Elder Nuttal's Journal vs. Lecture at the Vail

I'd like to compare some things from these two texts, as well as throw in a little commentary of my own observations.  I dare use HTML "table formatting" in a blog post, hopefully it works alright.   I've tried to bold phrases and words to illustrate correlations in the left and right side:

Text from the Pre-1990 Lecture at the Vail: [Preface to Lecture] PETER: A lecture will now be given which summarizes the instructions, ordinances, and covenants, and also the tokens, with their keywords, signs, and penalties, pertaining to the endowment, which you have thus far received.	Text from Elder Nuttal's Journal, and my own Commentary in Italics. It is important to realize the Masonic literary traits present in this preface. The Entered Apprentice Degree has a concluding lecture that begins with a "recapitulation of the ceremonies through which you have just passed" and explains "why you were caused to submit to the various ceremonies of your initiation." It also explains "what constitutes a Lodge, its form, supports, covering, furniture, ornaments, lights, jewels; how situated, and to whom dedicated," This first paragraph appears to be essentially someone's recollection of how the Entered Apprentice Lecture started, with the content of the Endowment ceremony applied to it. The reason I point this out, is that such Masonic language was common to Brigham Young's sermons, and it is therefore very likely that the recapitulation section of the modern lecture originated with Brigham in spite of it not being present in the journal.
Introduction LECTURER: Brethren and sisters, the ordinances of the endowment as here administered, long withheld from the children of men, pertain to the dispensation of the fullness of time and have been revealed to prepare the people for exaltation in the celestial kingdom, where God and Christ dwell. The deep meaning of the eternal truths constituting the endowment has been set forth in brief instructions and by symbolic representation. If you give prayerful and earnest thought to the holy endowment, you will obtain the understanding and spirit of the work done in the temples of the Lord. The privilege of laboring here for the dead permits us to enter the temple frequently, and to refresh our memories, and to enlarge our understanding of the endowment.
[Excerpt from the "Creation" Section] As the creation of the earth progressed, you heard the commands and the reports of the persons representing the Gods. If we are faithful, we shall enter the celestial kingdom and there hear and know the Gods of heaven. They are perfect; we are imperfect. They are exalted; we may attain exaltation. Our spirits at one time lived with the Gods; but each of us was given the privilege of coming upon this earth to take upon himself a body, so that the spirit might have a house in which to dwell. Michael, one of the council of the Gods, became the man Adam, to whom was given the woman Eve. However, as Adam he did not remember his life and labors in the council. It is so with us all. We came into the world with no memory of our previous existence.	1. In the creation the Gods entered into an agreement about forming this earth. & putting Michael or Adam upon it. (I realize this isn't a very good match, but the statement here is actually corresponding to the recapitulation of the entire creation sequence.) 6. Adam was an immortal being when he came. on this earth 7. he had lived on an earth similar to ours he had received the Priesthood and the Keys thereof. and had been faithful in all things and gained his resurrection and his exaltation and was crowned with glory immortality and eternal lives and was numbered with the Gods for such he became through his faithfulness. and had begotten all the spirit that was to come to this earth. and Eve our common Mother who is the mother of all living bore those spirits in the celestial world. 3. We were once acquainited with the Gods & lived with them but we had the privilige of taking upon us flesh that the spirit might have a house to dwell in. 8. And when this earth was organized by Elohim. Jehovah & Michael who is Adam our common Father. Adam & Eve had the privilege to continue the work of Progression. consequently came to this earth and commenced the great work of forming tabernacles for those spirits to dwell in. (you may notice that paragraphs 3 and 8 both have significant commonalities with the same paragraph from the modern lecture.) 9. and when Adam and those that assisted him had completed this Kingdom our earth he came to it. and slept and forgot all and became like an Infant child.  4. we did so and forgot all and came into the world not recollecting anything of which we had previously learned.
[Conclusion of Lecture] Brethren and sisters, you will have received this day the sacred ordinances of the endowment. The eternal plan of salvation for man, as he journeys from his pre-existent state to his future high place in the celestial kingdom, has been presented to you. You have covenanted to obey all the laws of the gospel, including the laws of obedience, sacrifice, chastity, and consecration, which make possible an exaltation with the Gods; and you have received the first and second tokens of the Aaronic priesthood and the first and second tokens of the Melchizedek priesthood, with the names, signs, and penalties of these tokens, except the name of the second token of the Melchizedek priesthood, which will be given you at the veil. All this is done for the glory, honor, and endowment of the children of Zion. Brethren and sisters, strive to comprehend the glorious things presented to you this day. No other people on earth have ever had this privilege, except as they have received the keys of the priesthood given in the endowment.  The pre-1990 Lecture at the Vail ends with this text: These are what are termed the mysteries of godliness--that which will enable you to understand the expression of the Savior, made just prior to his betrayal: "This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent."  May God bless you all. Amen.	6. Adam was an immortal being when he came. on this earth 7. he had lived on an earth similar to ours he had received the Priesthood and the Keys thereof. and had been faithful in all things and gained his resurrection and his exaltation and was crowned with glory immortality and eternal lives and was numbered with the Gods for such he became through his faithfulness. and had begotten all the spirit that was to come to this earth. and Eve our common Mother who is the mother of all living bore those spirits in the celestial world. Nuttal's Journal entry practically begins with this text: 2. these things of which I have been speaking are what are termed the mysteries of godliness but they will enable you to understand the expression of Jesus made while in Jerusalem. This is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.

Complete Text from Elder Nuttal's Journal, in its original sequence, with sentences/ideas numbered.  Bold sentences represent the areas that have been entirely purged from the modern Endowment.

1. In the creation the Gods entered into an agreement about forming this earth. & putting Michael or Adam upon it.

2. these things of which I have been speaking are what are termed the mysteries of godliness but they will enable you to understand the expression of Jesus made while in Jerusalem. This is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.

3. We were once acquainited [acquainted] with the Gods & lived with them but we had the privilige of taking upon us flesh that the spirit might have a house to dwell in.

4. we did so and forgot all and came into the world not recollecting anything of which we had previously learned.

5. We have heard a great deal about Adam and Eve. how they were formed &c some think he was made like an adobie and the Lord breathed into him the breath of life. for we read "from dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return" Well he was made of the dust of the earth but not of this earth. he was made just the same way you and I are made but on another earth.

I believe the above concept was removed as part of the mainstream LDS Adam-God purge.

6. Adam was an immortal being when he came. on this earth

7. he had lived on an earth similar to ours he had received the Priesthood and the Keys thereof. and had been faithful in all things and gained his resurrection and his exaltation and was crowned with glory immortality and eternal lives and was numbered with the Gods for such he became through his faithfulness. and had begotten all the spirit that was to come to this earth. and Eve our common Mother who is the mother of all living bore those spirits in the celestial world.

8. and when this earth was organized by Elohim. Jehovah & Michael who is Adam our common Father. Adam & Eve had the privilege to continue the work of Progression. consequently came to this earth and commenced the great work of forming tabernacles for those spirits to dwell in.

9. and when Adam and those that assisted him had completed this Kingdom our earth he came to it. and slept and forgot all and became like an Infant child.

10. it is said by Moses the historian that the Lord caused a deep sleep to come upon Adam and took from his side a rib and formed the woman that Adam called Eve-

11. this should be interpreted that the Man Adam like all other Men had the seed within him to propagate his species. but not the Woman. she conceives the seed but she does not produce it. consequently she was taken from the side or bowels of her father.

12. this explains the mystery of Moses's dark sayings in regard to Adam and Eve. Adam & Eve when they were placed on this earth were immortal beings with flesh. bones and sinews. but upon partaking of the fruits of the earth while in the garden and cultivating the ground their bodies became changed from immortal to mortal beings with the blood coursing through their veins as the action of life.

13. Adam was not under transgression until after he partook of the forbidden fruit that was nesesary that they might be together that man might be. the woman was found in trans-gression not the Man-

So, I actually agree with making some changes to the above section; as I think Brigham wasn't quite on track with this as far as the process of procreation goes.  It has interesting implications concerning Eve's relation to Adam which I'm hesitant to knock down or to bouy up.  But I again want to point out the similarity to the Masonic EA Lecture.  "It is said by Moses the historian..."  and "This explains the mystery of Moses' dark sayings" are very similar to phrases from the Master Mason lecture "as the great Jewish historian, Josephus, informs us", and from the Entered Apprentice Lecture, "You have this evening during your initiation passed through many ceremonies which to you no doubt seem dark and unexplained, it becomes my duty to explain them."  I wouldn't point out these vague similarities if it were not that they exist in roughly the same place in the corresponding ritual. As Masons commit these lectures to memory, these ideas would likely be springing to mind as a Mason writes a new lecture for a similar ritual.  I am also unfamiliar with people, particularly those who believe in Prophets, referring to Moses as a historian.

14. Now in the law of Sacrifice we have the promise of a Savior and man had the privilege and showed forth his obedience by offering of the first fruits of the earth and the firstlings of the flocks- this as a showing that Jesus would come and shed his blood [Four lines without any writing on them.]

(This sentence #14 wasn't present in the correlation because it has been worked into the body of the Endowment as part of the explanation of the law of sacrifice, one of the only parts of the Endowment that contains blatant misinformation; Sacrifice didn't end with the death of Jesus Christ, but later, around 70 A.D. when the Temple at Jerusalem was destroyed, and also, the explanation given about Adam doing things in similitude of the Son and calling upon God in the name of the Son forevermore is contradictory to Brigham's own theology.  I believe this area of the Endowment was tampered with later, and prior to that, this statement resided in the Lecture at the vail rather than in the preamble to the Law of Sacrifice.)

15. Father Adam's oldest son (Jesus the Saviour) who is the heir of the family is Father Adams first begotten in the spirit World. who according to the flesh is the only begotten as it is written.

16. (In his divinity he having gone back into the spirit World. and come in the spirit [glory] to Mary and she conceived

17. for when Adam and Eve got through with their Work in this earth. they did not lay their bodies down in the dust, but returned to the spirit World from whence they came.

18. I felt myself much blessed in being permitted to associate with such men and hear such instructions as they savored of life to me-

Hypothesis based on Textual clues in the Temple Endowment

In the pre-1990 Endowment, there are two lines I'd like to point to as clues relating to a theory I have that the order of the Covenants in the Endowment has been switched around at some point in history:

ELOHIM: Jehovah, send down Peter, James and John and instruct them to give to the man Adam and his posterity in the Terrestrial world the law of consecration in connection with the law of the gospel and the law of sacrifice, and to cause them to receive it by covenant.

. . .

PETER: We are instructed to give unto you the law of consecration as contained in the book of Doctrine and Covenants, in connection with the law of the gospel and the law of sacrifice which you have already received.

You will note the absence of mentioning the law of chastity, even though it has already been conferred at this point in the ceremony. My theory is that the original order of the Covenants put the law of consecration before the law of chastity, and that the law of vengeance was sandwiched in between them.

This would make more sense, because the law of chastity would be directly connected with the token used for sealings.

What do you think?  Many early exposes have things quite mixed up; so I don't know how well they can be relied upon as a reference in this matter.

The Emerald Temple - Part I

Note: This article is written from both the Mormon and Freemason perspective simultaneously, some parts may be applicable to one group of readers, and other parts to the other, while much of it will apply to both.

The Lion, The Tiger, The Bear. O My!

In looking at the Wizard of Oz, we will here examine both the book and the movie versions. If the symbolism contained within it is indeed a product of the collective unconscious, then we should consider it possible for the creators of the movie to have tapped into this same source to also create valid symbolism. We will, however, attempt to note the differences that exist between the two versions as they are presented here. This article will attempt to demonstrate significant parallels between this story and the LDS Temple Endowment, the symbolism of Freemasonry, and to the Ancient Israelite Tabernacle and Temple. I would welcome further comparisons to be introduced here, as there are probably numerous other tales and traditions that have been based upon these same archetypes.

The Farm in Kansas - Our First Estate - Condition of Darkness

In the book a storm was coming from the North and another from the South to form a Cyclone. Aunt Em went into the storm cellar. Dorothy was going to follow, but Toto ran and hid under the bed, so she went to get him. Halfway across the room, the house shook, "she lost her footing and sat down suddenly upon the floor." After this, the house rises into the air.

In the movie, Dorothy is returning home with Toto. She arrives and attempts to tell her Aunt and Uncle, and the farm hands, that Miss Gulch had whacked Toto with a rake. No one seems to be paying too much attention to her, and eventually Miss Gulch arrives to make complaint to the Gale family about the dog's misbehavior, and produces an order from the Sheriff to take Toto away and have him destroyed. Miss Gulch puts him in a basket and rides off on her bicycle, but Toto escapes, and returns to Dorothy's room through the window. Dorothy decides that she must run away before they come back to take him away from her. They go down a road, across a bridge, and come across Professor Marvel's wagon, proclaiming "Let him read your PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE in his Crystal," (also Juggling and Sleight of Hand). He has her close her eyes, as he takes a peek at the contents of her basket, and finds a picture of Aunt Em and the farm, and he proceeds to tell her what he 'sees in his Crystal' (the same genuine, magic, authentic crystal used by the Priests of Isis and Osiris in the days of the Pharaohs of Egypt), that Aunt Em is crying, and going to her room, dropping onto the bed with her hand on her heart. Dorothy decides she must go home right away, to which Marvel responds "I thought you were going along with me", and Dorothy and Toto depart. Back at the farm, we see the storm beginning to take its toll on the farm, as everyone hurries into the cellar. Aunt Em is calling for Dorothy, but Uncle Henry ushers her firmly into the cellar. Dorothy makes it into the house, the window of her room blows loose, hits her head, and she falls on the bed. After this, the house spins and rises into the air.

The Land of Oz

The Land of Oz is divided into four quarters, surrounded by a great desert, with the Emerald City at the center point. To the east is Munchkin Country, to the South is the Quadling Country, to the west is Winkie Country, and the North is the home of the Good Witch, details of this land are not specifically mentioned in the book, however we learn from later sources in the Oz series that it is Gillikin country.

Freemasons will be well acquainted with giving special significance to the South, West, and East, as well as a general silence given concerning the North, known as a "place of darkness" because in the Temple of Solomon, the Sun, being at the South at noonday, would not reach its rays into the Northern parts of the Temple. Masons may also note that the land of Dorothy's initiatory journey is Blue, as likewise the Three Degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry are sometimes referred to as "The Blue Lodge"

The color of Quadling Country to the South is Red, and it is home to the Palace of Glinda the Good. From other Oz material, we learn that the color of Winkie Country in the East is Yellow, and Gillikin country to the North is Purple.

And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.

Exodus 28:8

Colors of the Clothing of the Priesthood

The four colors of the lands are the same as those worn on the sash of the High Priest in the Tabernacle of Moses: Scarlet, Blue, Purple, and Gold. At the center of which, is a city of Green, which happens to be the only distinctive color represented in the clothing worn by patrons of the Temples of the Latter-day Saints.

And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Genesis 3:7

The York Rite of Masonry contains a similar progressive color scheme. The Symbolic "Blue Lodge" or Ancient Craft Masonry is commonly represented by Blue and Gold, The Chapter of Royal Arch Masons is Red, and The Council of Royal and Select Masters is Purple. Although Knights Templar is the usual body progressing beyond these, it is notably different in trappings from the preceeding bodies, and this authors believes it to be a newer innovation. Allied Masonic Degrees is an invitational body preserving additional and historical degrees, and green is its color. This is just one example of how these colors are applied in Freemasonry.

The Masonic lodge is said to have a Mosaic Pavement, emblematic of human life, checkered with good and evil. It is surrounded by a beautiful border called the "Indented Tessel", representing those blessings and comforts which surround us, and which we hope to obtain by a faithful reliance on Divine Providence which is hieroglyphically represented by the Blazing Star in the center. With the Wicked Witches in the East and West, and the Good Witches in the North and South, we have a checkered floor in the Land of Oz. It is surrounded by a great desert, and although it may not be called beautiful, it certainly would serve as a reminder of the blessings and comforts to be had inside the Land of Oz, by a faithful reliance on The Wizard of Oz, represented by the Emerald City in the center.

I would propose that Witches in the Wizard of Oz are representative of the Priesthood. One may note that all of the Witches are women. We will see more gender role reversals later in this study, and consider it at that time. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has two priesthoods which can be used for Good: the Aaronic, and the Melchizedek. In the Temple, Satan appears to taunt Adam and Eve, and the patrons, and boasting, he gestures to his apron which he says represents his Power and Priesthoods. Priesthoods? Does this imply that these two priesthoods could be used for Evil, and perhaps already are being used in such a manner? Is this defiance of God's power be related to the unpardonable sin that causes Lucifer and his followers to become sons of perdition? On the other hand, he may be referring to entirely different priesthoods. Either way, a parallel is seen where two, be it Witchcrafts or Priesthoods, are for good, and the other two (or perhaps more, as Lucifer merely uses the plural) are for evil.

This concludes Part I of the Emerald Temple. The next part will be on the symbolic meanings of colors and characters in the Wizard of Oz.

Animal Sacrifice in Salt Lake Temple

Although I don't have access to the source, it is alleged that Wilford Woodruff's Journal (1833-1898, December 18, 1857, vol. 5, p. 140.) says:

"Under the pulpit in the west End [of the SLC Temple] will be a place to Offer Sacrafizes. [sp] There will be an Altar prepared for that purposes [sp] so that when any sacrifices are to be offered they should be offered there."

Taking this in connection with Malachi 3:1-4,

¶ Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
2. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:
3. And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
4. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

And D&C 13:

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.

I ask, has there aleady been animal sacrifice performed in the prepared place in the Salt Lake Temple, or will there be at some future time? What is the meaning of this, or are they even related at all? It certainly seems that animal sacrifice would be in the spirit of "restorationism", as an aid in restoring all things to how they were at first.

I Must Repent

I completely repent of my hard-heartedness in the previous post. As it turns out, upon further contemplation, I notice Liberty and Virtue written on the Endowment house itself. I have "traced over it" in this depiction. If you'll look at my previous post very closely, you can see the faint letters right where I have indicated.

However, our modern alignment of the carpenters square is still correct, as you notice, even when used in conjunction with the word Liberty, showing that the Saints were well aware of this not being an actual L when they constructed this particular edifice (for how could they write Liberty and then put an L shape right next to it backwards without observing this, themselves.)

Reversed Square

I was browsing the web and found this picture, excerpted from the May 1985 Sunstone:


This is interesting, because it shows the Square and Compass in an orientation matching their use on the garment, and also demonstrates the antiquity of that specific orientation, as opposed to the Allred Gravestone, which some fundamentalists use to claim that we have reversed the orientation of the square today:


You'll notice that the Spring City Endowment House was constructed in the same year that James Allred died, thereby making these contemporary examples of usage. However, the tabernacle is obviously a more "official" edifice than a grave marker. Also, the TLC fundamentalist group seems to infer these symbols stand for Liberty and Virtue, and while I agree that they could represent these words, I think that it is mostly wishful thinking, as the symbols are far more antique than the roman alphabet. However, symbolically, these words are reversed, as Liberty, or freedom, is a female or creative idea, which should be connected with the V-shaped symbol, whereas Virtue, or "the square of virtue" as Masonry calls it, is a measure of "right" or morality, and is better represented by the masculine L-shape.

On the Highest Hills and in the Lowest Vales

In Freemasonry, it is said that the ancient Brethren held their meetings "on the highest hills and in the lowest vales, the better to guard against the approach of cowans and eavesdroppers." Latter-day Saints also recognize these as natural temples: The valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman and the mount of transfiguration come to mind. Also, baptisms for the dead were by necessity performed in rivers, at the valley floor, before the Temple was completed, and mountain tops have long been held as places where it is possible for man to commune with God. A specially built temple provides a place where these two opportunities can exist within one building, at one location. Symbolically, it becomes both Mountain and Valley. Just for fun, I grabbed a picture of a mountain top and a valley and blended them. Here's what I came up with:


It looks very similar to the original spire on the Nauvoo Temple. Hmm.

Symbolic Gestures and Postures

Submitted for your thought and consideration:

Mudras of the Great Buddha: Symbolic Gestures and Postures

Latter-day Saints are not the only people who use symbolic hand gestures as part of our religion. Buddhism has many gestures with particular meanings, and the idea of meaning ascribed to a gesture, and the way in which such a symbol can represent something else should perhaps be considered in our search to better understand the Temple Endowment.

Judaism also sports its hand gestures, the most apparent being the Kohanim blessing gesture used by priests, not to mention the explanations of the Priests work in the Old Testament Tabernacle which presents many hand positions of natural occurence if followed through in action. I encourage every Latter-day Saint to make a thorough study of the ceremonies of the Tabernacle, as it is a direct precursor to our Temple ceremony as well as to Freemasonry, which is so often claimed by opponents of Mormonism as the absolute source of our Endowment.

The Catholic Church has perhaps the most famous gesture in the sign of the cross.

By studying these cultures which openly display their symbols, allowing for critical research, we can perhaps come to better understand our own gestures that are protected by covenant and not available for serious group study.

FLDS reinstituting 'blood atonement'

Custer County Chronicle - FLDS reinstituting 'blood atonement'

I saw this article on the web. The FLDS "fundamentalist" Mormon sect seems to be looming on the edge of re-instating Blood Atonement, a true principle revealed through Brigham Young. However, like Polygamy, it cannot currently be practiced for many reasons, including legal reasons.

The thing that caught me most, and made me want to blog about the article was this off-the-cuff comment at the end:

"I can see him teaching men who have lost their families that they need to be blood atoned. I think this may get to the point where fathers blood atone sons and sons blood atone fathers."

This comes from a speculation on the part of a dissident from the group, and has not actually been taught or verified to my knowledge. I also misunderstood it on my first reading, and thought it said something it didn't. I thought it was saying that fathers would have themselves killed in order to blood atone for their sons, and that sons would have themselves killed to blood atone for their fathers (possibly already dead), and I was musing over how quintessentially Mormon of an idea it is. Blood Atonement, taken one step further, and made into a vicarious ordinance. Actually, even if it was done in the normal fashion (and what I now realize is the way he said it to begin with) as a Temple ordinance, it would still be vicarious in that you are performing something they are not able to do for themself. But, as to my first and incorrect reading, what greater sacrifice could a person make for their departed family member? It is sinister and clever and ridiculous at the same time. I love it.

No, don't worry, I'm not going to practice it ;) It is purely useful as a bit of humor.

Why Attend?

A pagan friend of mine asked me tonight, "Why do you attend the Mormon Church if you don't believe the same things they do?"

To explain this all too frequent phenomena (frequent meaning that I am not alone in this position), the initial answer I gave was essentially this:

• Because I need the Priesthood Authority, and the Church has it.
• Because I need the Temple Endowment and Ordinances, and the Church has them.

The rest, I tolerate.

Afterward, upon more deliberate consideration of the hard question, and fearing its weighty implications, I determined to re-examine the situation and give it a more complete treatment.

The powerful thing I forgot to express is that God is not done with this Church as a useful vessel. There will come a time when an outpouring of light and revelation occurs and it will be necessary for people of my sort of mind to be present to receive it.

I have faith and hope in a Reformation occuring within the Church, a return to our Restoration roots. Our doctrines are not so far gone as to be lost -- they are merely being hidden away at this time, out of the gazing eyes of the saints. In fact, they are sitting out in the public eye instead. If the Devil has infiltrated the Church to such a degree that missionary work is more effectively performed by Anti-Mormons and Secular histories, then so be it. At least secular histories have no bias and nothing to prove -- perhaps this type of convert will receive a purer portion of the Gospel than has been had in a good long while.

Misunderstood LDS Temple

Although I totally dig the Temple, I think the ever increasing trend to Mainstream the Church has created a strange and unnatural dichotomy. The difference between the "Sunday" Church and the Temple is so stark and vast that I believe it actually hurts many who go through the Temple for the first time, or even every subsequent time.

The Church has worked hard to present itself as a mainstream flavor of popular Christianity, perhaps as a way to gather converts (or maybe as a way of appeasing the populace of Utah who are born into the system unwittingly), and in so doing, it has cast aside (if not altogether out) many of the doctrines that mark our distinctive theology and enlightened understanding of the after-life.

Steps have been gradually taken to modify the Temple Ceremony in order to minimize the impact, but they are in a tough bind: The Temple contains eternal, unchangeable ordinances. Straying too far off the mark would invalidate them. So only miniscule and gradual changes are made here, where the rest of the Church can be recast to fit any Public Relations need by publishing a few new Sunday School manuals, and merely omitting the interesting (offending) parts.

I do not believe this is a deliberate attempt to throw off the Restoration, but that cultural differences and generations of born-in-the-covenant members have failed to receive the further light and knowledge which was had by their grandfathers. They are making a sincere effort to do what they believe is right, to retain members, to gain converts. But anyone who studies Church History soon learns that the official histories of our day are like Fairy Tales compared to what has actually transpired.

The funny thing, I think, is that if the modern Converts, with the aid of the Internet, could start deciding what would help them, instead of those born into the Church, we would have far less cover-ups. I, for example, am a convert. In the process of investigating the Church, any thinking young person would naturally study it the same as any school subject - that means turning to Google.com for many, and we become painfully aware of the Cover-Ups involved in history. But, those who do, and yet join anyway are not ashamed of the things being covered up. The cover-ups themselves are what we see as shameful, and cause more harm than the doctrines, history, and practices supposed by the "Molly Mormons" to not be faith-promoting.

Give us the meat. Everyone knows that the meat must be eaten before the milk (dairy) or a meal isn't Kosher. Don't give us the pearls before swine line. We aren't swine, and take offense at being considered unclean animals. Meat is presently not given at all, it must be sought after on the Internet and in old books.

If the Church would embrace its "strangeness", and encourage study of things like the Temple, in a respectful manner, many valuable preparations could be made by studying the Old Testament, or extra-biblical Jewish histories and commentaries, for example, which would make the Temple a comfortable and spiritual experience for the first time patron.

The focus should be on converting people instead of getting converts. Getting a convert is nothing, if they are only going to fall away or feel uncomfortable upon future study and research, and feel betrayed by misleading statements received in their "youth" in the study of the Gospel.

I was reading several people's anonymous comments on the Internet about their reaction to their first Temple experience. It is extremely plain to me that numerous people go through the Temple, tolerate it, and due to peer pressure are prodded to lie and say that they enjoyed it. It gnaws at their minds and they either deal with it until they become numb to it, or some time, maybe years later, they fall away.

It just shouldn't be that scary. The answer isn't to make it less scary by altering the ceremony, it is to make it less scary by teaching and preparing people for the experience, by gaining true converts to begin with. If they feel more comfortable being a Protestant, let them BE a Protestant. We don't need them occupying space in our chapel if they are not interested or open to the Fullness of the Restored Gospel and if they are preventing those of us who are truly there to Fellowship, Worship, and Learn, they are stumbling blocks to the Saints.

That may sound harsh - But rather than throw them out, lets try to really convert them.