“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” 1 Corinthians 3:16
October 1 — The Changing Mormon Temple Endowments. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 91 “The order of the house of God as [sic] been, and ever will be, the same, even after Christ comes; and after the termination of the thousand years it will be the same; and we shall finally enter into the celestial kingdom of God, and enjoy it forever.”
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Acts 17:24 “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands.”
1 Corinthians 6:19 “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”
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Despite what Joseph Smith said temple endowment ceremonies began changing within a year of its inception in 1842. By the time that the twentieth century rolled around numerous major changes were instituted.
One of the best websites detailing the evolutionary history of LDS temple endowments is found at the site The LDS Endowment. We’ve listed a short summary below —
1843 sealings and 2nd anointings were instituted.
1845 the endowment ceremony is performed as ritual dramas
1877 endowments for the dead begins
1919-1927 major revisions to endowments include elimination of vengeance oaths, omission of descriptions of penalties, reducing # of times robes are changed, discountenance of temple choirs.
1936 explanation of marks on veil is added
1950’s filmed version of endowments introduced
1970’s reference to Satan having black skin is omitted as well as Lucifer mentioning how much a preacher is paid
1978 ban on blacks lifted
1990 following surveys taken of members’ feelings, many revisions are implemented:
Penalties, 5 points of fellowship
Preacher segment
Women covenant to obey law of husband is gone
Blaming Eve for the Fall is gone
Lecture at veil is gone
Many references to Adam replaced w/ Adam & Eve
Orders from Elohim shortened
In 2005 members clothed themselves, water and oil is applied to head only instead of body parts.
So much for what Joseph thought, eh? To read more about these changes as well as gaining further insight into the temple ceremonies of the LDS Church visit the website mentioned above.
It’s obvious this church has implemented this whole scenario to keep members busy, so they don’t have time to think about the Lord and spend time in His word.
Be sure to check out our extensive list of articles on each of the temple rituals.
Please pray for Mormons to see how ungodly their temples are and for them to turn to Jesus!
With Love in Christ —
Michelle ✟
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