdom. She dresses in her finest and approaches the mirror with her question. She is informed that though the queen is fair, the bride is a thousands times more fair than she. She rails and curses, but goes to the wedding anyway, out of curiosity and is shocked to find Snow White. The prince knows everything about the queen and when she arrives, the prince has prepared a pair of red-hot iron shoes for the queen to dance in until she falls down dead.
Thus comes to an end the whore of all the earth, that great and abominable church that sets itself up with finery, scarlet, gold and every worldly thing (see Revelation, Chapter 17). It’s those red-hot shoes that get her, which the Prince has prepared.
And the earth shall be cleansed by fire!
And there ends the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Next week (finally): Sleeping Beauty: The Apostasy.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Woman Forced to Flee Into the Wilderness, Part 2
The Iroquois Indians of the American north east were considered a particularly violent tribe of Indian. The surrounding Indian tribes were scared to death of them. It wasn’t just their fierceness in battle that instilled this terror, it was how they handled their enemies whom they captured. If their enemy was despised, they were put to the fire. However, if they respected their enemy, they cut open the chest, pulled out the heart and at it.
You and I shudder at the thought, but there was a purpose to this ritual. Remember, they only did this to an enemy they respected for some admirable quality, such as bravery, perseverance, battle skill, strong will, etc. It was believed that the heart was the seat of these worthy attributes, and that by eating the heart, one could gain these attributes for himself.
So we come to our vain queen who is not content to just have Snow White killed. Her heart must be brought back to her, not just as proof of her death, the queen has an ulterior motive. She wants to eat the heart and take on all of Snow Whites attributes. She wants to BE Snow White. She wants to BE the fairest in the land.
What she gets instead is the heart of a pig. She eats ham. Not exactly kosher.
If our fairy tales take their origins from theBook of Revelation, they have a basis in the culture and law of the Jews. Thought pork later became acceptable in the dietary law of ancient Christianity, this meat still has a lot of negative connotations attached to it.
You pig!
“Pig” still refers to that which is base, low and filthy. The tighter the queen hangs on to her vanity and pride, the lower she sinks.
In the meantime, Snow White wanders the woods, going over the seven hills until she finds the house of the seven little men. There’s that number of perfection again.
The seven little men, who have no names until the Disney movie, agree to let Snow White stay with them, but she must serve them. She must wash and clean and cook for them. To this, she readily agrees. After hearing her story, they also give her a warning to avoid the queen and not to let any strangers into the house.
Seven hills and seven little men. That also sounded familiar. In the first chapter of the Book of Revelation we read from verse 12; “And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;” In the midst of these candlesticks stood the Savior, and in his hand he held seven stars. Verse 20 explains, “The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven candlesticks which though sawest are the seven churches.” Angels has and interesting JST footnote. It says, ‘servant...”
So what do the servants of God do? They teach us to serve! They exhort us to love one another, to be compassionate, be giving and generous with our time and talents. Servants of God also raise a warning voice to the members of the Church to avoid that which could harm us physically and spiritually. They encourage us to keep the commandments.
The Church of God is commissioned with two tasks; to build up the Kingdom of God on the earth and to establish Zion. Zion, as I understand it, is all about being obedient to God’s commands and serving one another in unity. And doing it gladly.
Snow White is a lovely example of this. She is happy to serve the seven little men. Cinderella serves, and so does the Goose Girl and many other Fairy Tale Characters - and they serve in the most menial of ways - cooking, cleaning, herding geese. They are lowly and humble. In our modern times, having been influenced by the Women’s Movement of the 1970s, we now look upon such acts as cooking and cleaning for a bunch of men as demeaning and miss the point.
Serving with a glad heart is an attribute of Zion. Snow White serving the seven little men is just another proof of what she represents in her sacred role; the Church of God in the wilderness.
Meanwhile, back at the castle, the vain queen, thinking she is now victorious, gazes into the magic mirror and asks confidently, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, Who is the fairest of them all?” She is shocked to the core to find that Snow White still lives and is still the Fairest in the land. Her jealousy knows no bounds. The heart of the pig kicks in and she makes her outsides as ugly as her insides. She changes herself into an ugly hag, enchants first a bunch of laces and later, a comb for the hair.
I find these two items interesting. It’s as if the queen thinks everyone out there is as vain as she is. The laces and the comb are items of adornment. They represent, to my mind, materialism, or idolatry or vanity. Materialism has always been a problem for members of the Church, anciently and in modern times. Thankfully, with the help of the servants of God, we can put such things in perspective. Laces and combs can be removed. Even now, I’m looking to remove from my home items of materialism that are only taking up space. I’m doing it because last spring I was contemplating Zion and what it meant to be a Zion person, living in a Zion home, and I heard the still small voice speak to me, ‘sell all thou hast and give to the poor.’ I looked at those items and realized I didn’t need them anymore. The Lord showed me what to do with them. It taught me how the Lord takes a weakness and turns it to a strength.
What really knocks Snow White out is the poisoned apple. It’s a very cleverly poisoned apple. It’s an apple that is white on one side and red on the other. Note the colors. Only the red side is poisoned. The queen eats the white side to prove there is nothing wrong with the apple. Trusting the old hag, Snow White eats the red side and drops to the ground.
The queen rushes home and asks the mirror her famous question. She is totally gratified to learn that once again, she is the fairest in the land. Snow White is dead.
So what is that apple that ‘kills’ Snow White? We do not really know what the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil really was. We do know, traditionally, that it is the apple, perhaps because most apples are those sacred colors, red and white. So, is this what knocks Snow White down? taking into her soul the knowledge of good and evil? Interesting thought. I only know that when we are faced with gaining that knowledge through our own experience, it can knock us down, drop us to our knees and fill us with doubt about whether or not God loves us.
Thankfully, the servants of God do not abandon us. According to Joseph Fielding Smith in his “Answers to Gospel Questions,” volume 2, page 45, he tells us that the priesthood has never been taken completely from the earth. Nevertheless, Snow White sleeps, the queen rules, and the servants mourn.
But despair not. Someone is coming to waken Snow White.
You and I shudder at the thought, but there was a purpose to this ritual. Remember, they only did this to an enemy they respected for some admirable quality, such as bravery, perseverance, battle skill, strong will, etc. It was believed that the heart was the seat of these worthy attributes, and that by eating the heart, one could gain these attributes for himself.
So we come to our vain queen who is not content to just have Snow White killed. Her heart must be brought back to her, not just as proof of her death, the queen has an ulterior motive. She wants to eat the heart and take on all of Snow Whites attributes. She wants to BE Snow White. She wants to BE the fairest in the land.
What she gets instead is the heart of a pig. She eats ham. Not exactly kosher.
If our fairy tales take their origins from theBook of Revelation, they have a basis in the culture and law of the Jews. Thought pork later became acceptable in the dietary law of ancient Christianity, this meat still has a lot of negative connotations attached to it.
You pig!
“Pig” still refers to that which is base, low and filthy. The tighter the queen hangs on to her vanity and pride, the lower she sinks.
In the meantime, Snow White wanders the woods, going over the seven hills until she finds the house of the seven little men. There’s that number of perfection again.
The seven little men, who have no names until the Disney movie, agree to let Snow White stay with them, but she must serve them. She must wash and clean and cook for them. To this, she readily agrees. After hearing her story, they also give her a warning to avoid the queen and not to let any strangers into the house.
Seven hills and seven little men. That also sounded familiar. In the first chapter of the Book of Revelation we read from verse 12; “And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;” In the midst of these candlesticks stood the Savior, and in his hand he held seven stars. Verse 20 explains, “The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven candlesticks which though sawest are the seven churches.” Angels has and interesting JST footnote. It says, ‘servant...”
So what do the servants of God do? They teach us to serve! They exhort us to love one another, to be compassionate, be giving and generous with our time and talents. Servants of God also raise a warning voice to the members of the Church to avoid that which could harm us physically and spiritually. They encourage us to keep the commandments.
The Church of God is commissioned with two tasks; to build up the Kingdom of God on the earth and to establish Zion. Zion, as I understand it, is all about being obedient to God’s commands and serving one another in unity. And doing it gladly.
Snow White is a lovely example of this. She is happy to serve the seven little men. Cinderella serves, and so does the Goose Girl and many other Fairy Tale Characters - and they serve in the most menial of ways - cooking, cleaning, herding geese. They are lowly and humble. In our modern times, having been influenced by the Women’s Movement of the 1970s, we now look upon such acts as cooking and cleaning for a bunch of men as demeaning and miss the point.
Serving with a glad heart is an attribute of Zion. Snow White serving the seven little men is just another proof of what she represents in her sacred role; the Church of God in the wilderness.
Meanwhile, back at the castle, the vain queen, thinking she is now victorious, gazes into the magic mirror and asks confidently, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, Who is the fairest of them all?” She is shocked to the core to find that Snow White still lives and is still the Fairest in the land. Her jealousy knows no bounds. The heart of the pig kicks in and she makes her outsides as ugly as her insides. She changes herself into an ugly hag, enchants first a bunch of laces and later, a comb for the hair.
I find these two items interesting. It’s as if the queen thinks everyone out there is as vain as she is. The laces and the comb are items of adornment. They represent, to my mind, materialism, or idolatry or vanity. Materialism has always been a problem for members of the Church, anciently and in modern times. Thankfully, with the help of the servants of God, we can put such things in perspective. Laces and combs can be removed. Even now, I’m looking to remove from my home items of materialism that are only taking up space. I’m doing it because last spring I was contemplating Zion and what it meant to be a Zion person, living in a Zion home, and I heard the still small voice speak to me, ‘sell all thou hast and give to the poor.’ I looked at those items and realized I didn’t need them anymore. The Lord showed me what to do with them. It taught me how the Lord takes a weakness and turns it to a strength.
What really knocks Snow White out is the poisoned apple. It’s a very cleverly poisoned apple. It’s an apple that is white on one side and red on the other. Note the colors. Only the red side is poisoned. The queen eats the white side to prove there is nothing wrong with the apple. Trusting the old hag, Snow White eats the red side and drops to the ground.
The queen rushes home and asks the mirror her famous question. She is totally gratified to learn that once again, she is the fairest in the land. Snow White is dead.
So what is that apple that ‘kills’ Snow White? We do not really know what the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil really was. We do know, traditionally, that it is the apple, perhaps because most apples are those sacred colors, red and white. So, is this what knocks Snow White down? taking into her soul the knowledge of good and evil? Interesting thought. I only know that when we are faced with gaining that knowledge through our own experience, it can knock us down, drop us to our knees and fill us with doubt about whether or not God loves us.
Thankfully, the servants of God do not abandon us. According to Joseph Fielding Smith in his “Answers to Gospel Questions,” volume 2, page 45, he tells us that the priesthood has never been taken completely from the earth. Nevertheless, Snow White sleeps, the queen rules, and the servants mourn.
But despair not. Someone is coming to waken Snow White.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
