During the exodus following the deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage, the Lord marked the place of holiness and the pathway for progress by means of unmistakable signs: “For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys” (Exodus 40:38; compare Numbers 9:15–20). In the celestial realm, this same glory will be the central source of enduring light: “And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 22:5). In the meantime, the dwelling places of Zion are to be repositories of light and truth as the Saints teach and live the principles of the gospel in their families. To the degree that families of Zion are righteous and obedient, they radiate the light of the truth in their countenances—and their homes therefore begin to display, however modestly, the “flaming fire” of the gospel. Could it be that our homes in Zion—like the temples of the Lord—will some day literally receive the visual “flaming fire” of God’s blessings to be upon them as we proceed toward that time when the glory of the Father and the Son will supplant all other light? Concerning this theme, Elder Orson Pratt offered the following words on June 15, 1873:
I do not see any cloud covering this house [the Salt Lake Tabernacle], or the congregation that is before me. What is the reason? The time has not yet come. The time is to come when God will meet with all the congregation of his Saints, and to show his approval, and that he does love them, he will work a miracle by covering them in the cloud of his glory. I do not mean something that is invisible, but I mean that same order of things which once existed on the earth so far as the tabernacle of Moses was concerned, which was carried in the midst of the children of Israel as they journeyed in the wilderness. Did God manifest himself in that tabernacle that was built according to the pattern which he gave unto his servant Moses? He did. In what way? In the day time a cloud filled that tabernacle. The Lord intended his people to be covered with the cloud continually, and he intended to reveal himself unto them, and to show forth his glory more fully amongst them; but they sinned so much in his sight that he declared—“My presence shall not go up with this people, lest I should break forth upon them in my fury and consume them in a moment.” Because of their wickedness he withdrew his presence, and his glory in a great measure was taken from them; but still Moses was permitted to enter the tabernacle, and to behold the glory of God, and it is said that he talked with the Lord face to face—a blessing which God did intend to bestow upon all Israel had they kept his law and had not hardened their hearts against him. But in the latter days there will be a people so pure in Mount Zion, with a house established upon the tops of the mountains, that God will manifest himself, not only in their Temple and upon all their assemblies, with a visible cloud during the day, but when the night shall come, if they shall be assembled for worship, God will meet with them by his pillar of fire; and when they retire to their habitations, behold each habitation will be lighted up by the glory of God—a pillar of flaming fire by night. (Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. [London: Latter-day Saints’ Book Depot, 1854–1886], 16:82–83)