Merisms and the Seal of Melchizedek

I'm telling you, I can't stop thinking about this Seal of Melchizedek book I'm reading. The authors are Alan Rex Mitchell and Ernest Lehenbauer. The seal consists of two squares offset by 45 degrees, creating an eight-point star. Usually there is a circle in the center, representing eternity.

As I read on, I encountered a pattern of the seals as they are displayed together to create an Islamic symbol called "The Breath of the Compassionate." The pattern of two squares creates eight opposite sides and becomes a representation of Creation. One square represents the elements of earth, fire, air, and water. The other square represents wet, dry, hot, and cold.

The Islamic tradition is that the Creator spoke and the world came into existence. Or, in other words, the Compassionate breathed, and the world was created. This relates to the Biblical concept of "the breath of life." 

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2: 7).

In both the Hebrew and Greek, wind, breath, and spirit are related terms. In Greek the word for wind, breath, and spirit is pneuma, where we get the English word pneumonia (meaning "without breath or spirit"). As Jesus is speaking with Nicodemus, He says, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit" (John 3: 8). The words wind and Spirit are both pneuma.

Modern revelation describes Creation in a similar way, as light, Spirit, and the Light of Christ become central to all Creation. The Lord revealed:

"Wherefore, I now send upon you another Comforter, even upon you my friends, that it may abide in your hearts, even the Holy Spirit of promise; which other Comforter is the same that I promised unto my disciples, as is recorded in the testimony of John.

"He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth;

 "Which truth shineth. This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made.

 "As also he is in the moon, and is the light of the moon, and the power thereof by which it was made;

"As also the light of the stars, and the power thereof by which they were made;

 "And the earth also, and the power thereof, even the earth upon which you stand.

 "And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings;

 "Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space—


 "The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things" (D&C 88: 3, 6-13).

Jehovah, as the Father of Creation, was made flesh, and descended below all things to redeem all mankind. Thus, He is in all things and through all things, and is the "law by which all things are governed."

In the midst of these verses is what Bible scholars call a merism. The definition of a merism is an expression of totality expressed by contrasting parts. The Lord defines Himself by saying, "For verily I say unto you that I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the light and the life of the world—a light that shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not" (D&C 45: 7).

But He is not merely A and Z; He is the whole alphabet--and beyond. In order to be "in and through all things," He had to descend and ascend beyond the limits. The Seal of Melchizedek has a circle in the center, expressing eternity beyond the limits expressed by the opposite sides. Perhaps the circle should be on the outside, but accuracy would require an infinite volume.

Nephi describes the Lord's invitation in a merism: 

" . . . And he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile" (2 Nephi 26: 33).

Like the opposite sides of the two squares in the Seal of Melchizedek, there are eight opposites in this merism: black, white, bond, free, male, female, Jew, and Gentile.

But there is another meaning associated with merisms. Merism is also a Greek word, coming from the root merizo, meaning to divide or share. And when Jesus divides the goods, the heirs receive a totality of everything the Father has (see D&C 84: 38).

When Jesus fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fish, Mark's account said He "divided" the two fishes among them all (Mark 6: 41). Everyone was filled. The Greek word for "divided" is merizo. In reality, it was multiplication, not division, and so it is with everything He does!

As He invites "all to come unto Him and partake of His goodness," the blessings are multiplied and shared in totality. Even the "new and everlasting covenant" of celestial marriage is expressed in a merism of "all heights and depths" (D&C 132: 19).

Jesus colors outside the lines and steps outside the box (or square). He has exceeded all heights and gone lower than the lowest depth to redeem each precious child.

You are never out of His reach, nor beyond His infinite love and mercy.