The Tabernacle of Moses
Take a virtual tour of the finished Tabernacle of Moses: https://youtu.be/W_p6TkihMPw
Exodus 40:9 take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein
The Temple of Solomon was dedicated with a prayer (1 Kgs. 8:23). We don’t find that pattern with the Tabernacle of Moses. Instead, we learn that all of the component parts of the tabernacle were anointed with holy oil.
“Pure olive oil was a sacred symbol of the Spirit of the Lord (see D&C 45:56–57), and its use signified the sanctification of the person or object anointed (see Exodus 30:29). The use of the oil can also be an indication of the existing purity of the person, since the Spirit of the Lord will not dwell in an unclean tabernacle. President Joseph Fielding Smith said:
‘The olive tree from the earliest times has been the emblem of peace and purity. It has, perhaps, been considered more nearly sacred than any other tree or form of vegetation by the inspired writers of all ages through whom we have received the word of the Lord. In parables in the scriptures the House of Israel, or the people who have made covenant with the Lord, have been compared to the olive tree.’ (Doctrines of Salvation, 3:180.)
“Thus, to anoint even these inanimate objects with oil suggests that the tabernacle and all connected with it were sanctified by the Spirit in preparing them for service to God.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/old-testament-student-manual-genesis-2-samuel/exodus-25-30-35-40-the-house-of-the-lord-in-the-wilderness?lang=eng)
Exodus 40:12-13 And thou shalt bring aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle
These verses are currently part of the initiatory ordinance in LDS temples. Just as Aaron and his sons were brought before the door of the tabernacle and santified through washing, anointing, and clothing them in their priestly garments, latter-day saints are ceremonially washed with water, anointed with oil, and clothed in garments of the priesthood. The initiatory ordinance is the first part of an individual receiving his endowment.
This passage was not always part of the initiatory ordinance but is a reminder that temple worship today is based on the ancient pattern.
Exodus 40:15 an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations
The Levitical priesthood was passed on through the lineage of the father. If a young man’s father was a Levite, he was a Levite. When he came of age, he was not ordained to the priesthood because he already held it. This Levitical Priesthood has been dormant in the Levitical line ever since the destruction of the Second Temple (the Temple of Herod). It will be revived for the Third Temple when the Jews build it on the Temple Mount. They won’t need ordination from an LDS Elder; they hold the priesthood by lineage tracing all the way back to Aaron.
Orson Pratt
“In the testimony given in the 40th chapter of Exodus, verse 15, we find that this priesthood was to be confirmed upon the heads of the children of Levi unto the end, throughout all their generations. Again we find another testimony in the case of the grandson of Aaron, Phinehas. In consequence of a certain work he did in the midst of the congregation of Israel, (Num. 25:6-8 Num. 25:11-12) an everlasting priesthood was confirmed upon him and his seed throughout all their generations, (Numbers 25: 13; Num. 25:13) that is, they were entitled to it. They might lose it through apostasy; but they were entitled to it throughout all their generations. Again, when we refer to the last chapter of Isaiah we find a prophecy that has not yet been fulfilled only in part, where the Lord says, “I will set a sign among the people, and I will gather the children of Israel from all nations upon horses, upon mules, in litters, upon swift beasts, back to my holy mountain Jerusalem, and I will take of them for priests and Levites, saith the Lord.” (Isa. 66:19-21) Indeed! Is the Lord going to have priests and Levites after gathering Israel from all nations? Yes. “I will take of them for priests and Levites, saith the Lord.”
Here, then, is a restitution or restoration predicted in the last chapter of Isaiah that the Lord will gather the House of Israel from all lands to His holy mountain Jerusalem, and that He will then take of them for priests and Levites.” (Feb. 24, 1869, Journal of Discourses, 12:360-361)
Exodus 40:17 in the first month in the second year, the tabernacle was raised up
The chronology for the children of Israel must have been based on their Passover exodus from Egypt. The text says it was the first month (April) of the second year. If so, the tabernacle must have been completed in a single year! That is pretty fast to get all of the gold and brass work done, let alone all the tapestry.
Exodus 40:20 he took and put the testimony into the ark
The second set of stone tablets containing the Law of Moses were placed in the ark of the covenant with a pot of Manna and Aaron’s rod. The text states that Moses did this himself. After that, no one was to touch the ark or the mercy seat (2 Sam. 6:6-7).
Exodus 40:30 he set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar
Exodus 40:34 Then a cloud covered the tent . . . and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle
Orson Pratt
When Moses reared a tabernacle in the wilderness of the land of Egypt according to the pattern that God gave unto him (Ex. 25:8-9) did the Lord acknowledge it? He did. Did he show forth his power and glory in that house? (Ex. 40:34-35) He did. Did a cloud rest upon it by day and a pillar of flaming fire hover over it by night? (Ex. 40:38) Yes! It was done according to the pattern and according to the heavenly order and commandment of the Great Jehovah. So, when the servants of God in the last days shall build a house in the tops of the mountains, (Isa. 2:2) he will acknowledge it if they build it according to the pattern which shall be revealed from heaven, (D&C 115:14) on the spot that the Lord shall designate by his own voice, (D&C 57:3) and in the time and in the season, proclaimed by the Almighty. It shall come to pass in that day, also, that the Lord will show forth his glory in that house, and the fame thereof shall go forth to the uttermost parts of the earth: (D&C 110:10) all people, nations, languages and tongues, kings upon their thrones, and many nations will say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us of his ways.” (Isa. 2:3) (April 9, 1871, Journal of Discourses 14:274)
Exodus 40:36 when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys
John Taylor
And the people traveled on through that wilderness, and were there for forty years, (Num. 14:33-34 Num. 32:13) a pillar of fire leading them by night and a cloud by day; (Ex. 13:21 Neh. 9:19) and when that pillar of fire or cloud rested they rested, when it lifted up they moved, and followed its guidance. (Ex. 40:36-37 Num. 9:17-23) And Aaron went and ministered in the Tabernacle Ex. 29:44 and approached before the Holy of Holies, (Ex. 28:29) and all these sayings, doings and events that then transpired were under the immediate revelation, dictation and guidance of the Almighty. The Lord at that time desired to make of Israel a great nation, a kingdom of priests. (Ex. 19:6) They had the Gospel preached unto them in the wilderness. (March 17, 1872, Journal of Discourses 14:362-363)