By Jerald and Sandra Tanner

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As we were working on our new book, Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony: 1842-1990, we had a very unexpected thing happen: we were offered a transcript and a tape of the new 1990 revision of the “endowment ceremony.” We, therefore, decided to publish it in our new book together with the 1984 version and show all the changes which had been made in the ritual. This delayed publication for some time, but those who had ordered it and were waiting for their copies were pleasantly surprised when they received the final product. One man, who had asked for a number of copies, made this comment in a letter:

Thank you very much for the copies of your latest book. As ever, your work is excellent! A day or two before the copies arrived I was browsing through 3,913 Changes in the Book of Mormon and had the thought that it would be nice to see the endowment changes shown in a like manner. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised to find that you did exactly that. Everyone with whom I have shared the book is favorably impressed. One Christian family I know is sharing it with another family who is being given the missionary discussions. I’m sure they’ll find it an eye opener. I recommended they share it with the missionaries. I ran into some missionaries myself and brought up that topic, and was surprised to find that one of the elders was new, and had only gone through the 1990 version. He thought I was lying about the old one, because not even his parents told him what had been changed. His companion confirmed what I said, and the new Elder was obviously distressed with the whole issue. One of the last things he said was something like “I believe the Church is true and that the G. A.’s [General Authorities—i.e., the highest leaders of the church] are prophets, but I can’t see God changing the temple ceremony that much, unless it was wrong to begin with.” (Letter dated Oct. 13, 1990)

The changes which were made in the temple ceremony have stirred up a controversy within the Mormon Church. A number of Mormons who had talked to the news media concerning the changes were called in for questioning. A recent issue of the liberal Mormon magazine, Sunstone, reported the following:

Last spring at the April general priesthood meeting when President Gordon B. Hinckley counseled the men in the Church not to discuss the temple ordinances outside of the temple, few realized that his comments were a prelude to that soon-to-be-released new temple film which included changes in the ceremony and a streamlined narrative. . . .

It soon became obvious that Church leaders did not welcome individual Saints commenting to the press about the temple. Reportedly the First Presidency instructed area presidents to have every known member who was quoted called in by a Church official and questioned about their comments.

Many were talked to by their bishops or stake presidents, some met with general authorities. With two exceptions, all reported that their meetings were pleasant and non-threatening. . . .

As word of the questioning spread, some were disturbed at what appeared to be an inquisitional approach by Church leaders toward well-meaning members. Others expressed dismay that members would break their temple covenants by speaking to the press. . . . private conversations disputed just exactly what was covenanted in the temple: whether it was simply not to reveal specific covenants or not to talk about anything in the temple ceremony. . . .

One man’s experience was more than a “visit.” In a meeting with all three seventies in his area presidency, Ross Peterson [co-editor of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought] was questioned at length about his comments and loyalty to the Church. The presidency referred to clippings from a thick Church file which had been gathered on him since his days in college. As a result of the questioning, Peterson’s temple recommend was taken and further action was intimated if he continued to speak or write on the temple. Later, after he wrote a protest and others petitioned Church leaders, his recommend was restored.

In a similar scene in Cleveland, Ohio, Keith Norman’s bishop reluctantly told him that he had been instructed to deny Norman a temple recommend for one year, after which he could have a recommend if he had repented. When Norman asked of what he needed to repent, his bishop replied, “I don’t know.”

In the end, many are troubled by the systematic censoring of believing members and undoubtedly this episode will be alluded to for years in discussions about the role and prerogatives of the Church and its members. (Sunstone, June 1990, pp. 59, 61)

Serious Changes 

Since the temple ceremony was supposed to have been given by revelation to the Mormon prophet Joseph Smith, some members of the church, like the young missionary quoted above, are very disturbed that the current church leaders would make changes in the sacred ritual. Although some Mormon apologists would have us believe that the changes were really very minor or were only made so the ceremony could be shortened, the evidence we present in Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony clearly demonstrates that many of the changes were major and affect very important Mormon teachings.

In our last newsletter we noted that in the 1990 version of the temple ceremony the Mormon leaders removed the “penalties” for revealing the secrets. These penalties had previously been considered “most sacred.” We have always felt that these penalties were not compatible with Christian teachings and have strongly opposed them in print for over twenty years.

The evidence shows that the wording with regard to the penalties was originally very strong, but has been altered over the years. In the book, Temple Mormonism, published in 1931, page 18, we find this information concerning the First Token of the Aaronic Priesthood:

The left arm is here placed at the square, palm to the front, the right hand and arm raised to the neck, holding the palm downwards and thumb under the right ear.

Adam—“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 their roots.”. . .

Sign—In executing the sign of the penalty, the right hand palm down, is drawn sharply across the throat, then dropped from the square to the side.

The bloody nature of this and other oaths in the temple endowment has been verified by an abundance of testimony (see Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony, pp. 16-26). Some time in the first half of the 20th century, however, a major change was made concerning the penalties in the endowment ceremony. For example, those who received the “First Token of the Aaronic Priesthood” no longer agreed to have their throats “cut from ear to ear” and their “tongues torn out by their roots” if they revealed the First Token. Nevertheless, they were still instructed to draw their thumbs across their throats to show the penalty. In the 1984 account of the ritual, which we have published in our new book, pages 77-79, the reader can see how the wording was modified to remove the harsh language regarding the cutting of the throat and the tearing out of the tongue:

. . . we desire to impress upon your minds the sacred character of the First Token of the Aaronic Priesthood, with its accompanying name, sign and penalty, as well as that of all other tokens of the Holy Priesthood, with their names, signs and penalties . . . They are most sacred and are guarded by solemn covenants and obligations of secrecy to the effect that under no condition, even at the peril of your life, will you ever divulge them, except at a certain place that will be shown you hereafter. The representation of the execution of the penalties indicates different ways in which life may be taken. . . . We give unto you the First Token of the Aaronic Priesthood . . .

The sign is made by bringing the right arm to the square, the palm of the hand to the front, the fingers close together, and the thumb extended. . . . This is the sign. 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. . . .

Now, repeat in your mind after me the words of the covenant, at the same time representing the execution of the penalty.

I, ______, think of the New Name, 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.

In the new 1990 version of the temple ceremony all mention of penalties has been completely removed. There is nothing said about the thumb being drawn across the throat, and nothing is mentioned concerning “ways in which life may be taken”:

. . . we desire to impress upon your minds the sacred character of the First Token of the Aaronic Priesthood, with its accompanying name and sign, as well as that of all other tokens of the Holy Priesthood, with their names and signs . . . They are most sacred, and are guarded by solemn covenants and obligations made in the presence of God, angels and these witnesses to hold them sacred and under no condition will you ever divulge them, except at a certain place in the temple that will be shown you. . . . we give unto you the First Token of the Aaronic Priesthood. . . . The sign is made by bringing the right arm to the square, the palm of the hand to the front, the fingers close together, and the thumb extended. This is the sign. . . .

Now, repeat in your mind after me the words of the covenant.

I, ______, think of the New Name, covenant before God, angels, and these witnesses, that I will never reveal the First Token of the Aaronic Priesthood, with its accompanying name and sign. (1990 version of the temple ceremony, as published in Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony, p. 122)

There were two other portions of the temple ceremony which were altered to remove all references to the penalties which were obviously vestiges of the bloody oaths Joseph Smith borrowed from Freemasonry (see Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony, pages 86, 87 and 89).

In our last newsletter we reported the removal of the “Five Points of Fellowship” from the Mormon temple ceremony. Although we had strong evidence that this part of the ritual had been deleted, we did not know exactly what happened in its place. Now that we have the transcript of the 1990 ceremony, we can clearly understand the change that has taken place.

The Five Points of Fellowship was previously an extremely important part of the temple ceremony. It was only “upon the Five Points of Fellowship through the veil” that one could receive the name of the Second Token of the Melchizedek Priesthood, The Patriarchal Grip or Sure Sign of the Nail. This is a highly secret “name”—actually a thirty-six word saying—which only the “Lord” who was behind the veil could give to those who were receiving their endowments. Mormons believe that after they die they will have to give this secret name back to the Lord before he will allow them to pass through the veil into his Presence.

In the book, Temple Mormonism, page 22, the Five Points of Fellowship were described as follows: “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. . .” Only when the Lord and the recipient were embracing in this position could the secret name be whispered.

Since the revision of the ceremony in 1990, those who participate in the ritual no longer embrace on the Five Points of Fellowship. They are, in fact, only required to place “left arms . . . upon right shoulders.” They do not put their feet and knees together and all the wording concerning the Five Points of Fellowship has been completely deleted. The words “Five Points of Fellowship” previously appeared in five different places in the ritual—the “Lord” spoke of the “Five Points of Fellowship” twice; “Peter” referred to the “Five Points of Fellowship” twice, and the recipient mentioned them once. Below is a comparison of a portion of the 1984 version with the new revised version:

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 of 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. (Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony, pp. 96-97)

The reader will notice that in the 1990 revised version (shown below) all references to the Five Points of Fellowship have been deleted:

Lord: You shall receive it through the Veil.

Peter: It is received as left arms are placed upon right shoulders through the Veil.

(The Officiator places his left arm through the mark of the compass and rests his hand on the right shoulder of the Lord, as the Lord places His left arm through the mark of the square and rests his hand on the right shoulder of the Officiator. The right hands remain clasped in the Patriarchal Grip.)

Peter: 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, through the Veil.
(Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony, p. 138)

The reader will notice that in the 1990 revised version all references to the Five Points of Fellowship have been deleted.

Regardless of the reason for the change, it raises serious questions concerning the inspiration of church officials. If a person was previously compelled to receive the secret information necessary to enter heaven on the Five Points of Fellowship, how can the church leaders now by-pass God’s revealed way which was supposed to have been given to the prophet Joseph Smith? Kim Sue Lia Perkes revealed that, “a former Mormon familiar with the changes said the ceremony’s climax has been eliminated.” Removal of that part of the ritual, [the former Mormon] said, is the equivalent of taking the Eucharist out of the Roman Catholic Mass.

Not all Mormons are happy with the ceremony changes. “I certainly have Mormon friends who will see it as a step toward apostasy and an accommodation to the world,” said one practicing Mormon in Utah. (Arizona Republic, April 28, 1990)

One very important change in the temple ceremony is the removal of a portion of the ceremony in which the Devil hired a Christian minister to preach the “orthodox religion” to the people. This portion of the ceremony made it clear that in the eyes of the Mormon leaders the orthodox Christian religion was the Devil’s religion. In the 1984 version of the temple ritual, the Devil tells the minister that if “you will preach your orthodox religion to these people, and convert them, I will pay you well.” This, of course, led the Mormon people to believe that Christian ministers were really working for the Devil. In Mormonism, Magic and Masonry, page 66, we wrote:

. . . the temple ritual tries to link Christians and ministers of other churches to the Devil’s work. We feel that this is one of the most objectionable things about the ceremony, and we do not feel that a Christian would want to give any support to this type of thing.

Many other Christians protested against this part of the ceremony, and a great deal of pressure has been put on the Mormon leaders to change it.

In the new version all of the material making fun of both Protestants and Catholics has been completely eliminated. In Appendix B of Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony, we demonstrated that over 700 words were deleted and other words changed to remove the attack on other churches!

Unfortunately, the removal of the portion of the temple ceremony which implies that Christian ministers are working for the Devil does not really solve the problem. The Mormon Church still retains Joseph Smith’s story of the First Vision in the Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith—History, verses 18-19. In this account, Joseph Smith asserted that Jesus himself told him that all other churches were wrong:

My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right . . . I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt . . .

Oath of Obedience 

The Mormon leaders teach that those who receive their endowments and are married in the temple can become Gods. In a speech published in Ensign, Nov. 1975, page 80, Spencer W. Kimball, the twelfth prophet of the LDS Church, made some comments which were broadcast to those men serving in the priesthood of the church: “Brethren, 225,000 of you are here tonight. I suppose 225,000 of you may become gods.”

Because of their belief that God is only an exalted man, Mormon leaders teach that he had a mother as well as a wife. Although Mormons do not worship God’s wife, they teach that she is their “Eternal Mother.” Apostle Bruce R. McConkie explained the doctrine:

Implicit in the Christian verity that all men are the spirit children of an Eternal Father is the usually unspoken truth that they are also the offspring of an Eternal Mother. . . . This doctrine that there is a mother in Heaven was affirmed in plainness by the First Presidency of the Church . . . they said that “man, as a spirit was begotten and born of heavenly parents, and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father . . . all men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother, and are literally the sons and daughters of Deity. (Mormon Doctrine, 1979, p. 516)

The Mormon doctrine of “pre-existence” is very important to those who are married in the temple for time and all eternity. Like the Gods who received their endowments eons ago, those who go through the temple today and are accounted worthy to become Gods and Goddesses will also give birth to spirit children throughout all eternity. These spirits will eventually take bodies on other worlds. In The Gospel Through the Ages, 1958, page 120, Milton R. Hunter, who was a member of the Mormon Church’s First Council of the Seventy, wrote:

. . . Joseph explained . . . that the Gods were to be parents of spirit children just as our Heavenly Father and Mother were the parents of the people of this earth.

Mormon Apostle Orson Pratt made it clear that every God would be the father of billions of children. He estimated that “seventy thousand million [i.e., 70 billion] sons and daughters were born in Heaven” to our Heavenly Father. He also stated:

Each God, through his wife or wives, raises up a numerous family of sons and daughters . . . each father and mother will be in a condition to multiply forever. As soon as each God has begotten many millions of male and female spirits . . . he, in connection with his sons, organizes a new world . . . where he sends both the male and female spirits to inhabit tabernacles of flesh and bones. . . . The inhabitants of each world are required to reverence, adore, and worship their own personal father who dwells in the Heaven which they formerly inhabited. (The Seer, March 1853, p. 37)

The description given by Mormon leaders of the function of a woman who advances to Godhood reminds us of the role played by a queen bee. The queen bee, of course, produces swarms of offspring—as many as 2,500 a day! Her main purpose appears to be to produce more bees. Apostle Bruce R. McConkie made it very plain that spirit children are literally born to the Eternal Father and Mother:

Our spirit bodies had their beginning in pre-existence when we were born as the spirit children of God our Father. Through that birth process spirit element was organized into intelligent entities. (Mormon Doctrine, p. 750)

Many Mormon women have serious reservations about the concept of having billions of spirit children every time their husbands decide to people additional worlds. In any case, Mormon Church leaders proclaim that “Godhood is not for men only, it is for men and women together” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 844). While at first glance it appears that this would make men and women equal, a more careful examination of the doctrine reveals just the opposite. According to Mormon theology, church members follow the same plan of eternal progression as God the Father. Now, if the “Eternal Mother” had really gained equality with her husband, we would expect the Mormons to pray to her. Apostle Orson Pratt, however, made it plain that the Eternal Mother’s Godhood is rather insignificant when it is compared to her husband’s power. She, in fact, is to be in “the most perfect obedience” to her “great head”:

But if we have a heavenly Mother as well as a heavenly Father, is it not right that we should worship the Mother of our spirits as well as the Father? No; for the Father of our spirits is at the head of His household, and His wives and children are required to yield the most perfect obedience to their great Head. (The Seer, p. 159)

It would appear, then, that in Mormon theology the claim that a woman can obtain “Godhood” amounts to very little. Like the present “Heavenly Mother,” she will be required to “yield the most perfect obedience” to her “great Head”—i.e., her husband, while she continues to give birth to “many millions” of spirit children throughout all eternity. Mormon theology would seem to teach that women who enter into “Godhood” will find themselves serving their own husbands in eternity rather than the God of the Bible. The more one studies the church’s teaching concerning the Mother God, the more obvious it becomes that women are considered to be spiritually inferior in Mormon theology. Since the church changed the anti-black doctrine, many Mormon women have come to see that they are the ones who will be “second class” citizens in heaven. Mormon leaders used to explain that blacks could not hold the priesthood because they were not valiant in the pre-existence, but no reason has been given for the inferiority of women in Mormon theology.

President Brigham Young once stated: “The man is the head and God of the woman, but let him act like a God in virtuous principles . . .” (Sermon of Brigham Young, as quoted in Journals of John D. Lee, 1846-47 and 1859, edited by Charles Kelly, 1938, p. 81) The subservient role of women in the Mormon temple ceremony is evident when they come to the veil in the temple. A man representing Elohim (God the Father) brings the men through the veil into the Celestial Kingdom. The women, on the other hand, are brought through by their husbands. This part of the ceremony seems to be an attempt to demonstrate that “man is the head and God of the woman.” In the account of the temple ritual printed in Hand-Book on Mormonism, 1882, p. 30, we read that the official who performs the wedding ceremony “tells the man that he must look to God, but the woman must look to her husband as her God, for if he lives in his religion, the spirit of God will be in him, and she must therefore yield him unquestioning obedience, for he is as a God unto her . . .” On page 28 of the same book, we read of an “oath of obedience”: “The women then took the oath of obedience to their husbands, having to look up to them as their gods. It is not possible for a woman to go to Christ, except through her husband.”

In his article published in 1987, David John Buerger noted that “the endowment ceremony still depicts women as subservient to men, not as equals in relating to God. . . . he is the one who acts as intermediary to God . . .” (Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Winter 1987, p. 68) In the 1984 version of the temple ceremony, which is published in Appendix A of Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony, pages 75-76, the men “covenant and promise” that they will “obey the law of God.” The women, however, agree to obey the law of their husbands:

Elohim: We will put the sisters under covenant to obey the law of their husbands. Sisters, arise.

(Female patrons stand as instructed.)

Elohim: Each of you bring your right arm to the square. You and each of you solemnly covenant and promise before God, angels and these witnesses at this altar that you will each observe and keep the law of your husband, and abide by his counsel in righteousness. Each of you bow your head and say yes.

Women: Yes.

Since the church leaders revised the endowment ceremony on April 10, 1990, women “no longer must vow to obey their husbands” (Salt Lake Tribune, April 29, 1990). The new ceremony reads as follows (see Appendix B of Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony, p. 120):

Elohim: We will put each sister under covenant to obey the Law of the Lord, and to hearken to the counsel of her husband, as her husband hearkens unto the counsel of the Father. Sisters, arise.

(Female patrons stand as instructed.)

Elohim: Each of you bring your right arm to the square. You and each of you solemnly covenant and promise before God, angels, and these witnesses at this altar that you will each observe and keep the Law of the Lord, and hearken to the counsel of your husband as he hearkens to the counsel of the Father. Each of you bow your head and say “yes.”

Women: Yes.

The reader will notice that the words “the Law of their husbands” was changed to “the Law of the Lord,” and the words “the law of your husbands” have been altered to read, “the Law of the Lord.” It is also interesting to note some changes a few paragraphs earlier in the ceremony. In one place in the 1984 version, Elohim tells Adam that Eve “will obey your law in the Lord . . .” These words have been modified to, “will obey the Law of the Lord . . .” In the 1984 version, the following paragraph reads:

“Eve: Adam I now covenant to obey your law as you obey our Father.”

In the 1990 revision this has been changed to read:

“Eve: Adam, I now covenant to obey the Law of the Lord, and to hearken to your counsel as you hearken unto Father.”

Another very interesting change concerning women occurs just before the “Law of Obedience.” In the 1984 version we are told of the punishment which is to be inflicted upon both Adam and Eve because of their transgression:

Elohim: Eve, because thou hast hearkened to the voice of Satan and hast partaken of the forbidden fruit, and given unto Adam, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children. Nevertheless, thou mayest be preserved in child-bearing. Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee in righteousness.

Adam, because thou has hearkened unto the voice of thy wife and hast partaken of the forbidden fruit, the earth shall be cursed for thy sake. Instead of producing fruits and flowers spontaneously, it shall bring forth thorns, thistles, briars, and noxious weeds to afflict and torment man. And by the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread all the days of thy life, for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

In the 1990 revision, Eve’s punishment is completely omitted. All of the words which we have emphasized above in bold type were completely deleted:

Elohim: Adam, because thou has partaken of the forbidden fruit, the earth shall be cursed for thy sake. Instead of producing fruits and flowers spontaneously, it shall bring forth thorns, thistles, briars, and noxious weeds to afflict and torment man. And by the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread all the days of thy life, for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

It is very interesting to note that although the Lord’s words to Eve have been entirely omitted (compare Genesis 3:16), Adam is still punished with the same curse found in Genesis 3:17-19. This revision of the temple ceremony cannot be supported from the revelations of Joseph Smith (see Smith’s Inspired Version of the Bible and the Pearl of Great Price, Moses 4:22). In the 1984 version of the endowment, Eve was often overlooked. In the new version her name has been added in twenty-two places.

Other Recent Changes 

Another important change has been made in the sign for the Second Token of the Melchizedek Priesthood. In the 1984 version of the endowment ceremony, as printed in Appendix A of Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony, page 94, we find this:

The sign is made by raising both hands high above the head (Officiator demonstrates.), and while lowering the hands repeating aloud the words:

Pay Lay Ale
Pay Lay Ale
Pay Lay Ale

As early as 1969 we pointed out a problem with this:

. . . there seems to have been a change made in this part of the ceremony, for the Salt Lake Tribune, February 12, 1906, gave the words as “Pale, Ale, Ale,” and Temple Mormonism used the words “Pale, Hale, Hale.” (The Mormon Kingdom, vol. 1, p. 138)

However this may be, in another portion of the temple ceremony, it is explained that “Pay Lay Ale” means “Oh God, hear the words of my mouth!”

A number of years ago a Mormon intellectual informed us that it was his understanding that one of the top scholars in the church had pointed out to church authorities that the words pay lay ale or pe le el could be translated from the Hebrew language as “mouth to God.” This, of course, could be considered to be a condensed version of “Oh God, hear the words of my mouth!” That this translation is plausible can be confirmed by consulting Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, word #6310— “peh . . . the mouth.” The Hebrew letter Lamed (transliterated in English as l) is often added on the front of words and means “to, at, for” (Hebrew Primer and Grammar, by C. P. Fagnani and A. B. Davidson, page 50). Word #410 in Strong’s Concordance is “ale . . . God (god).” Kyle D. Williams has also pointed out to us that the Biblical name “Lael,” found in Numbers 3:24, is translated by Strong (#3815) as “(belonging) to God.” At any rate, we were told that the Mormon scholar was so convincing in his presentation to the leaders of the church that they changed the wording of the temple ceremony to “Pay Lay Ale.”

In the early 1980’s some critics of the church began to proclaim that in Hebrew these words really meant, “Wonderful Lucifer.” If this were true, this would mean that the Mormons were praying to the Devil in this part of the ceremony. We took very strong exception to this claim and pointed out that there was no way that these words could be translated “Wonderful Lucifer” (see The Lucifer-God Doctrine, pp. 11-15, 85-86).

In any case, many Mormons must have been bothered when they had to raise and lower their hands repeating the strange words “Pay Lay Ale” three times during the ritual. The Mormon leaders have now replaced the mysterious words with the English words which were mentioned earlier in the ceremony: “Oh God, hear the words of my mouth!” In the 1990 revision of the ritual (Appendix B of Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony, pages 133-34), we read:

The sign is made by raising both hands high above the head (The Officiator demonstrates.), and while lowering the hands repeating aloud the words: “Oh God, hear the words of my mouth!” repeated three times.

The fact that four different versions of the sign of the Second Token of the Melchizedek Priesthood have been given over the years certainly raises a question concerning the claim that the endowment was revealed by revelation.

One of the important changes in the new ceremony is that the Lecture At The Veil has been completely removed. This lecture was previously given to all those who were passing through the ritual for the first time. It was not deemed necessary, however, for those who were going through the endowment ceremony for the dead. The words “penalty” or “penalties” were used six times in this lecture, and it also referred to the “sectarian minister” who preached false doctrine (i.e., the minister who was employed by Lucifer). We estimate that the Mormon leaders removed over 2,000 words when they took out the Lecture At the Veil!

Since the Mormon leaders claim to be led by direct revelation, one would think that if they made any changes in the endowment ceremony it would be to add important new spiritual truths. Instead, however, the great majority of the changes are deletions of material which once was an important part of the ritual. The reader who wishes to learn more about the changes made in 1990 should carefully study Appendix A of our new book, Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony: 1842 to 1990.

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