Mormon Temple Rituals???

Question

I've heard of all these crazy mormon temple rituals that are like the mason's rituals. I'm a mormon (considering leaving), but i'm not old enough to have done these "ceremonies."

If you're an ex mormon who's been able to do them, what were they like? If you have never done them, but have heard things, what were they? (please mention that you've just HEARD this though, so i know what is accurate)

Thanks!

To all you people who are mormon and are trying to convince me not to leave, it's not going to happen. I've already decided to leave this religion of hypocrites. I already have a long list of things that i disagree with of the church and all of these make it impossible for me to be a part of it anymore. You have the right to believe it is true, but you can NOT force your beliefs on me.

I am only inquiring about the temple ceremonies because they are never spoken of in our church, and i have heard rumors of how similar they are to the masonic rituals. I wanted to learn for myself because whenever i asked, all i got was "when you go to the temple you will learn"...sorry i dont think that's happening now.

I have been doing extensive research about the church for MONTHS now and i have found so many things that are undeniably false about it. I've found so much dirt that the prophets just cover up. The church is gift wrapped, and that's the only reason people get fooled into it.

Jessica Rabbit- I think you are mistaken. Ex-mormons can hold a grudge, but many dont. They can be a surprisingly unbiased source of information on the church. Some really do lie about the church to keep people away, but the majority have good feelings toward the church, they just dont believe it. But it is not so true about the currently active members. If they even sense a hint that you are considering leaving, they will do or say whatever it takes to "bring you back into the fold." They feel no guilt in sugar-coating anything.

Answer 1

The link below gives a pretty accurate description of the exact rituals preformed.. There are a few very minor differences in wording but the essense of the actual rituals is there... For instance a child is refered to as "Born under the Covenant" when it is born after the parents have been sealed the actual term is "Born in the Covenant" BIC is the shorthand for in records but as you see the essense is still there....

http://home.teleport.com/~packham/temples.htm#BAPTISM

Yes I went through the temple before leaving the church and subsequently being excommunicated for what is perceived by members as sin... No I do not hold a grudge I just do not believe and did not truly believe when I went through and had the work done..

I was going through the motions because that's what I thought was expected of my by my parents and family members.. No I don't blame them they truly believe what they are doing is right and will lead them to heaven (the celestial kingdom) and that's ok..

A complete and accurate record of all rituals can also be found within the library of congress....

Answer 2

I'll let you know that I've been a skeptic too at times. But just because you can't find where a few pieces fit into the puzzle doesn't mean you should throw it out.

I've been through the temple and there's nothing to be afraid of though it may seem a little strange the first time around. Plus there's good reason to believe that the masons got these rituals from what the early Christians called "The Mystery."

Here's a really good website that I found VERY interesting on this topic:

http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDSFAQ/FQ_masons.shtml#buerger_and_fries

Unlike most things you hear about the temple, the author is quite candid.

Answer 3

"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you." (Matt. 7:6; KJV) Sacred and secretive are very different. "Sacred" describes something that is holy. "Secretive" describes a person who is reticent about sharing information. We aren't "secretive" by nature but when it comes to the temple rituals there are certain things we don't discuss. That being said, I think the verse I quoted above is helpful in understanding why we don't talk about it. Unfortunately, the nature of those who are not believers in what someone else believes is often to belittle or make light of that belief. Even if you are not that type of person, would you honor and respect our rituals if I discussed them with you? How can I know you wouldn't share them with somebody who definitely would not? And even if you did respect and honor that which was sacred, would you be ready for it if I told you? Probably not. Which is why the Savior's counsel about "pearls" is applicable to the temple rituals. (Please note that this is a metaphor He was using. I do not, nor does He, think of you as a swine or a dog). If you want, I can make this even more plain. Think of something else that is sacred. I would submit that there are certain family memories that are sacred that all of us have. Perhaps something that a family member did for you that really showed how much they loved you. Now imagine that someone who does not place the same value on your family memories wants you to share that experience. Imagine that they may share that with someone who will mock you for it or, even more likely, will not cherish it the same way you do. Would you be so gung-ho about sharing it? Probably not. Certain things are just too sacred to be shared. I'm not trying to be rude either but I just don't understand why that is difficult to understand. But I appreciate you asking and hope this helps. So what can we tell you about the temple rituals? Simply this: that everything we learn and all the covenants we make, you can find in the Bible. It's all there, if you look for it. And you don't even have to look very hard.

Answer 4

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Rebuttal to Louisa....who is disillional....like most antis who don't know anything about mormons.


Mormons are sexist. They believe a woman should stay at home and do not allow women to be leaders in the church. Women are also discouraged from being missionaries - they cannot go for as long and they have to be 21 instead of 18. Mormons believe women do not go to heaven unless they're married. And then, the women only reach levels of heaven equal to their husbands, regardless of the type of lives the women led.

Women have free will all they want...they aren't told to stay home and yes 21 is the age to be a missionary...and celestial marriage is for time and eternity....
Other areas of Christianity, as well as judiasm, and muslims have the man running the religion.



2. Mormons are racist. They banned all brown-skinned people from their churches until a lawsuit was launched in the 60's, at which point the leader had a "revelation" and let them in.

Mormons never banned anybody from joining the church...
Black weren't allowed to hold the priesthood until 1978, but they weren't banned from joining..and thier was never a lawsuit...

3. Mormons are hypocrites. They say the body is a temple and ban alcohol and caffeine, yet they own more shares in Pepsi and Coke than any other religion.

Mormons don't drink alochol, coffee, tea (hot drinks)
and don't smoke.

4. Mormons are against education. The religion puts missions ahead of education for men, then encourages those RM's (returned missionaries) to marry young girls right out of high school. Families are developed at young ages when neither parent has an education.

Women are allowed to acheive all the education they need.
Women are allowed to work out of the house too.


5. Mormons are selfish. They run food and clothing banks and ONLY let other Mormons benefit from them, even if there are other needy people who could use a warm meal and a jacket.

We built houses in New Orleans for non members and members after Katrina.


This is what anti mormon usually writes.

Answer 5

You should consider the source of information you get. Just as you think information from the Church will be biased in favour of it; information from anti-Mormons will be biased against. The only trustworthy source is sincere and thoughtful prayer.

If you are concerned with the more difficult parts of Church history, I would suggest reading Rough Stone Rolling and listening to Mormon Stories. These are really good sources of deep context for history, rather than Sunday School summaries.

Answer 6

Do you even know where the masons got their rituals? The Masons have been around and started during the construction of King Soloman's temple. So if their rituals came from the ancient temple in Jerusalem perhaps, after many many many years, they have kept some form of the original practices, and there for resemble those practiced by the members of The Church.
If you want to leave The Church, fine, that's your choice but do not think you are ready to understand something you're obviously not prepared to do. You have doubts, but it is the one who prays with pure faith, nothing unwavering that will get the answers to prayers, and will cut through the confusion.
I wish you good luck on your journey, Sister.

Answer 7

I think that you are a fool to ask an ex Mormon about the temple. Those who have never been know about as much as you do. Those who have...well, they are a disgruntled bunch, with pretty much nothing true to say. They made covenants, and whether or not they believe the Church to be true anymore, THEY made a promise...my NON-MORMON father taught me that a man's only as good as his word...no matter where he makes a promise he should keep it. And if you believe a covenant breaker (read: liar) well, that's just bloody foolish.

EDIT:
If you are decided to leave the Church, that's the way things go sometimes. Mormonism is not for everyone. But revelling in being an ExMormon is just arrogant! Go, find what you feel is true, and Godspeed. But don't have bad feelings about the Gospel. The Church is made up of people, and people are human. The Mormons still do good around the world whether or not you like what they teach on Sundays.

Answer 8

My brother left the church, i am ex-mormon, but never did the temple thing, and if I did, I would have left right after my temple endowments. My brother who is an atheist now, said what went on in the temple was on the...http://www.utlm.org/...site and it was pretty reliable, compared to other sites. I had a seminary teacher that said that in one temple teaching that Mary was married to God in heaven in the pre-existance and that when the holy ghost came over here, they consimated the marriage, I can't reverify if this is what they teach in the temple, I know they teach a higher form of theology in the temple, kind of like their are two forms of theology in the church, the theology for those who have not gone to the temple and the theology for those who have. I have been on the sites and so I knw about the dressing in white and the secret handshakes and the green, leaf apron ect. I know about the new name, which I think every mormon knows about any ways. The secret markings on the garments ect. www.ex-mormon.org has pictures of what the temple cloths look like however.

Answer 9

If you talk to an ex-Mormon you will get a totally negatively biased answer. That is not a person of authority to get your questions answered. If you talk to member you will also get a biased answer but it won't be clouded in emotion, half-truths and half-lies.

Here on Yahoo I have read many anti-Mormon comments and are not true. For example, above is "Luisa." She states total mis-information and claims that it is fact. I have no idea where she picked up this false information. Everyone of her "facts" is a lie!
1) sexist - not a chance. Sure women don't hold the Priesthood but we hold it through our husband as his partner. We progress through this life TOGETHER. We help each other to become better TOGETHER. Besides, ever see a ward party that is run by the men? It is usually chaos until the Relief Society steps in - the men are helpless when it comes to these things and they admit it.
2) racist - total lie
3) hypocrites regarding Coke stock - that's laughable. Caffeine is not mentioned in the Word of Wisdom. It is not forbidden. It is a choice. I have a diet Coke on my desk!
4) no education - bologna! We are encouraged to continually learn.
5) selfish - Bishop's store house only for Mormons - nonsense! When there is a disaster, one of the first groups to give aide is the LDS Church. They don't ask what the person's religion is.
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The Temples are a beautiful peaceful place to feel the spirit and to be instructed. (They are not "crazy temple rituals.") They are SACRED, not secret. The reason that not everyone goes in is partially because they would not understand what is taught. This would be distracting for those that ARE prepared.

Good luck to you!

Answer 10

I wouldn't leave the Morg simply because of the temple rituals - they're a lot less graphic and gory than before.

Read about the history of JS, read the Journal of Discourses (it's boring, but informative), read some of the books that question some of the claims made by the BoM. Be informed, but read both sides of the story. There's much more than can be explained here.

Then really think about it, and if it's worth alienating your family. There's plenty of time to read and study, and you may surprise yourself what you find, and perhaps change your mind. If you don't, at the very least you'll be informed and knowledgeable - but don't toss the baby out with the bathwater.