Category: Temples and Temple Ceremony
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Second Anointing — The Temple Ritual That Isn’t Discussed
By Sandra Tanner One of the most important tenets of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the necessity of temple ordinances. LDS Apostle Bruce R. McConkie explained: From the days of Adam to the present, whenever the Lord has had a people on earth, temples and temple ordinances have been a crowning…
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More LDS Temple Changes — A Nod to Feminism?
By Sandra Tanner Opening their morning newspaper on Thursday, January 3, 2019, Utahans were surprised to read “LDS Church changes temple ceremony; faithful feminists will see revisions and additions as a ‘leap forward.’” The article went on to note: Many women have complained in the past about the “endowment” ritual, which includes a re-enactment of…
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Masonry and the Mormon Temple Endowment Ceremony (excerpt)
Although an LDS essay on the relationship between Freemasonry and the Mormon temple ceremony acknowledges some similarities, it barely scratches the surface.
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Similarities Between the Freemasonry of the 1830s and the Mormon Endowment (pre-1940)
By Richard Packham The following is excerpted with permission from the original page at: http://packham.n4m.org/mason-endow.htm [Note]: The list of similarities below is given in no particular order, since the order of presentation in both ceremonies differs slightly. The information on 19th century Masonry is based on William Morgan’s Illustrations of Freemasonry, 1827. click to enlarge…
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Baptism for the Dead and the Twelve Oxen Under the Baptismal Font
By Sandra Tanner In 1840 Joseph Smith declared that those who had died before hearing the LDS gospel could have vicarious baptisms done on their behalf. RLDS historian Roger D. Launius observed: Joseph Smith apparently first considered the propriety of baptism for the dead after reading the only biblical reference to it: “Else what shall…
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Saintly Scissors
The Cutting Away of Unwanted Revelation By Sandra Tanner Just as God spoke to Moses on the mountain, the LDS Church claims that God personally appeared to Joseph Smith and directed him to establish “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:30). LDS revelations are usually…
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Summary of Major Changes in the LDS Temple Ritual from 1842-2005
By Sandra Tanner 1. Washing and Anointing was changed from being naked and having a full bath to being completely covered by the garment and shield, with symbolic anointing to forehead (see Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony, by Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 2005 ed., pp. 39-40; Mysteries of Godliness, p. 32).…
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Temple Ritual Changed … Again
By Sandra Tanner “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, August 2001, p. 22(citing Joseph Fielding Smith, comp., Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, [1976], p. 308) “Divine revelation adapts…
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Top Stories of the Decades
Highlights of Utah Lighthouse Ministry research and experiences through the years.
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Masonic Symbols and the Salt Lake Temple
Many of the symbols adorning LDS temples derive from Free Masonry, which Joseph Smith was involved in and affected by.