Can someone tell me exactly what happens in the Mormon Temple &is it really like Satanic cult ritual?

Question

I am not bashing on Mormons or trying to be rude. I am living in Utah and trying to understand what Mormonism is. I had "discussions" with missionaries but was even more confused when it was over. I am not a Mormon hater, or anything close, but since I moved here I have constantly heard that the rituals that take place inside the Temple are very similar to pagan or Satanic cult worship. As I understand only certain "worthy" memebers of the church can even set foot inside the Temple. And I cannnot seem to get anything out of anyone about what takes place in there. Why is it all so secret, and who decides who can go in? I have been brushed of with answers like, "weddings" and "baptisms", so I would please like to get some more in depth answers than that. Why the seperate wedding dress for inside the Temple? What exactly is baptism of the dead? No one will help me out on this here. People just think I am mean, or a hater. But I am not. I just want to understand.

By the way, for those who said I am Mormon bashing....along with your comment can you please include exactly how to word a question such as this so as not to offend? I thought I made it clear I am seriously seeking information here, but I apparently didn't. So don't just tell me I am wrong, or mean or bad. Tell me exactly what approach is best to get through to the people who could best help me understand, without offending. Please, that would help a lot more than just telling me what YOU think I am thinking.

By the way, for those who said I am Mormon bashing....along with your comment can you please include exactly how to word a question such as this so as not to offend? I thought I made it clear I am seriously seeking information here, but I apparently didn't. So don't just tell me I am wrong, or mean or bad. Tell me exactly what approach is best to get through to the people who could best help me understand, without offending. Please, that would help a lot more than just telling me what YOU think I am thinking.

Answer 1

The Temple is a House of God on earth where SACRED, not secret, saving ordinances are performed to seal a couple together for time and all eternity, and their children, and so on and so forth.

It is not a cult, it is not satanic

I lived in Argentina for awhile and I met REAL satanic worshipers there. They'd skin chickens and leave their flesh in strange patterns on the streets and we'd find them early Sunday mornings. They eat people and sacrifice their own loved ones to satan. There was once a news release that came out of a mother and her two older daughters who ate their husband/father alive, starting with the eyes, while the satan worshipers watched. SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK AND GROSS AND EVIL AND WRONG. LDS/Mormon people ARE NOT like this in the least. THey are the exact opposite!
I tell you what, people will come up with ANYTHING if they are offended by someone and want to make them look bad and especially if they aren't honest and good people.

But it is promised that nothing will stop the work from progressing. The Gospel of Jesus Christ from his church will continute to spread across the entire earth until the Second Coming. Nothing will stop it or hinder it. It's God's work. Just watch and see. It will be proven right before your eyes.



Now, the baptisms. In the last book of the Old Testament we read that the hearts of the father's will turn to their children and that the hearts of the children will turn to their father's. This means doing "work" for each other to make all of our family's "sealed" for all time and all eternity. We all want to be together after this life forever, right? Well so do those who have passsed on. True, some will reject the Gospel after this life, but there are many, many many who want it so badly.
In order to be saved and have a chance at living with God again forever is to have necessary work done. i.e. baptism, recieve the Gift of the Holy Ghost, getting our own work done at the Temple of God and being sealed as a family for time and eternity.
Unfortunately, not everybody that lives has a chance to accept or reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and those who die without this chance are taught the gospel in the life hereafter. Then, because they are spirits, they cannot be baptized; they do not have a body to do so.
So people, ACTING IN THEIR NAME ALONE, are baptized FOR them, by a worthy Priesthood holder who holds the Power of God. The people then who have passed on then have a choice to accept or reject this baptism and other work done for them.

Salvation is NOT forced onto anybody, ever. Just like all of you have a choice to accept it, so do those who have already passed on. Heavenly Father cannot and will not take away any of his children's free will to choose.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to email me at:
[e-mail]

I hope I helped a little bit!

Answer 2

I'm sorry that you felt confused after the discussions with the missionaries. As a mormon myself, I'm happy to answer your questions. Although I have never been to all of the rooms of the temple, I would like to think that I know a little bit of the temple.

First off, the things that we do in the temple are not similar at all to pagaen or satanic worship. There are ordinances that we perform for ourselfs the first time and then for the people who never had the opportunity to go into the temple and have already passed. Yes it is true that only temple worthy members can go into the temple. We are interviewed by our preisthood holder who has authority (such as the bishop and stake president.) The reason you are not able to get anything out of people that go to the temple is because we are told that we are not to speak of the sacred things that go on in the temple outside of the temple walls. You have to remember that the things that go on inside of the temple are sacred and not secret. It is also true that we do baptisms for the dead in the temple and we do get married in the temple and that marriage seals us to our spouse and children throught eternity even after we die if we keep to our covenants made in the temple. Baptism for the dead is when we take a person's name that has passed on and we are baptized on their behalf ( it's not like we baptize dead bodies, i thought that until i asked.). I'm not exactly sure why we wear a different type of dress in the temple. It's probably another sacred thing that members can't talk about outside of the temple. You can find out more about the temples when you go to a temple open house where you get a tour and after you can ask questions. They are building another temple in the Salt Lake valley. I hope this helps.

Answer 3

MMM and Ben S have the best answers. It really is a sacred thing. Many people of written of it but most have left the Mormon Church and seemed to have negative thoughts about the temples so what they ahve written is usually somewhat twisted to prove their points.

Any Mormon can go to the temple if they are worthy. This means they live as we are told to by God. This includes following the 10 commandments, and the other rules tought by Jesus and our Prophets (pay tithing, go to church, be honest, keep the 'Word of Wisdom, etc.) It does not mean we have to be perfect. The book the God Makers that Jim recommended is not accurate. It has many errors about the LDS/Mormon church so don't waste your time if you want good honest answers.

I hope these answers have helped you.

Answer 4

The Mormons believe that in the hereafter your family will be re-united. To be married in the temple will bond you and your spouse together for eternity in the hereafter. This can also apply to your children as I believe their belief is that the children choose their parents before birth. To enter or be married in the church just mean that you are a member in good standing. That you have been baptized and recieved the Holy Ghost. They cannot be a pagan or Satanic cult worshippers as they only worship Christ and God, the same one the catholics worship. I cannot tell you for certain as I'm not a member of the church but I've known and been around them for years and read many of the books about the church. If you would like to know more, I would suggest "The Work and the Glory" series of books. It is a fiction book based of facts and real characters that is an entertaining history of the start of the Mormon church and their journey to Utah. It really is a good reading book and let's you understand a lot about the church. I'm not trying to recruit you but just help you understand. I'm not a member as I said before but I really enjoyed reading the book set. It's like 8 or 9 volumes. There are good and bad people in every religion but I've know a lot of Mormons in my day and the majority really are an industrious people, honest, hard working, family oriented religion.

Answer 5

Only Mormons who have attained "adulthood" (marriage, gone on their mission, or been deemed worthy by the church) are allowed to enter certain portions of the regional temples. It's really not that restrictive.

I also understand there is a location in the main temple (In Salt Lake City) known as the "holiest of holies" where only the leader of the council is allowed to enter ... or some such. It is supposed to be a place suitable for communing directly to God.

I asked my Mormon friend who cleans the room, as I doubt the head guy does it himself. He laughed.

People who tell you Mormons perform pagan or Satanic rituals in these areas are ignorant bigots.

Answer 6

Joseph Smith, before founding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was a freemason. The rituals used within the Mormon Temple (open only to "members in good standing") resemble many of the freemason rituals, down to the secret signs and handshakes. I'm sure the rituals mean different things within the two arenas, but it's not a far stretch to see where the *form* they take originated from. The rituals and ceremonies are said to be "sacred" not "secret." As they are considered "sacred" they are not to be discussed outside the realm of people who are worthy to partake in those very rituals. Hence, the perception that they are "secret." That discludes a majority of people, especially those who have no affiliation with the LDS Church.

What you've heard in regard to these rituals being pagan or Satanic is hotly contested by the LDS church. They have every right to dispute the claims. But a study of Joseph Smith's early life (before he founded Mormonism) shows he was fascinated with occultic matters, and curious enough to pursue some aspects of it.

For anyone reading this, please understand that I'm not saying Joseph Smith or Mormons are, in fact, Satanic. I'm merely presenting information I've read and letting everyone draw their own conclusions. As I understand it, Satanism is a whole different ballgame; it's the active veneration of Satan and the purposeful action to further his cause.

Baptism of the Dead is a Mormon "sacrament" (if you will), whereby current, alive Mormons in good standing are baptized physically as a proxy for a dead person. The deceased left the world not in a state of grace (or the Mormon equivalent of that). I assume this means someone who a) never trusted Christ, b) never submitted to the authority and teachings of Joseph Smith (or whomever the current "President, Prophet and Overseer" is), and/or c) walked away from the Mormon faith. The baptism is meant to bring those who've passed into a place spiritually whereby they can attain to whatever level of Heaven is available to them. (The LDS teach there are 3 levels of Heaven.) This is partly why the LDS Church keeps extensive geneological records; they baptize-by-proxy generations and generations of "Gentiles" (unsaved individuals).

Weddings: Those members in good standing are allowed to marry in the Temple. This is a separate, and very private/sacred ceremony that takes place with only the couple and officiating clergy. (For this reason, the couple usually also have a traditional church ceremony in which to invite all their friends and family.) All of the rituals and sacred clothing have symbolism which support the sacredness of the union. This is a different ritual which is to seal "for time and all eternity" the couple who are married. That means that a couple who are married in this way, will be "married" in the hereafter for all eternity, regardless of what happens here on earth. They could divorce, or one could die and the other remarry here on earth...but in eternity, they are bound to their "Temple Spouse."

I don't think you're mean or a Mormon hater. I think it's very good that you're asking questions and aren't willing to just believe without having some concrete answers. The things I wrote above I learned from doing my own research on the origins of the LDS Church and their beliefs, as well as my own studies of Jesus Christ through the Bible. One book I read was really good; it explains in detail (yet very simply) the history of the LDS Church, the main beliefs, practices, rituals and ceremonies and what they all mean. All of this is set in light of what the Holy Bible teaches.

I would highly recommend the book if you're interested in understanding more. It's entitled, "The God Makers" and was written by Ed Decker and Dave Hunt. They did a huge amount of research to compile this relatively small book (many of their sources being Mormon publications). But because no argument should be decided from a one-sided perspective, I would also recommend reading what the 1st link below has to say. It is a point-by-point refutation of "The God Makers." No proper debate is complete without a response to the rebuttal (see link 2, by Ed Decker...though I go on record as saying I don't care for Decker's sarcastic tone. However, his re-rebuttal points are accurate). But it all boils down to whether both books jive with the original text of the Holy Bible. That's the book I'd recommend most of all.

If you're interested in discussing more about this, please let me know. I will be glad to exchange emails with you for further correspondence.

God bless.

Answer 7

Every religion thinks they are right and all other just need to see the light. They make up a lot of rules to be followed that only the few 'know'. It is a lot like kids belonging to a secret club, makes you feel special. My family is mormon, I could answer all that stuff but really it is all just people playing 'God" and not worth the time to do it.

Answer 8

I think you need to do some research about Satanism first before you compare it to Mormonism. (Don't use Christian sources, because they will be distorted. Find sources from actual Satanists.)

Baptism of the dead doesn't involve corpses or anything sinister. They just get the names of the dead people and say they're baptized so they can say they are Mormons.

Answer 9

Since you're living in UT and would have easy access, I would check out "The Holy Temple" by Boyd K Packer, probably in your local library, or at deseret book.

Answer 10

I am currently reseaching Mormonism...and I have some of the same questions...you can see what I found so far at www.allaboutjoshua.com

hope that helps,

Josh