The Endowment Ceremony Online
The most accurate temple ceremony transcription and description ever.
In January 1997 I received an improved transcription of the current
temple endowment ritual, made with the assistance of an active, though
unbelieving Mormon (she showed me her current temple recommend). Prior
to reading it, however, I suggest you read the "Initiatory
Ordinances" or preliminary temple rituals performed on behalf of the
dead. Otherwise, click on this link: Current
Temple Endowment Ritual
Changes in the Temple Rituals
Most of the changes resulted from political pressure. To read about
some of them, click on the underlined links below.
- The Adam-God Doctrine
- This controversial temple teaching maintained that Adam, as a resurrected
being, came to earth and had sexual relations with Mary, who then begat
Jesus as their offspring. This was taught in the temple prior to about
1904.
- The Oath of Vengeance
- Following Joseph Smith's martyrdom, Brigham Young introduced a traitorous
oath in the endowment ritual which required members to swear vengeance
"upon this nation." It became the subject of a United States
Senate Investigation.
- Death Penalties
- Prior to 1990, the endowment included specific "penalties"
for revealing its secrets. These penalties were demonstrated by certain
signs made during the ritual, and they symbolized having the throat
cut, the breast cut open, and the bowels torn out. The wording was
toned down in recent years, and finally removed in 1990. Knowledge of
these penalties remain important to understand why Mormons were afraid
to talk about the temple rituals. They could loose their lives over
it! This section includes the actual wording of these oaths, as well
as a photograph of a man in temple clothes demonstating the "penal
signs."
Early Versions of the Temple Ceremonies
- The Kirtland, Ohio "endowment"
- was much different from the later Nauvoo-type ritual. (A brief article
on the Kirtland version was written by non-Mormon James David.)
- The Nauvoo, Illinois, version
- was the first to resemble the current version, but has such differences
as members being washed in bath tubs and Satan crawing on the floor.
- The Salt Lake City, Utah, "Endowment House"
version
- ("Lifting the Vail") was a refinement of the Nauvoo version.
The Endowment House was used prior to the completion of the Salt Lake
Temple.
There are other Internet sites containing descriptions of the temple
rituals, some of which provide a rather complete version of the 1931 version,
as well as the complete text of the 1984 and 1990 (current) versions.
For the sake of "completeness" a couple are listed below:
- Other Temple Rituals:
Temple Marriage and Sealing Ceremony
- Both older versions and the current ritual are provided of this interesting
ritual, which is essential for "exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom."
Included is the complete ritual, and the most accurate description of
a Mormon marriage ever published.
- Washing of the Feet
- In addition to the Initiatory Ordinances, the Endowment and Marriage
Ceremony, there have been other secret rituals. The ceremony of "washing
of the feet" was performed by early LDS Church leaders in imitation
of Jesus's act on his disciples. This act was a preliminary to receiving
the "Second Anointing," which is the most secret of all temple
ceremonies. In connection with the latter, the foot washing is done
by a wife to her husband so she may claim him in the resurrection.
- The "Second Anointing"
- The most secret Mormon temple ceremony is known as the "Second
Anointing" and was designed to ensure a person's exaltation in
the Celestial Kingdom, which resulted in Godhood. The text of an outline
of this ordinance and early versions (with source citation) was sent
to me by an anonymous e-mail.
Books "exposing" the temple ceremonies
There have been over one hundred printed exposures of the LDS Temple
Ceremonies. The most extensive bibliography of these exposures was prepared
with the assistance of Mormon / Masonic scholar Art Dehoyos, and is found
in David John Buerger's The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon
Temple Worship (San Francisco: Smith Research Associates, 1994). I highly
recommend this book. It is by far the most scholarly study ever written
on the subject.
The following list only includes exposures which are both reliable and
should be still readily available in libraries, or by contacting the publishers.
- Jerald and Sandra Tanner, The Mormon Kingdom, vol. 1 (Salt
Lake City: Modern Microfilm Co. [later called Utah Lighthouse Ministry],
1969), pp. 123-72.
- Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Mormonism: Shadow or Reality (Salt
Lake City: Modern Microfilm Co. [later called Utah
Lighthouse Ministry], 1972, 1982), pp. 451-92.
- Latayne Colvett Scott, The Mormon Mirage: A Former Mormon Tells
Why She Left the Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1979), pp.
196-204.
- Bob Witte and Gordon H. Fraser, What's Going on in Here? An Exposing
of the Secret Mormon Temple Rituals ([?Florida] Gordon Fraser Pub.,
c1980)
- Chuck Sackett, What's Going on in There? The Verbatim Text of the
Mormon Temple Rituals, Annotated and Explained by a Former Temple Worker
(n.p., 1982; 2nd edition, Thousand Oaks, CA: Ex-Mormons for Jesus,
1982)
- Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony:
1842-1990 (Salt Lake City: Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 1990).
- Recommended reading list
Don't Believe Everything You Read
One does not have to agree with Mormon theology to know when it has been
misrepresented. Many anti-Mormon books and writings are either rubbish,
or greatly distort and misrepresent Mormon theology. Some people have
distorted the purpose of the temple by relating lurid tales of sexual
depravity and abuse. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Nothing
indecent or immoral occurs during the temple ritual, as will be seen in
the text of the ceremony itself.
AUTHORS I DO *NOT* RECOMMEND include Ed Decker (Saints Alive
for Jesus), Pastor Ron Carlson (Christian Ministries International), and
William J. Schnoebelen.
In my opinion, the above three individuals have purposely distorted the
truth about Mormonism and other religions, as well as non-religions, like
Free Masonry.
Ed Decker's most popular book, The God Makers, is a misrepresentation
of Mormonism that is just deplorable. Decker appears to prefer "shock
tactics" to reason, and falsely claims Mormons worship Lucifer in the
temple. Some of his more ludicrous allegations outraged Jerald and Sandra
Tanner, who exposed his deceptions in their book The Lucifer-God Doctrine:
A Critical Look at charges of Luciferian Worship in the Mormon Temple,
with a Response to the Decker-Schnoebelen Rebuttal (Salt Lake City:
Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 1987, 1988).
Ron Carlson collaborated with Decker on a book called Fast Facts on
False Teachings (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1994). It presents inaccurate
representations of Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Free Masonry, New Age
practices, Evolution, and more.
William J (Bill) Schnoebelen and James R. Spencer co-authored Mormonism's
Temple of Doom (Idaho Falls: Triple J Pub., 1987). This silly little
book claims that the temple ceremony is akin to witchcraft, and Bill,
who at one time belonged to a wiccan (modern witch) group and several
other occult societies, claims the LDS temple ceremonies are intended
to awaken occult powers in the participants. Some of his dubious claims
are demolished by the Tanners in The Lucifer-God Doctrine, mentioned
above. If you are interested in the true sources of the modern Wiccan
ritual, I recommend reading Aidan A. Kelly, Crafting the Art of Magic.
Book 1. A History of Modern Witchcraft, 1939-1964 (St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn
Pub., 1991). It gives the complete Wiccan initiation ritual (including
those parts similar to the endowment), and traces their origins.
Be Fair: Give Mormons a Chance to Explain Their Views.
I always suggest hearing the "other side" of an argument. Because there
are dishonest books by people like Decker, Carlson and Schnoebelen, I
recommend that you give the Mormons a chance to answer their critics.
If you have had the misfortune of reading a book by the above authors,
or others who falsely claim that Mormonism is "satanic," you might want
to read the following:
- Randall L. Mackey, ed., "The Godmakers Examined" in Dialogue:
A Journal of Mormon Thought vol. 18 (Summer 1985) No. 2, pp. 14-39.
- Gilbert W. Scharffs, The Truth About "The God Makers" 2d ed.
(Salt Lake City: Publisher's Press, 1986, 1989).
There are several interesting LDS books on the temple. My two favorite
are:
- Hugh Nibley, Temple and Cosmos: Beyond this Ignorant Present
(Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1992)
- Donald W. Parry, ed., Temples of the Ancient World (Salt Lake
City: Deseret Book Co., 1994)
- A simple, introductory book on Mormon temple symbolism is Allen H.
Barber, Celestial Symbols. Symbolism in Doctrine, Religious Traditions
and Temple Architecture (Bountiful, UT: Horizon Pub., 1989, 1990).
An Excellent Pro-Mormon Temple Internet Site
There are several internet sites by Mormons. The page most relevant
to this site is Nick
Literski's LDS Temple Homepage. Once you understand what goes on in
an endowment session Nick's page can be pretty interesting.
Other Temple-Related Material of Interest
The Book of Abraham
Mormons believe that Joseph Smith learned about the Temple endowment
while "translating" a Mormon scripture known as The Book of Abraham.
This book was supposedly "translated" by Joseph Smith from Egyptian Papyrus.
Modern Egyptologists say that Joseph was
wrong, and they've translated the papyrus. After the "Book of Abraham
Papyrus" was discovered, Hugh Nibley wrote a book in which he claimed
the Egyptian funerary papyrus contained a ritual similar in purpose to
the temple endowment. The book has become a classic among Momon "intellectuals"
even though the argument is worse than weak. Nibley's book was called
The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: an Egyptian Endowment (Salt
Lake City: Deseret Book, 1975). If you like "things Egyptian" the book
is a must.
Books on temple architecture and interiors
Mormon temples are beautiful structures by anyone's standards.
Four books which include several illustrations of temple architecture
and interiors follow.
- Laurel B. Andrew, The Early Temples of the Mormons: The Architecture
of the Millennial Kingdom in the American West (Albany: State University
of New York Press, 1978). This book includes a reconstruction of the
Nauvoo, Illinois temple, and has some nice prints of the architect's
drawings for the Salt Lake temple.
- C. Mark Hamilton, The Salt Lake Temple: A Monument to a People
(Salt Lake City: University Service Corp., 1983). This book is magnificent,
and would make a great coffee-table book (Mormons don't drink coffee,
but "Postum-table" just doesn't sound right). It includes many beautiful
color photographs of the Salt Lake Temple's interior, as well as some
early photos taken in the temple in 1920. The first photos taken in
the Salt Lake temple were actually illicitly taken and many are included
in Kent Walgren's article, "Inside the Salt Lake Temple: Gisbert Bossard's
1911 Photographs" in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought vol.
29 (Fall 1996) No. 3, pp. 1-43. Among other things, Mr. Walgren reproduces
a photo of a washing and anointing room in which a tub is clearly visible.
This feature was often mentioned in early exposures.
- Douglas F. Tobler and Nelson B. Wadsworth, The History of the Mormons
in Photographs and Texts: 1830 to the Present (New York: St. Martin's
Press, 1987). Although this book is not dedicated to temples it does
include some nice shots of some of them, including the Kirtland, Nauvoo
and Salt Lake temples.
- Janice Force DeMille, The St. George Temple: The First 100 Years
(Hurricane, Utah: Homestead Publishers, 1977). The St. George Temple
was the first temple competed after the Mormons migrated to Utah. This
book includes some architectural drawings, photographs and an interesting
history.
This site explores the issue by examing the theology and
function of the Jerusalem temple. If you would like to read a great book
on the temple at Jerusalem, we recommend Alfred Edersheim's classic, The
Temple: its Ministry and Services as They Were at the Time of Christ
(reprint ed., Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1990).
Those of you already familiar with the connection between Freemasonry
and the LDS temple ritual may want to read Alexander Horne, King Solomon's
Temple in the Masonic Tradition (Wellingborough, Northamptonshire:
The Aquarian Press, 1972). They are both fascinating books with a wealth
of information.
Some interesting links to learn about Mormonism
- James David has a great site called A
Close Look at Mormonism. It includes an extremely useful, alphabetical
list of "Controversial Mormon Links."
- Mormon
Origins is a great site by H. Michael Marquardt, author of Inventing
Mormonism. Tradition and the Historical Record.
Index
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