The ultimate object lesson was set up at BYU on the quad between the Kimball Tower and the Joseph Smith Building last fall. Over five weeks some 32,000 students and community members toured a life-size replica of Moses’s tabernacle on loan from two LDS stakes in California who created the structure with help from BYU Hebrew professor Donald W. Parry (BA ’84, MA ’85).
Participants got a look at ancient Israelite worship, viewing replicas of the altar of sacrifice, the ark of the covenant, and more. BYU experts shared insights into the sacred symbols of the tabernacle. “There’s real value in moving through that space and considering what it meant for the Israelites,” says Dana M. Pike (BS ’78), chair of the Department of Ancient Scripture, pictured here at center. “[The tabernacle] symbolized His presence in their midst.”
Watch the structure go up on campus in the time lapse below.
