Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc From: ACUS10@WACCVM.SPS.MOT.COM (Mark Fuller) Subject: Mormon Rituals ULM 1/4 Message-ID: <1993Apr28.233616.4464@newsgate.sps.mot.com> Organization: Motorola Inc. Date: Wed, 28 Apr 1993 23:35:16 GMT Lines: 507 [This contains all 4 parts, concatenated.] The following is was printed by Jerald and Sandra Tanner. It is posted to provide more information on the LDS cult ritual of temple ceremonies. For further information on this subject, or other subjects relating to the LDS, please call 801-485-8894 and ask for a catalog of materials. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Issue no. 75, July 1990 Salt Lake City Messenger Utah Lighthouse Ministry PO Box, 1884, Salt lake City, Utah 84110 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Temple Ritual Altered Mormon Leaders Delete Some of the 'Most Sacred' Parts of the Ceremony In response to Fawn M. Brodie's book, _No Man Knows My History_, the noted Mormon apologist Hugh Nibley declared: "Yet of all churches in the world only this one has not found it necessary to readjust any part of its doctrine in the last hundred years.... How does Brodie explain the fact that the doctrine which she claims was the haphazard outgrowth of complete opportunism remains the most stable on earth?" (_No Ma'am That's Not History_, 1946, pp. 4647) Although most Mormons have always placed a great deal of weight in Dr. Nibley's arguments, recent developments within the church itself will undoubtedly cause many to wonder about his claims concerning doctrinal stability. The New York Times gave this startling report in an article which begins on the first page of the issue dated May 3, 1990: "The Mormon Church has changed some of its most sacred rituals, eliminating parts of the largely secret ceremonies that have been viewed as offensive to women and to members of some other faiths. "Last month the church... quietly dropped from its temple rituals a vow in which women pledged obedience to their husbands... and a portrayal of non-Mormon clergy as hirelings of Satan. "Church officials have confirmed that changes went into effect in mid-April, but the ceremonies are considered to be too sacred, they say, for them to comment further.... More specific information on the changes has been provided to the news media by Mormons participating in the rituals at the church's 43 temples around the world and by former Mormons who are critical of the rituals. A number of Mormons who would not discuss details of the rituals verified that these reports were 'pretty factual' or 'not inaccurate.'... "'Because the temple ceremony is sacred to us, we don't speak about it except in the most general terms,' said Beverly Campbell, the East Coast director for public communications for the Church... she said 'the ceremony itself needs to meet the needs of the people.' The revised ritual is 'more in keeping with the sensitivities we have as a society,' she added. "Lavina Fielding Anderson, who will soon become an editor of the _Journal of Mormon History_, said she 'greeted the changes with a great deal of joy,' and added, 'The temple ceremony in the past has given me a message that could be interpreted as subservient and exclusionary.' "In the place of an oath of obedience that men took to God and the church, the previous ceremony required women to vow obedience to their husbands... "Although Ms. Anderson would not describe any of the changes, she said the revision 'gives me hope and renewed faith that changes will occur in the future as they have in the past.'... "The ceremony also contains elements resembling the Masonic rituals current in 1830, when Joseph Smith founded the church... "The latest revisions diminish these elements, including gestures symbolizing the participant's pledge to undergo a gruesome death rather than reveal the rituals. Also dropped is a scene in which Satan hires a non-Mormon 'preacher' to spread false teachings.... "Ross Peterson, the editor of _Dialogue_, an independent Mormon quarterly, said the unfamiliar elements of the ritual frequently 'catches young Mormons cold' and disturbs them. 'I've known an awful lot of people who went once and it was years before they'd go back, especially women,' he said.... "Bruce L. Olsen, managing director of the church's communications office in Salt Lake City, denied that the changes were made in response to criticism or social pressure. The Mormon Church believes 'in continued and modern revelation,' Mr. Olsen said, so that practices might be changed when 'the Lord clarified' church teaching.... "But some Mormons see the church as responding, without admitting it, both to critics and to the church's growth overseas.... "Among the critics are many conservative Christians who complain that Mormonism features occult practices." The Arizona Republic (April 28, 1990) referred to the modifications in the ceremony as "Revolutionary changes." The same article went on to state: "The changes in the Temple Endowment Ceremony are seen as a move to bring the secret ceremony closer to mainstream Christianity. The changes are the most drastic revisions of the century... "Church officials in Salt Lake City refused to discuss the ceremony, which is shrouded in secrecy. In fact the church has issued a directive to temple members telling them to refrain from talking about the changes in the ceremony.... "Another prominent Mormon, who asked not to be identified, confirmed that portions of the ceremony have been removed. "'The temple ceremony has been significantly abridged,' he said.... "Changes in the ceremony include:... A modified version of the woman's vow of obedience to the husband.... "I think this is in response to the feminist movement in the Mormon Church," said Sandra Tanner, a former Mormon who now heads Utah Lighthouse Ministries in Salt Lake City. 'Many of the women objected to the obedience.' " An article by Associated Press writer Vem Anderson also noted that the ceremony has "undergone what some view as their most significant changes this century." He went on to say: "The revisions, effective April 10 in the faith's 43 temples, are being greeted with enthusiasm by church members who say they reflect a greater sensitivity toward women and other religions. "'The temple is an important part of my spiritual life and the changes have allowed me to go to the temple with renewed joy,' said Lavina Fielding Anderson... "'The general consensus is that it's a breath of fresh air,' said Ross Peterson, co-editor of _Dialogue_, an independent Mormon journal.... "Peterson said many Mormons who never had expressed a negative word about the endowment ceremony are thrilled with the changes, indicating there had been elements that 'were silently upsetting them.' "'I think we're gradually moving away from the subjugation of women,' Peterson said.... "Rebecca England... said the changes may boost temple attendance. "'I know quite a number of Mormons who stopped going to the temple because they found it demeaning. And I think this revised ceremony addresses many of the concerns... "The changes were not announced to the membership at large, but temple attendees are being read a statement from the governing First Presidency which says the revisions, following long and prayerful review, were unanimously approved by that three-member body and the advisory Quorum of the Twelve Apostles." (Salt Lake Tribune, April 29, 1990) On May 5, 1990, the Los Angeles Times printed an article by John Dart. In this article we find the following: "The central temple ceremony in the Mormon Church has been changed to eliminate the woman's vow to obey her husband... In the new version of the rites, women now pledge to obey God and to merely listen to the advice of their husbands. "'That's the most significant change in the church since blacks received the priesthood in 1978,' said Ron Priddis, vice president of Signature Books... "The new version 'reflects greater sensitivity and awareness of women and women's role in the Christian church,' said Robert Rees, a Mormon bishop... Although unwilling to disclose elements of the ritual, Rees nevertheless said that some parts eliminated 'were historical and cultural anachronisms.' " On June 2, 1990, The Salt Lake Tribune ran an article by Los Angeles Times writer John Dart. In that article, Mr. Dart reported that, "Most Mormon Church members quoted last month in news stories about revisions in the church's confidential temple ceremony have been summoned for interviews by church officials... One man said he was reprimanded for talking to the press and another was asked to surrender his 'temple recommend'... The public communications office of the Church... issued a statement Thursday, defending the questioning of members and reemphasizing the sacred confidentiality of the temples." REVEALED BY GOD Mormon leaders have always proclaimed that the temple ritual-- often referred to as the "temple endowment" because the recipients are supposed to be "endowed with power from on high"--was given to Joseph Smith, the first Mormon prophet, by revelation. The ordinances in this ritual, which are performed for both the living and the dead (by proxy), are considered to be "most sacred." A person has to go through these ceremonies before becoming a missionary and those who desire to be married in the temple for "time and eternity" must first have their "temple endowments." Mormon theology teaches that those who are married in the temple can eventually become Gods and rule over their own creations. Apostle Bruce R. McConkie affirmed that the righteous who are married in the temple "for time and eternity" have "gained eternal life (exaltation), the greatest of all the gifts of God... Those so inheriting are the sons and daughters of God... They are joint-heirs with Christ... becoming gods in their own right.'- (Mormon Doctrine, 1979, pp. 117-18) President Joseph Fielding Smith, the 10th prophet of the church, made the matter very clear: "It fills my heart with sadness when I see in the paper the name of a daughter or a son of members of this Church, and discover that she or he is going to have a ceremony and be married outside of the temple of the Lord, because I realize what it means, that they are cutting themselves off from exaltation in the kingdom of God.... These young people who seem to be so happy now, when they rise in the resurrection--and find themselves in the condition in which they will find themselves -- then there will be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and bitterness of soul... "Civil Marriage Makes Servants In Eternity.... Celestial Marriage Makes Gods In Eternity.... it is open to us; it is a free gift; it doesn't cost us anything: only righteousness, faith, obedience; and surely we can pay that price." (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 2, p. 60-63) Mormons who go through the temple ceremony and are sealed in marriage for eternity believe that they will not only become Gods, but will also continue to have children throughout all eternity. They will people other worlds with their spiritual children and these children will worship and pray to the husband as God. Mormons feel that the God of the Bible was not always God and that he also had to pass through the same endowments to achieve deity. Wilford Woodruff, who became the 4th prophet of the Mormon Church, proclaimed that "the Lord had His endowments long ago; it is thousands and millions of years since He received His blessings... He is far in advance of us." (Journal of Discourses, vol. 4, p. 192) According to a revelation given by Joseph Smith, those who will not submit to Celestial Marriage are "appointed angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory... these angels... remain separately and singly, without exaltation, in their saved condition, to all eternity; and from henceforth are not Gods, but are angels of God forever and ever." (Doctrine and Covenants 132:16-17) Although faithful Mormons have written many articles and books on temples, they have been very careful not to tell what actually goes on in the endowment ritual. One of the most revealing and concise statements, however, comes from comments President Brigham Young made in 1877. These comments were recorded in the diary of L. John Nuttall. The 2nd prophet of the church remarked: "When we got our washings and anointings under the hands of the Prophet Joseph at Nauvoo, we had only one room to work in, with the exception of a little side room or office where we were washed and anointed, had our garment placed upon us and received our new name; and after he had performed these ceremonies, he gave the key-words, signs, tokens, and penalties. Then after, we went into the large room... Joseph Smith divided up the room the best that he could, hung up the veil, marked it, gave us our instructions as we passed along from one department to another, giving us signs, tokens, penalties, with the key-words pertaining to those signs." (Statement of Brigham Young, recorded in the diary of L. John Nuttall, Feb. 7, 1877, as cited in _God, Man, And The Universe_, by Hyrum L. Andrus, 1968, p. 334) The reader will notice that President Young mentioned washings, anointings, garments, the new name, the key-words, signs, tokens and penalties. He also stated that there was a "veil" with certain marks on it. On another occasion, Brigham Young made it clear that the endowment contains secret information that the initiated need to get into heaven: "Your endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the House of the Lord... to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being enabled to give them the key words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the Holy Priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell." (Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, p. 31) Those who have actually been through the ceremony affirm that secret grips, signs and key-words are learned during the ceremony which will be needed after death for a person to gain entrance into God's presence. It is at the "veil" that the Lord himself questions the candidate who desires to enter into his presence. The fact that the temple ritual was changed by the present leaders of the church will undoubtedly cause serious problems for many devout members of the church who feel that these ceremonies cannot be tampered with. They will probably have a difficult time understanding how the General Authorities can meddle with a sacred ceremony which was supposed to have been given by revelation to Joseph Smith. The inspired nature of the ritual has been impressed on the minds of the Mormon people since the 1840's. Even before the Nauvoo temple was built, Joseph Smith gave a revelation foretelling that God himself was about to restore the ancient mysteries that had been lost from the earth: "...build a house to my name, for the Most High to dwell therein. For there is not a place found on earth that he may come to and restore again that which was lost unto you, or which he hath taken away, even the fulness of the priesthood.... And verily I say unto you, let this house be built unto my name, that I may reveal