From: jwindley%asylum.utah.edu@cs.utah.edu (Jay Windley)
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc
Subject: Re: Secrecy in the Mormon temple
Date: 14 Apr 92 12:22:50 GMT
Organization: University of Utah CS Dept

Becky Harris <ISPBJH@ASUACAD.BITNET> writes:
>This is my first post to this group, so please be kind.

No guarantees, but I'm not usually prone to unkindness.

>day.  I had no idea what was going to take place, because most of it
>cannot be talked about.

Did you attend a temple preparation seminar?  Did you ask your bishop?
Your stake president?

Did you ask to meet with the temple president to discuss your concerns
after the ceremony?  If you meet with him in the temple, all aspects
of the ceremony can be discussed.

>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,

This is your bishop's fault.  The washing and anointing portions of
the ceremony should have been described to you.

>and that my life would be threatened before the day was over.

Your life was not threatened.  If you understood this to be the case,
then you misunderstood the covenant.

>I deeply resent being kept in a position of ignorance until it was too
>late.

So do I.  Too many Mormons go the temple for the first with with
absolutely no idea what happens inside.

>I did not feel I was free to leave this ceremony,

At various times during the ceremony, those who wish to leave are
invited to do so.  This is so that concerns and questions can be
resolved.  It should also have been explained to you that you could
leave at any time, even if it was not "convenient."  In all
truthfulness, it is preferrable to cancel and postpone an endowment
session in order to answer a question than to traumatize someone.

>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.

The oaths do not threaten your life.

>The Mormon covenants made in the temple are not found in the Bible
>or the Book of Mormon.

For a good reason -- they are not for the generally interested reader.
They are not written down in any place outside the temple.

>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.

Not so.  The Jewish temple ceremony had many secret elements.  See
Hugh Nibley's newly published book on temples.

>The Mormon temples have no
>similarities to this ancient ritual.

There is no claim that they do, nor that they are supposed to.

>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.

There is no penalty or castigation suggested for breaking these oaths
except for a reference to "the wrath of God," which can mean anything.
There is nothing the LDS Church has a right to do should you choose to
violate those covenants.

>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.

I cannot argue that you had a bad experience, one which would be
expected to traumatize anyone.  While I don't want to seem to be
laying blame, it appears that several things you said you didn't know
about you SHOULD have known about prior to going, and those
responsible for so informing you were irresponsible.

It is the responsibility of the bishop who interviewed you to make
sure you understood as much of the ceremony as was possible to know
before participating.  It is the responsibility of the stake president
to make sure that the bishop did his job.  Unfortunately, this is not
done in every case, and was apparently not done in yours.

It is the responsibility of the temple president to clarify the
meaning of the temple endowment to participants.  Unfortunately, he
can only do this if he knows about these concerns.

I can't really verbalize what I feel hearing you speak.  I think that
it might have been a wonderful experience for you, had those who
should have guided you done their jobs.  There's probably no way to
change the feelings you have toward the temple, and that makes me sad.

But God knows your situtation, however you want to look at it, and I
trust you'll have faith in Him.

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

We're obviously thinking about different parts of the ceremony here.
Some of the "secret" information refers to Jesus, some does not.

>Thank you for your understanding, because something very bad *did* happen
>to me in the temple, and I think talking about it would help.

It sure might.  If you live convenient to a temple, it is still
appropriate -- should you desire -- to ask to speak to the temple
president and explain your situation.  I realize this may be of
dubious (and maybe even unwanted) comfort, but that avenue is open for
you.

This newsgroup isn't the most congenial of environments for
discussion, but you will get just about every conceivable point of
view, so I wish you good luck.

I appreciate your comments, and I think you are quite courageous to
express these feelings in public.
--------------------------------+---------------------------------------
Jay Windley                     | jwindley@asylum.utah.edu
Department of Computer Science  +---------------------------------------
Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City   | "I have detailed files."  -- T2
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc