According to John Welch, when Nephi says his temple was “not built of so many precious things” (2 Nephi 5:16), he probably is not speaking of gold or silver, which were found in the land of Nephi. The common Book of Mormon phrase “gold, silver, and precious things” appears to parallel the Near Eastern formulaic expression in which “precious things” commonly referred to precious gems. Thus, while Nephi mentions an abundance of metallic ores (gold, silver, and copper) in his description of the new promised land (see 1 Nephi 18:25), he conspicuously fails to mention gems or “precious things,” such as carbuncle, emerald, sapphire, and diamond, which Solomon used extensively in constructing his temple (see 2 Chronicles 3:6; also Exodus 39:10-13). Accordingly, the Book of Mormon is consistent; Nephi could not decorate his temple with the same kinds of precious things as were used in Solomon’s temple. [John W. Welch, “The Temple in the Book of Mormon,” in Temples of the Ancient World, p. 325]
“I Nephi Did Build a Temple After the Manner of the Temple of Solomon”
Nephi wrote, “I, Nephi, did build a temple … after the manner of the temple of Solomon” (2 Nephi 5:16). According to Glenn Scott, some critics cite this reference to a temple outside of Jerusalem as an error, assuming it was never done. However, the discovery of Hebrew temples at Arad, near Beer Sheba (Herzog 1987, “Ancient Israelite Fortress,” Biblical Archaeological Review, 13:2) and at Elephantine, Egypt (Nibley 1989, The Prophetic Book of Mormon, 388) disproved that claim. A significant parallel between Mesoamerican temples and Solomon’s is that they shared a common floor plan: an outer court, an inner court, and an inner sanctum corresponding to the Holy of Holies. Torquemada, a sixteenth century Spanish priest, noted the same three-part floor plan (Laurette Sejourne 1966, “Prehispanic Temples,” Cuadernos Americanos, 143). [Glenn A. Scott, Voices from the Dust, p. 99]
2 Nephi 5:16 I, Nephi, did build a [temple] … after the manner of the temple of Solomon: Temple of the Cross At Palenque, Mexico. (1) Cross section showing three-part plan. (2) Interior of sanctuary with Tablet of the Cross. (3) Fray Torquemada noted the three-part floor plan of many Mesoamerican temples. [Glenn A. Scott, Voices from the Dust, p. 100]
“A Temple After the Manner of the Temple of Solomon”
According to John Sorenson, the Nephites’ first temple was constructed “after the manner of the temple of Solomon” (2 Nephi 5:16), a structure Nephi himself had seen many times in Jerusalem, for the old building was still standing when Lehi and his family left the land of Judah… . The Nephites used different materials, so the techniques of construction could not be the same as in the Palestinian model. So when Nephi said that the ”manner of construction" was the same as in Jerusalem, he could only have meant that the general pattern was similar… . Torquemada, an early Spanish priest in the New World, compared the plan of Mexican temples with that of the temple of Solomon, and a modern scholar agrees. [John Sorenson, An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon, F.A.R.M.S., pp. 143-45]
Note* What was that pattern, and what was its function? For a thorough review of temple symbolism from ancient times, see Donald W. Parry, ed., Temples of the Ancient World. F.A.R.M.S., and Hugh W. Nibley, Temple and Cosmos, F.A.R.M.S. [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]
2 Nephi 5:16 The temple of Solomon ([Illustration] The basic floor plan of both the Tabernacle and the Temple of Solomon. (Notice the elevations both inside and outside the building.) [Clate Mask, “And They Called the Place Bountiful,” p. 19]
2 Nephi 5:16 The temple of Solomon (Illustration): This tin roof covers the archaeological remains of a temple at Kaminaljuyu dating to around 578 B.C. By November, 1990, when we visited again, they were not allowing tourists inside the excavation of the temple. [Merrill Oaks, “Some Perspectives on Book of Mormon Geography,” Slides #32-33]
“I Nephi Did Build a Temple and I Did Construct It After the Manner of the Temple of Solomon”
Like Israel’s only temple, the American ones face east and had fine work in stone. Spaniards found that Peruvian and Toltec temples had similar gold plating. Fine woods adorn the Mayan temples (e.g., Tikal). Both Israelite and American temples were supported by columns (e.g., Sayil, Chichen, Tula), and both sported horns on each of the four altar corners (Monte Alban urn). Both had perpetually burning fires and the pervading fragrance of incense (still observable at Chichicastenango, Guatemala), and both had trumpets and bells to announce religious ceremonies (depicted on the Bonampak walls). Temples in both places were presided over by priests, wearing long robes and turbans, who made blood sacrifices at the altars, gave communion, and took confession. Only high priests were allowed into the holy of holies. American priests, like the Levites, were entitled to their offices by tribal inheritance--families marked for that purpose… .
Both the Toltecs under Quetzalcoatl, and the Israelites, prohibited human sacrifice, but submitted to it on occasion. Later Aztecs instigated the sacrifice of children, and by conquest times they had allowed human sacrifice to reach unbelievable proportions. More often in earlier times animals were sacrificed--but only unblemished ones. Like the Israelites, American natives were forbidden to eat the flesh of certain animals (like the peccary, or South American swine). Purification rituals for birth were similar, and in both areas boys of eight-days of age were circumcised. According to Sahagun, both cultures brought their first-born young men to the temple to serve.
The most revered possession of the Palestine Jews was their Ark of the Covenant, a symbolic resting place for God. It was an elaborately decorated box kept in the temple and touched only on certain occasions by designated priests. Instances are rare, but Duran reports that the Mexicas had a similar Ark at Huexotzingo, “held in as much reverence as that of the Jews.” Kingsborough states that only specific persons could touch the sacred object. James Adair, an eighteenth-century writer who lived for forty years among the North American Indians and thoroughly believed they were of Jewish origins, notes a similar Ark among the Cherokee and tribes along the Mississippi. [T.J. O’Brien, Fair Gods and Feathered Serpents, pp. 196-197]