What Happens Inside Mormon Temples?

A few days ago, a representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (also known as the Mormon church) officially apologized, for the posthumous baptism-by-proxy of the parents of Jewish Holocaust survivor Simon Wiesenthal. The statement written by spokesman Michael Purdy said an individual member submitted the names for baptism, and that this was inappropriate.

Mormon temples are where the church’s most sacred rituals are conducted, including proxy baptisms for the dead. Only certain members are allowed inside, and what happens inside temples is rarely discussed, even among Mormons.

Who gets to enter?

Only active LDS church members who meet an age requirement and are found “worthy” may enter. The age requirement is 12 to be baptized for the dead, and 18 to receive one’s endowments. The endowment is a rite in which LDS church members believe they are endowed with divine protection, and the sacred undergarments which LDS church members wear are donned before their first endowment.

What do you have to do to be worthy?

Mormons seeking to enter the temple must first be interviewed by their bishop and stake president, the former being an ecclestiastical leader equivalent to a pastor and the latter being equivalent to a Catholic bishop. The interviews are conducted one-on-one, behind closed doors with the adult male church leader, even for 12-year-old girls. Parents are allowed to come in to be with their child, but are neither expected nor invited to.

The standard interview questions include asking if the member gives 10 percent of his or her income to the LDS church, associates with any groups hostile to the church, and obeys the Word of Wisdom (which includes prohibitions against drinking tea and coffee). Members of all ages are also asked if they obey the Law of Chastity, which prohibits masturbation, along with any sexual activity outside of marriage. Bishops and stake presidents have wide latitude to ask whatever additional questions they like, and to deny a “temple recommend” for any reason.

What rituals take place in the temple?

Proxy baptisms and confirmations for the dead are the only ordinances that children and teenagers are allowed to participate in. These are the same as regular Mormon baptisms and confirmations, except that they are done in the name of Mormons’ ancestors whose names are submitted to the temple. Mormons believe that the people who have passed on are allowed to accept or reject the ordinances in the next life; that Wiesenthal’s parents were not forcibly made into Mormons, in other words.

The endowment is Mormonism’s most sacred ritual, the specifics of which are rarely discussed even among Mormons. The faithful (but not official) Mormon site ldschurchtemples.com describes the endowment in general terms. The actual ritual is similar to Masonic rites, and has changed somewhat over the years. It uses symbolism extensively, and contains a loyalty oath in which members promise to give everything that they have to the church if it so requires.

Male LDS church members are not usually permitted to receive their endowments until right before they serve their required two-year full-time missions. They are accompanied by a close friend or family member, like their father. Female members usually receive their endowments at the same time as they are “sealed,” or married for eternity, in the temple. Members of both sexes are given the opportunity to leave right at the start, but almost never do so.

Eternal families

The eternal marriage is the other major LDS rite which takes place inside of temples. “Sealed” LDS church members believe that as long as they and their children obey LDS church teachings, they will be part of each other’s families in the next life. Same-gender couples are not allowed to be sealed, and Mormons believe that all families that haven’t been sealed will be split up in the next life, including those of other faiths and traditions.

Only worthy LDS church members are allowed to attend the sealing ceremony. “Unworthy” members, or non-member relatives, are required to sit in a waiting room. Couples are allowed to have a civil ceremony before the sealing ceremony, but in countries (like the United States) where sealings count as legal weddings they are required to wait one year before having their sealing. Couples are strongly pressured not to do so, and are warned that they won’t be together in the next life if either partner dies before the year is up.