Have you ever wondered why Jesus Christ has sometimes referred to himself as the Beloved Bridegroom? I have. It all started when as a 12-year-old I went to hear a speaker at my church speak about the Parable of the Ten Virgins. (You can read more about the Parable of the Ten Virgins here.) The speaker was the artist, Gayla Prince. (Her website is here.) She displayed her painting depicting this parable. In it, the bridegroom symbolizes Jesus. Her presentation planted a seed in my heart. That night, I distinctly felt a determination that I would be like one of the wise virgins, ready to attend the wedding, aka the Savior’s Second Coming. I decided that I wanted to be ready with my oil in my lamp, not asleep. (Here is a link to a site that shows the painting I saw and what is possibly what I heard that night.

It has been about 40 years since I heard this but it sounds right.)

Fast forward to more than fifteen years later, when I heard Donna Nielsen, the author of the book Beloved Bridegroom, speak at a homeschool conference. I was fascinated! I asked for the book for my birthday and read it as a young mom of 3 kiddos. I enjoyed it and set it aside on my bookshelf. Well, it’s time to dust off and revisit this classic!

There’s so much more for me to dive into about this concept. I definitely want to read the book again! This desire to revisit the concept was rekindled this past spring. I experienced a Biblical Wedding Simulation back in April, courtesy of Marc and Tracie Hyde, of biblicalwedding.com. It was all so meaningful and beautiful! To attend the event, I took my 14-year-old son with me and a girlfriend. A big thank you to my friend Katie Hansen of houseoftheobok.org for hosting the event.

We followed the timeline of everything involved with an ancient Hebrew couple preparing for a wedding, including the betrothal and the time of separation and then the ceremony. It was both so educational and enjoyable. I got to go off with the sequestering “bride” and her “party” to a different room, while the “groom” and his party prepared his new “home” for his bride out of construction paper.

As the bridal party, we prepared a wedding bouquet and garlands. Then we came back into the room where the wedding ceremony was enacted. Interspersed into all of this we got quiet time to write down reflections. It was all soo beautiful!

Then the next month of May, my friend Katie and I each took a son, who are friends, and some of their friends, to the Layton Utah Temple open house, before its dedication. We were delighted to see that the Bride’s Room in this new temple features front and center, a huge painting of the Savior, to remind all the brides that he is a spiritual bridegroom to His Church of covenant people, the bride. The next month, in June, my niece got married in the same temple. (This temple is within walking distance of where I used to live in Layton. It was twilight when we drove over to take a photo after the wedding reception, and we still had an hour’s drive left to get home. We missed our curbside grocery order pickup as a consequence, but it was worth it to see the temple’s majesty and peace.)

Then in the end of June, here came along this video about the same topic, below. Thanks to The Stick of Joseph YouTube channel and the guest who appears, Andrea Woodmansee. I learned so much more about the wedding symbolism, Jesus Christ, and the plan of salvation. It’s all so amazing and beautiful!!! I even learned about the how the logo of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints connects to the wedding symbolism. It sounds like the book Andrea is writing about this will be like a sequel to Donna’s book. I can’t wait! If you want to learn more about the symbolism, go here and scroll down to get a study guide and a script for hosting your own Biblical Wedding experience!