In the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS church)—
Mormonism's largest denomination—there have been numerous changes to temple ceremonies over time in the church's over-200-year history.
Temples are not churches or
meetinghouses designated for public weekly worship services, but rather sacred places that only admit members in good standing with a recommendation from their leaders.[1] LDS Church members perform rituals (termed ordinances) within temples. They are taught that
God has deemed these ordinances as essential to achieving the faith's ultimate goal after death of exaltation (i.e. becoming like God).[2] They are also taught that a vast number of dead
spirits exist in a condition termed spirit prison for whom (by proxy) when the temple ordinances are completed will have the option to accept the ordinances and be freed of their imprisonment.[3] These temple ordinances are performed by a living church member for themself and "on behalf of the dead" or "by proxy".[4][5]
1836 – By the mid-1830s, Smith was teaching that a further endowment was necessary, this time requiring the completion of the
Kirtland Temple as a house of God where God could pour out his
Holy Spirit. The Kirtland endowment included a ritual ceremony involving preparatory nude washings and anointings in a tub,[7]: 39 followed by a gathering in the temple in which many reported
spiritual gifts such as
speaking in tongues and visions.[16] Black church member
Elijah Abel was allowed to participate in the Kirtland ceremonies, but no Black members participated in the Nauvoo temple ordinances during Smith's lifetime (1805—1844) or after, until the ban was lifted in 1978. Scholars disagree concerning whether Smith or his successor Young who formed the LDS Church introduced the
Black temple ban.[17][18]
1840 – Baptisms for the dead began to be performed for the first time. They were initially performed outdoors in the
Mississippi River.[19]: 141, 145
1841 – The outdoor practice of baptisms for the dead was halted until a month later when they were first administered indoors in the
Nauvoo Temple.[19]: 145
1842 –
Joseph Smith prepared the second floor of his
Red Brick Store, in
Nauvoo, Illinois, to represent "the interior of a temple as circumstances would permit".[20]: 2 The next day, May 4, he introduced the Nauvoo endowment ceremony to nine male associates. This close circle of adherents was expanded and later termed the
Anointed Quorum.[20] By the time of his death on June 27, 1844, it had more than 50 persons.[21]
1843 – Women begin receiving the endowment.[7]: 48
1843 – Sealings were performed for the first time. Possibly even in 1842.[22]
1843 – The second anointing was performed for the first time. The first recipients were Smith and
one of his wives,
Emma.[14]: 189 [8]: 22 [23]
1845 – The Nauvoo endowment ceremony was introduced to the church at large in the
Nauvoo Temple. A spacious hall in the temple's attic was arranged into appropriate ordinance "rooms" using canvas partitions. Potted plants were used in areas representing the Garden of Eden, and other areas were furnished appropriately, including a room representing the celestial kingdom.[24]: 366–374 Over 5,500 persons received their endowments in this temple.[25]: 361
1852 – Between 1852 and 1978, most Black people were not permitted to participate in ordinances performed in the LDS Church temples, such as the endowment, celestial marriages, and family sealings. These ordinances are considered essential to enter the highest degree of heaven, so this meant that Black church members could not enjoy the full privileges enjoyed by other Latter-day Saints during the restriction.[27]: 164 [2]: 296–297 Non-Black spouses of Black people were also prohibited from entering temples.[28] An exception to the temple ban for Black members was that (except for the complete temple ban period from the mid-1960s until the early 1970s under McKay)[29]: 119 Black members had been allowed a limited use recommend to act as proxies in baptisms for the dead.[30]: 95 [27]: 164
1855 – The first building specifically designed for conducting temple rites with
ordinance rooms was constructed and called the
Endowment House.[31]
1870s – Second anointings began to be performed vicariously for deceased members of the church.[8]: 30
1877 – Shortly after the dedication of the
St. George Temple, Young became concerned about the possibility of variations in the ceremony within the church's temples and so directed the majority of the text of the endowment to be written down. This document became the standard for the ceremony thereafter.[7]: 110
1877 – Young began including the
Adam–God doctrine (the belief that
Adam is God) in a new "lecture at the veil" during the endowment ceremony.[32]: 32–34 [7]: 100–113
1877 – The first endowments for the dead were performed.[7]: 108
1893 – Minor alterations are made to the endowment ceremony.[citation needed]
Early 1900s
1902 – The Adam–God doctrine was removed from the endowment ceremony.[32]: 34
1920s – A shield begins to be used to partially cover the participants during parts of the washing and anointing previously involving nudity, and the actual washing in a bath tub was discontinued in favor of a symbolic washing while seated.[33]: 1, 6 [7]: 107
1921 – Abstinence from tobacco and from drinking coffee, tea, alcohol became a requirement for participation in temple ceremonies.[7]: 188–189
1922 – Church president
Heber J. Grant discontinued the practice of baptisms for health in the church.[9]
1923 – While wrist- and ankle-length
temple garments continued to be required for temple ceremonies, shorter garments that only went to the elbow and knees were approved for use outside the temple walls.[7]: 197 [34][35]
1927 – The oath of vengeance was removed from the endowment.[26]: 105 [7]: 139–140
1936 – An explanation of the garment symbols is added to the endowment.[7]: 201
1945 – The endowment is administered in a language other than English for the first time.[7]: 201
Late 1900s
1953 – The first film versions of the endowment ceremony were used.[7]: 213 A scene with lava from the
Disney movie "
Fantasia" was used in part of the endowment presentation depicting the creation of the earth.[36]
Mid-1960s – David O. McKay instituted a complete ban on Black people participating in any temple ritual.[29]
1960's – Live-action endowments are fazed out in most temples in favor of film versions.[26]: 108, 112
1960's – The preacher's Protestant hymn in the endowment is discontinued.[7]: 227
Late 1960's – Wording was removed from the endowment ceremony describing Satan as having black skin.[37]: 28 [26]: 113
Early 1970s – The complete ban on Black people in temples ceremonies was partially lifted so they could once again participate in baptisms for the dead again.[29]
1975 – The requirement for wrist and ankle length garments for in-temple use is removed.[7]: 201
1978 – The temple ban on Black people participating in most temple ceremonies was fully removed.[27]: 117
1979 – Two-piece temple garments began to be permitted for recipients of the washing and anointing ceremony.[35]
1990 – The penalties and their oaths were removed from the endowment.[13] The administration of the five points of fellowship at the veil is also removed.[13] The recitation of the
Adamic language phrase "Pay Lay Ale" is removed from the prayer circle at the altar.[38] Women no longer covenant to obey their husbands.[13] The preacher character is eliminated from the endowment ceremony.[39] The lecture at the veil is discontinued.[40] Wording faulting Eve for the Fall is removed.[citation needed]
2000s
2005 – The partially nude portions of the washing and anointing are ended as participants begin the ceremony already wearing the temple garments. The water and oil are applied only to the head instead of various parts of the body (e.g. the breast and loins).[33]: 6
2008 – Participants are no longer made to stand while making covenants in the endowment.
2019 – Endowment wording where women were previously urged to be a priestess "unto her husband," while men were promised they will be priests to God[45] was altered, and more lines were added for
Eve.[46][47] Additionally, women were no longer required to cover their faces with the veil during certain portions of the ceremony.[43][44]
2023 – The parts where participants each gave the token (a form of handshake) was removed such that the only touching happened at the end of the ceremony. Additionally, the ceremony now opens with a list of the five covenants that individuals will be making in the temple during the ceremony before asking if participants want to leave or remain. A ritual performance was added depicting the War in Heaven in the
premortal life. The ordinance was streamlined with less clothing changes and sitting and standing. There is no longer a live witness couple at the altar. The warning to participants to avoid loud laughter and light-mindedness was removed.[36]
References
^Simmons, Brian (December 2017).
Coming out Mormon: An examination of religious orientation, spiritual trauma, and PTSD among Mormon and ex-Morman LGBTQQA adults(PDF) (PhD). Athens, Georgia:
University of Georgia. p. 65. [A] current temple recommend [allows one] to participate in temple ordinances. In order to hold a current temple recommend, a person must attest to their ecclesiastical leaders that they maintain faith in the LDS Church, and live according to the standards (including no sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage and abstaining from coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs).
^Quinn, D. Michael (1992). "Mormon Women Have Had the Priesthood Since 1843". In
Hanks, Maxine (ed.).
Women and Authority: Re-emerging Mormon Feminism. Salt Lake City:
Signature Books. p. 377.
ISBN1-56085-014-0 – via
Google Books. Currently some women have received this 'fullness of the priesthood' with their husbands. In the Salt Lake temple, the second anointing still occurs in the 'Holy of Holies' room which James E. Talmage wrote 'is reserved for the higher ordinances in the Priesthood...' The second anointing for both men and women is distinct from ordination to church priesthood offices.
In the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS church)—
Mormonism's largest denomination—there have been numerous changes to temple ceremonies over time in the church's over-200-year history.
Temples are not churches or
meetinghouses designated for public weekly worship services, but rather sacred places that only admit members in good standing with a recommendation from their leaders.[1] LDS Church members perform rituals (termed ordinances) within temples. They are taught that
God has deemed these ordinances as essential to achieving the faith's ultimate goal after death of exaltation (i.e. becoming like God).[2] They are also taught that a vast number of dead
spirits exist in a condition termed spirit prison for whom (by proxy) when the temple ordinances are completed will have the option to accept the ordinances and be freed of their imprisonment.[3] These temple ordinances are performed by a living church member for themself and "on behalf of the dead" or "by proxy".[4][5]
1836 – By the mid-1830s, Smith was teaching that a further endowment was necessary, this time requiring the completion of the
Kirtland Temple as a house of God where God could pour out his
Holy Spirit. The Kirtland endowment included a ritual ceremony involving preparatory nude washings and anointings in a tub,[7]: 39 followed by a gathering in the temple in which many reported
spiritual gifts such as
speaking in tongues and visions.[16] Black church member
Elijah Abel was allowed to participate in the Kirtland ceremonies, but no Black members participated in the Nauvoo temple ordinances during Smith's lifetime (1805—1844) or after, until the ban was lifted in 1978. Scholars disagree concerning whether Smith or his successor Young who formed the LDS Church introduced the
Black temple ban.[17][18]
1840 – Baptisms for the dead began to be performed for the first time. They were initially performed outdoors in the
Mississippi River.[19]: 141, 145
1841 – The outdoor practice of baptisms for the dead was halted until a month later when they were first administered indoors in the
Nauvoo Temple.[19]: 145
1842 –
Joseph Smith prepared the second floor of his
Red Brick Store, in
Nauvoo, Illinois, to represent "the interior of a temple as circumstances would permit".[20]: 2 The next day, May 4, he introduced the Nauvoo endowment ceremony to nine male associates. This close circle of adherents was expanded and later termed the
Anointed Quorum.[20] By the time of his death on June 27, 1844, it had more than 50 persons.[21]
1843 – Women begin receiving the endowment.[7]: 48
1843 – Sealings were performed for the first time. Possibly even in 1842.[22]
1843 – The second anointing was performed for the first time. The first recipients were Smith and
one of his wives,
Emma.[14]: 189 [8]: 22 [23]
1845 – The Nauvoo endowment ceremony was introduced to the church at large in the
Nauvoo Temple. A spacious hall in the temple's attic was arranged into appropriate ordinance "rooms" using canvas partitions. Potted plants were used in areas representing the Garden of Eden, and other areas were furnished appropriately, including a room representing the celestial kingdom.[24]: 366–374 Over 5,500 persons received their endowments in this temple.[25]: 361
1852 – Between 1852 and 1978, most Black people were not permitted to participate in ordinances performed in the LDS Church temples, such as the endowment, celestial marriages, and family sealings. These ordinances are considered essential to enter the highest degree of heaven, so this meant that Black church members could not enjoy the full privileges enjoyed by other Latter-day Saints during the restriction.[27]: 164 [2]: 296–297 Non-Black spouses of Black people were also prohibited from entering temples.[28] An exception to the temple ban for Black members was that (except for the complete temple ban period from the mid-1960s until the early 1970s under McKay)[29]: 119 Black members had been allowed a limited use recommend to act as proxies in baptisms for the dead.[30]: 95 [27]: 164
1855 – The first building specifically designed for conducting temple rites with
ordinance rooms was constructed and called the
Endowment House.[31]
1870s – Second anointings began to be performed vicariously for deceased members of the church.[8]: 30
1877 – Shortly after the dedication of the
St. George Temple, Young became concerned about the possibility of variations in the ceremony within the church's temples and so directed the majority of the text of the endowment to be written down. This document became the standard for the ceremony thereafter.[7]: 110
1877 – Young began including the
Adam–God doctrine (the belief that
Adam is God) in a new "lecture at the veil" during the endowment ceremony.[32]: 32–34 [7]: 100–113
1877 – The first endowments for the dead were performed.[7]: 108
1893 – Minor alterations are made to the endowment ceremony.[citation needed]
Early 1900s
1902 – The Adam–God doctrine was removed from the endowment ceremony.[32]: 34
1920s – A shield begins to be used to partially cover the participants during parts of the washing and anointing previously involving nudity, and the actual washing in a bath tub was discontinued in favor of a symbolic washing while seated.[33]: 1, 6 [7]: 107
1921 – Abstinence from tobacco and from drinking coffee, tea, alcohol became a requirement for participation in temple ceremonies.[7]: 188–189
1922 – Church president
Heber J. Grant discontinued the practice of baptisms for health in the church.[9]
1923 – While wrist- and ankle-length
temple garments continued to be required for temple ceremonies, shorter garments that only went to the elbow and knees were approved for use outside the temple walls.[7]: 197 [34][35]
1927 – The oath of vengeance was removed from the endowment.[26]: 105 [7]: 139–140
1936 – An explanation of the garment symbols is added to the endowment.[7]: 201
1945 – The endowment is administered in a language other than English for the first time.[7]: 201
Late 1900s
1953 – The first film versions of the endowment ceremony were used.[7]: 213 A scene with lava from the
Disney movie "
Fantasia" was used in part of the endowment presentation depicting the creation of the earth.[36]
Mid-1960s – David O. McKay instituted a complete ban on Black people participating in any temple ritual.[29]
1960's – Live-action endowments are fazed out in most temples in favor of film versions.[26]: 108, 112
1960's – The preacher's Protestant hymn in the endowment is discontinued.[7]: 227
Late 1960's – Wording was removed from the endowment ceremony describing Satan as having black skin.[37]: 28 [26]: 113
Early 1970s – The complete ban on Black people in temples ceremonies was partially lifted so they could once again participate in baptisms for the dead again.[29]
1975 – The requirement for wrist and ankle length garments for in-temple use is removed.[7]: 201
1978 – The temple ban on Black people participating in most temple ceremonies was fully removed.[27]: 117
1979 – Two-piece temple garments began to be permitted for recipients of the washing and anointing ceremony.[35]
1990 – The penalties and their oaths were removed from the endowment.[13] The administration of the five points of fellowship at the veil is also removed.[13] The recitation of the
Adamic language phrase "Pay Lay Ale" is removed from the prayer circle at the altar.[38] Women no longer covenant to obey their husbands.[13] The preacher character is eliminated from the endowment ceremony.[39] The lecture at the veil is discontinued.[40] Wording faulting Eve for the Fall is removed.[citation needed]
2000s
2005 – The partially nude portions of the washing and anointing are ended as participants begin the ceremony already wearing the temple garments. The water and oil are applied only to the head instead of various parts of the body (e.g. the breast and loins).[33]: 6
2008 – Participants are no longer made to stand while making covenants in the endowment.
2019 – Endowment wording where women were previously urged to be a priestess "unto her husband," while men were promised they will be priests to God[45] was altered, and more lines were added for
Eve.[46][47] Additionally, women were no longer required to cover their faces with the veil during certain portions of the ceremony.[43][44]
2023 – The parts where participants each gave the token (a form of handshake) was removed such that the only touching happened at the end of the ceremony. Additionally, the ceremony now opens with a list of the five covenants that individuals will be making in the temple during the ceremony before asking if participants want to leave or remain. A ritual performance was added depicting the War in Heaven in the
premortal life. The ordinance was streamlined with less clothing changes and sitting and standing. There is no longer a live witness couple at the altar. The warning to participants to avoid loud laughter and light-mindedness was removed.[36]
References
^Simmons, Brian (December 2017).
Coming out Mormon: An examination of religious orientation, spiritual trauma, and PTSD among Mormon and ex-Morman LGBTQQA adults(PDF) (PhD). Athens, Georgia:
University of Georgia. p. 65. [A] current temple recommend [allows one] to participate in temple ordinances. In order to hold a current temple recommend, a person must attest to their ecclesiastical leaders that they maintain faith in the LDS Church, and live according to the standards (including no sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage and abstaining from coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs).
^Quinn, D. Michael (1992). "Mormon Women Have Had the Priesthood Since 1843". In
Hanks, Maxine (ed.).
Women and Authority: Re-emerging Mormon Feminism. Salt Lake City:
Signature Books. p. 377.
ISBN1-56085-014-0 – via
Google Books. Currently some women have received this 'fullness of the priesthood' with their husbands. In the Salt Lake temple, the second anointing still occurs in the 'Holy of Holies' room which James E. Talmage wrote 'is reserved for the higher ordinances in the Priesthood...' The second anointing for both men and women is distinct from ordination to church priesthood offices.