Mormons, is there anything to this Mormon "magic underwear" rumor?

Question

If not, what is significant about underwear. Serious question.

Do you have one of those "Moroni's Secret" catalogs? Sorry, that was sarcasm. I Couldn't resist.

Seriously, there seems to be an underwear issue. Please explain. Thanks

Gazoo: Your link said "the members wear the garment under their regular clothing for the rest of their lives, day and night, partially to remind them of the sacred covenants they have made with God."

That raises a question of personal hygene and does it ever get laundered?

garwy: "every mormon i ever knew had a phenomenal ability to resist taking any pleasure in sexual intercourse."

Thats sort of a broad statement. I notice a lot of little Mormons so I guess they get it on somehow.

So basically Mormons have a special undergarment they wear for life that has some religious significance to them. Notwithstanding the alledged "Masonic" connection, it seems pretty harmless.

Being a Deist, I don't believe in any Religion, but you Religious people like to hit each other over the head with the Bible, Book of Morman, whatever.

But if you want to call the Mormons wierd, look at Ezekial Chap 4. First God tells Ezekial, for some ceremonial reason, that he must cook his food on human dung and then God relents and lets him use cow dung.

As far as ceremonies go, I would prefer wearing magic underwear.

I don't believe in any Religion and I'm not defending Mormona, but before you call them wierd, read your own book.

Yazoo: You need to do some stylin' on those.

Answer 1

Not magic. The garment represents our committment do doing the things we promised God we would do and a protection(promotes modesty for male and female) and a reminder of those things we promised.

Moroni's Secret- that's funny!

Thanks for asking nicely.

Editx1:The Great Gazoos sight is informative and seems to be accurate!!!

Editx2:Mormons have several pair of underwear of the same style and they wash up fine, we also wear swimming suits without the underwear(shock, I know!) shower and bathe like any one else does, in the buff(double shock!)
Myth dispelled for today, thank you:-)

Answer 2

Garments, often called “Mormon underwear” by those unfamiliar with our beliefs, are a form of religious clothing used by some Mormons. In early adulthood, prepared Mormon men and women typically participate in the higher ordinances of the Mormon temple for the first time. During these ceremonies, they make sacred promises to God, including the promise to dedicate themselves to Him. The day these promises are first made is one of the most important days in the life of a faithful Mormon. From that day forward, Mormons wear their religious clothing underneath their “street closes” as a quite, inner reminder of the sacred promises made. Mormons don’t think of their garments as “underwear,” but rather a sacred reminder of their renewed dedication to God.

Mormonism is by no means the only religion that uses religious clothing as a symbol. Catholic clergymen have religious robes, protestant clergymen often use a distinctive “collar," Jews have their yarmulkes (skull caps), Muslim women wear the hijab, and the Sikh wear their turbans. I have even heard that some Orthodox Jews wear an undergarment with religions significance (the tzitzit), much like the Mormon garment.

Contrary to the allegations of many anti-Mormon bigots, Mormons do not believe that their garments are “magic.” They do not believe that garments necessarily “protect” them from physical injury. Garments serve only as a reminder of special promises made to God; because of this powerful religious symbolism, mocking the Mormon garment is a very offensive form of hate-speech.

If you’d like to learn more about Mormonism, visit my site at http://www.allaboutmormons.com

Answer 3

You have many good answers from my colleagues. The one issue they did not mention is the protection issue. As mentioned, the garments remind us of our covenants and if we honor those covenants, then God promises to give us spiritual protection from temptations and sin. Basically, the reminder helps us to recognize and resist temptations that come our way so the protection is somewhat self induced. However, there are stories of Latter-day Saints being miraculously protected from physical danger as well. That is not to state that the garments themselves provide inate protection but that God, through or because of the righteous lives of the person saved, spared that person from harm. Thus, if we honor our covenants and live righteously, we believe that God will bless us with spiritual protection whether manifested as thoughts or actions. It is more a function of the righteousness of the member than it is of the garment they wear. The garment merely symbolizes the promise God has made to bless us on account of living faithfully.

Answer 4

The word "garment" has a distinctive meaning to Latter-day Saints. Members who have received the ordinance of the temple endowment wear a white ceremonial undergarment. Members wear the garment under their regular clothing for the rest of their lives, day and night, to remind them of the sacred covenants they have made with God. It is an outward expression of an inward covenant and symbolizes Christlike attributes in one's mission in life. The white garment symbolizes purity and helps assure modesty and respect for the attributes of God. Scripture and ancient tradition point toward the significance of sacral clothing. The clergy and ministry in almost all major faiths wear special clothing. For Latter-day Saints, among whom there is no professional ministry, men and women from all walks of life share in the callings, responsibilities, and blessings of the priesthood. Their sacred clothing, representing covenants with God, is worn under rather than outside their street clothes.

Answer 5

Members who have been to the temple and made covenants with Heavenly Father wear special garments as a symbolic reminder of their covenants. There is nothing magical about the material or anything. We simply wear them to remember our covenants.

Why undergarments you ask? Well first of all, we wear them as a reminder to ourselves, not to show off our religion. This is why members are supposed to make sure they are covered. Secondly, we wear them closest to us as a reminder that we have nothing between us and the covenants we made with God.

I have not actually been through the temple yet, so I do not wear garments, but this is my understanding from being LDS since I was a child.

Answer 6

It's not "magic"

We go into the temple and make promises with God. We promise to do a few extra things than we are asked, and in return we receive the blessings of God. (this is called making a covenant.)

Our garments are worn so we are constantly remembering the covenants we made with God that day.

No, we don't have a Mormon's Secret catalog lol. The only way you can purchase the undergarments is by having a temple recommend(a piece of paper that lets you go in the temple).

Answer 7

This is getting so historical!!!! Yet one more individual obsessive about my undies!!! Do I ask you what form of undies you put on? Do I ask you in case your undies is magic? Do I care what you put on underneath your apparel? Why does it subject? Does it final result you or your existence in any respect?? I making a bet the reply to these kinds of questions isn't any. To us, they're sacred. They don't seem to be a area of informal dialog, and so they undoubtedly don't seem to be for men and women to appear at. I do not care what you put on underneath your garments. If it was once sacred to you, could you desire any person making a laugh of it? Would you're making a laugh of a clergymen gowns, or a nuns addiction, or a Jewish guy's ya-makha? I do not feel so, so how approximately no longer making a laugh of our sacred matters? Here is a website that could support you to realise this extra.

Answer 8

Thank you for being respectful with your question, and adding some humor:D! It's greatly appreciated.

All the LDS people that answered before me have really good answers. There's just a few things I want to add. None of us HAVE to wear them, we aren't forced to wear them. We do it because of the commitments we made with God. I know it seems weird, and there are a lot of misconceptions about them, like the whole bathing thing, or sex thing. I usually tell people that whatever you normally do while wearing underwear, we do to. The times you don't wear them are probably the same times we don't.

No, we don't wear them to shower or bathe. That would just be dumb. We don't wear them to swim, and a lot of us don't wear them to work out in. We also don't wear them in intimate situations, and yes most of us women like to "dress up" for our husbands, if you get my drift.

I have used this comparison before, so it works for me.. here goes: It's like a habit a nun wears, or a collar a priest wears. It's a symbol of the commitments they have made with the Lord, the same as with us. Theirs are worn on the outside, while ours are worn under our clothes. They really aren't weird to wear, and after a few days, I didn't notice them at all.

Oh.. and the Moroni's Secret joke was great!!! Thanks for the laugh!!

Answer 9

These things are great! I'm not mormon but I use to have to go to Salt Lake alot. I stayed with friends in a suburb there. In the summer all of the girls and women went EVERYWHERE except temple in bathing suits, a lot of which were very skimpy, especially on the teenagers and hot young housewives. The people I stayed with, also not Mormons, said that the only time the women didn't have to wear the "garment" was when they were wearing bathing suits.

As far as I was concerned, any rule that gets this much skin exposed on so many attractive women, counts as magic.

Answer 10

No, there isn't anything magical about our undergarments any more than there is something magical about anyone else's undergarments.
We do take them off. They do get laundered on a regular basis. While they do come in two lengths a "long john" length and something that in length resembles mens boxer briefs with a t-shirt/camisole length undershirt. While they come in a variety of fabrics, they are only in white.
Moonman and the Senator both gave excellent answers. I especially liked the links the Senator gave.