The Temple

Within the temple the most important and sacred LDS ordinances are performed. Regardless of a person's righteousness, without these ordinances, they cannot attain the highest degree of God's glory in the hereafter. It should be the goal of every member to be worthy of entry into the temple, to receive the ordinances there for themselves, and to return often to do work for the dead. Worthiness for entry includes things such as acknowledging a faith and testimony of the Godhead, the atonement, and the restoration of the gospel; acknowledging sustaining all leaders of the church; living the law of chastity; paying a full tithe; not supporting, affiliating or agreeing with groups whose teachings or practices are contrary to the church's. (See information concerning temple recommend interviews and questions.)

Overview of LDS position

Gospel truths taught in the temple were first revealed in the days of Adam. Anciently, temples, tabernacles and other holy places were used by God to transmit gospel knowledge to His people through His prophets. Such knowledge was lost during the apostasy and restored by Joseph Smith, beginning with the Kirtland temple and culminating in the Nauvoo temple. Within the temple worthy members receive sacred instruction and saving ordinances. During the washing ordinance initiates receive new underclothing, known as garments, which they are to wear for the rest of their lives, both day and night.

Overview of Critics' position

The LDS temple ceremony has many parallels to Masonic rites, and for good reason: Joseph Smith introduced the rites into the LDS temple about two months after becoming a Freemason himself, and fourteen years after his brother Hyrum and (possibly 34 years) after his father both became Freemasons. The rituals taken from Masonry cannot have come from Solomon's time (as many Mormons believe) as Masonry did not originate until no earlier than the 1600s AD. Although claimed to be sacred and not secret, the rites within the temple have cult-like trappings (until 1990 initiates were required to make a blood-oath) and actually used the phrase "guarded by solemn covenants and obligations of secrecy" within the ceremony. Many members feel that requiring an entrance fee (in the form of tithing) to get to God's greatest reward is not in keeping with Christ's atoning sacrifice being a free gift to all.

NOTE

Early in 2012, some of the MormonThink editors elected to remove the Temple section from our website in an effort to appease some Latter-day Saints who expressed their reluctance to have any sort of public discussion on any aspect of the temple. However, the current editors of MT decided this information was too important to not discuss openly in light of the fact that Mitt Romney was running for president and many people wondered about the significance that the temple oaths may have on the man having such a powerful position in the world. Also, the section was restored in order to be fair to the critics who claim that the problems with the temple ceremony and Masonic rituals are some of the strongest evidences against Mormonism—even if the Church is reluctant to discuss the topic.

We added several topics including:

Member Beliefs

The temple ceremony is one of the most important ancient ordinances restored by Joseph Smith. The washing, anointing and endowment ceremonies are necessary ordinances for exaltation.

Some Latter-day Saints have heard that the LDS temple ceremony may have some similarities with Masonry and the reason is that the Masons learned of the temple ceremony from building Solomon's temple during Old Testament times but over the millennia the original ceremony became corrupted. President Heber C. Kimball stated "We have the true Masonry" (see complete quote in following section). Many devout Mormons know that Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and many other early leaders of the Church were Masons.

Most devout Mormons believe the current temple ceremony is a restoration of the Old Testament temple rites from the days of Solomon and back to Adam, remaining the same since Joseph restored them. Any resemblance to Masonic clothing or rituals is only minor, and this is because they have the same ancient roots from the days of Solomon.

WEBSITE EDITOR COMMENT:

Due to members' belief in the sacred nature of the temple ceremony, we initially tried to be sensitive and not directly reference temple ordinances. However, we found it impossible to thoroughly discuss troubling issues many Latter-day Saints have without being open and specific about the activities in the temple. Complete, accurate scripts as well as video footage is readily available on the Internet, however we give our own opinions regarding these ceremonies.

The websites used primarily for the critics arguments are Similarities Between the Freemasonry of the 1830s and the Mormon Endowment (pre-1940) by Richard Packham, Ephesians 5:11 - Secret Masonic Handshakes, Passwords, Grips and Signs of Blue Lodge Masonry, Mason/Endowment Comparison (archived page) and the Temple Endowments Ceremony. Richard Packham and Sandra Tanner are two of the most knowledgeable people we know about the LDS Temple ceremony. We suggest contacting them if you have questions.

From Richard Packam's site:

Even non-Mormons sometimes object to articles such as the one you are now reading, since such articles reveal Mormons' religious secrets to a curious - and perhaps unworthy and even mocking - world. Many people, not only devout Mormons, feel that it is wrong to do this. Usually two reasons for the objection are given: 1) things that anyone holds sacred should not be profaned, mocked or ridiculed by anyone else, even by one who does not consider them sacred; and 2) the person who is revealing the secrets usually is someone who obtained the secrets only by swearing an oath of secrecy, and thus is breaking an oath. As to the first objection, this article does not "mock" or "ridicule" the secrets of the Mormon temple; it merely reveals them. Also, it seems rather odd to refuse to discuss objectively and openly any subject just because someone else feels that subject is taboo. I doubt that many Mormons would refuse to discuss the sacred initiation rituals of some primitive African tribe or some Satanist cult on the grounds that the tribe or cult considered those rites sacred. As to the second objection, the validity and binding nature of an oath or any promise depends, both legally and morally, upon the validity of the mutually accepted facts underlying the demanding and the giving of the oath. The oath of secrecy given by a Mormon in the temple is based on the assurance and sacred promise by the church that the oath is required by God, and that the secrets one will receive are given by God. If those assurances are in fact false, then one cannot be bound either legally or morally by any such oath, since it was obtained by a lie. (For further discussion of this issue, click here.)

"Mormon Temples and Temple Rituals" by Richard Packham.

The temple ceremony appears to be copied from the Masons

Heber C. Kimball, a Mason himself said,

We have the true Masonry. The Masonry of today is received from the apostasy which took place in the days of Solomon, and David. They have now and then a thing that is correct, but we have the real thing.

Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 13 November, 1858, 1085, LDS archives; see also Stanley B. Kimball, Heber C. Kimball: Mormon Patriarch and Pioneer.

To anyone who has knowledge of both the LDS Temple Ceremony (especially the pre-1990 temple ceremony) and Mason Rites it is very apparent that they have many similarities. Many things are exactly the same. Even knowledgeable Mormons admit that the endowment ceremony (especially in its earlier versions) contains many details that are similar to the Masonic initiation rites of Joseph Smith's day. The symbols, oaths, handclasps, and terminology resemble the Masonic ritual in hundreds of ways.

The clearest evidence of Masonic influence on the Nauvoo temple ceremony is a comparison of texts. Three elements of the Nauvoo endowment and its contemporary Masonic ritual resemble each other so closely that they are sometimes identical. These are the tokens, signs, and penalties.

David Buerger, Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship, Chapter 3: Joseph Smith's Ritual

First Presidency Comment

Because of their Masonic characters the ceremonies of the temple are sacred and not for the public.

October 15, 1911; Messages of First Presidency, 4: 250

Even today the 'Masonic emblems' such as the compass, square, level, pentagram, all-seeing eye, sun, moon, stars are displayed on the walls of the LDS Temples. The temple ceremonies were actually performed in the local Masonic Halls in the early days of the Church.

Many of the early LDS leaders were Masons.

Joseph Smith and many of the most prominent early members of the Mormon Church were also members of the Masonic Lodge. There is no doubt that Joseph Smith knew the Masonic Rituals before he introduced the Temple Ceremony. Joseph was initiated as an entered apprentice Mason on March 15, 1842, and received the fellow craft and master degrees the following day. He introduced the full endowment ceremony which included the secret signs, tokens, passwords, and penalties, just seven weeks later on May 4, 1842 (see History of the Church, Vol. 5, pp. 1-2).

There was no effort in the early history of the church to conceal any similarities between Masonic rituals and the Mormon Temple Endowment. Indeed, men like Heber C. Kimball said that:

Bro Joseph Ses Masonary was taken from preasthood but has become degen[e]rated. But menny things are perfect. Letter from Heber C. Kimball to Parley P. Pratt, June 17, 1842.

As Mervin Hogan, a Mormon Mason, explained in 1991:

[L]ittle room for doubt can exist in the mind of an informed, objective analyst that the Mormon Temple Endowment and the rituals of ancient Craft Masonry are seemingly intimately and definitely involved. Mervin B. Hogan, Freemasonry and Mormon Ritual (Salt Lake City: author, 1991), p. 22.

Fawn Brodie, a biographer of Joseph Smith, wrote:

The Mormon Temple endowment ceremony is without a doubt taken from the Masonic ceremonies Joseph Smith participated in just weeks before he introduced the temple endowment. The grips, tokens, covenants, secret words, keys, etc. were word for word the same when first introduced. Members who were Masons previous to Joseph joining the fraternal order unashamedly referred to the Mormon endowment as "celestial masonry." Fawn Brodie, No Man Knows My History, pp. 279-283

How do the Masons feel about this?

By the 1840s, many Mormon leaders in Nauvoo, including Smith and apostles Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, became Masons and organized a lodge there under the auspices of the Grand Lodge of Illinois. It wasn't long before nearly every male member of the church in the area had joined. At the same time, Smith introduced LDS temple rituals that included secret handshakes, signs and symbols like the all-seeing eye, the compass and square (tools of the mason's trade) and the sun, moon and stars that echoed Masonry.

Soon, though, other Masons felt that the Mormons were dominating the fraternity. In 1842, the Nauvoo Lodge was suspended. Many Mormons believed that Masons contributed to the murder of their prophet.

Antagonisms built up between the two groups. In Utah in 1860, Masonic lodges were established but they prohibited Mormons from joining. At the same time, Young forbade Mormons from joining and refused to allow any Mason to hold priesthood leadership positions in the church, Literski says.

It wasn't until 1984 that LDS President Spencer W. Kimball removed the prohibition against Latter-day Saints becoming Freemasons. Later that year, the Grand Lodge of Utah removed its own ban on Mormon membership so that, in the ensuing years, many Latter-day Saint men have returned to this part of their heritage.

All the aspects of the Masonic ceremony that Joseph needed for his Endowment ceremony were known through exposes that had been published. The most famous was Illustrations of Masonry written in 1826 by William Morgan (more readable version here), who disappeared that same year and presumed murdered for divulging the Masonry rituals. Interestingly his widow, Lucinda, married George Washington Harris in 1830. Both of them joined the Church in Terre Haute, Indiana under the hands of Orson Pratt in 1834. In 1838 they moved to Far West, Missouri. During March 1838 Joseph Smith, Emma and their children moved in with the Harris family for about two months. It is believed during this time that Joseph entered into a polyandrous relationship with Lucinda and was later sealed to him posthumously 22 January 1846.

References

Masonry details in the LDS temple ceremony

Salt Lake City Temple - exterior

A detailed comparison between the endowment and Masonry shows beyond any doubt a strong connection between Masonry and the LDS temple ceremony.

The following comes from this website Link is here.

and offers explicit details of exactly what is common to both Masonry and the LDS Temple Ceremony. (note: some elements of the temple ceremony are taken from versions of the temple ceremony that existed prior to 1990).

Note that the endowment conducted in the Kirtland Temple prior to Joseph's induction into Masonry apparently didn't contain any of these elements. It was only after his induction that the Masonic rituals found their way into the endowment conducted in the Nauvoo Temple. These Masonic signs and tokens are considered critical by the LDS church, as the individual is believed to be required to present them before being allowed into the Celestial Kingdom.

Joseph's introduction of the endowment ceremony came two months after he had been initiated into Freemasonry.

LDS Endowment and Masonic Initiation

This article will quote transcripts from both the LDS endowment ceremony and the Masonic initiation. Also, a very detailed description of the endowment ceremony, including drawings of the temple garments, can be found at the Mormon Temple Endowment Homepage

The description of the Masonic initiation and the figures were taken from "Illustrations of Masonry by One of the Fraternity", by Captain William Morgan, Batavia, New York, 1827. Link is here.. Also, the "Monitor of Free-Masonry", by Jabez Richardson, Chicago;(n.d). illustrates some of the higher degrees not mentioned in Morgan's book Link is here.. The statements for Richardson's book were taken directly from Jerald and Sandra Tanner's book "The Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony: 1842-1990" and will be identified with asterisks "***". Although we present the "higher" degrees along with the degrees described from William Morgan's book, please note that they are from two different Masonic rituals. You can contact the Utah Lighthouse Ministry.

!WARNING!

If you do not choose to know about these two ceremonies or think that you may be offended by reading them DO NOT READ ON!If you are a Mormon who has not been through the LDS temple some of the temple rites are disclosed, likewise for Masons. This article was not meant to offend the reader, only to educate them on the similarities between the two ceremonies. In keeping with this purpose, we have purposefully only included areas of where there are similarities between the two rites. The inclusion of some similarities does not exclude others. Also, note that the similarities were reduced after the 1990 Temple Ceremony revisions. Mormons that only participated in post 1990 ceremonies may not recognize the five points of fellowship and penalty signs.

Similarities

MASONIC PREPARATION ROOM MORMON DRESSING ROOM "He is ushered into the "preparation room" where he meets the Junior Deacon and Stewards who divest him of all his clothing except his shirt. He is then handed an old pair of drawers which he puts on; …" "The candidate, being directed to these washing and dressing rooms and having divested himself of all his clothing, awaits his time in bath with his special inner garments over his shoulder." MASONIC COMPASS MORMON COMPASS "The candidate then enters, the Senior Deacon at the same time pressing his naked left breast with the point of the compass,…" "… on the garments -- the compass on the left [breast]…" MASONIC SQUARE MORMON SQUARE "As he enters, the angle of the square is pressed hard against his naked right breast,…" "…the square on the right side [of the garment]…" MASONS WASHING CEREMONY MORMON WASHING CEREMONY "Master orders the basin of the perfumed water and a clean napkin to be brought to him, and directs candidate to wash his hands, which he does…Master takes a box of perfumed ointment and anoints candidate on his head, eyes, mouth, heart, the tip of his right ear, hand, foot, and says -- You are now, my dear brother, received a member of our society;…" *** "As the candidate is washed, the official hurries through the lustration ritual …. the candidate is passed on to another attendant and is anointed with oil. The oil is very definitely applied to various organs of his body." MASONS PRESENTING NEW NAME TO CANDIDATE MORMON TEMPLE WORKER PRESENTS NEW NAME TO CANDIDATE "I also present you with a new name; it is CAUTION" "With these garments I give you a new name which is never to be divulged to anyone…The name I shall give you is ________." MAN REPRESENTING ADAM IN MASONIC CEREMONY MAN REPRESENTING ADAM IN MORMON CEREMONY "Thrice Puissant Grand Master, representing Father Adam, is stationed in the east." *** (This occurs in the Knight of the Sun Degree.) "Elohim -- (Turning to the audience) -- 'This man who is now being operated upon is Michael who helped form the world. When he awakes…he will be known as Adam" MAN REPRESENTING DEITY IN MASONIC CEREMONY MAN REPRESENTING GOD IN MORMON CEREMONY "One of the members now personates the Deity, behind the bush, and calls out Moses! Moses!" *** (This occurs in the Royal Arch Degree.) "When all is quiet, a man dressed in white flannels, representing Elohim, comes from behind the curtain…" MASONS USE A MALLET MORMONS USE A MALLET "…he gives a rap with the common gavel or mallet, …" "…one of the temple workers,…gives three raps with a mallet…"

Most of the following is from the earlier versions of the temple ceremony that were used in the early and mid 1800s. The point here is to show that the temple ceremony first established by Joseph was taken from Masonry. So many members may not recognize some of the LDS ceremony, as they experienced later versions of the ceremony which had since been altered somewhat.

MASONIC ENTERED APPRENTICE VS. FIRST TOKEN OF THE AARONIC PRIESTHOOD

MASONIC PENALTY SIGN MORMON PENALTY SIGN "Made from the due-guard by dropping the left hand carelessly; at the same time raise the right arm and draw the hand, still open, across the throat, thumb next [to] the throat, and drop the hand perpendicular by the side." "In executing the sign of the penalty, the right hand, palm downward, is drawn sharply across the throat, then dropped from the square to the side"

MASONIC GRIP MORMON GRIP "The right hands are joined together as in shaking hands and each sticks his thumb nail into the third joint or upper end of the fore finger." "The Grip -- Hands clasped, pressing the knuckle of the index finger with the thumb" MASONIC WORDING CONCERNING THE GRIP MORMON WORDING CONCERNING THE GRIP The Master and candidate holding each other by the grip, as before described, the Master says. 'What is this?'

Ans. 'A grip.'

A grip of what?'

Ans. 'The grip of an Entered Apprentice Mason.'

'Has it a name?'

Ans. 'It has.'

Will you give it to me?'

Ans. 'I did not so receive it, neither can I so impart it.'

Peter -- 'What is that?'

Adam -- 'The first token of the Aaronic Priesthood.'

Peter -- 'Has it a name?'

Adam -- 'It has.'

Peter -- 'Will you give it to me?'

Adam -- 'I can not, for it is connected with my new name, but this is the sign.'

MASONIC OATH MORMON OATH "… binding myself under no less penalty than to have my throat cut across, my tongue torn out by the roots …" "We and each of us, covenant and promise that we will not reveal any secrets of this… Should we do so, we agree that our throats be cut from ear to ear and our tongues torn out by their roots."

MASONIC FELLOW CRAFT VS. SECOND TOKEN OF THE AARONIC PRIESTHOOD

MASONIC GRIP MORMON GRIP "Take each other's hands as in ordinary hand-shaking and press the top of your thumb hard against the space between the first and second knuckles of the right hand." "The Grip is given by clasping the hand and pressing the thumb in the hollow between the first and second knuckle of the hand." MASONIC OATH MORMON OATH "…binding myself under no less penalty than to have my left breast torn open and my heart and vitals taken from thence and thrown over my left shoulder." "We and each of us do covenant and promise that we will not reveal the secrets of this…Should we do so, we agree to have our breasts cut open and our hearts and vitals torn from our bodies " MASONIC PENALTY SIGN MORMON PENALTY SIGN "The sign is given by drawing your right hand flat, with the palm of it next to your breast from the left to the right side with some quickness, and dropping it down by your side" "The Sign is made by placing the left arm on the square at the level of the shoulder, placing the right hand across the chest with the thumb extended and the drawing it rapidly from the left to right and dropping it" MASONIC NAME GIVEN MORMON NAME GIVEN "Brother, I now present you with my right hand, in token of brotherly love and confidence, and with it the pass-grip and word of a Fellow Craft Mason …. the name of it is Shibboleth." "The Name is the given name of the candidate."

MASONIC MASTER MASON VS. FIRST AND SECOND TOKEN OF THE MELCHIZEDECH PRIESTHOOD

MASONIC SIGN MORMON SIGN "The sign is given by raising both hands and arms to the elbows, perpendicular, one each side of the head, the elbows forming a square." "The sign is made by bringing both hands to the square, palms to the front MASONIC PENALTY SIGN MORMON PENALTY SIGN "The Penal Sign is given by putting the right hand to the left side of the bowels, the hand open, with the thumb next to the belly, and letting it fall; this is done tolerably quick." "As the last words are spoken the hands are dropped till the thumbs are in the center of the stomach and drawn swiftly across the stomach to the hips, and then dropped to the sides." MASONIC OATH MORMON OATH "binding myself under no less penalty than to have my body severed in two in the midst…" "We and each one of us do covenant and promise that we will not reveal any of the secrets of this… Should we do so, we agree that our bodies be cut asunder in the midst and all our bowels gush out." MASONIC GRIP MORMON GRIP (Slightly Different Method of Grip) "Grasp each other's right hands very firmly, the spaces between the thumb and first finger being in interlocked and the tops of the fingers being pressed hard against each other's wrist where it joins the hand, the fingers of each being somewhat spread." "The Grip is made by grasping the hand, the forefinger on center of the wrist and little fingers locked" MASONIC GRAND HAILING SIGN AND DUE GUARD MORMON PAY, LAY, ALE "The sign is given by raising both hands and arms to the elbows, perpendicularly, one on each side of the head, the elbows forming a square."

"The due guard is made by holding both hands in front, palms down…" "The sign is made by elevating both the arms above the head…the arms dropped to the square,… and then to the sides." MASONIC APRON MORMON APRON "While the Wardens are examining the candidate, the Master returns to the east and gets an apron, and as he returns to the candidate… The Master then says to the candidate, "Brother, I now have the honor to present you with a lamb-skin or white apron…" "Adam-- (Turning to the audience)-- 'In your bundles brethren and sisters, you will each find an apron, you will now put it on."

MASONIC RAISING OF HIRAM ABIFF vs. MORMON VEIL

MASONIC FIVE-POINTS OF FELLOWSHIP AS HIRAM ABIFF's DEAD BODY IS RAISED MORMON FIVE-POINTS OF FELLOWSHIP AT THE VEIL "He (the candidate) is raised on what is called the five points of fellowship, which are foot to foot, knee to knee, breast to breast, hand to back and mouth to ear." "The five points of fellowship are given by putting the inside of the right foot to the inside of the Lord's, the inside of your knee to his, laying your breast close to his, your left hands on each other's backs, and each one putting his mouth to the other's ear…." MASTER MASON RAISING CANDIDATE MORMON PASSING THROUGH THE VEIL "The Master, in raising him, is assisted by some of the brethren, who take hold of the candidate by the arms and shoulders; as soon as he is raised to his feet, they step back, and the Master whispers the word ###### in his ear, and causes the candidate to repeat it, telling him that he must never give it in any manner other than that in which he receives it. He is told that ###### signifies marrow in the bone. They then separate …" At the five points of fellowship "… one putting his mouth to the other's ear, in which position the Lord whispers: Lord--'This is the sign of the token: 'Health to the navel, marrow in the bones, strength in the loins and sinews, and power in the priesthood be upon me and my posterity through all generations of time and throughout all eternity."

Editor comment: The similarities are explainable only if the original Masons working at Solomon's temple had learned temple ceremony secrets and kept them long after Solomon's temple was destroyed as many LDS believe.

References

Did the Masons originally have the temple ceremony?

Faithful LDS that are aware of the undeniable similarities between the LDS Temple Ceremony and the Masonry Rituals usually reconcile that issue by echoing what the early prophets have said. Essentially the stance is that the Masons originally had the true temple ordinances from the original true church that existed in Old Testament times. These rituals are believed to have been practiced by the members of God's true church in Solomon's Temple.

Some Latter-day Saints feel obliged to hold to the view that Masonry derived from King Solomon's Temple, because it is theologically less complicated to do so than accept the historical roots of Masonry. As one Masonic writer recently noted:

With books such as McGavin's Mormonism and Masonry still in circulation, and perpetuation of the tradition of antiquity in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, it is hard to overcome the Latter-day Saint belief that Masonry is derived from King Solomon's Temple. As long as LDS believe in the origination of Masonic ceremonies with Solomon, resentment of this 'apostate' ceremony will continue on the part of many Mormons. Some change is occurring, as seen in Michael Homer's Dialogue essay, and a February 4, 1995 Salt Lake Tribune article which discussed the relationship between the two groups. However, Dialogue is not as widely read among Latter-day Saints as other publications…. [Furthermore,] the Tribune article did not explain that most Masons no longer claim antiquity for the ritual, a facet of the misunderstanding which this author believes is critical.

Why do members believe that Masonry was used in Solomon's time?





Many members believe this for two primary reasons. The first reason is that prophets such as Heber C. Kimball said as such as quoted in the first section above. The second reason is that in the early 1800s it was commonly believed by many Masons, particularly the less educated members, that the origins of Masonry are thousands of years old and came from Solomon's time.

What do the Masons say?

The knowledgeable current members of Masonry are very convinced that Masonry has its origins much more recently and they are certain that the Mason ceremonies do not date back to Solomon's time (around 1000 B.C.) from the Old Testament. The Mason rituals date at least two thousand years after Solomon. In the last 100 years most Masons now know this but it may have been widely believed in 1800s that they actually descended from Solomon's temple.

Despite claims that Masonry extends back to Solomon's Temple, in fact the rites of Masonry emerged around the thirteenth century. It originated in Britain as a trade guild, though it incorporated symbols dating back to various cults in antiquity. Masonry thus comes from an era that LDS doctrine associates with the great apostasy. For Mormonism to copy its crowning ordinances from rites that emerged during the dark ages presents a problem.

Even more disturbing is that the Masonry rituals that most closely resemble the LDS temple ceremony have their origins much more recently - only the 1700s and nowhere near the thousands of years old that would be from Solomon's time.

LDS historians confirm the Masonry ceremonies do not come from Bible Times

LDS historian David John Buerger

LDS historian David John Buerger conceded that there is no validity to Joseph Smith's claim that Masonic rituals were of ancient origin:

"The traditional origin of Freemasonry (which 'enlightened' Masons view as mythological or legendary) is the construction of Solomon's temple by Master Mason Hiram Abiff. Actually Freemasonry was a development of the craft guilds during the construction of the great European cathedrals during the tenth to seventeenth centuries. After the Middle Ages, lodges in Scotland and Great Britain began to accept honorary members and worked out rudimentary ceremonies to distinguish members of trade organizations. In 1717 four fraternal lodges, perhaps actual masons' lodges, united as the Grand Lodge of England, considered the beginning of organized Freemasonry or 'speculative Masonry.' The order spread quickly to other countries and included such prominent adherents as Mozart, Voltaire, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin. Some historians believe that Masons staged the Boston Tea Party. Latter-day Saints may feel that Masonry constitutes a biblical-times source of uncorrupted knowledge from which the temple ceremony could be drawn. However, historians of Freemasonry generally agree that the trigradal system of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason, as practiced in Nauvoo, cannot be traced further back than the eighteenth century. According to Douglas Knoop and G. P. Jones, two knowledgeable twentieth-century historians, it is 'highly probable' that the system of Masonry practiced at the organization of the Grand Lodge in London 'did not consist of three distinct degrees.' They warn, 'It would probably not be safe to fix a date earlier than 1723 or 1725 for the origin' of the trigradal system. 'Accepted Masonry underwent gradual changes throughout a period of years stretching from well before 1717 to well after that date…. The earliest speculative phase of Freemasonry may be regarded as beginning about 1730…. Though some symbolism had doubtless crept into Masonry by that date, it would not appear to have reached its full development for another forty or fifty years.' " (The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship, pp. 45-46.)

FAIR's Website

The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR) is the largest pro-LDS apologetic group. They are some of the most active defenders of the LDS Church. They defend the church from what they consider unfair attacks by critics, the media and 'anti-Mormons'.

We were somewhat startled to find that FAIR admits that Masonry does not date back to Bible Times. They openly state that the Masonry Rituals that resemble the LDS Temple Ceremony date from the 1700s and definitely were not used in Solomon's temple.

If you go to FAIR's official site and search for 'Masonry' you will find many articles and quotes that support the fact that the Masonry rituals clearly do not date from Solomon's time. Here's a few:

"Unfortunately, there is no historical evidence to support a continuous functioning line from Solomon's Temple to the present. We know what went on in Solomon's Temple; it's the ritualistic slaughter of animals." "The Message and the Messenger: Latter-day Saints and Freemasonry" by Greg Kearney fairlds.org (scroll to the last page) "Masonry, while claiming a root in antiquity, can only be reliably traced to mediaeval stone tradesmen." "It is clear that Freemasonry and its traditions played a role in the development of the endowment ritual." fairlds.org

John Lynch, LDS Chairman of FAIR

John Lynch, head of FAIR confirms in a podcast on mormonstories.org that the Masons did not have the temple ceremony from Solomon's time. To listen, go to Link is here. - I'm not sure which of the three parts it's on, but Brother Lynch admits to John Dehlin that many commonly-held beliefs of the members are untrue - specifically mentioned are that there were NOT more women than men in the church when they practiced polygamy and that the Masons did not really have the temple ceremony from Solomon's time. He even jokes that 'anti-Mormons' will use what he said against him.

Greg Kearney

Greg Kearney is a lifelong, multi-generational Mormon and Master Mason. Per FAIR's website: 'Greg Kearney is an active temple-attending Latter-day Saint as well as a life member of Franklin Lodge #123 A.F. & A.M. as well as several lodges of research. He gives Masonic education lectures at lodges on the history and relationship of Freemasonry to the development of the Latter-day Saint temples.'

Brother Kearney has written many article for FAIR. He was interviewed by John Dehlin of Mormonstories.org. We found it to be a very interesting podcast. He is a devout Mormon and defends the LDS Church. As a perhaps 10th generation Mason he is very knowledge about Masonry.

In the mormonstories.org podcast Brother Kearney is quite candid in stating that the Masonry Rituals do not come from Solomon's time or anywhere even close to that. He completely refutes the commonly-held defense among many Latter-day Saints that believe that the LDS temple Ceremony is similar to Masonry Rituals because the original Masons working at Solomon's temple had learned temple ceremony secrets and kept them long after Solomon's temple was destroyed.

Per mormonstories.org: 'In this podcast he discusses the history of Masonry, how it became associated with the LDS Church, and why he feels like this association is a positive, and not a negative one. We go into surprising depth not just on the respective temple ceremonies (without being disrespectful, or violating covenants of course), but also on Joseph Smith's involvement during the Nauvoo years. You will be amazed at his knowledge on these topics. The podcast is available here:

Mormon Stories Podcast # 005: Masonry and Mormonism, an Interview with Greg Kearney

Editor comment: We respect Brother Kearney's candor in refuting the idea that the LDS Temple Ceremony similarities with Masonry could be simply explained by the notion that the Masons originally had the knowledge of the Temple Ceremony from Solomon's time - even though many LDS believe it and many prophets have taught it.

In trying to explain that problem, Brother Kearney's approach is that in the development of the ritual of the temple endowment, Joseph Smith used Masonic ritual elements, symbols and wording and infused them with clearly restorationist theology. He separates the presentation of the endowment, the ritual from the endowment proper, what is taught.

Additional support against the Masons origins from Solomon's times.

Solomon's Temple

The Bible does not support anything from the LDS Temple Ceremony being in Solomon's temple. Solomon's temple dealt with things very foreign to the LDS endowment ceremony such as animal sacrifices. None of the ordinances performed in LDS temples, such as endowments, baptism for the dead, and eternal marriage, were performed in the Biblical temple; its function was making atonement for sins as a precondition to worshipping the true and living God.

Leviticus 16:2-34 spells out pretty clearly what happened in the Old Testament temple. Also, here is an article (written from a Christian perspective) that talks about the LDS claim that modern temples are an extension or continuation of Old Testament temples.

Link is here.

New Testament Temple

Try this link for a walk-through of a day in the life of the priests of the Second Temple (the one that Jesus knew): Link is here.

It's based entirely on the detailed Jewish records that have been handed down long after the temple itself was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. There is plenty of ancient contemporary evidence to back up this account. There appear to be very few points of resemblance with LDS practice today, which is far more closely linked to Freemasonry.

The version of the Masonry rituals.

If the Temple ceremony came from Masonry, and the Masons originally had the original temple ceremony back in Solomon's day, and it slowly degenerated over the centuries to its present state, then why doesn't the Mason's ceremony prior to the 1800s more closely resemble the true temple ceremony that the LDS church practices?

Logically the further you go back, the closer the Mason's ceremony should get to The LDS restored temple ceremony. Instead the temple ceremony matches the Mason's ceremony as it existed in the 1830s which is the one Joseph was exposed to.

Elements in the LDS ceremony that didn't exist in Solomon's time.

The LDS Temple Ceremony prominently features items which were unknown in ancient Israel , such as Jesus, Peter, James, and John, the Protestant minister, and other New Testament/Christian era stuff.

The Jerusalem Temple vs The Mormon Temples

See the comparison between the ancient Jewish Temple and modern LDS Temples from Richard Packham's website.

References

The Origins of Free Masonry, Thomas Paine

Further Research: The History Channel aired a two-hour documentary in 2007 called 'Secrets of the Freemasons'. They discussed the origins of freemasonry in great detail. They described the popular theory about Masonry originating from Solomon's time. In the end they made it quite clear that the Mason's rituals did not come from Solomon's time or have anything to do with King Solomon's temple. They candidly stated that freemasonry came from the stone cutter trade guilds of Europe in the Middle Ages.

The Temple and Polygamy

The temple ceremony coincided with plural marriage as practiced by the early saints. As Joseph did not want to let the masses know about polygamy, he may have introduced the temple ceremony as a way of keeping polygamy a secret while introducing select members into the practice of plural marriage. As an important element of the temple ceremony is to never reveal what happens in the temple, even under penalty of death (before 1990), this would help keep the polygamous marriages a secret by the people that knew about them.

The following website provides some interesting speculation on this:

Link is here.

The new and everlasting covenant

The "new and everlasting covenant" revealed in the temple ceremony is generally considered by most modern LDS members as pertaining to celestial marriage. However in the early days of the Church, it clearly meant polygamy. LDS apologists do not dispute the original meaning of the term as referring to polygamy.

References

Secret or Sacred?

Critics often say that the temple ceremony is secret, whereas the faithful LDS members say it isn't secret, it is sacred. In reality it is both. Obviously it is considered sacred by those participating in the ceremony, but it is also very secret. (See MormonThink's coverage of "Sacred or Secret?")

In fact the word 'secrecy' was mentioned five times in the pre-1990 temple ceremony. The first four times were removed in 1990 but the fifth mention of 'secrecy' remains. They are:

"They are most sacred, and are guarded by solemn covenants and obligations of secrecy to the effect that made in the presence of God, Angels and these witnesses to hold them sacred and under no condition, even at the peril of your life, will you ever divulge them, except at a certain place in the temple that will be shown you hereafter." "I will now explain the covenant and obligation of secrecy which are associated with this token, its name, and sign and penalty, and which you will be required to take upon yourselves." "I will now explain the covenant and obligation of secrecy which are associated with this token, its name, and sign, and penalty, and which you will be required to take upon yourselves." "I will now explain the covenant and obligation of secrecy which are associated with this token, its name, and sign and penalty, and which you will be required to take upon yourselves. " "This token has a name and a sign, you will be under the same sacred obligation of secrecy in connection with this token and sign as you are with the other tokens and signs of the Holy Priesthood which you have received in the temple this day."

Also

"You have had a New Name given unto you, which you were told never to divulge."

The penalties, which were part of the ceremony before being removed in 1990, all relate to revealing parts of the temple ceremony to others. Anyone that reveals what they learned in the temple is subject to the penalties. So how can anyone say that the ceremony is not secretive in nature? It may be sacred, but it is certainly secret as well.

Why the secrecy?

Perhaps in the 1800s the secrecy of the temple was so outsiders (as well as the bulk of the LDS membership) would not find out about the practice of plural marriage. However, why is it secret now? God may have commanded it to be secret of course, or maybe there are more practical, earthly answers.

The temple ceremony can seem very strange to many people. We've heard even many faithful members refer to the experience as not at all what they expected and even bizarre. It definitely is very different than the worship services in the LDS chapels every Sunday.

Simply put, people outside the Church wouldn't understand it. How many people would join the church if the temple ceremony was explained to them in detail by the missionaries?

However, making it a 'sin' to discuss the temple ceremony outside the temple causes people to simply accept the strangeness of the ceremony. If it wasn't for this, members would likely talk amongst themselves about the ceremony and probably not in flattering ways. Perhaps with open discussion, members would come to the conclusion that the ceremony isn't something they are comfortably believing in.

Generally when people or organizations have secrets, it is usually for nefarious reasons. Even the Book of Mormon condemns 'secret combinations'. You would think that God's true church would be the most open and honest of any organization, but this is far from true. If God commanded it to be this way then that's fine, but if it is done by man, then the reasons are suspect.

Even Joseph Smith may have acknowledged the downside of secrecy when he said:

Pure friendship always becomes weakened the very moment you undertake to make it stronger by penal oaths and secrecy.(The Essential Joseph Smith, page 113)

Is the temple ceremony actually secret now?

In the 1800s it was possible to keep the details of the LDS Temple Ceremony relatively secret from the vast majority of the world. However now with the Internet, there are no secrets anymore. Simply google 'Mormon Temple Ceremony' to see for yourself.

Also if signs and tokens which are needed for entrance into the celestial kingdom are meant to be secret except for loyal, temple-going Latter-day Saints, then it has failed. The Masons, former LDS and anyone that has access to the Internet knows or can easily find out the details of the signs and tokens.

Temple Prep Classes

Although members are constantly encouraged to go to the temple, the endowment ceremony itself is never discussed in any detail whatsoever in church or amongst the members. Children and unendowed adults never learn any of the details through the church itself, and virtually all of the members find out about it only when they actually go through the temple for the first time to take out their endowments (unless of course they look it up on the Internet or some radical LDS member violates the covenants and tells them about it).

Since going through the endowment ceremony for the first time can be a shocking experience for many people, the church has temple prep classes available for people preparing to go to the temple. This is a great idea; however the classes in no way prepare you for what really happens in the temple.

I personally attended all the temple prep classes twice before I took out my endowments and in none of those classes, or temple prep books, was it mentioned that I would be learning secret handshakes and passwords that I'll need in order to get into heaven. I was also not told that I would be making promises to have my throat, chest, and abdomen slit if I revealed the temple ceremony to anyone (the penalties were removed in 1990). I also was never told I would have to symbolically act out slicing my own throat and stomach along with everyone else. Also, I had no knowledge I would be making covenants to essentially give all my time, talents, and everything with which the Lord blesses me to the church. Also, even before my temple wedding, I didn't know I had to promise to obey my husband.

Can you back out before committing?

Although the temple ceremony says you can leave before you make the covenants, in reality it is very, very hard to do so. You are very confused, the peer pressure is enormous with everyone there doing the same thing so you naturally go along with it even though you don't fully understand what you're committing to, or may not really want to commit to it at all, but you feel you have no choice. Also you naturally trust the church and don't think that they would ever do anything wrong. We don't know of anyone that actually backed out in the middle of the ceremony. The curiosity to see how the thing ends is also just too tempting to pass up.

Is it morally right to have everything be such a secret?

It is unfair to ask people to "sign a contract" that they aren't allowed to read in advance. Because the rites are secret, you have to agree to everything blindly, then discover what you've agreed to. Is this how God works?

We believe that members should know the details of the ceremony before going through it. Of course, we believe that investigators should be told about it also. Note: New members aren't even allowed to enter the temple before they've been a member for one year. The reason for this is obvious.

Milk Before Meat

The LDS church justifies withholding the details of the temple ceremony from its members until they actually go though the endowment session themselves by using the philosophy of "Milk Before Meat". The idea seems to be that if investigators were taught the details of the temple ceremony before they joined, it would seem so strange that they wouldn't likely join the church. However, if they were a church member for at least a year, as is required before entrance into the temples, then they could be introduced to it in such a way as to not upset their faith. This is even more evident in children born into the church that constantly are given positive, reinforcing messages about the temple, without ever knowing the details of the ceremonies until they actually receive their endowments which cannot happen until they are at least 18 years old.

Scientology Parallels

Per wikipedia [on April 25, 2011]: The Church of Scientology holds that at the higher levels of initiation (OT levels) mystical teachings are imparted that may be harmful to unprepared readers. These teachings are kept secret from members who have not reached these levels. The Church states that the secrecy is warranted to keep its materials' use in context, and to protect its members from being exposed to materials they are not yet prepared for.

Is it okay for the Scientologist religion to withhold from its members their strange beliefs about aliens blowing themselves up on Earth 75 million years ago with H-bombs and how their essence controls us today until they are firmly indoctrinated into their church? If not, then why is it okay for the LDS church to withhold the strange practices of the temple endowment ceremonies until they are indoctrinated in the LDS church?

A good friend of mine took all the missionary discussions and was thinking about getting baptized. He asked the missionaries about what went on in the temple as he really didn't know anything about it, but always heard it being mentioned in talks in Sacrament Meeting. The missionaries gave him a generic answer. He asked for details. They said that he couldn't be told that until he was a member for a year, and then actually went through the ceremony himself. My friend asked why he couldn't know now before he committed to being baptized? The missionaries could not give him a satisfactory answer, only to say he had to have faith.

He was shocked and said that in the church he currently belonged to, they would not keep secrets from prospective members and could not figure out why God's supposedly true church would do this. He said he would not get baptized if they would not tell him what he wanted to know about the church he was considering joining. The missionaries would not violate their covenants, so my friend never got baptized.

When my friend asked me about it, I had not yet been through the temple either, and I just said that I thought it was reasonable that he had a right to know what he was getting into before he joined. This was before the Internet. In this Age, I'm sure he would just have looked up the ceremony with Google or another search engine to find out for himself.

The secrecy of the temple covenants keeps people from talking about it and perhaps leaving the church over it, but it also prevents some people from joining the church. With the Internet today, there are no secrets from inquiring minds, so it will be interesting to see how this issue gets treated by inquisitive investigators and converts in the future.

Ceremony prior to 1990

My parents are true-believing members, and they told me the changes weren't that big of a deal. Decide for yourself by reading the actual pre and post 1990 versions right here:



Link is here.



Ask a Bishop, or other members. Many of us have asked an Elders QP, a Bishop and other members that have gone through the temple before 1990, and all have said that there were changes, but most claimed that the changes aren't that essential.

1984 Version

Link is here.

1931 Version

Link is here.

The significant changes made in 1990 include:

Elimination of the penalties associated with the signs and tokens. After 1990, patrons were no longer required to pantomime their own deaths by slashing their throats or disemboweling themselves by slicing a knife across their stomachs. The protestant ministers were no longer referred to as agents of Satan. Changing of words from the Adamic Language to English. The elimination of the Five Points of Fellowship.

Some of us have spent much time in the temple prior to 1990 wondering what kind of God would put these things in of slashing throats and disemboweling oneself. Few members back then probably gave it much thought, it was just part of the signs and tokens. That is why some members say they don't even really remember them. Most people who attend temple do not think that deeply about it but rather it's a duty to perform.

The Five Points of Fellowship is one of the strangest things that many ask what has that got to do with getting into heaven? For those that haven't been through the ceremony before 1990, it can be researched on the Internet on Masonry sites:

"LORD: You shall receive it upon the Five Points of Fellowship, through the Veil. (The officiator demonstrates the Five Points of Fellowship through the Veil with the temple worker who represents the Lord, as each point is mentioned.) PETER: The Five Points of Fellowship are "inside of right foot by the side of right foot, knee to knee, breast to breast, hand to back, and mouth to ear." The Lord then gives the name of this token, and asks: LORD: What is that? PETER: The Second Token of the Melchizedek Priesthood, the Patriarchal Grip, or Sure sign of the Nail. LORD: Has it a name? PETER: It has. LORD: Will you give it to me? PETER: I will, upon the Five Points of Fellowship, through the Veil."

Perhaps the answer to why the Five Points of Fellowship was ever in the temple ceremony to begin with is that it is in the Mason's rituals. It is copied virtually word-for-word from the Masons.

Older versions

The original temple ceremony practiced by the saints included an oath of vengeance against the United States government for the death of Joseph Smith. The change was added by Brigham Young after Joseph was killed by the mob. This was removed in early 1927. Imagine if Mitt Romney was running for president after taking an oath against the United States government.

The oath in part was:

You and each of you do covenant and promise that you will pray, and never cease to pray, Almighty God to avenge the blood of the prophets upon this nation, and that you will teach the same to your children and your children's children unto the third and fourth generations.

It became the subject of a United States Senate Investigation:

Link is here.

More on that here: Link is here.

Perhaps these kinds of oaths helped explain how the Mountain Meadows Massacre could even ever occur among the good Latter-day Saints men.

References

Why was the ceremony changed in 1990?

Temple attendance was reportedly declining in the 1980s even though baptisms were increasing and regular church meeting attendance was steady. The Church leadership naturally wanted to know why. A survey was given to some 3,400 Church members in 1988 to find out the reason. Some excerpts of an article on the subject are listed below. (Link is now dead.)

"The reader will notice that David John Buerger felt there should be a "careful quantitative analysis by professional social scientists" to find out why attendance at temples has been declining. Although it could have been just a coincidence, it is interesting to note that within months of the publication of Buerger's article, the LDS Church made its own survey of the opinions of members concerning temple work. In the Instructions for the Survey of Adult Members in the United States and Canada , the following appears: "…we have developed this survey to help us understand your thoughts, feelings, and experiences relating to temple and genealogy activities…. along with you, approximately 3,400 other members in the United States and Canada are being asked to participate in this project…. We hope that you will feel you can be candid and open in your answers…. what you write will be anonymous. We will not be able to associate your name with the questionnaire you complete." This survey was to be returned in the mail "by MARCH 30th," 1988. Although Question 28 asked the person who had been through the endowment ritual if he or she "felt spiritually uplifted by the experience," it also probed to find out if the experience was unpleasant" or if the person "was confused by what happened. Q. 29 is worded, "Briefly describe how you felt after receiving your own endowment." On the photocopy we have in our possession, the respondent has written: "Wierd [sic]." Q. 37-k inquired as to whether the person found "it hard to go to the temple." Q. 39-b asked if the individual fell "asleep during sessions." Questions were also asked concerning whether the person really believed "The president of the LDS Church is a prophet of God," or if "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church on the earth." (Q. 70a-b) There was also a question with regard to whether there were any "doubts about specific LDS doctrines and teachings." (Q. 77-g) A page at the end of the Survey was left blank in case the person had any additional things to write about your feelings or activities in temple or genealogical work…" Although our photocopy of the page containing the "Comments" is faded out and difficult to read, it appears that the woman who filled out the Survey admitted she had lost faith in the church. This is supported by her answers to Questions 77 and 78. The "main reason for not attending LDS church services" was listed as: "I have some doubts about specific LDS doctrines and teachings." From all appearances it appears that the Mormon Church's Survey was a feeler to find out what changes should be made in the ceremony and how they would be received by members of the church.

While many LDS will undoubtedly stand firm in their faith that the decision to change the ceremonies came by direct revelation from God, the evidence seems to indicate that the publication of the temple ceremony and objections to it by non-Mormons combined with criticism from within the church (as evidenced by David John Buerger's article in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought) forced the Mormon leaders to issue a survey to find out why temple attendance had fallen off and what members of the church actually felt about the endowment ceremony. The results of that survey must have indicated that a significant number of people were offended by parts of the ceremony. Consequently, a new "revelation" was given to make the ritual more appealing to the LDS people. This tends to verify the formula that the criticism of a specific doctrine or practice from without the church + acceptance of that criticism by LDS scholars and prominent people = "Revelation."

Ex-Mormon LDS critic Randy Jordan

Sometimes Mormonism is compared with a corporation. A business, using business type methods in order to maintain it's growth and profits. An interesting telltale sign of this is the use of surveys used to gain information from customers or potential customers in the market place. A survey tries to gain a snapshot of reality in order to make some adjustments in business plans to protect the organization and to enhance it's position in the business world.

Mormonism is no different in this regard. A member writes:

Several years back we were visitors in the Luton ward (part of the St Albans stake) and unusually the congregation was asked to fill in an official questionnaire during sacrament meeting. It took us about 30-40 minutes to fill in. The questionnaire was in a very similar style shown in this following example (used to gain general information about different faiths in the USA - this example is in itself worth studying). Link is here. Like the survey above, members were told that they could fill the survey in anonymously. It was a while back, but the type of questions included were similar to this vein: - Do you find the three hour block too long?

- How often do you read the scriptures?

- Do you fast on a monthly basis? I can't remember exact questions - but they were to find out the dedication level of members, what they liked or disliked about the church, how they perceived local leadership, etc. I was gob smacked that the church leadership was relying on a survey in order to make decisions about leading the church. What happened to inspiration? Or was information and real world data the "new inspiration"? Gremlin

Many members were uncomfortable with the pre-1990 ceremony.

Although we don't have the results of the survey, just by talking with members, it's apparent that many members were not comfortable with the pre-1990 ceremony. Many people described it as bizarre and didn't want to go back again. Naturally people disliked the death oaths. Having to run their thumb across their throat as if it was a knife in order to show their commitment to not revealing the signs and tokens to nonmembers can be frightening. Just hearing the words used can be quite chilling in what is supposed to be one of the holiest places on earth.

The Penalties

The penalties in the temple endowment ceremony before 1990 are as follows:

First Token of the Aaronic Priesthood Penalty:

The execution of the Penalty is represented by placing the thumb under the left ear, the palm of the hand down, and by drawing the thumb quickly across the throat to the right ear, and dropping the hand to the side. I, 'John', covenant that I will never reveal the First Token of the Aaronic Priesthood, with its accompanying name, sign, and penalty. Rather than do so, I would suffer my life to be taken. (The Officiator demonstrates the execution of the penalty.)

Second Token of the Aaronic Priesthood Penalty:

The Execution of the Penalty is represented by placing the right hand on the left breast, drawing the hand quickly across the body, and dropping the hands to the sides I, 'David', covenant, that I will never reveal the Second Token of the Aaronic priesthood, with its accompanying name, sign, and penalty. Rather than do so I would suffer my life to be taken.

First Token of the Melchizedek Priesthood Penalty:

Penalty is represented by drawing the thumb quickly across the body and dropping the hands to the sides. (Officiator completes the action.) I covenant in the name of the Son that I will never reveal the First Token of the Melchizedek Priesthood or Sign of the Nail, with its accompanying name, sign and penalty. Rather than do so, I would suffer my life to be taken. Link is here.

In earlier days, the wording of the penalty oaths was even more graphic:

Early Penalty of the First Token of the Aaronic Priesthood (this is the oath from before the mid-1930s):

We, and each of us, covenant and promise that we will not reveal any of the secrets of this, the First Token of the Aaronic Priesthood, with its accompanying name, sign, or penalty. Should we do so, we agree that our throats be cut from ear to ear and our tongues torn out by our roots.

Early Penalty of the Second Token of the Aaronic Priesthood:

We, and each of us, covenant and promise that we will not reveal any of the secrets of this, the Second Token of the Aaronic Priesthood, with its accompanying name, sign, or penalty. Should we do so, we agree to have our breasts cut open and our hearts and vitals torn out from our bodies and given to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.

Early Penalty of the First Token of the Melchizedek Priesthood:

We, and each of us, covenant and promise that we will not reveal any of the secrets of this, the First Token of the Melchizedek Priesthood, with its accompanying name, sign, or penalty. Should we do so, we agree that our bodies be cut asunder in the midst and all our bowels gush out. (Sources of Information: U.S. Senate Document 486; "Endowment Oaths and Ceremonies" in Salt Lake Tribune, February 8, 1906)

The Masons also removed their penalties.

The penalties in Freemasonry were essentially identical to the penalties in the Mormon ceremonies. It's very interesting to note that the Masons removed their penalties from their ceremony just four years before the LDS Church removed it from the LDS temple ceremony.

Following is the link for the Mason's site which states that: "The much publicized 'traditional penalties ' for failure to observe these undertakings were removed from the promises in 1986. They were always symbolic not literal and refer only to the pain any decent man should feel at the thought of violating his word." Also: "When Masonic ritual was developing in the late 1600s and 1700s it was quite common for legal and civil oaths to include physical penalties and Freemasonry simply followed the practice of the times. In Freemasonry, however, the physical penalties were always symbolic and were never carried out. After long discussion, they were removed from the promises in 1986." Link is here.

Protestant Ministers as agents of Satan

Also many temple goers are converts to the Church and still had good feelings about their old churches they attended. People objected to having the protestant minister referred to as an agent of Satan. Many people exclaimed "my pastor was a good man - he certainly was not in league with Satan". The actual text can be found here about halfway down:

Link is here.

Pay Lay Ale.

Temple goers had to repeat the phrase 'Pay Lay Ale' three times while lowering their arms while standing in a circle. This seemed very pagan-like to many members as you were basically chanting a phrase that has no meaning which we were told came from the true Adamic language that Adam spoke. In 1990 they replaced the phrase with the purported English translation 'Oh God hear the words of my mouth' but kept the lowering of the raised arms.

Perhaps another reason for the change was that 'anti-Mormons' were publicly harassing a LDS political leader while he was campaigning asking him what 'Pay Lay Ale' meant in front of a non-Mormon audience. It was embarrassing for him to answer that question.

The Five Points of Fellowship

The five points of fellowship is so strange, we're sure many LDS must have wondered why it was ever in the temple ceremony to begin with (other than the fact that it was in the Mason's ceremony). Many women expressed their discomfort in the touching that went on with a total stranger of the opposite sex. At the veil, the temple attendee had to engage in the following ritual with whoever was the temple officiator at the veil at the time:

inside of right foot by the side of right foot, knee to knee, breast to breast, hand to back, and mouth to ear.

Not many women were comfortable touching their breasts and legs to other men's chests and legs. Men didn't like doing it with other men either. It's one thing to do that with your spouse and quite different with a stranger or worse, someone from your ward that you didn't particularly care for. Perhaps complaints from members also helped the leadership of the Church decide that this part of the ceremony was no longer required for exaltation. We again must wonder why it was required as part of the ceremony for 150 years but all of a sudden changed with no explanation.

Members that went before 1990 often lie about the ceremony.

We personally have witnessed good LDS members mislead and lie about the ceremony to nonmembers, converts, family members and Church members who did not go through the temple before 1990. We've heard people, who have been through the old temple ceremony, fumble over their words trying to figure out what to say when confronted with someone who has been told about the prior ceremony but is skeptical that good Latter-day Saints actually performed those rituals with the death oaths. They say, "It wasn't like that," "I don't remember," "You're exaggerating," and even, "That was never part of the ceremony," when the simple facts about the pre-1990 ceremony are mentioned to them for verification.

If this suppression of knowledge continues amongst the Latter-day Saints, we have little doubt that in a few years very few members will even know that there were death penalties in the temple ceremony. It will be relegated to the status of 'lies told by anti-Mormons'.

We have to wonder why anyone should feel embarrassed by anything that takes place in Heavenly Father's true church.

Editor Comment: One has to wonder if the LDS Church again copied Masonry by removing these penalties from the temple ritual four years after the Masons removed them? Or did the LDS Church leadership merely receive inspiration in the same way that the Masons did? Or did God command the LDS prophets to change the ceremony via revelation? If so, why the need for the survey? It appears that the ceremony was changed for pragmatic reasons to appeal to the members' concerns rather than direct revelation from God. We're left wondering though, why the most objectionable parts were part of the ceremony for 150 years to begin with, and why exactly they were changed and by what authority. Either way we are glad the changes took place.

References

Ceremony changes in 2005

Initiatories

The washing and anointing part of the temple ceremony is always done the first time a member goes through the endowment ceremony part of the temple session. Many members (including myself) felt very uncomfortable doing Initiatories and never did them again. Being naked, even though you are covered with a poncho-type of garment that is open on the sides, is very uncomfortable. It gets worse when someone touches you blessing your bowels and such. Although it is not sexual, it is very unnerving having someone administer to you when you are clothed (or unclothed) in this manner.

Perhaps as a result of others feeling this way, this part of the ceremony was changed in 2005 so the participants are able to keep their underwear on and no actual touching takes place.

Interestingly, when members repeat the ordinance, they can do 10 at a time (one right after another) as opposed to making it part of the 2-hour endowment ceremony. This probably is done so that the number of Initiatories keep up with the number of endowment sessions performed as most members seem to prefer to do endowment sessions instead of Initiatories.

Here's a webpage dedicated to this subject:

Link is here. In summary, the Salt Lake Temple originally had huge bathtubs for the "washing and anointing" ordinance. All temple patrons were bathed naked and anointed with oil during the ordinance. According to the church, this ordinance is as essential as baptism and required before one can receive their garments. At some point, the ordinance baths were removed and patrons had to bathe before attending the temple. So the ordinance was changed to washing and anointing certain parts of the patron's naked body - including the groin and breast area. I say temple patrons were naked, but they actually wore a sheet of cloth with a hole in it, much like a poncho. It was completely open on the sides, and wearing it still gave the full sensation of being naked. This open poncho, conveniently called a "shield" was also a requirement of the ordinance. When going through the temple for the first time, the Salt Lake Temple president told us new initiates that the open poncho had to be the same as the one Christ used to cover the naked man he initiated in the Bible (See Mark 14:51-52). Then in January 2005 the church changed the ordinance again. The ponchos were sewn up on the sides and temple patrons had to wear their garments underneath them. The touching stopped and the washing and anointing is done with motions close to the body. The changes to this fundamental saving ordinance are akin to changing baptism from total immersion to a sprinkling on the head. Yet Mormons point out that changing saving ordinances is a wicked sign of a church's apostasy. So why did my grandmother's salvation require her to be bathed naked in a tub when members today receiving the same ordinance aren't even touched? How could this eternal saving ordinance be coming from a timeless all-knowing God? Why couldn't God just get it right the first time when He "revealed" the ordinance to Joseph Smith and Brigham Young?

Naked Initiatories in the mid 1900s

From Richard Packham (RFM post 26 November 2012):

I got my endowment in 1952 in the Idaho Falls Temple. I went through endowment sessions in all of the then operating Utah temples (four!) during the next five years. At that time, when doing a proxy endowment, you did the whole thing, including the initiatory, so I went through it several times in different temples. For the washing and anointing, I disrobed in the locker room, put a shield over me, and walked to the washing booth, carrying the garment and a white towel. In the washing booth, the shield was removed and hung on a hook while the washing and anointing took place. Yes, I was completely naked. After toweling off, the garment was placed on me, the shield was put over me again, and I returned to the locker room. I have no idea what the procedure was in the women's side.

Editor comment: In addition to the embarrassment felt by many members during the Initiatories prior to 2005, we can't help but wonder if the fear of lawsuits helped inspire the leaders to change the ceremony. With thousands of Initiatories performed each day by many different people, chances are sooner or later some perverted temple worker would accidentally touch someone in an inappropriate way or make some comment when the temple-goer was being initiated naked under the shield. Given the nature of the ceremony in this lawsuit-happy world, the Church could find itself in many lawsuits and unwanted publicity.

We welcome the change, but we still want to know did this change come about from revelation directly from Heavenly Father or was it inspired by lawyers for pragmatic reasons?

The history of Initiatories

Visit the site WhyMormons.net to learn the history of the initiatory ordinances.

Is it okay to change the ceremonies?

The first thing to keep in mind is that we older Latter-day Saints who first went through the temple before 1990 were told by church leaders that the ceremony was given to Joseph Smith by revelation, that it had never been changed, and that it would never BE changed.

"From August 2001 Ensign (page 22), in big bold print above a large colorful portrait of Joseph Smith:

"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.'" The Church goes on to declare: "It is this principle of consistent and unalterable requirements that gives true meaning to the performance of vicarious ordinances in the temple. The Prophet wrote that baptism for the dead and the recording of such baptisms conform to the ordinance and preparation that the Lord ordained and prepared before the foundation of the world, for the salvation of the dead who should die without a knowledge of the gospel." "Through time and apostasy following Christ's Resurrection and Ascension, however, the divine authority of the priesthood and the sacred ordinances were changed or lost, and the associated covenants were broken. The Lord revealed His displeasure over this situation in these words: 'For they have strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine everlasting covenant; They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god.' This situation required a restoration of knowledge pertaining to the importance, significance, and appointed administration of sacred gospel ordinances, both live and vicarious, as well as the divine authority of the priesthood and priesthood keys to administer them." - "Ordinances and Covenants", Ensign, August 2001, page 23

This is from an article specifically on the temple ordinances. The author of the article is a General Authority, so he must know that the temple ordinances have gone through major revisions, including deletions of covenants, teachings and ordinances - over the last 160 years.

If these were divinely restored in their complete form from "the foundation of the world" then why have they kept changing? And if Joseph Smith says they can never be altered or changed, how come the church did it? Who got it wrong, the prophet Joseph or the prophets that followed him?

Such changes seem to contradict the LDS claims that the endowment is in the pure and unchanged form in which Joseph Smith is supposed to have received it by divine revelation. In fact, in the words of LDS leaders, such changes are actually a sign of apostasy:

"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.'" - Ensign Magazine (official church publication), August 2002, p 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." - Joseph Smith, History of the Church, vol.4, p. 208 "As temple work progresses, some members wonder if the ordinances can be changed or adjusted. These ordinances have been provided by revelation, and are in the hands of the First Presidency. Thus, the temple is protected from tampering." - W. Grant Bangerter, executive director of the Temple Department and a member of the First Quorum of Seventy, Deseret News, Church Section, January 16, 1982 "We explained briefly the Apostasy and the Restoration: that there is vast evidence and history of an apostasy from the doctrine taught by Jesus and his Apostles, that the organization of the original Church became corrupted, and sacred ordinances were changed to suit the convenience of men…" - Apostle David B. Haight, "Joseph Smith the Prophet," Ensign, Nov. 1979, p. 22 (emphasis added)

Click here for an extended discussion of the 2005 changes and how "changing the ordinances" is (by LDS definition) a sign of fundamental apostasy.

References

Timeline of Changes

The timeline below summarizes the endowment's historical development.

Reference: Link is here.

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. 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. 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. 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.

Much of the information for this timeline was taken from David John Buerger, The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship (San Francisco: Smith Research Associates, 1994).

Temple Clothes

We've often heard that everyone is the same in the temple. Whether you are CEO of a fortune 500 company or a simple farmer, you are treated the same. They encourage people to not wear any jewelry except a simple wedding band. Everyone wears the same simple white outfit. We support the concept. It has its merits by attempting to avoid special treatment or stereotyping people by the way they look or what they wear.

The hats and veils.

The white suit seems appropriate for a holy place. The white dresses also seem consistent with the theme. However we're a little confused by the hats. The hat that is commonly and irreverently referred to as a 'baker's cap' seems perhaps a little out of place. Maybe it's just us, but we don't feel particularly righteous or holy wearing one.

The veils worn by the women seem a bit dated. It reminds us of the Islamic countries where women must shield their faces in public. Of course in the temple it is only during certain parts of the ceremony.

Temple clothes are eternally important as the Church instructs members to be buried in their temple clothes.

The green aprons are seemingly a bit strange, but we do understand their significance and symbolism. The Masons also use aprons in their rituals, however they are lamb-skin or white.

Comment from a typical LDS women:

"And I am offended veiling my face. Why is it done? Submission? The men don't do it. I hate it, it's archaic, and definitely does smack of Islamic devaluation of females."

Certainly the temple clothes neither validate nor invalidate the temple ceremony, but we mention it as several people have told us it makes them feel somewhat silly instead of spiritual when they are in the temple. We suppose the Pope might feel the same way about his pointed hat.

Garments

"Once people are endowed, they have the 'blessing' of wearing the temple garment throughout their lives. They are obligated to wear it according to the instructions given in the endowment. Those who have been endowed in the temple must remember that the blessings that are related to this sacred privilege depend on their worthiness and their faithfulness in keeping temple covenants.



The garment provides a constant reminder of the covenants made in the temple. The garment should be treated with respect at all times. It should not be exposed to the view of those who do not understand its significance, and it should not be adjusted to accommodate different styles of clothing. When worn properly, the garment provides protection against temptation and evil. Wearing the garment is an outward expression of an inward commitment to follow the Savior."

The temple garment is considered so sacred that we should never take it off except for bathing, sports and swimming. Many people that stopped wearing them have said what a relief it is to be 'normal' again and not feel embarrassed to change in a locker room, or to have the freedom to wear summer clothing on hot, summer days or when cutting the grass or other outdoor activities.

Garments as protection

We're told that garments act as a source of protection for ourselves. Of course we've all heard those Mormon urban legends about someone whose body was burned horribly except for where his garments were and the like. Obviously garment-wearing LDS people die all the time in accidents just like everyone else does. Even faithful missionaries have been killed while wearing garments. Perhaps its meant as more of a spiritual protection as the garments must be removed prior to engaging in certain morally-questionable activities.

Perhaps it is from stories like this that many LDS continue to believe that the garments provide actual physical protection:

"Smith removed his own endowment "robe" or garment before he went to Carthage Jail and told those with him to do likewise. His nephew Joseph F. Smith later explained, "When Willard Richards was solicited [by Smith] to do the same, he declined, and it seems little less than marvelous that he was preserved without so much as a bullet piercing his garments.'"



(D. Michael Quinn, "The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power," p. 146; see Quinn's citation of Heber J. Grant's journal sheets, 7 June 1907, LDS Archives

The extreme example

From a member:

I remember my grandmother telling how she bathed without removing her garments. She only took off part of them as she washed herself. When she was dried off, she'd put the clean ones on with the old pair still partly on her body. Many of the women were proud of saying they had never been totally without garments on their bodies since the day they first wore them in the temple - that included childbirth.



Other women used to only go through this weird bathing routine during times of danger or tribulation when they felt they were most in need of the protection. Cheryl

Fortunately not many people go to these extremes today.

Why would Joseph Smith want to wear garments?

We don't know anyone that really likes to wear garments. So we have to wonder why Joseph would want to wear garments if the critics are right that Joseph did not really receive the temple ceremony from God, especially since the old garment used to go from neck (it had a collar) to wrist and ankle. It closed in the front with four string-ties. Joseph Fielding Smith, for example, wore this style long after it had been replaced.

One answer of course, is that God commanded Joseph to institute the wearing of garments. Another possibility is that Joseph believed in magical and mystical things such as seer stones; he believed that putting symbols on clothing would protect him from harm. When Joseph was killed, they found a Jupiter Talisman on his body. This supports his belief in magical ornaments and symbols.

Editor comment:: People either view the wearing of garments as a blessing reserved for the 0.2% of the population that knows about them, or they view it as somewhat of a burden, but that they wear them because they believe God wants them to.

To some people garments are not that big of a deal but to others it's a real hardship. If you live in a hot climate it can be grueling wearing them in the summer time. When someone is outside in 100+ degree humid weather of Florida, they must in effect, wear two shirts because of the obligations they made in the temple. Also they must wear really long underwear that gets very uncomfortable when they sweat in the intense heat, unless they are specifically playing sports.

Many married people, that have decided to forsake wearing garments, have said that their level of intimacy has improved immeasurably since they don't feel constrained in their choice of underwear. Let's face it, garments can put a big damper on couples' sex lives. Even a supermodel wouldn't look sexy in garments.

We have to wonder why would God want us to be unnecessarily uncomfortable? It's especially difficult on women as they are generally instructed to wear their garments under their bras. Many women say that is very uncomfortable and unnecessary, but they have to do it anyway. It's one thing to tell people to dress modestly, but that can certainly be done without garments. If you can control people down to their underwear, then you really have them.

When people see Islamic women dressed head to toe in burqas (the black outfits with little slits for eyes) on a very hot day at an amusement park or other public place, people don't admire their dedication, rather they feel sorry for them. Good LDS people feel sorry for these women because we know it is totally unnecessary and not required by God. Similarly, non-Mormons don't believe that the LDS garments are required by God, but rather than feel sorry for garment-wearing members, they just think we're strange. Garments are the Mormon burqas - just worn on the inside.

If garments are indeed something that God commands everyone to wear, then it's a necessary obligation, even if it is a burden at times. However, if it is not specifically commanded by God, then it is a totally unnecessary burden placed on millions of people. How would you like to find out in the afterlife that God didn't really care what kind of underwear you wore and that you wore them for nothing?

References

The name you receive in the temple

When we go through the temple for the first time, we all receive a new name. Presumably this is the name we'll be known by in the next life although there's no specific doctrine supporting this other than when it's said in the temple ceremony that the husband will call the wife by her new name and bring her though into the celestial kingdom.

Some people liked the idea of getting a special name. I was excited until I found out that my name really wasn't special or divinely inspired. Everyone that goes through the temple on that day gets the exact same name. I got the 'new name of the day' and had I gone through the temple the day before or after I would have received a different special new name. Doesn't sound quite so special.

We're not really sure what the purpose of the new name is. A bishop once told me it was my name in the pre-existence and that's what I'll be known as in the next life. Almost all of the temple names come from the scriptures (a few like Emma have been added), so the number of names is somewhat limited - perhaps a few hundred names or so. If we're all known by these names in the next life, then there will be literally hundreds of millions of Abrahams, Ruths, Nephis, etc.

Critic's comment: If this is true, then in the infinite wisdom of God, all the people who were given a certain name in the pre-existence will magically go to the temple on the SAME day!

From a former temple worker:

I served as a veil worker for a year while at BYU. Every day before our shift started, they would have a short instruction meeting and then hold up a small poster board with the "names of the day" on it; one female name and one male. I believe that there are about 50 names for each sex that are rotated through. The male names are almost all biblical with Hyrum thrown in for good measure. Since there are fewer female names in the scriptures, they have more early Mormon names like Emma. If the patron's first name happened to be the name of the day, their new name defaulted to Adam or Eve; this ensured that everyone's "new name" wasn't the same as their "old name."

The husband has to keep a secret from his wife.

One thing involving the special names that can be very offensive towards women is that the women must tell their husbands what their special name is (at the ceremony at the veil when the husband is "the Lord"); however the men are not allowed to tell their own wives what the husband's special name is.

This sounds kind of chauvinistic. No reason is specifically given for this condition. Many women are bothered by this. It makes women feel less important than men and not equals.

We have to wonder why Heavenly Father forces men to keep secrets from their wives. That certainly is not healthy for any married couple - especially for newlyweds. Right off the bat, the married couple is put on unequal footing with the husband knowing the wife's special name when she can't know his.

Are temple names being recycled?

We've been hearing more and more stories that temple names are being recycled. Many people are reporting that temple patrons are performing endowments for the same deceased people multiple times. Some people report it as clerical errors while others state that sometimes the temples run out of names and just use names over again so the temple goers have someone to perform ordinances for.

Regardless of the reason, it seems that the temple ceremony is not really for the dead, but for the living. If some of the ceremonies are meaningless, since they've already been done for those deceased people, then the ceremony is merely 'busy work' for the members and providing no value for the deceased.

We imagine it would be quite a let-down if someone drove five hours to do a temple session to only be told that they ran out of valid names. So we understand why the temples may sometimes recycle names but it doesn't change the fact that the dead do not benefit at all from having their ordinance work done a 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th time.

More info: Former Temple Worker Experience

Temple weddings

Your wedding day is supposed to be the most special day of your life. Why is it then that many LDS, particularly women, feel that their special day isn't really theirs? Many LDS feel that the restrictions put upon them for their actual wedding (when they get married in the temple) make their experience less joyful than it should be and very much controlled by the Church.

The first complaint is the outfits worn during the ceremony. Many brides and grooms have told us how awkward they felt wearing the hats during the marriage ceremony - especially since those attending were not wearing them. Also the choice of wedding dresses by the women is somewhat limited compared to their nonmember friends. The mirrors symbolizing eternity is kind of nice, but hardly compensates for the other concessions that must be made by the couple.

There are no videotapes of the ceremony that can be watched for years later to be enjoyed by the bride and groom and future children. There are no pictures of the ceremony either. All the happy couple has to remember their marriage ceremony with are their fading memories.

By far the biggest complaint is that only LDS members can attend the ceremony. And then only 'worthy' members who have temple recommends can watch the ceremony.

One member writes: "I watched my poor father look at me with tears in his eyes as he watched his son go into the temple with his bride and the rest of the family, while he had to stay outside by himself because he wasn't deemed 'worthy' to enter the temple because he wasn't a member of the LDS Church. It was so sad. This man raised me, was a good, righteous man and wasn't even allowed to watch his own son get married." This has been the source of much heartache for members and nonmembers alike.

Many couples would like to have a regular civil wedding where they can invite their nonmember friends and families and not be subject to all the controls the Church has on their wedding. The couple then wants to get sealed shortly thereafter. That makes sense as it satisfies the nonmember families, and they still get sealed for all eternity so everyone should be happy. HOWEVER, the church refuses to support this and enforces a one-year waiting period penalty on couples should they get married outside of the temple first. Why does the church do this? We assume it's to impress upon the couples obedience and the importance of the temple ceremony over all other things - families included. It works, as very few couples opt for this. Also there's the stigma associated with having a civil ceremony in the chapel. LDS people naturally assume the couple is 'unworthy' and must have had some sort of sexual relations before getting married if they have a civil ceremony before getting married.

This seemingly arbitrary policy drives a further wedge between LDS and nonLDS people. For many converts, it creates more problems for their families and forces people to choose between their families and the church.

We have to wonder if this policy is really commanded of by God or is it the policy of man. We wonder why the church that prides itself on 'the family' can sometimes do so much harm to families by excluding non-member family from something that is so family-oriented as a wedding. Perhaps this will change some day.

The Petition

The exclusionary policy actually prompted some people to start a petition to have it changed. The petition was to allow for the option of having a civil ceremony outside of the temple without penalty to the couple.

Link is here. - the petition is now closed

Jean Bodie and Michelle Spencer discuss their project, The Temple Wedding Petition in a podcast on Mormon Expression: episode 34 temple petition

Editor comment: As other countries (like England) require a civil ceremony prior to any religious ceremony, we don't see why the church can't allow its members to have a civil ceremony first where everyone can be invited. It's been our observation that whenever the church moves a little towards mainstream, that this makes the church look more appealing to non-members as well as members. The petition is done in a respectful way and we hope the church will one day adopt this practice.

Where's the Love?

There seems to be an absence of love in the actual temple marriage ceremony. It seems to be more about obeying God and the Church.

Click here for an extended discussion of the this topic.

Temple experiences by members

Story told to MormonThink:

Jane:

Jane was a new bride, taking out her endowment at a temple along the Wasatch Front.A soon-to-be sister-in-law would help guide her through the session, showing her which shoulder to put the robe on, how to tie the on the veil that would shroud her face and ensuring the green apron was placed on the outside of her white dress.Jane didn't know any of it before she was sequestered inside an endowment room of the temple. She was, however, both excited and nervous. She had wanted to marry John since she was a junior in high school, waiting for him during his mission, and now the moment was about to arrive.During the Washing & Anointing (a pre-endowment ceremony), a female temple worker helped dressed the completely naked Jane in a “shield” (loose fitting poncho-like robe).As part of the Washing and the Anointing, the temple worker touched Jane lightly on her skin near very personal areas of her body.Jane was quite unnerved by this contact with a stranger, in ways she'd avoided letting even her fiancée touch her to keep her virtue and chastity as taught vigorously to her in church. Then in the endowment session, she was hit with 