What is the purpose of a white "session envelope" in the Latter Day Saints faith?

Question

My brother recently converted to Mormonism in order to marry his fiancee, whose family has been involved in the Latter Day Saints church since before she was born. I didn't realize how little I (or probably most Americans of other denominations) did not know about this denomination. In my personal estimation, it is a cult, since it both adds to and takes away from the basic tenets of Christianity, while still holding to the claim that they serve the same God and believe in Jesus as the son of God and savior. At any rate, I just don't get this garment wearing protocol, or why it's deemed necessary. I read that after marriage, they are to keep their white temple garments on and touching at least some part of their bodies at all times, even during bathing, and shouldn't let them touch the floor ever. Do all Mormons follow this tradition? And exactly what is the purpose of a white session envelope? I saw one advertised online for LDS families, and it even had a diagram next to the photo.

BTW, how is it that LDS members believe they can actually be "good" enough or sinless and mature to their own godship and rule over their own planet like earth? Why would anyone even want to rule over a planet? Sounds like asking for nothing but trouble to me, by JMO.

Answer 1

I'm glad that you did not just accept those things you read and have asked more questions. Whatever your source was about garments must have come from either an ill-informed or antaganistic party. I have never been taught that the garments always need to be touching our skin. We are counciled to wear them as often as possible. Personally I don't wear them when I'm working out, swimming, bathing, or uhhh being intimate with my wife. There are people who will say that we have to wear garments during sex, but that just is plain false.

While we do not hold to the basic tenents of historical Christianity, I believe we do hold true to the tenets originally taught by Christ.

The white session envelope is what we keep our temple clothes in.

We do not believe that we are sinless. We do however believe in eternal progression. In the next life, after who knows how many millenia, I believe we will eventually progress to the point of being able to create our own spiritual children, and worlds for them to inhabite with physical bodies. We have been promised in many scriptures, including some in the Bible, that if we are faithful we will inherite all that the Father has. All would seem to include the powers of creation, wouldn't it?

Great question. I hope I provided an adequate answer.

Answer 2

You have been sadly misinformed about the temple garments. But, that is nothing new. Most people have no understanding about them.

When we go through the temple for the first time, we receive the temple garment. This is white underware. The purpose of this garment is to remind us of the covenants that we made with God and Jesus Christ at baptism. We are asked to wear the garment night and day. We can remove it for bathing. We remove it to go swimming, play sports, or any other time where it would not be appropriate to wear it.

I've never heard anything about not letting it touch the floor. I think someone got the temple garment mixed up with the flag. I throw mine on the floor, with all my dirty clothes, until I take the pile to the washer.

A person has to be a member of the church for one year before they can go through the temple.

I believe the white session envelope is just a holder for the items that we take to the temple. It's a cloth bag. I don't know why you would find one online. That is not normally something posted on the internet.

Answer 3

There are some great answers here. The LDS church is not a cult. Cults tend to not let people leave. We allow people to leave or even to request no contact from the church. Those requests are taken very seriously and usually honored. If we were a cult, people would have to fear their lives to leave and that is simply not the case.

You have some incorrect information about garments and such that are addressed very well by other users so I don't need to elaborate, rather second, what the other active church members have stated.

I also think that maybe life will be easier on your brother if you stop trying to prove his religion wrong and start trying to gather factual information from reliable sources. If you are simply wanting facts for the intent of obtaining information and not to discredit or attack our beliefs, most members will be open and answer questions as best they can. The Temple is very scared, so don't be offended if you don't get a lot of detailed information there. I challenge you to change your reason for wanting this information and to stop trying to prove your brother is wrong.

Answer 4

The "envelope" holds part of the clothing we wear in the temple.

I don't think we need to be THAT strict about garments. You don't have to have them touching you 24/7/365. That's impossible. As for touching the floor, I think it's just don't throw them on the floor like any old underwear.

As for being good enough, at some point, we CAN be good enough. After we die, we take with us (we believe) all our intelligence, knowledge, desires, prejudices, come with us. The only difference is, that Satan is not there to tempt us to do evil. If we were basically good people in life, we can be even better after death.

As for "ruling a planet", if we get to do this, actually, you are right. Who WOULD want that responsibility? But, sometimes, we NEED it. However, we don't obsess about this one tenth as much as anti-Mormons want people like you to obsess about it. No one ever talks about "ruling their own planet" or "becoming a god".

Answer 5

Tell your brother congratulations on his conversion. OK first of all just because you do not understand it does not make it a cult. we believe in God the father and Jesus Christ and that he was the son of God and that he dies for our sins. We believe in a nd follow the king James Version of the bible, but we also have another boo which we believe in which is called the Book Of Mormon ( another testament of Jesus Christ) So how you get the perception that we are not Christians is understandable, but not correct. When you get married in our church or get ready to serve the lord by going on a mission you receive your endowments which is one of the highest promise you can make with god. You wear the garments just like underwear you have an undershirt and then bottoms that are kind or like boxers they do have to be touching your body, but we take them off when we bath or go swimming or get intimate or exercise. You treat them just like underwear. and they are really not supposed to touch the ground, but I don't really know anyone who follows that. The white session envelope really can't be explained to you because of its sacredness. All I can tell you is that it has something to do with the temple and you use it inside the temple. Good luck in your search for answers. I hope you can change your attitude about our church and except your brothers decision. Good Luck to you and your family.

Answer 6

you have a couple very good answers from nymormon and ldsgirl on the garments and the envelope, so I won't touch on those.
but I will say that we don't believe we are sinless, but that through the atonement of Christ, we can receive a remission of our sins. After this life, the righteous will have the opportunity of eternal progression - not to rule over a planet -- but to have eternal families - both our ancestors and descendants [i can only hope my memory will improve for those family reunions].
I understand your questions, and why you have them, but I would recommend that you look for answers at lds.org or from your brother and his fiancee. There will be nuances that can be misunderstood [as demonstrated so ably here at y!a].

Answer 7

Your brother will have a wonderful life as an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I grew up as a Baptist but the more I learned about its teachings the less I believed and I became an agnostic. But, once I learned the Gospel from the LDS missionaries my testimony of Jesus Christ blossomed. My membership in the church has been a blessing in my life and has helped me develop a strong testimony of my Savior Jesus Christ.

Our garments are special because they are a constant reminder of our Savior and our dedication to Him and following His commandments. We wear them when underwear would normally be worn. We don't wear them when doing sports, swimming, intimate times, etc.

I love wearing my garments because they are a constant reminder of my Savior and His atoning sacrifice for me.. Even on a non-spiritual level they are nice because they are very comfortable and a lot cheaper than underwear that you buy at Walmart...not to mention Victoria's Secret.

The LDS church is not a cult. The "cult" label has just been given to us by religious bigots who don't tolerate anyone's beliefs that don't match up to theirs. Disagreeing is one thing, resorting to calling ugly names is totally something else and is something that I just cannot imagine Jesus doing.

You asked about the little packet that we carry in the temple. It is simply something that we use in the temple to carry our temple things in. Many people buy some pretty white lace or fabric at Walmart or another fabric store and make their own. It probably only takes 1/4 of a yard.

Answer 8

I admit that I never heard of a "white session envelope". The only think I can think of what you might be referring to is tithing.

Garments though I can answer. They're worn as a reminder of our commitment to God. They're sacred, so we don't throw them on the floor. There are times when you can take them off. Bathing is one time that's generally accepted.

Answer 9

You have received many good answers from good people. Our garments represent the covenants we have made with God in the temple. We wear them day and night as a reminder of those covenants and believe that they offer some spiritual protection by way of that reminder from the temptations of Satan. We respect them for what they represent and thus do not treat them the same as just any dirty laundry. We remove them for normal activities like bathing, swimming, sports and intimacy. Originally, they were not removed for the last item but that policy has been moderated for practicality. The envelope is merely a pocket of cloth that holds our temple robes when we enter the temple for the performances of vicarious ordinances for our ancestors and for eternal sealings to our families. There is nothing special about the envelope. There is sacred significance to the robes inside the envelope. Thus, the whole packet is safeguarded to keep it sacred.
What I want most to focus on is the idea of eternal progression. We were with the Father before mortality and will ultimately return to the Father. However, our eternal reward will be determined in part by our own level of righteousness, obedience to God's teachings and commandments. If we are faithful throughout our lives to the teachings of the Gospel of Christ, we can inherit with the Savior, the Kingdom of the Father. That means that ultimately, we can become like Him and have eternal families. We will progress to become like our Father, spiritually, in the same way that we hope our mortal children can grow up to become like their parents, assuming they have been given a good example by their parents. God wants us to grow up to become like Him. He has given us that promise. Eventually, if we live worthy, we may have spirit children of our own and create worlds upon which they may dwell and develop just as we are doing now. As man is, God once was. As God is, man may become. That is the essence of eternal progression. This is not heresy, but sound doctrine alluded to in the Bible as well as modern revelation.
Lastly, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not a cult. It embodies the teachings of Jesus Christ in their fullness. Those that disparage the Church are ignorant of the doctrines and their significance. With the benefit of modern revelation, living prophets and apostles, together with personal revelation through the Holy Ghost to discern truth from falsehood, we know the validity of the doctrines, in full accord with Biblical teachings. Unfortunately, it is mainstream Christianity that is not reaping the benefits of the Gospel as taught by the Savior and His apostles of old.
Try to ask your brother and sister-in-law, with an open mind, to explain the doctrines to you. This will force them to do some studying as well.

Answer 10

All Mormons that are married in the Temple wear special underwear. Really ugly under wear. At least they did when I was a member. The church sells the underwear and pockets the money for them.
Things change so often in that church it is hard to keep up with what they are believing this year. They love keeping things they do in their faith secret. Even from their own members!
I have never heard of a "session envelope". Sounds like a give us money thing to me.