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In the August 2001 edition of the Mormon Ensign
magazine Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander Of the Presidency of the Seventy
gives an overview of "Ordinances and Covenants" as understood
and practised in the Mormon Church. In emphasising the importance of
ordinances and covenants in coming to know God and being endowed with
power from on high he says the following:
Sacred ordinances and the divine authority
to administer them did not begin with the Restoration of the gospel
and the founding of the modern Church in 1830. The sacred ordinances
of the gospel as requirements for salvation and exaltation were "instituted
from before the foundation of the world." They have always been an
immutable part of the gospel. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught: "Ordinances
instituted in the heavens before the foundation of the world, in the
priesthood, for the salvation of men, are not to be altered or changed.
All must be saved on the same principles." (Emphasis added)
He goes on to give a potted account of apostasy and restoration in this
context of ordinances and covenants:
Through time and apostasy following Christ's
Resurrection and Ascension, however, the divine authority of the priesthood
and the sacred ordinances were changed or lost, and the associated covenants
were broken. The Lord revealed His displeasure over this situation in
these words:
"For they have strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine everlasting
covenant;
"They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man
walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god."
This situation required a restoration of knowledge pertaining to the
importance, significance, and appointed administration of sacred gospel
ordinances, both live and vicarious, as well as the divine authority
of the priesthood and priesthood keys to administer them.
The third article of faith of the Mormon Church teaches, "We
believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved,
by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel."
Given that ordinances are so vital to man's salvation. Given that losing
those ordinances and covenants as well as the authority to administer
them has proved so devastating, and their restoration as they were originally
"instituted in the heavens before the foundation
of the world" so vital it is no wonder
that Elder Neuenschwander observed:
It is this principle of consistent and unalterable
requirements that gives true meaning to the performance of vicarious
ordinances in the temple.
The problem is that these "consistent and unalterable requirements"
have been changed numerous times in the history of Mormon temple worship.
I am grateful to The
Watchman Expositor for the following reproduction of a list
of changes first published in the liberal Mormon Journal, Dialogue:
A Journal of Mormon Thought (1987):
Changes in the Mormon Temple Ceremonies
"As early as October 1835, Joseph (Smith)
told his apostles of an awaited `endowment' which would grant them `power
from on high,'" (p. 35).
In 1836, "...Joseph Smith declared that he `had now completed the organization
of the Church, and we had passed through all the necessary ceremonies,'"
(pp. 35-36).
"Five years later in Nauvoo, on 19 January 1841, a new revelation...
(concerning) `your anointings, and your washings, and your baptisms
for the dead....' Thus, the Saints who had been previously anointed
in Kirtland learned that those rituals were a precursor to new ceremonies,"
(p. 36).
During the Nauvoo Period, a ceremony called the second anointing was
introduced. It was in two parts. "First, an officiator anointed the
heads of a husband and wife with oil, then conferred upon them the `fulness
of the priesthood.... The second part was a private ceremony between
the couple in which the wife washed the feet of the husband...," (p.
47).
In 1877, the theological influence of Brigham Young could be observed
in the Temple Ceremony. In the St. George Temple, "...a revised thirty-minute
`lecture at the veil' which summarized important theological concepts
taught in the endowment and also contained references to the Adam-God
doctrine" was given (p. 50-51).
In General Conference of April 1894, President Wilford Woodruff "...stopped
the practice of sealing people to General Authorities and other Church
members outside their family lineage and instead directed that they
be sealed to their own parents," (p. 52).
The Word of Wisdom became a central issue in 1921. "For the first time,
adherence to the Word of Wisdom became an official requirement for admission
to the temple. Apparently this had been encouraged prior to 1921, but
exceptions had been made," (p. 56).
In 1927, Apostle George F. Richards sent a letter "...to all temple
presidents (which) directed that they `omit from the prayer circle all
reference to avenging the blood of the Prophet," (p. 55). This reference
was known as the Oath of Vengeance.
In addition to the Oath of Vengeance, several other important changes
were made at this time.
The ceremony was shortened from "six to nine hours in length to roughly
three hours." The "graphic penalties, all of which closely follow Masonic
penalties' wording, were moderated." The Temple garment style was "altered,"
(p. 55).
Just as the most recent changes in the Temple have caused a great deal
of anxiety among LDS adherents, so some of the previous changes did
likewise.
"The introduction of this new-style garment caused considerable unrest
among some members. Nevertheless, the pre-1923 style garment was required
in the temple ceremony until 1975 when its use became optional," (p.
56).
Beginning in the late 1960's and early 1970's, "probably because of
recommendations made by Harold B. Lee, a member of the First Presidency,
...several phrases used in ceremony film scripts were subsequently dubbed
out in the mid-1970's," (p. 62).
Some of these deletions and changes, including, the "preacher's reference
to Satan having black skin," which is no longer mentioned. Also, "Satan
and the preacher no longer fix a specific salary to proselytize the
audience for converts," (p. 62 ftnt.).
In the conclusion of his article, Buerger observed, "...the endowment
ceremony still depicts women as subservient to men, not as equals in
relating to God," (p. 68).
With the most recent Temple change, this statement joins the long list
of other Temple doctrines which were at one time true, but are now,
only formerly true.
This article began with an insight from former LDS President Spencer
W. Kimball. In his same article, he explained, "Follow the prescribed
procedures, and you may have an absolute knowledge that these things
are absolute truths....
"The true and living Church and its members and representatives stand
ready to provide answers to any questions...," (Ensign, Sept. 1978,
pp. 7-8).
Perhaps someone from the LDS Church could explain which, if any, of
the Temple ceremonies is the Absolute True One. For it is obvious, by
the process of simple logic, that they cannot all be correct!
Traditionally these changes were introduced with little or no announcement
and church authorities have often denied changes of any kind. Now, however,
an 'unofficial' (what else?) web site has appeared, produced by a Mormon
to "Provide access to current and historical texts of the endowment,
without exposing those few portions of the ceremony that are explicitly
reserved for initiates. By creating this site, I hope to discourage
researchers from using temple exposés produced by individuals and organizations
hostile to Mormonism."
The author acknowledges changes and gives his own timeline. Interesting
is his explanation of the 1990 changes, probably the most radical in
Mormon temple history:
Following surveys of Church members' feelings about the endowment, major
revisions are made:
· All penalties, the
five points of fellowship, and syllables purported to having meaning
in the Adamic language are omitted.
· The part of the preacher
is eliminated, as well as a reference to Lucifer's "popes and priests."
· Women no longer covenant
to obey the law of their husbands.
· Language which faults
Eve for initiating the Fall is dropped.
· Many references to
Adam are replaced with references to Adam and Eve.
· The lecture at the
veil is discontinued.
· Orders from Elohim
are repeated fewer times for brevity's sake.
It seems that even the Mormon Church cannot get away from focus groups
in these days of closer public scrutiny and accountability. This writer
had experience of the temple ordinances of the 1970's and early 1980's.
If I had turned up one day and found such changes I would surely have
concluded I had taken a wrong turn and ended up in the wrong church!
Come to think of it…
Anyway the site is interesting, a useful resource and an indication
of how attitudes have changed even in my lifetime to what were once
regarded as eternal and immutable things.
The site can be found here.
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