The Initiatory Ceremony
Pre-1990
The ceremony script here is what took place in the temple before 1990. We’ll be posting the scripts for the latest revision later.
The Initiatory Ceremony is a preliminary four stage ritual performed before the Endowment Ceremonies in the temple. These ceremonies are performed on an individual basis while the Endowment Ceremonies are performed within a group setting of typically twenty patrons.
The patrons or initiates are taken into separate rooms identical to each other where temple workers are awaiting their arrival.
In 2005 this ceremony was changed. Before 2005 a temple patron had to undress completely and put on a “shield” to cover them. Today the patron no longer disrobes; they change into their white undergarments and put on white clothing and the officiator places their hands on the patron’s head and pronounces the same blessings as before 2005.
Men are anointed by men and women anointed by women who lightly touched various parts of the patron’s body with water and then oil as they pronounced blessings on each part they touched.
(“Sister” is used in the place of Brother for the women. If this is the first time someone is going through the temple then parts containing the phrase “for and in behalf of ____ who is dead, is omitted.)
Each person is taken individually to the “washing rooms” first where they are anointed with water for the “Washing” and then into another room to be anointed with oil for the “Anointing”.
After the Washing and Anointing ceremonies are completed, participants go through the Garment and New Name prayers and ceremonies.
Washing
[An officiator places water on the initiate’s head while pronouncing the following words.]
Brother _________, having authority, I wash you preparatory to your receiving your anointings [for and in behalf of _________, who is dead], that you may become clean from the blood and sins of this generation.
[While pronouncing the blessings which follow, the officiator touches each part of the body as it is named.]
I wash your head, that your brain and your intellect may be clear and active;
your ears, that you may hear the word of the Lord;
your eyes, that you may see clearly and discern between truth and error;
your nose, that you may smell;
your lips, that you may never speak guile;
your neck, that it may bear up your head properly;
your shoulders, that they may bear the burdens that shall be placed thereon;
your back, that there may be marrow in the bones and in the spine;
your breast, that it may be the receptacle of pure and virtuous principles;
your vitals and bowels, that they may be healthy and perform their proper functions; your arms and hands, that they may be strong and wield the sword of justice in defense of truth and virtue;
your loins, that you may be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, that you might have joy in your posterity;
your legs and feet, that you might run and not be weary, and walk and not faint.
[A second officiator enters. Both officiators place their hands on the initiate’s head, and the second officiator seals the washing as follows.]
Brother _________, having authority, we lay our hands upon your head [for and in behalf of _________, who is dead] and seal upon you this washing, that you may become clean from the blood and sins of this generation through your faithfulness; in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
CONFIRMATION AND ANOINTING
[An officiator places oil on the initiate’s head while pronouncing the following words.]
Brother _________, having authority, I pour this holy anointing oil upon your head [for and in behalf of _________, who is dead] and anoint you preparatory to your becoming a king and a priest unto the most high God, hereafter to rule and reign in the house of Israel forever.
[While pronouncing the blessings which follow, the officiator touches each part of the body as it is named. After 2005, the officiator only places their hands upon the patron’s head while pronouncing the words.]
I anoint your head, that your brain and your intellect may be clear and active; your ears, that you may hear the word of the Lord; your eyes, that you may see clearly and discern between truth and error; your nose, that you may smell; your lips, that you may never speak guile; your neck, that it may bear up your head properly; your shoulders, that they may bear the burdens that shall be placed thereon; your back, that there may be marrow in the bones and in the spine; your breast, that it may be the receptacle of pure and virtuous principles; your vitals and bowels, that they may be healthy and perform their proper functions; your arms and hands, that they may be strong and wield the sword of justice in defense of truth and virtue; your loins, that you may be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, that you might have joy in your posterity; your legs and feet, that you might run and not be weary, and walk and not faint.
[A second officiator enters. Both officiators place their hands on the initiate’s head, and the second officiator confirms the anointing as follows.]
Brother _________, having authority, we lay our hands upon your head [for and in behalf of _________, who is dead] and confirm upon you this anointing, wherewith you have been anointed in the temple of our God preparatory to becoming a king and a priest unto the most high God, hereafter to rule and reign in the house of Israel forever, and seal upon you all the blessings hereunto appertaining, through your faithfulness; in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
(Women are confirmed to become a queen and priestess to their husbands)
THE GARMENT
[An officiator clothes the initiate in the garment. The officiator then pronounces the following words.]
Brother _________, having authority, I place this garment upon you [for and in behalf of _________, who is dead], which you must wear throughout your life. It represents the garment given to Adam when he was found naked in the Garden of Eden and is called the garment of the holy priesthood.
Inasmuch as you do not defile it, but are true and faithful to your covenants, it will be a shield and a protection to you against the power of the destroyer until you have finished your work on the earth.
THE NEW NAME
[In the case of a living endowment, the officiator who clothed the initiate in the garment continues as follows.]
With this garment, I give you a new name, which you should always remember and which you must keep sacred and never reveal, except at a certain place that will be shown you hereafter.
The name is _________.
[In the case of a person receiving the endowment on behalf of the dead, the person is presented to an officiator, who pronounces the following words.]
Brother _________, having authority, I give you a new name for and in behalf of _________, who is dead, which you should always remember and which you must keep sacred and never reveal, except at a certain place that will be shown you hereafter.
The name is _________.
This name is used later in the ceremony as a password and also needed for their entrance into heaven.
The new name is repeated by the patron. The name given to the patron has been taken from either the Bible or the Book of Mormon. The patron is given a slip of paper and writes “1” or “2” indicating which of the new names he/she received that day.
After all the rituals are finished, the patron goes into the locker room to change into their all white temple clothing while still wearing their temple garments which they never remove. Men wear trousers, belt, shirt, ties, sock and slippers. Women wear long sleeved dresses, knee-high hose and slippers.
Everyone carries the rest of their ritual clothing in a small bag and goes directly into the waiting room where they wait in silence until everyone is assembled. The small bag contains a green apron with a leaf motif, the robe which is a long piece of white cloth and a sash which is wrapped around the waist and tied into a bow at the side. There is also a white cap for the men and a veil for the women to cover their face. They are then ushered into the Creation room. Here and throughout the ceremony, men sit on one side of the room, women on the other.
Vile servant of Satan are ye.
Tim – I am surprised you haven’t been blocked from commenting on here… There are rules against name calling and being rude.
But hey, I have been called; “Devil”, “Demon”, “Knucklehead”, “Jackass”, and even worse (I don’t want to post them on here) by members of the LDS church (and some of the things I have been called were by my own family because I left the LDS church and gave my heart and life to Jesus and Him alone).
Is it “post comments like a pirate” day or something? LOL Just Kidding!
This is not ot be published worldwide. if you are a faithful memebr and regular teple goer you should know better than to divulge this sacred information on the internet. It’s not secret but sacred and sacred things should n ot be dicussed on the net. I don’t see your purpose
Pam –
Thanks for commenting on our blog! We want to let you know that we’re praying for you Pam and ask a couple of questions.
Where in the Bible does it say not to publish things that are sacred? By the definition of the term wouldn’t it stand to reason God would want everyone to know how to behave in a sacred manner? And wouldn’t God want everyone to participate? If not then why not?
We’re not faithful members of Mormonism. At one time we were, but everyone in this ministry left Mormonism to follow Jesus and not Joseph.
Our purpose is to expose the lies of Joseph Smith and to lead people to the Lord. It’s our sincere belief the Mormon people love Jesus but have been blinded by the lies of Smith and all the leaders of Mormonism.
We hope to hear from you again Pam!
With Love in Christ;
Michelle Grim
1 Cor. 1:18
Thankyou for your response but i’m sorry i misunderstood as i thought i was on a LDS blog and not on an ex LDS blog. I understand your questions and worries but i know i cannot help you to understand these things. All i can say is that we have a living prophet today who worships Jesus Christ and encourages us to do the same and never to worship Joseph. Many things have been revealed that have been taken out or wrongly translated from the Bible. I know you have heard all that before but i was at a sunday school lesson just yesterday where we were looking at the way things had been translated into English and it is extrememly surprising to see how the English language has deformed the original version which was even deformed from the original version by the Greeks. So we have to live by the word of a latter day prophet. Please don’t try to make me see otherwise as i am firmly convinced. I’m a convert for the last 40 years and currently serving a mission in the Frankfurt German temple. I am open to discussion but i don’t really see the point in my situation. Thankyou for your reply
Pam
PS i will also pray for you 🙂
… Where in the Bible does it say not to publish things that are sacred? REALLY!!! And wouldn’t God want everyone to participate? The answer to the last question is NO! Have you read the bible? In the old testament in Exodus (chapters 25-30: 35-40) it clearly indicates that only certain people could enter the tabernacle. The tabernacle had a courtyard which had the altar of sacrifice which was open for all to come and make sacrifices and a lavar of water for the symbolic cleansing of hands and feet, but inside the tabernacle there were two rooms, the first room is the Holy place which only allowed the Priests to enter and which had the table of showbread, the candlestick and the altar of incense. The second room is called the Holy of Holies and this is where the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat was kept. The Holy of Holies was entered once a year by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement. No one else was allowed to enter.
Today because of Christ and his atonement and resurrection we live a higher law, sacrifice and the 613 laws found in the laws of Moses are no longer followed by Christians. Orthodox Jews still strictly observe the laws of Torah and Talmud.
I am a Faithful follower of Jesus Christ and a Faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I don’t know where u got your info or how long or often you attended, or if u did at all, but we have never been asked or expected to worship Joseph Smith or any Prophet. We are grateful to him but do not worship him or any other person…Only We worship our Savior, Jesus Christ! So grateful for His Love for me and His Blood Atonement that makes it possible for me and you to have the gift of Repentance in our lives to be cleansed from sin. Through His Gift of Grace, I know that when I sincerely strive to do my best in my life, to serve Him and all God’s children, God through His infinite Grace, will do the rest. We ALL are children of our Loving God. He is Truth and Light to all the world to every single person no matter who u are. I love Him with all my Heart and Soul!!!! May God be with u all!!! We all need his light and love to heal us and bless us daily!!! Through Jesus Christ we find Peace!
Hello, I work directly for and under Christ Immanuel. He has much to say to the 7 churches and Christianity is but one of the 7. That includes Mormons. I was speaking to him about the 144 thousand of which i am one of the 12 leaders along with Christ. This was his message back to me yesterday 27/04/2018
John , the morman church aren’t anywhere near holy and never have been ; their haloed John Smith is nothing but a common preacher with HIS OWN INTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE AND IT’S WORDS . As you now know that what’s written in it is far from the truth and living one’s life by it alone is a wrong path that leads only to confusion . The only value I have ever been shown by morman people is their value for family among themselves but sadly it does not get shown to those outside their faith .
John , by now you should be seeing that any and all ‘priesthoods’ are man made creations not heavenly ones and that in itself is the very flaw in them ; they attribute humanistic values on god and all of his creation where no such ever have existed in the first place . Yours in truth , Immanuel – The Christ
John,
Be careful as Satan used a similar guise with Joseph Smith and others. God doesn’t normally send messages like this; that is called a “revelation”.
He speaks to us through His word, the Bible.
Test the spirits!
John , the morman church aren’t anywhere near holy and never have been ; their haloed John Smith is nothing but a common preacher with HIS OWN INTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE AND IT’S WORDS . As you now know that written in it is far from the truth and living one’s life by it alone is a wrong path that leads only to confusion . The only value I have ever been shown by morman people is their value for family among themselves but sadly it does not get shown to those outside their faith .
John , by now you should be seeing that any and all ‘priesthoods’ are man made creations not heavenly ones and that in itself is the very flaw in them ; they attribute humanistic values on god and all of his creation where no such ever have existed in the first place . Yours in truth , Immanuel The Christ.