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 Genesis, noting that Eve has no words during her sojourn with Adam after the couple’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

Now that seminal female figure has a whole monologue, said the attendee, who did not want her name used because of the sacred nature of the ceremony. “She has more lines than Satan.”

And men and women make all the same covenants, or promises, to God, rather than separate ones. Women also no longer covenant to hearken to their husbands.¹

While Eve has been given a larger speaking part in the secret temple drama of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she merely quotes a passage from the Book of Moses, part of their scriptures known as the Pearl of Great Price. The endowment ceremony, only open to faithful members, depicts the story of Adam and Eve and their journey from the Garden of Eden to entering into God’s presence. The instructions, passwords and handshakes learned in the ritual are considered necessary for eternal life, also called exaltation.

After the Fall is enacted and Lucifer ordered out of the garden, Adam now quotes part of Moses 5:10: “Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.” To which Eve responds, quoting Moses 5:11, “Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.”

Since Adam and Eve’s added dialogue is simply quoting from one of the LDS scriptures one wonders why it was not publicly acknowledged. The drama was also edited to add more mention of Eve. Previously Elohim addressed Adam alone, now he addresses both Adam and Eve.

Contrary to standard Christianity, the LDS scriptures and temple ceremony present a scenario of Adam and Eve being given two conflicting commandments in the garden. First, they were not to eat of the tree of knowledge and second, they were commanded to have children. But according to Mormonism, as spirit beings, they couldn’t reproduce until they ate of the fruit and became mortal. Thus God set them up to break one of these commandments. This is why Eve is seen as performing a meritorious act by disobeying God and becoming mortal. According to an article in Ensign magazine, posted on the LDS web site, the Fall was necessary:

Most Christian churches teach that the Fall was a tragedy, that if Adam and Eve had not partaken of the forbidden fruit, they and all their posterity could now be living in immortal bliss in the Garden of Eden. But truth revealed to latter-day prophets teaches that the Fall was not a tragedy—without it Adam and Eve would have had no posterity. Thus, the Fall was a necessary step in Heavenly Father’s plan to bring about the eternal happiness of His children.²

LDS Apostle Bruce R. McConkie explained:

The fall of Adam brought temporal and spiritual death into the world, and the atonement of Christ ransomed men from these two deaths by bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. This makes the fall as essential a part of the plan of salvation as the very atonement itself.³

[Bold added for emphasis in quotations. Not in originals.]

After Eve quotes the passage from the Book of Moses, the temple patrons, dressed in white, are instructed to put on their green aprons, representing the fig leaf aprons of Adam and Eve. The white outfit and green apron are worn by all those being endowed, whether getting sealed that day or not, or whether the ceremony is for them personally or on behalf of a dead person. Most LDS missionaries have been through the endowment ceremony but have not been “sealed” in marriage—a ceremony that takes place after one is “endowed.”

Faithful LDS, who have been sealed to their partner, are also buried in the white outfit and green apron. Prior to January 2019 the temple veil would be put over the woman’s face just before closing the casket. Now the family has the option of using the veil or not.⁴

Another change is the elimination of women veiling their faces during the special prayer circle during the endowment ceremony. They still wear the thin, 3-foot square veil, but they are no longer instructed to veil their faces.

Feminists see these changes as a hopeful move toward equality for women and men in the ritual. While these recent changes are significant, they are just the latest in a long list of revisions since the temple endowment ritual was first introduced by Joseph Smith in 1842.

Currently the LDS Church has 209 temples “operating, announced or under construction.”⁵ These are special buildings, not open to the general public, where vicarious baptisms are performed on behalf of dead people, and where members go through the endowment ritual, and are either married/sealed for all eternity for themselves or in behalf of the dead. Their regular meeting houses are open to the public.

Washing and Anointing Changes

Originally the temple endowment ceremony began with a washing and anointing ceremony that required the member to totally disrobe and be ceremonially washed in a large tub and oil poured over his/her head. This was administered by someone of the same sex.⁶ A tub was used until after the turn of the twentieth century.⁷ Over the years this ceremony has been changed to make it less offensive to people.

In the 1969 version of the Washing and Anointing, patrons, in divided areas for men and women, stored their regular clothes in lockers and then covered themselves with a “shield,” like a poncho, which covered the front and back of a person but open on the sides. Then in a small enclosed area attendants would reach under the cloth and ceremonially touch various parts of the attendee’s naked body with water, then with oil, as certain blessings were pronounced on the person. After these anointings the attendants would help the person pull on the special one-piece undergarment with Masonic-like markings on both breasts, the navel and the right knee.⁸ The person then returned to the locker area and donned their white outfit, with the hat/veil, green apron, robe and sash folded in a small parcel.

The original temple undergarment was like a one-piece union suit, full length with long sleeves, and ties. These were modified in 1923, allowing for the garment to end just below the knee and elbow.⁹ Through the years the garment has continued to evolve, becoming shorter and available in more fabric choices. A photo of the garment is posted on the LDS web site.¹⁰ Last year the church discontinued the embroidered markings on the garment in favor of silk-screening them on the back side of the material.¹¹

Evidently in an effort to provide more modesty, in 2005 the clothing ritual was changed again. In the locker room the individual put on the LDS garment, which has been changed to a two-piece, and then the poncho-like “shield,” which was sewn up on the sides.¹² The patron then proceeded to the cubical for his/her anointing with water and oil on the forehead. Then the patron returned to the locker area to dress in the white outfit.

But this scenario has been changed. In 2019 the shield was eliminated and the person changes in the locker room into his/her garments and puts on the white temple outfit, and then goes to the anointing booth where only the forehead is anointed.

These changes have given rise to a number of questions about the eternal nature of the ordinances. Brigham Young declared:

Has the holy Catholic Church got faith in Jesus that we have not got? Not a particle that is true and pure. But as for the ordinances of the House of God, we say, . . . that the mother church and all her daughters have transgressed the laws, every one of them; they have changed almost every ordinance of the House of God; . . . There is but one mode of baptism and that is by being immersed in the water . . .¹³

Changing from a total bath to simply touching the forehead with water and oil seems to be comparable to some Christians performing baptisms by sprinkling instead of immersion. Why is the LDS change condoned and the non-LDS change condemned?

Lucifer’s Apron

In the 1984 version of the temple drama, after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, Lucifer came on the scene and Adam asked, “What is that apron you have on?” To which Lucifer responded, “It is an emblem of my power and Priesthoods.” The dialogue continues: “Adam: Priesthoods? Lucifer: Yes, Priesthoods.”¹⁴ This exchange was shortened in 1990 and then totally deleted in 2019. Lucifer’s apron is visible in the 2013 clandestine video of the live enactment of the ritual.¹⁵ Lucifer’s apron appears to be green in the video but has usually been described as black or navy blue. We are not informed as to the visibility of his apron in today’s live sessions. In the recent videos it is hard to see his apron.

But these are just the latest edits to Lucifer’s roll in the ritual. In the 1984 version, after Adam and Eve left the Garden and entered the Lone and Dreary World, Lucifer introduced them to a preacher. “Lucifer: Have you been to college and received training for the ministry? Sectarian Minister: Certainly! A man cannot preach unless he has been trained for the ministry. Lucifer: Do you preach the orthodox religion? Sectarian Minister: Yes, that is what I preach. Lucifer: If you will preach your orthodox religion to these people, and convert them, I will pay you well.”¹⁶

Adam later summarized the minister’s teachings: “They preach of a God who is without body, parts, or passions; who is so large that he fills the universe, and yet is so small that he can dwell in my heart; and of a hell, without a bottom, where the wicked are continually burning but are never consumed. To me, it is a mass of confusion.” This has been completely removed.

Later, the minister, talking to Peter, realized that the devil had deceived him and he said: “This man told me that we should never have any revelation or apostles, but if any should come professing to be apostles, I was to ask them to cut off an arm or some other member of the body and then restore it, so that the people might know that they came with power.” The preacher then wanted out of the Devil’s employ but he refused to pay the minister since he didn’t convert Adam and Eve to his religion. For years people have complained that the LDS ceremony mocked Christian ministers and implied that they were only in it for the money. Researcher David John Buerger observed that several “Christian ministers were added in the 1850s. . . . By 1905 the ceremony had been edited to allow only one minister.”¹⁷ Finally, in 1990 the part of the minister was removed.¹⁸

All Patrons Stand

Also changed is the number of times patrons need to stand up. In the past, when the ceremony got to the Second Token of the Aaronic Priesthood everyone would stand and don their white robe, sash, with the green apron tied over these items, along with the hat/veil. Now they remain seated and don’t put on the robe and other items until the part about the First Token of the Melchizedek Priesthood. This seems to be a time-saving adjustment, allowing the patrons to remain seated during the earlier part of the ceremony.

From Movie to Slides

Originally the endowment ceremony was a live play, but in the 1970s the LDS Church began to incorporate filmed portions. Currently only the Salt Lake and Manti temples perform the story of Adam and Eve live. But these temples are scheduled to close at the end of 2019 for remodeling.¹⁹ However, one wonders if they will continue to present the live drama when the two temples reopen in a few years?²⁰

In 2013 and 2014 the LDS Church introduced three new temple films. Each of the films used the same dialogue, but had different actors, thus providing a little variety as the films were rotated in use.²¹ Actors are seen playing the parts of Elohim, Jehovah and Michael communicating with Lucifer, Adam and Eve. It also showed Peter, James and John conversing with the various characters in the creation play.

However, this year the films have been eliminated. Now they only use slides depicting various scenes from the play while the audience listens to a recording of the actors’ voices. After going to such expense to create and translate these new films, why revert to slides?

One possible answer would be that it simplifies the task when making adjustments to the ceremony. A new version of the video would not need to be made. Also, it would be easier to adjust the length of the ritual when a translation into a foreign language takes longer than in English. Some have speculated that the removal of the films might have been to distance the church from the producer of the videos, who recently pled guilty to sex crimes.²²

The Church’s Defense

On January 2, 2019, the First Presidency of the LDS Church issued the following statement in defense of the recent changes in the temple ceremony:

Whenever the Lord has had a people on the earth who will obey His word, they have been commanded to build temples. Scriptures document patterns of temple worship from the times of Adam and Eve, Moses, Solomon, Nephi, and others.

With the restoration of the gospel in these latter days, temple worship has also been restored to bless the lives of people across the world and on the other side of the veil as well.

Over these many centuries, details associated with temple work have been adjusted periodically, including language, methods of construction, communication, and record-keeping. Prophets have taught that there will be no end to such adjustments as directed by the Lord to His servants.

A dedicated temple is the most holy of any place of worship on the earth. Its ordinances are sacred and are not discussed outside a holy temple.²³

Several problems come to mind after reading the statement. First, there is no commandment in the Bible for Adam and Eve to build a temple.

The forerunner to the temple in Israel was the tabernacle, which was first instituted during the 40 years Israel wandered in the wilderness at the time of Moses. The book of Exodus, chapters 26-30, records the instructions for the tabernacle, all its furnishings, and the rituals. Hundreds of years later, Solomon built the first permanent temple, following the pattern of the tabernacle.²⁴

The whole point of the Old Testament sacrificial system was to show that man’s sins had separated him from God and he could only approach God through bringing his offerings to the temple for the priest to present at the altar. And then once a year on the Day of Atonement the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies to present an offering for both himself and all Israel.

All of this served as a forerunner to the ultimate offering for sin, when Jesus himself, as our great High Priest, would enter the true Holy of Holies on our behalf, and offer himself as the lamb slain for the sins of the world.²⁵

The Jewish priests never performed any rituals like the LDS endowment ceremony and marriages were never done in their temple. Jewish marriages were attended by family and friends, not a secret affair, as shown in the story of Jesus attending a marriage in Cana.²⁶

Second, there is no command in the New Testament for the Christians to build temples, and they did not have access to the Jewish temple in Jerusalem to perform any rituals. Some of the early Jewish Christians met at times in the courtyard of the temple, but not being Jewish priests they were not allowed into the temple itself.²⁷

On the LDS website we read: “Temples serve as the only place where ceremonies such as baptism and eternal marriage can be performed in behalf of those who have died—a practice that Latter-day Saints believe was followed in New Testament times but that later was lost.”²⁸

Yet no evidence of such rituals is cited. Christians met in homes, not church buildings. For instance, early Christian leaders Priscilla and Aquila had a church meeting at their home (Romans 16:3, 5). Paul also mentions a church meeting in the home of Nympha in Colossians 4:15. Christians did not have their own temple or buildings.

Third, both Jesus and Paul taught that marriage was for this life only. Why would Paul advise the unmarried to remain single if he believed in the Mormon doctrine that a temple sealing is necessary for exaltation?²⁹ Also see Matthew 22:29-30 and 1 Corinthians 7:39. If the Mormons are going to insist that their temple ritual is a “restoration” of a Christian ritual they will need to document when, where and how such a ritual was practiced.

Their statement that changes have occurred over “many centuries” is without merit as there is no evidence that any Christians had a ritual with the same meaning and purpose as the LDS endowment ritual. However, there are similarities to the Masonic ritual,³⁰ which has gone through various changes, but these have nothing to do with a Christian ritual designed by God for eternal marriage.

Fourth, their statement, “Prophets have taught that there will be no end to such adjustments as directed by the Lord to His servants” leaves one wondering what they are referring to? People have searched for such statements in LDS literature and failed to find anything where their prophets publicly taught there would be “no end to such adjustments” in relation to the temple ritual. In fact, we find just the opposite. On the LDS web site Joseph Smith is quoted as saying:

Ordinances instituted in the heavens before the foundation of the world, in the priesthood, for the salvation of men, are not to be altered or changed. All must be saved on the same principles.³¹

Obviously, the temple ritual has gone through periodic editing since Joseph Smith’s day, but if it was originally a “revelation,” why would it need altering? The alterations seem to be removing troubling parts, not giving more doctrine. The temple changes in 1990³² followed a church survey of several thousand members, which questioned them about their experience in the temple.³³ Does revelation come from surveys?

Since the Mormons are so concerned that baptisms and the prayer over the sacrament must be done exactly as instructed, one wonders why they think the temple ritual can be altered? Which version of the LDS temple ritual is the one the early Christians were supposed to have practiced? If the temple ritual is always open to change, how could it ever be considered “lost” in the first place? Wouldn’t they just be earlier versions?

2019 Version

The 2019 version of the ritual has been clandestinely recorded and a typescript noting the changes can be read online as one listens to the ritual.³⁴ This also includes the new LDS introductory comments given at the start of the ritual. The narrator reads a statement by the First Presidency explaining that the new changes have been approved by their prophet and apostles:

Brothers and sisters, since the temple endowment was first administered in this dispensation occasional adjustments have been made by the First Presidency and the quorum of the Twelve Apostles, acting unitedly in their capacity as prophets, seers, and revelators.

Upon seeking the will of the Lord and after solemn prayer in the upper room of the Salt Lake Temple, the Lord has again revealed inspired adjustments to the temple ceremonies.

These adjustments, which you will notice during your worship experience in the temple today, will bring harmony to the way men and women make covenants with God. They deepen our understanding of His will and His relationship with his daughters and sons. These modifications do not affect the sacred and eternal covenants associated with the saving and exalting ordinances of the temple. As a reminder, due to the sacred nature of all temple ordinances, the fact and content of these changes should not be discussed outside the temple.³⁵

Even though patrons take an oath of silence regarding any changes, there have been numerous exposés by those leaving the LDS church over the past 175 years, thus allowing comparisons to be made.³⁶

In the Beginning

Joseph Smith first founded the Church of Christ, now known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in New York in 1830, with the claim that it was the restoration of the original New Testament church, with all the same doctrines and rituals.³⁷ However, there was no teaching relating to eternal marriage, secret endowment rituals or the need for temples until years later. In fact, the only temple mentioned in the Book of Mormon was one built in the Americas and was evidently open to the public.³⁸

A year-and-a-half later (November 1831) Smith revealed that the church was to build a temple in Independence, Missouri, to be the center point of Zion in preparation for the return of Christ. But this edifice was intended for public meetings, not secret rituals as are done in current LDS temples.³⁹ However, the Mormons were soon forced out of the city and have never built that temple to this day. On the LDS web site we read:

Missouri has been and will be the site of many key events in Church history. It was the location of the Garden of Eden and Adam-ondi-Ahman, where Adam gathered his posterity for a final blessing (see D&C 107:53–57). It was the place the Saints in Joseph Smith’s day started to build Zion but were violently driven out before their dreams could be realized. It is the place where the Lord Jesus Christ will return again to a New Jerusalem (see D&C 57:2–3; Articles of Faith 1:10).⁴⁰

Then in 1836 Smith introduced a new ritual among the men in their temple in Kirtland, Ohio. Historian David John Buerger explained:

The Kirtland temple ritual was a simple, staged ceremony consisting of washing and anointing the body, blessing and sealing the individual, and washing the feet.⁴¹

While Smith claimed that the sealing keys had been restored at that time, it seems to have been related to sealing various blessings pronounced on each man in attendance, not to sealing a man and a woman in eternal marriage.⁴² Baptism for the dead was not taught until 1840.

Secret Polygamy

Starting in 1841, in Nauvoo, Illinois, Joseph began to secretly take plural wives in some sort of marriage/sealing ceremony, but this was not the endowment/temple ceremony known today. These were not legal marriages as the state of Illinois had laws against bigamy.⁴³ These were usually done without his wife’s knowledge or consent. Only the top leaders in the church were aware of Smith’s new doctrine and practice. Smith’s need for secrecy grew after former church leader John C. Bennett published an exposé of Joseph Smith and polygamy in 1842.⁴⁴ A way to secure his leaders’ silence became apparent after Joseph Smith embraced Freemasonry with its oath of secrecy.

Freemasons

In March of 1842 Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon were initiated into the Masonic Lodge in Nauvoo, Illinois, and became Master Masons. Researcher Michael W. Homer explained:

During these [Masonic] rituals Smith and Rigdon were given signs, due-grips, due-guards, pass-grips, words, passwords, and obligations of secrecy of those degrees. The Master Mason degree contained references that would become familiar to Mormons, including the “all-seeing eye, whom the sun, moon and stars obey,” the bee-hive as “an emblem of industry,” the five points of fellowship, and the grand hailing sign of distress.⁴⁵

Within six weeks of Smith becoming a Master Mason, he initiated several men into a new “endowment” ceremony,⁴⁶ which included washing and anointing, signs, tokens, and penalties along with the potential to be kings and priests unto God. Smith clearly appropriated some of the same words and symbols of Masonry for his new temple ritual. However, women were not a part of the endowment ritual until a year later. David John Buerger explained:

As in Kirtland, Smith elected to administer new rituals, an expanded “endowment,” to selected leaders before the [Nauvoo] temple was finished. In 1842 the new endowment was performed only for men, but in 1843 wives were included.⁴⁷

Two additional ceremonies were introduced in 1843 about a year following the initial conferral of the new endowment: celestial marriage for time and eternity and the fullness of the priesthood or the second anointing. Celestial marriage was applied to and equated with plural marriage until the late nineteenth century.⁴⁸

While the LDS Church maintains that the temple endowment ceremony came by way of revelation to Joseph Smith, no copy of such a revelation has been found.⁴⁹ Since his revelations on baptism and the sacrament have been recorded and published, one wonders why something so critical to a Latter-day Saint’s eternal exaltation would not be recorded as well?

Only a limited number of Smith’s closest followers had gone through the Nauvoo temple ceremony prior to his death. The next year, 1845, Brigham Young and the other top leaders recreated the ritual for those who still needed their endowments. William Clayton recorded the events at the temple on November 30, 1845:

At about 12 o’clock we clothed [in the temple robes] and . . . then offered up the signs of the Holy Priesthood and repeated them to get them more perfect. I was requested to keep minutes. President [Young] offered up prayers and dedicated the Attic story [of the unfinished Nauvoo temple], the male room and ourselves to God, and prayed that God would sustain and deliver from the hands of our enemies, his servants until they have accomplished his will in this house.⁵⁰

For the next two weeks Brigham Young and various leaders worked to arrange the attic with the necessary fittings, veils, etc. for the ritual, and also on getting the wording of the ritual more accurate. On December 13, 1845, William Clayton recorded:

Last evening an arrangement was made establishing better order in conducting the endowment. Under this order it is the province of Eloheem, Jehovah and Michael to create the world, plant the Garden and create the man and give his help meet. Eloheem gives the charge to Adam in the Garden and thrusts them into the telestial kingdom or the world. Then Peter assisted by James and John conducts them through the Telestial and Terrestrial kingdom administering the charges and tokens in each and conducts them to the vail where they are received by the Eloheem and after talking with him by words and tokens are admitted by him into the Celestial kingdom . . .⁵¹

Not only were the Mormons busy getting their temple endowments, they were also active in joining Freemasonry. According to David John Buerger, “in 1840 only 147 men in Illinois and 2,072 in the United States were Masons. By the time of the exodus to Utah in 1846- 47, approximately 1,366 Mormon males in Nauvoo had been initiated into the Masonic order.”⁵²

Blood Oaths

Prior to 1990 those going through the Endowment Ceremony swore an oath of secrecy on pain of death. This was patterned after the Masonic oath. In the 1827 booklet Free-Masonry Exposed we read:

“I will . . . never reveal any part or parts, art or arts, point or points of the secret arts and mysteries of ancient Free-masonry . . . binding myself under no less penalty than to have my throat cut across, my tongue torn out by the roots.”⁵³

The initiate is instructed to draw “your right hand across your throat, the thumb next to your throat, your arm as high as the elbow in a horizontal position.”⁵⁴

The early LDS ceremony had very similar wording. In the 1931 exposé of the LDS ritual we read:

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. . . .⁵⁵

This oath was later modified. In the 1985 version the words were changed to “Rather than do so, I would suffer my life to be taken.” In 1990 the oath of secrecy no longer included the penalty of having one’s throat slit.⁵⁶

Five Points of Fellowship

Another element Joseph Smith borrowed from the Freemasons was the embrace on the five points of fellowship.⁵⁷ This was part of the culmination of the temple ceremony, where the patron would come to the veil at the front of the room, put his/her left hand through a hole in the veil to the person’s shoulder, take the person by the right hand and embrace the person, with the veil in-between, on the “five points of fellowship.” Thus there would be five points at which their bodies would touch during the embrace. At that time the patron would give the man, representing God, the proper handshake and password which would make it possible to enter the next room, labeled the “Celestial room,” which represents entering the top kingdom of heaven.

Since the revision of the ceremony in 1990, the embrace has been eliminated.⁵⁸ Now they simply place their “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. Below is a comparison of a portion of the 1984 version with the 1990 version:

1984 Temple Ceremony	1990 Temple Ceremony
Lord: You shall receive it upon the Five Points of Fellowship through the veil.	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 demonstrates the Five Points of Fellowship through the Veil with the temple worker who represents the Lord, as each point is mentioned.)	(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 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:	Peter: The Lord then gives the name of this token, and asks:
Lord: What is that?	Lord: What is that?
Peter: The Second Token of the Melchizedek Priesthood, the Patriarchal Grip or Sure Sign of the Nail. (Evolution of the Temple Ceremony, p. 96)	Peter: The Second Token of the Melchizedek Priesthood, the Patriarchal Grip or Sure Sign of the Nail. (Evolution of the Temple Ceremony, p. 138)

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? Wouldn’t this be equivalent to changing baptism by immersion to sprinkling?

As the patron gives the man at the veil the hand grip, he says the “name” of the Second Token of the Melchizedek Priesthood. It is: “Health in the navel, marrow in the bones, strength in the loins and in the sinews, power in the Priesthood be upon me, and upon my posterity through all generations of time, and throughout all eternity.”⁵⁹ Notice that these code words contain no mention of God, Jesus, the atonement, no calling upon the grace of God. It is totally centered on gaining personal exaltation.

The person is then drawn through the veil into the last room of the endowment ceremony, representing the Celestial Kingdom, or God’s presence.

Lecture at the Veil

Sometimes at the end of an endowment session there would be a lecture given to the patrons. David John Buerger explained:

The St. George endowment included a revised thirty-minute “lecture at the veil” first delivered by [Brigham] Young. This summarized important theological concepts taught in the endowment and contained references to Young’s Adam-God doctrine. In 1892, L. John Nuttall, one of those who transcribed Young’s lecture, recalled how it came about:

In January 1877, shortly after the lower portion of the St. George [Utah] Temple was dedicated, President Young, in following up in the Endowments, became convinced that it was necessary to have the formula of the Endowments written, and he gave directions to have the same put in writing.

Shortly afterwards he explained what the Lecture at the veil should portray, and for this purpose appointed a day when he would personally deliver the Lecture at the Veil. Elders J.D.T. McAllister and L. John Nuttall prepared writing materials, and as the President spoke they took down his words. Elder Nuttall put the same into form and the writing was submitted to President Young on the same evening at his office in residence at St. George. He there made such changes as he deemed proper, and when he finally passed upon it [he] said: “This is the Lecture at the Veil to be observed in the Temple.”

A copy of the Lecture is kept at the St. George Temple, in which President Young refers to Adam in his creation and etc.⁶⁰

While Brigham Young’s lecture at the veil, including his Adam-God doctrine, is no longer used, one is left to wonder why a theological lecture by a prophet has been abandoned. Was Brigham Young wrong to preach it, or is the church wrong to reject it?⁶¹

Eternal Marriage

Those who have received their endowments still need to be sealed to someone. To be “sealed” means you have entered into an eternal marriage. Many people, such as young missionaries, have been through the endowment ceremony yet still need to have a temple sealing. Mormons believe one cannot enter the highest level of the LDS Celestial Kingdom without this ceremony.

For years the LDS policy has been that a couple must do their wedding vows at the same time as they have their sealing ceremony in a temple, otherwise they must wait a year after a civil marriage to have a temple sealing. There was an exception for those living in a country that demanded a civil wedding prior to the temple ceremony, such as England. In those cases a couple did not need to wait a year after their public wedding to be sealed in the temple.

Traditionally, the LDS Church has put very strong emphasis on the value of a temple wedding, thus causing problems between families. The ruling meant that if a couple wanted to combine their wedding with their sealing the only ones who could witness the marriage were those who qualified to enter the temple. Thus non-LDS family and inactive Mormons were not allowed to see their loved ones get married. This has caused serious rifts in families.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported one woman’s experience of a temple marriage without her family:

Next month, Boise resident Kristen Talmage Lindsay and her husband will celebrate the 15th anniversary of their wedding in the Oakland Temple.

“I was the only member in my family, so my parents, my sister, grandparents and all the important people in my life had to wait outside,” she wrote on Facebook. “It was cruel and so painful for me. At the time, I told myself I was being obedient, and it’s just how it is. I so, so wish I had just had a civil ceremony.”

Lindsay had “sad tears on my wedding day,” she said. “I wanted to throw up because of how alone I felt without my family.”⁶²

However, couples will no longer be faced with this heartache. On May 6, 2019, the LDS leaders announced a new policy. Couples will no longer be penalized for having a civil marriage prior to the temple sealing. The statement reads:

The policy requiring couples who have been married civilly to wait one year before being sealed is now discontinued. Couples who have been married civilly may be sealed in the temple when they receive their temple recommends.

Where possible, leaders should encourage couples to be both married and sealed in the temple. Where a licensed marriage is not permitted in the temple, or when a temple marriage would cause parents or immediate family members to feel excluded, a civil ceremony followed by a temple sealing is authorized.⁶³

Mormon author Jana Riess commented on the change:

In practice, the old policy created heartbreaking situations for many Mormons, especially converts who were sometimes the only people in their families to join the faith. Many have commented before that a religion that makes so much of uniting families forever in temples has caused unnecessary divisions in families here on earth.

In my own life as a Mormon, I’ve known many stories of exclusions from temple weddings. Protestant parents whose son converted to Mormonism were left in the cold when he married a Mormon woman in an LDS temple. His mother had a very hard time getting over the disappointment. And a woman I know who has experienced a “faith transition” and could not get her temple recommend renewed missed being part of her brother’s wedding with the rest of her family.

Now, hopefully, stories of exclusion from what should be a joyous event will be a thing of the past. Couples will be able to choose to have both a civil ceremony and a temple ceremony, though the First Presidency today encouraged local leaders to stress that it’s ideal to have both the wedding and the sealing in the temple.⁶⁴

Conclusion

The LDS Church teaches that only members who receive their endowments and have been sealed in the temple will obtain the highest exaltation in the hereafter, meaning eternal life. For instance, President Spencer W. Kimball, the twelfth prophet of the LDS Church, emphasized: “Only through celestial marriage can one find the strait way, the narrow path. Eternal life cannot be had in any other way. The Lord was very specific and very definite in the matter of marriage” (Deseret News, Church Section, November 12, 1977). On another occasion, President Kimball bluntly stated that “the ordinance of sealing is an absolute, and that without it there can be no salvation in the eternal world, no eternal life.”⁶⁵

Mormon theology teaches that those who have been married in the temple can become Gods. Apostle Hugh B. Brown taught:

Through the divine institution of celestial marriage, . . . men and women, joined together by the Holy Priesthood, may through their faithfulness attain immortality, eternal life and eternal increase; . . . When we speak of eternal increase, we speak not only of increase of posterity, we speak of increase of knowledge, and the power that comes with knowledge; . . . increase of intelligence, which is the glory of God; increase of all that goes to make up Godhood.⁶⁶

There is nothing in the Bible about a need for “celestial marriage” or an endowment ceremony. The Bible clearly proclaims that there is only one God (Isaiah 43:10-11; 44:6, 8) and that

“whosoever believeth in him [Jesus] should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:15).

The fact that so many changes have been made in the temple ceremony over the years provides powerful evidence against the claim that it came to Joseph Smith by divine revelation.⁶⁷ While it is true that these changes have made the endowment more palatable to the LDS people, they do not bring the ceremony into conformity with Christian beliefs.

In Mark 2:21, Jesus said that “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse.” The endowment ritual not only has many patches in it, but it also has patches on top of patches. Even though there have been improvements in the temple ceremony, it is still filled with material taken from the Masonic ritual and concepts that are not biblical. Sewing new patches on the many rents in this old garment will not solve the problem. The entire ceremony and the idea of men becoming Gods needs to be abandoned.

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Footnotes:

1. Peggy Fletcher Stack & David Noyce, “LDS Church changes temple ceremony . . .”, Salt Lake Tribune (January 3, 2019). ↩︎
2. “The Fullness of the Gospel: The Fall of Adam and Eve,” Ensign (June 2006). ↩︎
3. “The Plan of Salvation,” Old Testament Seminary Teacher Material (2018). See McConkie’s original speech at: “The Three Pillars of Eternity.” ↩︎
4. Peggy Fletcher Stack, “On heels of temple changes, faithful Latter-day Saint women no longer need to be veiled before burial,” Salt Lake Tribune (January 29, 2019). ↩︎
5. Benjamin Wood, “Major Renovations to be unveiled for Salt Lake Temple . . .” Salt Lake Tribune (April 7, 2019). ↩︎
6. Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony 1842-1990, (Salt Lake City: Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 2005), page 39; David John Buerger, The Mysteries of Godliness, (San Francisco: Smith Research Associates, 1994), page 81. ↩︎
7. See photo, The House of the Lord, James E. Talmage, (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1998), page 118. ↩︎
8. Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Mormonism—Shadow or Reality? (Salt Lake City: Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 1987), pages 458-460. ↩︎
9. Buerger, Mysteries, pages 138, 150. ↩︎
10. “Temple Garments.” [View at Archive.org (original URL now inactive: https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/temple-garments%5D ↩︎
11. Jana Riess, “Commentary: Hallelujah! Mormon women’s temple garments just got a lot better,” Salt Lake Tribune (March 15, 2018). ↩︎
12. Tanner, Evolution, pages 186-187. ↩︎
13. The Essential Brigham Young, (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1992), page 195. ↩︎
14. Tanner, Evolution, page 73. ↩︎
15. While Lucifer’s apron is not visible in the film version, it was visible in the live sessions. Lucifer is the man dressed in black. See at the 22-minute mark. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8sbYtFOnxk ↩︎
16. Tanner, Evolution, page 80. ↩︎
17. Buerger, Mysteries, page 80. ↩︎
18. Tanner, Evolution, pages 83-84. ↩︎
19. Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Manti Utah Temple.” ↩︎
20. Wood, “Major Renovations,” Salt Lake Tribune (April 7, 2019). ↩︎
21. Tad Walch, “LDS Church begins using a 3rd new temple film,” Deseret News (July 15, 2014). ↩︎
22. Sterling Van Wagenen was the producer of the temple videos. AP, “Sundance Film Festival Co-founder, Sterling Van Wagenen, charged with sex abuse,” USA Today (April 12, 2019); Nate Carlisle, “Sterling Van Wagenen, Latter-day Saint filmmaker with old ties to Sundance, pleads guilty to sex abuse charge,” Salt Lake Tribune (April 30, 2019). ↩︎
23. “First Presidency Statement on Temple.” ↩︎
24. See 1 Kings 7 and 2 Chronicles 4. ↩︎
25. Hebrews 7:11-28; 9:1-15. Also see “Temples and Ordinances,” at http://mit.irr.org/category/temples-and-ordinances ↩︎
26. See John 2:1-11. ↩︎
27. Acts 2:46 — This would have been in the courtyard; Acts 5:12 — Apostles at Solomon’s porch, outside of the actual temple. Acts 3:1-11. ↩︎
28. “Temples.” [View at Archive.org (original URL now inactive: https:/www.mormonnewsroom.org/topic/temples)] ↩︎
29. 1 Corinthians 7:8-9. ↩︎
30. Michael W. Homer, Joseph’s Temples: The Dynamic Relationship between Freemasonry and Mormonism, (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2014). ↩︎
31. “Receiving the Ordinances and Blessings of the Temple,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, chapter 36. ↩︎
32. Vern Anderson, “LDS Leaders Revise Temple Endowment,” Salt Lake Tribune (April 29, 1990); also quoted in Salt Lake City Messenger, no. 75. ↩︎
33. “Survey of Adult Members in the United States and Canada,” (1988). ↩︎
34. [Original citation URL no longer available on YouTube] ↩︎
35. [Original citation URL no longer available on YouTube] ↩︎
36. Tanner, Evolution; also “Temple Ritual Changed . . . Again,” Salt Lake City Messenger, no. 104 (June 2005). ↩︎
37. See “Articles of Faith,” Pearl of Great Price, verses 5-7. ↩︎
38. Book of Mormon, Jacob 2:1-11; Mosiah 2:5-7. ↩︎
39. The Joseph Smith Papers, “Revised Plan of the House of the Lord.” ↩︎
40. “Independence: Living in Zion.” ↩︎
41. Buerger, Mysteries, pages 11-12. ↩︎
42. Buerger, Mysteries, page 36. ↩︎
43. “Problems in the LDS Essays on Plural Marriage,” Salt Lake City Messenger, no. 124 (May 2015). ↩︎
44. John C. Bennett, History of the Saints, 1842. ↩︎
45. Homer, Joseph’s Temples, page 150. ↩︎
46. Buerger, Mysteries, pages 50-56. ↩︎
47. Buerger, Mysteries, page 36. ↩︎
48. Buerger, Mysteries, pages 58-59. ↩︎
49. Buerger, Mysteries, pages 40-41, 73. ↩︎
50. As quoted in Mysteries of Godliness, pages 73-74. ↩︎
51. Buerger, Mysteries, page 80. ↩︎
52. Buerger, Mysteries, page 58. ↩︎
53. Captain William Morgan, Captain William Morgan’s Exposition of Free-Masonry, 1827, pages 22-23. ↩︎
54. Morgan, Free-Masonry, page 23. ↩︎
55. Tanner, Evolution, page 16-17. ↩︎
56. Tanner, Evolution, page 78. ↩︎
57. Duncan’s Masonic Ritual and Monitor, 1866. ↩︎
58. Buerger, Mysteries, page 170. ↩︎
59. Tanner, Evolution, page 141. ↩︎
60. Buerger, Mysteries, pages 110-111. ↩︎
61. For more information on Young’s Adam-God theory, see Apostle McConkie Admits Brigham Young Taught Adam-God Doctrine, and The Changing World of Mormonism, chapter 8. ↩︎
62. Peggy Fletcher Stack and Scott D. Pierce, “LDS Church changes policy about civil ceremonies and temple sealings,” Salt Lake Tribune (May 6, 2019). ↩︎
63. First Presidency Statement (May 6, 2019). ↩︎
64. Jana Riess, “Mormon leaders change policy on temple weddings,” Religion News Service (May 6, 2019). ↩︎
65. Spencer W. Kimball, “The Ordinances of the Gospel,” as cited in Achieving a Celestial Marriage, (1976), page 204. ↩︎
66. Hugh B. Brown, “Continuing the Quest,” as cited in Achieving a Celestial Marriage, (1976), page 204. ↩︎
67. For a timeline of the endowment’s historical development from 1842-2008, see: http://www.ldsendowment.org/timeline.html ↩︎

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