I'm certain that you have been on an airline flight within the last ten years. Therefore you have probably seen the in-flight safety video. As we all know, those videos are horrid. The acting is awful. The production values are cheap. The musicat bestsounds like elevator muzak. So why do they keep showing it every time you board a flight? Probably because the video's value in saving your life outweighs its need in being commercially entertaining. The same is true of the temple video. One doesn't go to a Latter-day Saint temple to be entertained any more than one turns on "Friends" to discover the meaning of life.



What, then, is the purpose of a temple video? Originally, live actors carried out the temple ceremony. However, since the church has grown to 12 million members, and roughly 120 temples span the globe, it is impossible to extensively staff each temple with not just caretakers, cleaning crew, maintenance, but actors as well. Hence, the video was created, and done simply so that it could be dubbed in various languages.



Many wonder what happens behind those "closed doors" and what that "Mormon cult" is doing to brainwash its members. The temple ceremony is sacred, not secret. A trip to the temple is open to all who wish to enter (including a viewing of the temple video), as long as they have taken the necessary steps of baptism into the church and adhere to gospel standards.



Those who have not taken any sort of steps to spiritually prepare themselves (or, those who "sneak in" or lie to their priesthood authorities in a personal interview) often find the ceremonies of the temple dry, boring, and pointless. Those who make some effort to adhere to the gospel, however, leave the ceremony refreshed, motivated, and renewed. Those who have actually cracked open the scriptures at some point and actually tried to read a few passages will note many symbols and references given throughout the temple ceremony (including the video). To the dismay of anti-Mormons, the video contains no juicy secrets, crazy end of the world prophecies, or (according to some virulent anti-Mormons) sordid sex scenes. To the conspiracy theorist, it is a huge letdown. That's why so much anti-Mormon media contains so many inaccuracies and insinuations. There simply isn't enough stuff to fuel their hate, so they have to invent it.



Since its inception in 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been the victim of much persecution. Not many know, but in Missouri it was actually legal to kill a Mormon (It's not a joke, it was actually legal to take someone's life based on their religious belief. You don't agree with your Jewish/Buddhist/Jehovah's Witness friend? Why not kill him?) Today it is more verbal than physical. There are many who do not agree with the tenets of the LDS Church. That is perfectly fine, to each his own. However, the average person (LDS or not) should probably question why some people go to all the trouble of mocking LDS temple ceremonies, drive hundreds of miles to disrupt LDS conferences, and spit on artifacts Mormons hold sacred in front of their holy sanctuaries. Could it be that these close-minded, hate-filled "Christians" are the same type of people who would have called for the crucifixion of that controversial "menace to society", Jesus Christ, were they living 2,000 years ago?