Symbols in the Temple | How to See What God Is Teaching You — Discussion with Todd McKenna, Logan Temple Sealer (LDS)

Send us Fan MailHow do you learn to see the symbols God has placed in the temple — and what are you missing? Todd McKenna, who spent 41 years teaching seminary and institute and now serves as a sealer in the Logan Temple, joins the podcast for a practical, reverent conversation about how to deepen your temple worship through symbolic learning. "God teaches with symbols. It is His favorite method of teaching," wrote Orson F. Whitney — and Todd has spent decades proving it. He shares how a dab of honey on the Torah (a Jewish tradition tied to Psalm 119) parallels the modern endowment's invitation to learn through sacred symbolic acts; how a challenge from a friend in a sealing room — "How many examples of Christ can you find in this room?" — led to discovering 22 or 23 symbols of Christ in one room alone; and how Hugh Nibley's seven parallels between the LDS endowment and the Egyptian endowment sent him searching the Metropolitan Museum in New York for years, where he found ancient washings, anointings, veils, and the Egyptian goddess Ma'at covering the loins of every sarcophagus — the same "loins girt with truth" Paul described in Ephesians 6:14. The practical teaching: go to the temple with questions, not just attendance. Ask "how is this a symbol of Christ?" about every object — the altar, the chandelier, the veil, the marks on your garments. Then search the scriptures, Bible Hub for Hebrew word origins, and the BYU Citation Index for prophetic commentary. Don't expect someone else's answer to be yours: "The Lord will give you an answer tailored for your life, your challenges, your testimony." Todd also shares powerful family history experiences — five research trips to Ireland that uncovered 400 descendants of Hugh McKenna, guided step by step by the Spirit — and his witness as a sealer: "This isn't our work. It's His. He's hastening it, and He's going to make it work.""How many examples of Christ can you find in the sealing room?" — A friend's challenge that changed everythingQ: How do you learn to see the symbols in the temple?A: Todd McKenna teaches a practical method: go with a question, not just attendance. Ask "how is this a symbol of Christ?" about specific objects — the altar, the chandelier, the veil, the garment marks. Then search the scriptures, use Bible Hub for Hebrew word meanings, and check the BYU Citation Index for what prophets have taught about that symbol. President Nelson taught that "the temple endowment was given by revelation" and is "best understood by revelation, prayerfully sought with a sincere heart."Q: What are tokens and signs in the temple?A: Todd describes them as "tokens of recognition" — ways that God recognizes we have been taught and have made covenants. Brigham Young taught that we show them to the angels who stand as sentinels. Todd adds that each token and sign is paired with a specific covenant for a reason, and finding the connection between the two is part of the symbolic learning the temple invites.Q: Are there symbols of Christ in every room of the temple?A: Yes — Todd was challenged by a friend in a sealing room: "How many examples of Christ can you find?" He initially found four or five; his friend had found eleven. Over time, Todd's list grew to 22 or 23 symbols of Christ in the sealing room alone. The endowment now explicitly states that the veil is symbolic of Christ, but every object in the temple — from the altar to the chandelier to the marks on the garments — can teach about the Savior when approached with questions and the Spirit.Q: How does the Spirit guide family history research?A: Todd teaches two principles: get organized (so you don't repeat work) and pray before each research session for the Spirit to guide which line to pursue. He shares how the Spirit led him to discover 400 ancestors from the Isle of Man through a simple color change on his Family Search fan chart, and how five trips to Ireland — guided by promptings and, in one case, a deceased nephew's patriarchal blessing — uncovered generations of the McKenna family.📚 SOURCES REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODEOrson F. Whitney, Improvement Era, 1927: "God teaches with symbols. It is His favorite method of teaching."John A. Widtsoe, genealogy article: "The endowment which was given by revelation can best be understood by revelation."President Russell M. Nelson, General Conference 2021: temple endowment "best understood by revelation, prayerfully sought"Hugh Nibley, seven parallels between LDS and Egyptian endowmentsBYU Citation Index: https://scriptures.byu.edu▶️ WATCH & LISTEN🎬 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thinningoftheveil🌐 Website: https://www.thinningoftheveil.com🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinning-of-the-veil/id1753511394🟢 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jWCfMHkZXwnSwy2b98J4M🎵 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a0a45561-d4c2-46d3-af8d-a1e967a21a25📖 BOOKPatterns of Revelation — Spiritual Foundations for Hearing God's Voice: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW36MG9B📱 CONNECTInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinning.of.the.veilFacebook Group (Gathering of the Gatherers): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1429562078443774Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/thinningoftheveil💛 SUPPORT THE SHOWVenmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/thinningoftheveilPayPal: https://paypal.me/thinningoftheveil✉️ Have you had a thinning of the veil experience? 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