Hands, Clasped

There are representations in stone of clasped hands on the exterior of the Salt Lake Temple,150 located above the window on the west and east towers. These clasped hands are surrounded by rays of light (or an aureole). Elder Talmage explains, “The clasped hands [are] betokening the bond of brotherhood and the free offering of the right hand of fellowship.”151 This statement reminds us of a passage in Paul’s epistle to the Galatians, where Paul states that Peter, James, and John “gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship” (Gal. 2:9). On January 16, 1836, a special meeting convened for the First Presidency and the Twelve. Toward the close of the meeting, they entered into a covenant, and “took each other by the hand in confirmation of our covenant and there was a perfect unison of feeling on this occasion.”152

Handclasp, exterior of the Salt Lake Temple, west and east towers.

Several scriptural passages refer to the Lord taking the hand of mortals. In a passage about the temple, the Lord states, “In my house [temple] and within my walls I will give to them a hand and a name” (Isa. 56:5; translation by author). In some passages, the Hebrew verb chzq is employed, which a prominent Hebrew and English lexicon translates as “to grasp.”153 For example, “For I the Lord thy God will grasp your right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee” (Isa. 41:13); “I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will grasp your hand, and will keep you, and give you for a covenant of the people” (Isa. 42:6); and the Lord “has grasped me by my right hand” (Ps. 73:23).

David Seely asserts that in some Old Testament passages (e.g., Prov. 6:1; 11:15; 17:18; 22:25; Job 17:3), the Hebrew expression tq‘ yd/kp refers to a “handclasp.”154 That is to say, “striking the hands” refers to one taking another’s hand when making “pledges, assurances, and oaths.”155

The uniting of the hands also reminds us of marriage, where a husband and wife join hands in marriage at the temple altar (see entry “Sacred Triangle”).

Depictions of clasped hands are found in the ancient world, in art, on sarcophagi, in mosaics, on frescos, and elsewhere.156 After researching the meaning of the handclasp in antiquity, Stephen Ricks summarized that “the clasping of the right hand was a solemn gesture of mutual fidelity and loyalty at the conclusion of an agreement or contract, the taking of an oath of allegiance, or reception in the mysteries, whose initiates were referred to as syndexioi (‘joined by the right hand’).”157