(This is another very long post, so sorry.)
Okay, so again, I fully admit that I've never gone through the temple and taken out my endowment, but I have read it and what I felt as I read it was very real. While I can only imagine what it's like to go through for other people, I do know how I would react, or at least what I would be thinking had I gone through the ceremony.
The comments that follow are some of my thoughts and responses to the endowment ceremony, the transcript of which I found online. It is a 1990 transcript of the endowment ceremony. I also respond to a webpage created by a current member of the LDS church for the initiatory (washing and anointing).
Up until the 20th Century, the washing and anointing ceremony required the initiate to be nude. A member of the opposite sex would then bathe them and then anoint them with perfume on specific areas of their bodies and then anoint their heads with consecrated oil. Gradually, the LDS church worked full nudity out of the ritual. For the washing, the officiator (who is of the same sex) places water on the initiates head and then lays hands on the initiates head and pronounces a blessing. The blessing talks about why they "wash" particular bits of your body, primarily the head, ears, eyes, nose, lips, neck, shoulders, back, breast (which they don't actually touch, they touch either the place between the breasts or above them), vitals and bowels (which, for obvious reasons, they can't touch), the loins (which they also don't touch directly, rather they touch a part of the hip), and your legs and feet. A second person then lays their hands on the initiate's head and "seals" the washing. The anointing then follows. It's basically the same thing as the washing, one person gives the blessing, which says the exact same things as the washing blessing does, and then a second person "confirms" the anointing. The only difference is that they touch your body parts with consecrated oil rather than water. The purpose of this washing and anointing is to make you either a King or Queen and a Priest or Priestess, depending on your respective sex.
The initiate is then given "the garment", which is symbolic of when Adam and Eve were found naked in the Garden of Eden. Initiates are instructed that as long as it is not defiled and that they remain true and faithful to the covenants, "it will be a shield and a protection to you against the power and destroyer until you have finished your work on earth." I just want to point out that missionaries are still hit by cars on their missions and killed, members are still shot and killed in random muggings, etc. Some members will argue that they aren't meant to protect you physically (that's just a myth), but they are meant to protect you spiritually. Well... many members of the church who officially leave, once wore garments! They do not protect you from "temptation" or from following through on a temptation. These garments in NO WAY make you invincible, and I honestly think that many members feel that the garments do in fact provide a level of security close to invincibility.
After receiving the garment, the initiate is given a new name.
While the transcript doesn’t tell you what the
New Name is, after having a discussion with a former member of the Church who
had had his endowments taken out, I was informed that on a specific day every
man that goes through the temple will receive the exact same name as the next man and every woman
that goes through will receive the exact same name as the next woman. Apparently
when the endowment was first practiced, everyone would actually receive an
individual name, but as the membership grew and temples spread across multiple
countries, it became too difficult to give every person their own name, so to
solve that problem, they have only two names on any given day, one male and one female. When I was a kid, I thought that everyone received their own name, and that
that name was the name that an individual had been know as in the Spirit World; their
true name, so to speak. I hated my name when I was younger, why, I don't actually know, so the idea of having another name that
was my true name was very appealing to me. It was only a few months ago that I
learned that it has nothing to do with your “real” name and that I could have
the same New Name as thousands of other women across the globe. It was a
serious let down. On the upside, I stopped hating my name a long time ago, so I wasn't seized with the desire to legally change my name to anything ridiculous. The initiate has to remember their name for the endowment ceremony, and has to swear an oath not to ever reveal their name to anyone else, on pain of death. That's not entirely a joke. I was taught as a child that divulging your New Name was worse than committing suicide, which is the absolute worst sin, next to denying the Holy Ghost.... is that clear or what? So I still harbor this fear that if anyone tells me their name, I am, in essence, helping them commit one of the worst imaginable sins! Seriously, as dumb as that sounds that feeling is rooted deep within me.
So now the actual endowment ceremony! Reverence is highly stressed before the ceremony technically begins. The act of being reverent is very important to Mormon culture, so it's no surprise that it is stressed in the temple. The speaker specifically says that if someone needs to communicate, then they need to whisper. Since the temple is considered a "House of the Lord", my first thought was, if you're expected to be quiet in this house, does that mean we're expected to whisper for all of eternity as well? At least those who make it to the Celestial Kingdom. I would surmise that the lower down you get in the kingdoms, the louder the people will become.
After the spiel about reverence, they ask EVERYONE that if there is anyone who does not want to proceed with the full endowment (i.e. implying that there are people in the room who should probably consider themselves unworthy, or at the very least, unprepared), they should raise their hand so that they can be escorted out. I believe that the vast majority of the population would not want to raise their hand, thereby proclaiming to those around them that they feel unworthy. Immediately those other participants in the ceremony, including the person you've chosen to escort you, will start to postulate what possible sin it was that an individual has committed to make them unworthy to continue in the ceremony. It's the same thing that happens when someone doesn't take the sacrament. Those surrounding that individual will inevitably notice, but rather than confront that person on it (which is a huge no no), they'll talk about that person with all their friends, and eventually there are rumors circulating throughout the entire ward about why someone didn't take the sacrament. The thing about not taking the sacrament, and even participating in the temple ceremony, is that your worthiness is completely up to you to decide, despite what is taught in the Church. For example, someone might think that they aren't worthy to take the sacrament because they swore at someone that week, or maybe they had a wet dream or something. While that person might think that they're unclean and not take the sacrament, they could be sitting next to someone that experienced the exact same thing but still takes the sacrament because they don't believe it's a big deal.
It would be interesting to see a statistic on how many people voluntarily leave the temple ceremony. There's absolutely no way something like that would be published, but it would be an intriguing bit of information.
After the preliminaries, the ceremony moves into the video phase, which begins with the "creation". I found this segment to be very boring and extremely repetitive. It consists of "Elohim" telling Jehovah that he and Michael (who ends up becoming Adam, by the way), what it is they need to do to create the world for each individual day. Jehovah then proceeds to tell Michael the exact same thing that Elohim just told him, to which Michael responds with "We will return and report our labors of the ____ Day, Jehovah." 6 times they do this annoying back and forth dialogue.
After Adam and Eve are created, Elohim commands them to multiply and replenish the earth. "We now command you to multiply and replenish the earth, that you may have joy and rejoicing in your posterity." I'm confused by this commandment to the "first" humans on earth. They are in the Garden of Eden, where they have no knowledge of good and evil, right and wrong, happiness and sadness, because without one, you cannot know the other, which the Bible preaches. Adam and Eve would not have had a sexual attraction to the other, they would have no drive to have sex. They couldn't rejoice in anything because they had never experienced sadness or heartache. Why would they be commanded to multiply and replenish the earth if they were mentally incapable of doing such a thing? "God" tells them to multiply, which they can't do unless they know good and evil, which they can't know unless they partake of the fruit of the one tree that they have been commanded not to partake of. God designed the plan "knowing" that Adam and Eve would not be able to resist temptation. He wanted them to partake of the fruit because his plan couldn't move forward otherwise. God punished them for doing what he needed to have happen. What part of that is acceptable?
Once Adam and Eve realize that they are naked (in the movie), everyone in the audience has to put on a "fig leaf apron". I don't really have an insightful comment as far as the apron goes, but Mormon fashion never goes out of style.
Elohim tells Adam and Eve that in order for a savior to come to earth and allow them the opportunity to come back into the presence of the Lord, Eve must covenant that she will "obey the Law of the Lord, and will hearken unto [Adam's] counsel as [Adam] hearkens unto mine (God's)." Adam then has to covenant that he will obey the Law of Elohim. This is, in effect, called the Law of Obedience. Why is it that Eve has to covenant to follow the counsel of both Adam and God? Why can't she just receive direct counsel from the Lord as Adam does? Why doesn't Adam have to adhere to Eve's counsel as well? In a balanced and healthy relationship, advice is given and listened to from both sides. It's no wonder that women have such a hard time being independent of men. From the very "beginning", at least according to the Bible, women have been subservient to men.
According to the Law of Sacrifice portion, Adam offers up sacrifices to the Lord solely because he's been asked to. An angel, sent by God mind you, goes down to earth and asks why Adam makes these sacrifices. (Such an All-Knowing God should already know why though, right?) Adam explains that he doesn't know why, he just does it because God asked him to. Many believers will argue that God did actually know why Adam offered up sacrifices, He was just testing Adam to see if he would lie or not. I ask again, why are "tests" like this acceptable? The angel then proceeds to tell Adam that the sacrifices are made in similitude of the sacrifice of Jesus (which hasn't happened yet and which God is assuming Jesus will follow through with, despite "free agency"), and that we should covenant to sacrifice all that we possess, even our lives if necessary, in sustaining and defending the Kingdom of God.
The movie then moves to the "Telestial" Kingdom. Lucifer finds Adam and speaks to him about religion, saying that many "will be willing to preach to you the philosophies of men, mingled with scripture." Religion paints Lucifer as a liar and a deceiver, but everything that Lucifer tells Adam and Eve in this video, as well as in the Bible, is absolutely true. He tells them that the fruit will give them knowledge of good and evil and later tells Adam that false prophets will always be willing to talk about philosophy and mingle it with religion. As blasphemous as it might sound, it's God that lies to Adam and Eve. He told them that eating the fruit would literally kill them. Most followers of religion will say that God only meant the death in a "spiritual" way, but he literally says ,"But, remember that I forbid it, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." If he only meant a "spiritual" death, why can't he just say that? Withholding valuable information is a form of deceit.
Peter, James and John enter the picture at this point. They've been sent by God to make sure that Adam is still true to the token and sign given to him in the garden of Eden. Lucifer meets the three apostles first and tells them that he is observing the teachings of "these people". He tells them that the philosophies of men, mingled with scripture, are being taught and received very well by all, except for Adam. This, in a subtle way, is the Church's way of discerning between the worldly views of religion which are the result of Lucifer's "influence" versus the "true and faithful" of God's gospel.
Lucifer interrupts Peter while he's trying to talk to Adam and asks if any of the apostles have money. Peter doesn't directly answer Lucifer, but asks Adam if he has sold his tokens or signs for money. Adam replies that he has not because he holds them most sacred and he is looking for further light and knowledge. Men that seek out wealth have given up their tokens, according to the Church. The Church preaches a lot about not focusing on accumulating worldly wealth because the only thing that you can take into the next life is your knowledge.
At one point, after encountering Peter, James and John in their physical bodies, Lucifer looks into the camera and says, "I have a word to say concerning these people. If they do not walk up to every covenant they make at these altars in this temple this day, they will be in my power!" The Church is telling the members that the only way to be saved is if they live faithfully to all of these Laws that have to be sworn allegiance to. After a little more chit chat with Peter, James and John, it's Adam's turn to address the audience directly. He says "These are true messengers, I exhort you to give strict heed to their counsel and teaching, and they will lead you in the way of life and salvation." In the film/theater world, an actor that addresses the audience directly is known as breaking the fourth wall. It is meant to be fairly disconcerting because you, as an audience member, are suddenly apart of whatever plot is taking place. You're jarred out of your blissful suspension of disbelief. Having both Lucifer and Adam, the good guy and the bad guy per se, break this fourth wall with the audience is a very powerful moment. Audience members feel as if they are being spoken to directly, on an individual basis, and are being told that following Lucifer will lead to being powerless and damned while following the "true" prophets will lead to life and salvation. It's a very persuading effect.
Peter James and John later give Adam and Eve the Law of Chastity so that their posterity will not have sexual relations with anyone other than their legally and lawfully wedded spouse. Was that a thing back then? To be wed "legally"? That is actually a genuine question. Or is this jargon for today's modern world and just another instance where the Church condemns sex before marriage and adultery?
The movie is paused periodically throughout the ceremony so that the audience can take oaths, which the do by raising their right arms to the square (imagine someone swearing and oath on a Bible), and then they receive the tokens. The tokens are weird too, and reading the description of some of them didn't make them any clearer in my mind.
There's the first token of the Aaronic Priesthood which is known by the New Name (which is what you have to remember from the washing and anointing portion) and which is indicated by raising your right arm to the square. Then there's the second token of the Aaronic Priesthood, which is known by your own first given name and is indicated by clasping right hands and placing the joint thumb between the first and second knuckles of the hand.
After each token is demonstrated by the Witness couple, temple workers then go around and "give" all the audience members the token. They're really just making the secret handshakes less secret at this point. Also, I want to note, that only women "give" the token to women and men to men. Sexism abounds.
In the Terestrial world the first token of the Melchizedek Priesthood is given as well as the second token of the Melchizedek Priesthood. The difference between the second sign of the Melchizedek Priesthood and the others is that an initiate wont receive the name of it until later in the ceremony. The way that you make the second token is one of my favorites, and perhaps the most blatantly ritualistic, at least in my mind and to this point in the ceremony. Basically, everyone raises their hands above their heads and while lowering the hands they repeat three times the words: Oh God, hear the words of my mouth!
I want to talk a little bit about the Prayer Circle now. Everyone that participates in it goes through the tokens and signs together, and then the person leading the ceremony takes out a bag that he says has names of people that are sick or "otherwise afflicted". Everyone grips the person to the left of them by the shoulder and then the officiator offers the prayer. While there isn't any scripted dialogue for the prayer, the officiator pauses after every sentence and the patrons in the circle repeat what he says. The guy never opens the bag! He's offering up a general prayer to help people with very specific afflictions. I was always taught that you had to be specific when you prayed. I knew that within the temple there was an area, or time I guess, where people could submit names of people who needed help. I was under the impression that these names were visible in some way to every patron of the temple that held a full recommend and that, as individuals, the patrons would choose a name and pray for that specific person and their specific affliction. The whole concept of the Prayer Circle makes no sense other than to add to the ritualistic nature of the entire ceremony. All that chanting and repeating things and secret handshakes.
After I read about the Prayer circle, I tried to picture myself as a participant in the ceremony. At church I would quite often have "irreverent" thoughts about comments other people had made or snarky remarks about some "spiritual" story that was related and I just know that these kinds of thoughts would crop up throughout the temple ceremony. I am fairly certain that at particular moments in the ceremony, I would have had a very difficult time keeping a smile off of my face. If anyone I knew was in that ceremony, like a friend, and I happened to catch their eye, that would have been the end for me. That smile would very likely have turned into something even more "irreverent". I do speak from some level of experience. I was kicked out of Sunday School on many occasions for this reason.
I don't know, I guess the whole point of me doing this post, as well as the previous two, was just to show how biased the Church is with what they "know" to be true and how they convince other people to believe it as well, and to just show that even after participating, or in my case, reading the ceremony, there's still no clear answer on what blessings you will receive ON EARTH for receiving the endowment. Despite the "preparation" young men and women go through before they enter the temple, there is no way they would legitimately be prepared to encounter the cult like rituals of the endowment ceremony. I feel that, despite the comments the Church publishes from recent initiates, these young men and women are more confused than spiritually uplifted, but they've been taught over and over again that any doubtful thoughts or ill feelings you may harbor in no way reflect the validity of the Church itself, rather, it is a reflection of that particular individuals lack of preparedness and spiritual understanding, something that is entirely that individuals fault.
The more I read about the Church from skeptic sites and even Church sanctioned sites, the more I recognize how little members really think about what it is they are instructed to believe and follow. It isn't widely recognized that there isn't any individual thought being produced. Members follow non answers on blind faith because they have been convinced that they will be damned if they stray from the herd.
If you have the desire to actually watch the magic in action, follow this link.
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