The Serpent and The Dove: Messianic Mysteries of the Mormon Temple

In The Serpent and The Dove, Paul Toscano reclaims the Mormon temple endowment as a Messianic sacrament. In Part I: The Gods of the Temple, Toscano interprets the endowment as the final expression of Joseph Smith’s innovative godhead teachings. In Part II: The Mysteries of Godliness, he provides a detailed analysis of the symbols of the ceremony. In Part III: Restoring the Holy Order, he lays out a blueprint for LDS Church organization and administration that is consonant with the temple’s revelation of Messianic priesthood on both men and women alike. This work is not an exposé, but a plea for a new direction—a temple-centered Messianic Mormonism for the Third Millennium.