The Day Star: Reading Sacred Architecture (Book 2)

This new volume adds nearly 200 pages of new and additional information. While the previous edition contained 244 pages, this one has nearly 400.

Where book 1 introduces the reader to the language of visual symbolism employed on sacred architecture (mostly that of Latter-day Saint temples), book 2 unlocks the rich doctrinal content lying behind the multiple layers of meaning they often possess. The author explores the concepts of sacred space, sacred time, light and color, and the 432 celestial spheres on the Nauvoo Temple, using visual symbolism as a primary teaching tool.

"Reading" this and other temples using skills acquired in book 1, you'll be able to identify five different star types, three of which center on the life and mission of Jesus Christ. These and other architectural forms appear to have strong doctrinal underpinnings connected to gathering, perfection, calling and election, Christ as the Second Comforter, and eternal life. The rich gospel symbolism of temples and scripture comes alive as readers develop "eyes to see."

About the author

Val Brinkerhoff is an associate professor of photography in the Visual Arts Department of Brigham Young University. He and his wife Trina have 4 children and live in Elk Ridge Utah. The 2-part Day Star series was produced as part of the larger "Sacred Places" documentary photography project. To see more photographs from this project, go to the link noted below:

Details

• 8.75x11.25
• Full color case bound

Publisher's note

While the initial price of this volume may seem high, please bear in mind the following:

1. On a per-page basis, The Day Star at 800 over pages costs 22 cents a page to print. By comparison, the 92-page book Sacred Walls [Covenant, 2009] by Gerald Hansen (photography by Val Brinkerhoff) runs over 30 cents a page. The Day Star is in fact priced 27 percent lower.
   
   
2. The Day Star by its very nature, is not likely to be broadly adopted by a large number of readers and therefore the books are printed in very small—indeed ultra-short—custom digital print runs on a special press in New York. Neither the author nor the publisher are "making money" on these books, but both have a sincere desire to make the book available to all those interested in this remarkable subject matter.