The Prophets have taught that the gospel is unchanging and the saving ordinances were planned from the beginning of the world and will forever be this way. Don’t believe me? Then believe them:

“The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “Ordinances instituted in the heavens before the foundation of the world, in the priesthood, for the salvation of men, are not to be altered or changed.” August 2001 Ensign (page 22) “Now the purpose in Himself in the winding up scene of the last dispensation is that all things pertaining to that dispensation should be conducted precisely in accordance with the preceding dispensations…. He set the temple ordinances to be the same forever and ever and set Adam to watch over them, to reveal them from heaven to man, or to send angels to reveal them.” The Prophet Joseph Smith, History of the Church, vol.4, p. 208 “No jot, iota, or tittle of the temple rites is otherwise than uplifting and sanctifying. In every detail the endowment ceremony contributes to covenants of morality of life, consecration of person to high ideals, devotion to truth, patriotism to nation, and allegiance to God.” Apostle James E. Talmage, The House of the Lord, 1968, p. 84 It was the design of the councils of heaven before the world was, that the principles and laws of the priesthood should be predicated upon the gathering of the people in every age of the world. Jesus did everything to gather the people, and they would not be gathered, and He therefore poured out curses upon them. Ordinances instituted in the heavens before the foundation of the world, in the priesthood, for the salvation of men, are not to be altered or changed. All must be saved on the same principles… If a man gets a fullness of the priesthood of God he has to get it in the same way that Jesus Christ obtained it, and that was by keeping all the commandments and obeying all the ordinances of the house of the Lord. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 308) The Gospel can not possibly be changed…. the saving principles must ever be the same. They can never change…. the Gospel must always be the same in all of its parts…. no one can change the Gospel… if they attempt to do so, they only set up a man-made system which is not the Gospel, but is merely a reflection of their own views…. if we substitute ‘any other Gospel,’ there is no salvation in it…. the Lord and His Gospel remain the same–always.” The Prophet’s Message, Church News, June 5, 1965

Got it? The temple ordinances do not change. Here is a list of temple changes through history:

1842 Two months after his initiation into Freemasonry, Joseph Smith administers the first endowments on the upper floor of his Nauvoo store. The rite consists of washing, anointing, clothing in the garment, and instruction in the signs, tokens, and keywords of the holy priesthood.

1843 Eternal marriage (sealings) and the second anointing are instituted.

Women receive the endowment for the first time.

Women receive the endowment for the first time. 1845 Under Brigham’s Young leadership, the endowment is performed in the Nauvoo Temple as a ritual drama, with a Creation Room, Garden Room, Telestial Room, Terrestrial Room, and Celestial Room.

1877 The first recorded endowments for the dead are performed.

Brigham Young produces the first written text of the endowment, for use in the St. George Temple.

Brigham Young produces the first written text of the endowment, for use in the St. George Temple. 1893 Church leaders order minor alterations to the language and procedures of the endowment, trying to ensure greater consistency in how the endowment is administered in different temples.

1904-1906 The endowment is publicly scrutinized during Congressional hearings to determine if senator-elect Reed Smoot has taken a treasonable oath. Of particular concern is the “oath of vengeance,” added to the ceremony after Joseph Smith’s death.

1919-1927 A committee appointed by Heber J. Grant produces a revised endowment to be used in all temples. Changes include:

– Eliminating the oath of vengeance.

– Omitting graphic descriptions from the penalties.

– Reducing the number of times the robes of the priesthood are changed from one shoulder to the other.

– Discontinuing temple choirs (who had formerly performed the hymn chosen by Lucifer’s preacher), in favor of congregational singing.

– Eliminating the oath of vengeance. – Omitting graphic descriptions from the penalties. – Reducing the number of times the robes of the priesthood are changed from one shoulder to the other. – Discontinuing temple choirs (who had formerly performed the hymn chosen by Lucifer’s preacher), in favor of congregational singing. 1923 The Church approves a shorter garment for optional use outside the temple (extending to the elbows and knees rather than the wrists and ankles). However, the longer garment remains mandatory for use in the temple.

1936 A codified explanation of the symbolism of the marks on the veil is added to the endowment.

1945 The endowment is administered in Spanish in the Mesa, Arizona temple, the first time the ceremony is administered in a language other than English.

1950s The first filmed versions of the endowment are made, for use in the Swiss and New Zealand temples (with different casts for different languages).

1960s Film becomes the standard medium for presenting the endowment. Filmed endowments take on a theatrical quality (with costumes, scenery, music, etc.) and are dubbed from English into other languages. As the filmed endowment makes congregational singing awkward, the preacher’s hymn is discontinued.

1970s Revisions are made to the portion of the ceremony involving Lucifer’s preacher: Lucifer no longer specifies the amount of the preacher’s salary, and a reference to Satan’s having black skin is omitted.

1975 The long, pre-1923 garment becomes optional in the temple and is eventually discontinued.

1978 The lifting of the priesthood ban on blacks makes the endowment available to all Latter-day Saints, regardless of race.

1990 Following surveys of Church members’ feelings about the endowment, major revisions are made:

All penalties, the five points of fellowship, and syllables purported to having meaning in the Adamic language are omitted.

The part of the preacher is eliminated, as well as a reference to Lucifer’s “popes and priests.”

Women no longer covenant to obey the law of their husbands.

Language which faults Eve for initiating the Fall is dropped.

Many references to Adam are replaced with references to Adam and Eve.

The lecture at the veil is discontinued.

Orders from Elohim are repeated fewer times for brevity’s sake.

2005 Procedures for the initiatory are revised such that initiates clothes themselves in the garment before entering the washing room, thus eliminating the final vestiges of ritual nudity (which had been curtailed by introduction of the shield, probably during the 1920s). Water and oil are applied to the head only, not to multiple parts of the body.

2008 Possibly out of consideration for the elderly and disabled, initiates are no longer instructed to stand while making covenants.

2016 Another major change in the washing and anointing ordinances has just been made. Patrons now are fully clothed for the washing and anointing in the same white clothing that will be worn in the main part of the endowment. There is no more shield or smock.

2019 It begins with a short, two minute message from the First Presidency, explaining that at times we update the endowment, that this came by revelation, and that members should not talk about any aspect of it, or even that there have been changes to the endowment. This explanation is not part of the Endowment, per se, but will play for a temporary period to explain.

The movie is new, consisting of little live action at all, mostly still pictures, even of Adam and Eve, with voice-over narration and new music.

Much of the repetitive “return and report” was eliminated.

God no longer speaks just to the man, but to both Adam and Eve equally.

The separate covenants of obedience for man and woman are integrated into a single covenant for all, with new language to obey god.

The robes are no longer applied for the Aaronic Priesthood, but rather, only done once for the Melchizedek/Terrestrial Kingdom. Slippers are no longer considered part of the robes and thus are not removed.

Instead of “That will do” after covenants, the text now says ‘Thank you’.

The Law of the Gospel is now referred to as the “Higher Law”.

The Law of Chastity is expressed with more equality.

At the end of the dramatic / movie section, BOTH Adam and Eve direct comments to the audience, and Eve has the last word.

No veiling of women.

Total time was between 1 hour 20 and 1 hour 22 minutes, compared to over 1 hour 40 for the prior endowment.

Sealings: Instead of women giving themselves and the men not, they both just to receive each other, and there’s talk of them counseling with each other and laboring together to raise a family and men are given a charge to be gentle.



On January 2, the first presidency of the church issued this statement:

“Whenever the Lord has had a people on the earth who will obey His word, they have been commanded to build temples. Scriptures document patterns of temple worship from the times of Adam and Eve, Moses, Solomon, Nephi, and others. With the restoration of the gospel in these latter days, temple worship has also been restored to bless the lives of people across the world and on the other side of the veil as well. Over these many centuries, details associated with temple work have been adjusted periodically, including language, methods of construction, communication, and record-keeping. Prophets have taught that there will be no end to such adjustments as directed by the Lord to His servants. A dedicated temple is the most holy of any place of worship on the earth. Its ordinances are sacred and are not discussed outside a holy temple.” First Presidency Official Statement, January 2 Mormon Newsroom

I bolded and italicized the most important part there. Prophets have taught there will be more changes and no end to adjustments? The founder of the ordinance taught that the endowment was set in stone before the foundation of the world. God told him that’s how it was. Subsequent prophets taught that that is how it was. Until they didn’t say anything about it and just quietly made changes to the ceremony.

In a recent Radio Free Mormon Podcast, Bill Reel and RFM do a great job of deconstructing the gaslighting that the church is doing here. Faithful members will read this statement and say well yeah, prophets have taught this because the first presidency is saying they did. But all people have been able to dig up since that statement are statements that say the exact opposite.

How is it that the saving oaths, covenants, signs, tokens, rites, and clothing that were organized before the foundation of the world have changed so many times?

Is God or the leadership caving to societal pressures of what is acceptable or not? Such as blacks wanting the priesthood and temple ordinances, garments being adjusted for modern clothing trends, women wanting equality in the eyes of God, old people not liking standing and sitting so many times during the session, the cumbersome changing back and forth of temple clothes mid-session, and people not liking pantomiming their own death and leaving the church.

Why have pieces of the endowment been eliminated all together if they were part of the endowment created before the foundation of the world, and that some members have made some covenants while others have not? Are members bound to comply with discontinued covenants?

RFM and Bill Reel also bring up a good point. The church claims to be a restoration of all things, but there’s no proof that this ceremony was performed in any way, shape, or form close to what is done today. For one, the masonic grips didn’t exist until the middle ages in the stone mason guilds long after David or Solomon. And we know that the temples of the Old Testament were used for burnt and incense offerings. Not to mention the substantial changes to and omissions of doctrine and ritual in this ordinance.

In the church they talk often of the saving covenants and ordinances of the temple. What is an ordinance? According to Meriam Webster an ordinance is:

an authoritative decree or direction a law set forth by a governmental authority something ordained or decreed by fate or a deity a prescribed usage, practice, or ceremony.

So the practice or ceremony is a law and decree from God. According to Joseph Smith to whom the ceremony was originally revealed, it cannot be changed. And yet it has, time and time again, been changed to make people more comfortable. That doesn’t sound like the God that Mormons worship, always accommodating people.

I say these things in the name of clarity, understanding, and truth.

Brother Ghost