Gethsemane, Temple Symbolism in

Because of the exceptional and significantly eternal events that took place in the Garden of Gethsemane, it was a hallowed place; in truth, the Garden of Gethsemane (similar to the Garden of Eden) contains several elements and symbols that make it a sacred space—a temple. The following consists of correspondences between the temple and Gethsemane:

(1) The temple is called a house of prayer; in Gethsemane, Jesus Christ prayed three times (see Matt. 26:36, 39, 42, 44).

(2) The temple is a place of sacrificial offerings; Jesus Christ offered Himself as the ultimate sacrificial offering, to the point that He bled from every pore: “Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit” (D&C 19:18); in fact, “his sweat was as it were great drops of blood” (Luke 22:44). As it is well known, olive trees were present in Gethsemane, and while conducting a tour of the Rome Italy Temple, Elder David A. Bednar spoke of the olive tree in association with the Atonement: “One of the things I love most about this [Rome Italy Temple grand] staircase is the combining of the oval and the olive tree. . . . The olive tree recalls the garden of Gethsemane, that sacred site of the Savior’s Atonement.”133

Olive tree in Gethsemane, Mount of Olives, Jerusalem.

(3) Some mountains serve as temples; Gethsemane was located on the western slope of the Mount of Olives, which exists east of Jerusalem.

(4) Priests and high priests wore sacred vestments; Christ’s clothing was made sacred when it was touched by the blood of the infinite Atonement (see Luke 22:44).

(5) The temple consisted of a series of gradations of holiness, from less holy to most holy: the court, the holy place, and the Holy of Holies. Gethsemane was also divided into three gradations of holiness: “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here [ZONE 1], while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here [ZONE 2], and watch with me. And he went a little further [ZONE 3], and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matt. 26:36–39). Jesus left eight of the Apostles in one area, three of His Apostles in a second area, and then He went by Himself to pray to the Father. Jesus’s actions remind us of the high priest on the Day of Atonement, who went alone into the Holy of Holies to make an atonement.

(6) The temple housed the menorah, which provided light to the holy place; Jesus, Himself, is the light of the world (John 1:9; 8:12).

(7) The living waters are associated with the temple (Ezek. 47); Jesus is the waters of life, or “the fountain of living waters” (Jer. 2:13; 17:13).

(8) A laver of brass was set up in the tabernacle for ritual washings; specifically, the laver was for the priests (see Ex. 30:20–21). Where in the Garden of Gethsemane is the laver? Perhaps the laver symbolizes Jesus Christ, who washes us and cleanses us from sins.

(9) The temple is a place of revelation.

(10) The temple is a focal point of God’s presence.

In sum, Elder Bruce R. McConkie instructed regarding Gethsemane, “This sacred spot . . . this holy ground is where the Sinless Son of the Everlasting Father took upon himself the sins of all men on condition of repentance.

“We do not know, we cannot tell, no mortal mind can conceive the full import of what Christ did in Gethsemane.”134