Organization: Arizona State University
Date: Sunday, 12 Apr 1992 18:54:03 MST
From: Becky Harris <ISPBJH@ASUACAD.BITNET>
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc
Subject:    Secrecy in the Mormon temple

In article <1992Apr9.230525.3420@en.ecn.purdue.edu>, muehlhau@en.ecn.purdue.edu
(John Muehlhausen) says:
>
>I guess what scares me more than anything about Mormonism is that there need
>to be any secrets at all...

This is my first post to this group, so please be kind.

I noticed this list is trying to discuss Mormon beliefs.  I see there
are Mormons and Non-Mormons here.   I left the Mormon church several
years ago after a long struggle with this ceremony that no one can talk
about.  My first experience like most Mormon women, was on my wedding
day.  I had no idea what was going to take place, because most of it
cannot be talked about.  I have read the Mormon men on this list talk
about this experience.  They have very generally told you what little
they can say.

Specifically, I was not told that a new theology would be introduced
on the day I married, nor was I told that I would have to completely
undress, and that my life would be threatened before the day was over.
I deeply resent being kept in a position of ignorance until it was too
late.  I did not feel I was free to leave this ceremony, and looking
back on it now, I believe I was in shock through most of what happened
to me.  My leaving the church is due to my belief that God would never
require me to agree to such life threatening oaths to insure His Holy
ordinances.

jwindley%asylum.utah.edu@cs.utah.edu (Jay Windley) says:
>
>The entire history of Judaism and Christianity has been the covenants
>between God and man.  The covenants in the temple are merely the
>continuation of this.

The Mormon covenants made in the temple are not found in the Bible
or the Book of Mormon.  The ceremonies used in the temples prior to
Jesus were public, (in that everyone knew what was going on), and
involved the animal sacrifice for sin.  The Mormon temples have no
similarities to this ancient ritual.  Any person then and now can
know EXACTLY what was said and done for those people in the Jewish
temples.  The O.T. rituals are not needed anymore, and the truth is,
the Mormon church has not attempted to duplicate them anyway.  They
are absolutely apart from anything in the Bible.

>In the temple endowment ceremony we receive certain information which
>is to be known only by the righteous -- by those who have made the
>above promises.  We promise "before God, angels, and human
>witnesses" that we will not divulge this information, nor discuss its
>nature.

People do promise to keep what they have done and said secret, but in
my case it was my fear of retribution that forced this silence on me.
I believe what happened on my wedding day traumatized me to the point
of needing counseling.  Having your life threatened, being naked and
being touched by a stranger was terrible.  The silence only made it
worse.

hedrick@dumas.rutgers.edu (Charles Hedrick) says:
>
>Actually, the most disturbing revelation of all came from one of our
>LDS participants (Jay?), who said in passing that one of the things
>involved is revelation of a secret password for passing into the upper
>reaches of the hereafter.  I don't much care if LDS wear special
>underwear in their ceremonies, or indeed if they wear anything at all.
>(There's some reason to think that early Christians were baptized in
>the nude.)  However if they teach that some password is required in
>the hereafter other than the name of Jesus, that would be cause for
>great concern.  Of course it's possible that this secret actually is
>Jesus or something similarly Biblical.  Let's hope so.

The "password" you mention is not like anything you would imagine, it
has nothing to do with Jesus.

kilroy@gboro.glassboro.edu (Dr Nancy's Sweetie) says:
>
>If the ex-LDS truly believe that keeping silent will allow something bad
>to happen, then breaking the promise of silence is not necessarily improper.
>I hope that they would think carefully about any decision on such a matter,
>but if they decide the danger outweighs the promise of silence then they may
>feel morally _compelled_ to spill the beans.
>

Thank you for your understanding, because something very bad *did* happen
to me in the temple, and I think talking about it would help.  I have four
children who are looking forward to a life free from this happening to them.

Becky Harris