Mormon Temples and Temple Work

One of the most distinguishing characteristics of the Mormon Church is its temples.  Mormon Temples are sacred buildings, set apart from the world.  They are not ordinary church buildings like chapels.  Mormons have both churches and temples.  In temples, Mormons perform sacred ordinances that strengthen us in this life and prepare us for the life to come.  Also in temples, families can be sealed together for all eternity and faithful Mormons can perform ordinances like baptism for those who died without the opportunity. The Holy Endowment One of the most sacred and defining moments in the life of a member of the Mormon Church comes when he or she receives his or her endowment.  An endowment is a gift; in this case it is a gift of knowledge and spiritual power from God.  Jesus referred to an endowment of power when he commanded his disciples to “tarry [...] in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49).  Endue is an older form of the word endow.  In the endowment a person learns more about his place in the world and his relationship to God and the Savior, Jesus Christ. In the endowment, a person is first symbolically washed and clothed in white to symbolize becoming a new creature through Jesus Christ’s atonement.  Secondly, through a serious of symbolic presentations, a person learns about the purpose of this world and the mission of Jesus Christ.  A person then makes covenants to live righteously and according to God’s will, and receives a promise of eternal life.  A covenant is a binding promise between two people, in this case the covenants are between God and man. Finally, a person enters the Celestial Room which symbolizes salvation and God’s presence.  In this room, which is reserved for quiet prayer and meditation, a person can feel the power and spirit of God’s presence more than anywhere else in the world.  Many people return time and again to pause and pray here seeking for answers to their problems.  As a symbol of the covenants made in temples, Mormons wear sacred undergarments for the rest of their lives.  This garment serves to remind them of those promises and covenants which they have made. Celestial Marriage and Sealing For Mormons, one of the highest goals is have their family united forever through Celestial Marriage, which takes place only in temples.  This ceremony is called a sealing.  In a sealing ceremony a couple is married for time and eternity.  Time refers to the duration of this life and eternity to the life to come.  A family that knows they can and will be together forever becomes stronger as they realize the importance of their ties to one another.  This eternal perspective allows us to tolerate and express patience toward one another’s shortcomings.  (See The Family in God’s Plan). Family History and Temple Work The prophet Malachi wrote the following prophecy from the Lord: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:5-6).  This promise has been fulfilled.  On April 3, 1836, the prophet Elijah appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple (see Doctrine and Covenants 110:13-16).  He gave them power to seal families and generations together.  Without this power and the strength it gives to families, the Lord says that the earth would be struck with a curse.  Everywhere you look today, you can see the misery that comes from broken families. Not only should our families be united together, but past generations can also be brought closer to the Lord.  Through genealogy, sometimes called family history, you can find out who your ancestors were.  In Holy Temples, there is a place provided where living persons can be baptized on behalf of deceased persons.  This is called baptism for the dead.   The Apostle Peter taught that Jesus visited the souls of people in spirit prison:

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit; By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah” (1 Peter 3:18-20).

In the next chapter, he explains the purpose of Jesus visiting these souls:

“For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit” (1 Peter 4:6).

All those who have ever lived and died without a knowledge of the Gospel will be taught it in the Spirit World, and they will have the opportunity of either accepting or rejecting this baptism done for them in the temples.  Mormons believe this is one of the most supreme acts of service since we do something for others that they cannot do for themselves.

Do Mormons really pay 10 percent of their income to the Church? (Tithing)

Yes, and with joy, and often they give much more than that.  In addition that ten percent, called tithing, there are fast offerings, and other donations made to charitable causes to help sustain the Mormon Church’s missionary program and its humanitarian work throughout the world.   That does not even take into consideration the countless hours that Mormons donate to the Church through service projects and Church assignments.  Unlike most churches, the Mormon Church has no paid clergy for its congregations, so every job from being a bishop, who presides over each congregation, to Sunday School teacher, to vacuuming the chapel on Saturday is done by the members.

Tithing is a free-will offering made to help support the Church.  Since no clergy is paid, the money goes to help build chapels and temples and other places like visitors’ centers.  Tithing money also goes to help print copies of the Book of Mormon and other Church educational materials, much of which is distributed either free or at cost.  With a membership of 12 million, it can be expensive to build chapels, repair old ones, and print materials in dozens of languages for members throughout the Globe, but tithing is the main source for that income.

The Doctrine and Covenants, which contains the revelations of God to modern Prophets explains tithing very clearly:

And this shall be the beginning of the tithing of my people.  And after that, those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord (Doctrine and Covenants 119:3-4).

The scriptures further promise that those who pay their tithing with be greatly blessed.  Abraham paid tithings to Melchizedek (see Genesis 14:20), and Moses commanded the Children of Israel to pay tithes as part of the Law (Numbers 18:24).  The prophet Malachi in the Old Testament compared not paying tithing to robbing God:

Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.  Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, [even] this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.  And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts (Malachi 3:8-11).

Jesus Christ commanded the payment of tithing.  When he was rebuking the scribes and Pharisees for hypocrisy, he noted they were careful to pay their tithes, but neglectful of the more important things like faith and mercy.  Nevertheless, the says that they should do both:

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier [matters] of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone (Matthew 23:23).

Fast offerings are given whenever you fast which means to abstain from food and water for a set period of time (usually 24 hours).  Most Mormons fast once a month and give a fast offering at least equivalent to the cost of the food they would have eaten.  People are encouraged to give much more.  The money from fast offerings goes strictly to help the poor and needy.  It helps pay for food and clothing which the Mormon Church distributes to others.  Members can also donate money to other worthy causes in the Church such as supporting Mormon missionaries, humanitarian projects, and so forth.

Mormons do not view these as burdens, but as blessings.  Mormons believe that everything belongs to God and that He allows us to use it, so whatever we have is in reality a blessing from our Heavenly Father.  Since everything is His, we give a small portion of it back to help run His Church and to bless the lives of others.  The way Mormons pay their tithes and offerings is different than in some churches.  There is no collection plate or box.  Instead, envelopes are provided in every chapel.  To pay tithing, you simply take the envelope, put the money or check in it, fill out the form in the envelope so they know whether it’s tithing, or for humanitarian work, and then finally seal the envelope and give to the bishop of the local congregation.

Do Mormons Practice Polygamy?

Mormons practiced polygamy from the 1840s to the year 1890, when a revelation from the God commanded them to stop.  This is one of the most controversial practices in Mormon history and continues to trouble people nearly 120 years later.  President Gordon B. Hinckley, late prophet, seer, and revelator to the Mormon Church said:

I wish to state categorically that this Church has nothing whatever to do with those practicing polygamy. They are not members of this Church. Most of them have never been members. They are in violation of the civil law. They know they are in violation of the law. They are subject to its penalties. The Church, of course, has no jurisdiction whatever in this matter.

If any of our members are found to be practicing plural marriage, they are excommunicated, the most serious penalty the Church can impose. Not only are those so involved in direct violation of the civil law, they are in violation of the law of this Church. An article of our faith is binding upon us. It states, ‘We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law’ [Articles of Faith 1:12]. One cannot obey the law and disobey the law at the same time.

There is no such thing as a ‘Mormon Fundamentalist.’ It is a contradiction to use the two words together.”

Despite this, many people equate Mormons and Polygamy.  Mormons believe that those who now practice polygamy are violating God’s law and federal law, since God has now commanded that Mormons no longer practice it.

Critics claim that polygamy is condemned by Christian values or the Bible, or that it oppresses women, and some even claim that the Book of Mormon condemns polygamy outright and hence Mormons must be hypocrites.  No biblical or Book of Mormon passage speaks against polygamy.  In fact, several prominent Biblical prophets including Abraham, Jacob, and David had multiple wives.  In the case of David, the prophet Nathan said to him:

Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things (2 Samuel 12:7-8).

Here, Nathan, a prophet, is speaking and quoting a revelation from God about David in which God declares that He gave David these wives.  David later committed a serious sin when he had an affair with Bathsheba, but that does not mean that his earlier marriages, here approved by God, were not condoned.

The Book of Mormon clearly explains that sometimes God commands people to practice polygamy, and other times He forbids it, since only very righteous people can it practice it properly and righteously.  A Book of Mormon prophet named Jacob teaches:

Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none; for I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts.  Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments, saith the Lord of Hosts, or cursed be the land for their sakes.  For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things (Jacob 2:27-30).

According to Jacob, only when God commands it can people practice polygamy and He will do so in order to raise more children.  The Mormons practiced polygamy as commanded by God and did so for a limited time until God commanded the Prophet to end the practice.

Did Mormons forbid African Americans from joining their Church?

From the 1850s until 1978, persons of African descent could (and many did) join the Mormon Church, but Blacks were not allowed to hold the priesthood or certain positions within the Church.  This has led to charges of racism and prejudice by the Mormon Church and its leaders.  Never at any time have Blacks been denied membership in the Church and there were black Mormons in the early days of the Church, many of whom crossed the plains with the other Mormon pioneers and settled Utah.  Also, Blacks have never been segregated from the white membership of the Church.  Still, this practice continues to draw criticism.  To understand why this practice came about, it is important to understand a little about the Mormon Church.

In Mormonism, Priesthood represents God’s power and authority which He delegates to men on earth in order to lead God’s Church and perform ordinances like baptism.  While translating the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, the first prophet and founder of the Mormon Church, read about priesthood.  He and another early member of the Mormon Church went out into the woods to pray about it.  An angel appeared to them and gave them this power.  He said:

UPON you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness (Doctrine and Covenants 13:1)

Later, through the visitation of other angels, they received more Priesthood power and were able to establish The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 6, 1830.  This all occurred in New York and Ohio, but soon after, the Church began to move to Missouri and then to Illinois where they were driven because of persecution.  The Mormon Church grew and many thousands joined it, including some blacks, some of whom were former slaves.  Over the next few decades, and no one knows when for sure, it became policy not to ordain black men to the Priesthood.  To complicate matters, some members of the Mormon Church, including some leaders, made racist comments similar to those made by others in America at the time, though other Mormon leaders were very much opposed to racism, and most Mormons were adamantly opposed to slavery.

Since racist attitudes were common in America and European countries in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, such practices attracted no attention.  Over time, as America began to confront its racist past, this practice attracted more and more attention.  As early as 1900, Lorenzo Snow, then President of the Mormon Church, said he could find no scriptural justification for the ban, but nevertheless, he continued the practice.  In 1954, then President David O. McKay and the Apostles of the Mormon Church studied the matter.  President McKay was very concerned about the African people and their status and so he prayed about it, but according to his own accounts, the Lord told him the time had not yet come, though in 1962 he attempted to send missionaries to Nigeria, only to have the government deny them entry.  In 1973, President Harold B. Lee fasted for three days and nights while praying about the issue, but received the same answer: the time had not yet come.  Finally, in 1978, while gathered with the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, President Spencer W. Kimball announced that he had received a revelation ending the ban.  Since that time, hundreds of thousands of Blacks have joined the Mormon Church and been ordained to the Priesthood in the United States, South America, and Africa.  Two temples have now been built in West Africa.

No leader of the Mormon Church has explained why this ban was in effect, though many tried to understand the reasons.  There was much disagreement as to its origins.  In 1949, the President of the Church issued this statement:

The attitude of the Church with reference to the Negroes remains as it has always stood. It is not a matter of the declaration of a policy but of direct commandment from the Lord, on which is founded the doctrine of the Church from the days of its organization, to the effect that Negroes may become members of the Church but that they are not entitled to the priesthood at the present time.

It is important to note that while Blacks were denied the Priesthood, the Mormon Church nevertheless taught that they, just as everyone else, could be saved in heaven through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Many explanations have been given to explain the ban, most of them based upon speculation, and a few members of the Church have continued to spread rumors and untruths about this ban.

Testimonies and articles about Blacks and the Priesthood:

All Are (Really) Alike Unto God?   Personal Reflections on the 1978 Revelation by Marcus H. Martins
Blacks and the Priesthood, by Marvin Perkins
Dispelling the Black Myth, by Renee Olson

Websites about Black members of the Mormon Church:

LDS Genesis Group, the official organization for Black members of the Mormon Church, established in 1971
BlackLDS.org, an unofficial website featuring archives, history, and testimonies of black members of the Mormon Church
Timeline of Blacks and the Mormon Church, from BlackLDS.org

What’s this about no sex before marriage?

(Mormon Chastity)

Mormons believe that it is important to be clean physically and mentally.  Part of this cleanliness is the Law of Chastity.  In today’s world, teaching absolute abstinence before marriage and fidelity in marriage is considered by many to be out of date or unrealistic.  However, Mormons believe that this is God’s standard and that it will never change.

The Law of chastity is really very simple and straightforward, though people are always trying to find loopholes and excuses.  The Law of Chastity simpy states that sexual relations are allowed only within the legal bonds of matrimony.  Jesus put it very simply in his Sermon on the Mount when He said, “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:28).  We must strive to avoid lust and becoming preoccupied with sex.  Within marriage, sexual relations are good and proper, but because sexuality is such a powerful and important force in our lives, it can be a dangerous thing to trifle with.  Sexuality is such an important thing, because it is the way that God provides bodies for His children here on earth.  In 1995, Gordon B. Hinckley, late president and prophet of the Church issued a proclamation called “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.”  It says,

The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.
We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.

The Proclamation says further that, “Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity.”  Only by obedience to the law of chastity can children be raised in stable homes.  Many problems in our society such as the raise in crime, high drop out rates in school, the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, and other ills would drop significantly if there were more stable families who honored the laws of chastity and fidelity in marriage. Not every problem would be solved, but many would.  Imagine the problems that would be averted if more people could grow up in happy, stable homes where parents loved and respected one another and were faithful to one another.  This does not mean that single parents are bad – most of them work very hard, but it is difficult to work full time and raise a family without help.

Obeying the law of chastity means maintaining total sexual abstinence before marriage and being completely faithful within marriage.  It means shunning pornography and other movies, TV shows, books, magazines, and music which trivializes sexuality and encourages illicit sexual behavior.  It means avoiding being overly preoccupied by sexual thoughts and controlling one’s sexual desires.  Part of controlling one’s sexual desires means staying away from heaving petting, making out, touching the sexual organs of another, and avoiding masturbation.  Also, since God has commanded that marriage be between man and woman as part of His plan to create bodies for His children here on earth, homosexual activity is likewise forbidden.  While many people may find this law overly strict, it is in fact liberating.  By controlling one’s sexual appetites and setting boundaries, a person can be free to enjoy the company of others without sexual tension and with the worries and fears about pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and the shame that can can accompany illicit sexual behavior.

It is important to note, however, that those who have been the victims of a sexual assault such as rape or molestation have not committed anything wrong, but are victims who need the love and support of their family and friends.  They should not feel guilty about what happened, because they have done nothing wrong.  Like any victim, they should be helped and strengthened.  It is the perpetrator of the rape or the molestation who is guilty.

Several years ago the Mormon Church published a pamphlet called “For the Strength of Youth” which contains excellent articles and insights about modesty, sexual purity, and dating.