Gates, to most people, are essentially a means of keeping some things in and allowing other things to get out of an enclosed area. When I was a young teenager, toward the end of the summer, I sometimes worked on a farm, putting up hay. Whether we were leaving a hay field or going into the barnyard it seemed like we were always closing one gate and opening another. These were usually large gates that would allow the hay wagon or a truck to get through while keeping the animals where they should be. The farm house was fenced in also to keep the chickens and other small animals out of the yard where the garden was usually located. When it was time for dinner we would enter through a small gate, a ‘people gate,’ to get to the house. The common phrase wherever we went on the farm was, “Be sure to close that gate.” or “Jump off the wagon and run up ahead and open that gate for us.”
When we went to church on Sunday, the minister sometimes talked of a gate, but to distinguish it from the others he added an adjective. His gate was referred to as the ‘pearly gate’ which a person needed to access in order to get into heaven. When in school our teacher, while discussing history, would refer to a major passageway, such as a river, canal, trail, or railroad as the gateway to the west, etc.
We seldom think of gates in a philosophical way but yet there is some very significant meanings to gates when we do. The early Romans had a series of mythological gods that they worshiped, one of whom was a god named Janus. Janus was described as the ‘god of gates’ and ‘new beginnings.’ He was depicted, physically, as a man with two faces, one of which was facing back, toward the past, and one was facing forward, toward the future. He was their god who represented change and transitions, such as the progression from past to future. The reason Janus, ‘the god of gates’ was thought to represent beginnings came from the idea that one must emerge through a gate before entering a new place.
The first month of the Roman calendar year, is January, named after Janus the ‘god of gates.’
January is the time when we leave the old year and enter through the gate of a new one, a time of transition from old to new. We can never completely leave our past behind since there were many valuable lessons learned. The face looking back represents our selectively taking from the past whatever gems of wisdom that may be of value in our future. It would not only be impossible but very foolish for us to think that we could leave everything behind. Even things we repent of are not totally forgotten, if so, there is danger that they may be repeated.
The idea of New Years resolutions possibly started with the Roman god Janus and later supported by Christian philosophy. Paul, when writing to the Colossians, advised new members of the church to set their affections on things above, not on things of the earth. He stated that we should, “…put off the old man with his deeds, and put on the new man…where there is neither Greek nor Jew, (prejudices)…put on …as the elect of God…kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering…forgiving one another… and above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. Why? Because, We have entered in at the ‘strait gate’ and now we must endure by staying in the narrow path. (holding onto the iron rod) (Colossians 3:1–14 )The narrow gate to heaven requires repentance, baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands by one having authority. Both a strait gate and narrow gate are referenced in the New Testament, they are sometimes used interchangeably and mean the same thing, probably, in reference to the specific requirements necessary to get through.
After going through the gate we must stay on a narrow path.
Once the thought of gates is in our conscious mind, it seems that everything we read and everywhere we go, we see or hear about gates. When my mother died many years ago, among her belongings was a small Sunday School coloring book with simple Bible stories in it.
It happened to be mine from childhood, as a member of a Lutheran Sunday school class. As I thumbed through it, it brought back memories of the time when I sat in that class. One of the stories was about Jacob, who while traveling in the wilderness became tired and stopped at a certain place to rest. He found a rock that he used for a pillow and as he rested he had a dream. In his dream he saw a ladder with angels descending and ascending. The Lord stood at the top of the ladder and He spoke to Jacob: He gave Jacob, essentially, the same promises that were given to father Abraham, that through his seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Jacob’s response to that event was, “This is none other but the house of God, and this is the ‘gate of heaven.” (Genesis 28:12–19) Jacob was introduced to a gate where he left his past and moved to a higher sphere of spirituality. Joseph Smith said, of that event, that the three main rungs of Jacob’s ladder represented the Telestial, Terrestrial and the Celestial degrees of glory.
President Marion G. Romney added that Jacob received his endowment at that very spot. That is why Jacob later called the name of that place Bethel, meaning the house of the Lord.
Many gates require ‘keys’ and the gate that Jacob referred to as the ‘gate of heaven’ and the keys to enter that gate (keys to perform temple ordinances) have been returned to the earth in these last days. Earthly ordinances are required for the living and the dead. May Heavenly Father bless us to recognize the importance of gates in our lives. That we might open some and close others, in order to leave the unimportant and the insignificant things from our past behind. That we may open and enter through the right gate and progress forward and endure while staying on the narrow path.