Endowment (Mormonism)

In Mormonism, the endowment is a two-part ordinance (ceremony) designed for participants to become kings, queens, priests, and priestesses in the afterlife. As part of the first ceremony, participants take part in a scripted reenactment of the Biblical creation and fall of Adam and Eve. The ceremony includes a symbolic washing and anointing, and receipt of a "new name" which they are not to reveal to others except at a certain part in the ceremony, and the receipt of the temple garment, which Mormons then are expected to wear under their clothing day and night throughout their life. Participants are taught symbolic gestures and passwords considered necessary to pass by angels guarding the way to heaven, and are instructed not to reveal them to others.^[1][2][3] As practiced today in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the endowment also consists of a series of covenants (promises to God) that participants make, such as a covenant of consecration to the LDS Church. All LDS Church members who choose to serve as missionaries or participate in a celestial marriage in a temple must first complete the first endowment ceremony.

The second part of the endowment, called the second anointing, is the pinnacle ordinance of the temple, jointly given to a husband and wife couple to ensure salvation, guarantee exaltation, and confer godhood.^[7] Participants are anointed kings, queens, priests, and priestesses, whereas in the first endowment they are only anointed to become those contingent to following specified covenants. The second anointing is only given to a select group, and its existence is not widely known among the general membership.^{[5]: 11 [8][9]}

The endowment as practiced today was instituted by founder Joseph Smith in the 1840s with further contributions by Brigham Young and his successors. The ceremony is performed in Latter Day Saint temples, which are dedicated specifically for the endowment and certain other ordinances sacred to Mormons, and are open only to Mormons who meet certain requirements. There was a brief period during the construction of the Salt Lake Temple where a small building referred to as the Endowment House was used to administer the endowment ordinance. The endowment is currently practiced by the LDS Church, several denominations of Mormon fundamentalism, and a few other Mormon denominations. The LDS Church has simplified its ceremony from its 19th century form.

A distinct endowment ceremony was also performed in the 1830s in the Kirtland Temple, the first temple of the broader Latter Day Saint movement, which includes other smaller churches such as the Community of Christ. The term "endowment" thus has various meanings historically, and within the other branches of the Latter Day Saint movement.

The prevalence of LDS Church members who participate in the endowment ceremony is difficult to determine. However, estimates show that fewer than half of converts to the LDS Church ultimately undergo the first endowment ceremony, and young people preparing for missions account for about one-third of "live" endowments (as contrasted with proxy endowments for the deceased).^[6]: 173 The second endowment ceremony had been given 15,000 times by 1941, but has become less common today.^{[10][5]: 42–43}

The meaning and scope of the term endowment evolved during the early Latter Day Saint movement, of which Mormonism is a part. The term derives from the Authorized King James Version, referring to the spiritual gifts given the disciples of Jesus on the day of Pentecost, in which they were "endowed with power from on high,"^[11] Christians generally understand this endowment to refer to the gift of the Holy Spirit, which the Latter Day Saints believe is given at the Confirmation ceremony. In 1831, however, Smith began teaching that the elders of the church needed to be further "endowed with power from on high" in order to be effective proselytizers.^[12][13][14] He therefore gathered the elders together at a general conference in June 1831 and "endowed" them with this power by ordaining them to the High Priesthood.^[15][16][a]

By the mid-1830s, Smith was teaching that a further endowment was necessary, this time requiring the completion of the Kirtland Temple as a house of God where God could pour out his Holy Spirit.^[b] Upon the completion of the Kirtland Temple after three years of construction (1833��1836), the elders of the church gathered for this second promised endowment in early 1836. The Kirtland endowment included a ritual ceremony involving preparatory washings and anointings with oil, followed by a gathering in the temple in which many reported spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues and visions.^[26][27]

The Nauvoo endowment consists of two phases: (1) an initiation, and (2) an instructional and testing phase. The initiation consists of a washing and anointing, culminating in the clothing of the patron in a "Garment of the Holy Priesthood", which is thereafter worn as an undergarment.

The instructional and testing phase of the endowment consists of a scripted reenactment of Adam and Eve's experience in the Garden of Eden (performed by live actors—called officiators; in the mid-20th century certain portions were adapted to a film presentation).^[28] The instruction is punctuated with oaths, symbolic gestures, and a prayer around an altar, and at the end of instruction, the initiate's knowledge of symbolic gestures and key-words is tested at a "veil."^{[29]: 44–45}

On May 3, 1842, Joseph Smith prepared the second floor of his Red Brick Store, in Nauvoo, Illinois, to represent "the interior of a temple as circumstances would permit".^[30]: 2 The next day, May 4, he introduced the Nauvoo endowment ceremony to nine associates.^[c][d]

Throughout 1843 and 1844 Smith continued to initiate other men, as well as women, into the endowment ceremony. By the time of his death on June 27, 1844, more than 50 persons had been admitted into the Anointed Quorum, the name by which this group called themselves.^[31]

There are many similarities between Smith's endowment ceremony and certain rituals of Freemasonry, particularly the Royal Arch degree. These specific similarities included instruction in various signs, tokens, and passwords, and the imposition of various forms of the penalties for revealing them. The original wording of the penalties, for example, closely followed the graphic wording of the Masonic penalties.^[29]: 55

According to the predominant view by historians, Smith used and adapted material from the Masonic rituals in creating the endowment ceremony. All of those first initiated by Smith on May 4, 1842, were longstanding or recent Masons: Adams was the Deputy Grand Master of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Illinois; Whitney, Miller and Kimball had previously been Lodge Masters; Smith's brother, Hyrum, had been a Mason since 1827; and the remaining five participants (Law, Marks, Young, Richards, and Smith himself) had been initiated as Freemasons just weeks before the meeting. However, none of these Masons ever charged Smith with breaking any of Masonry's oaths or revealing its secrets. In contrast to those that believe Smith simply copied these rituals to advance his own religion, one Mormon historian has noted that these Masonic parallels confirmed to these men "the breath of the restoration impulse and was evidence of Smith's divine calling".^[33]

The LDS Church has never commented officially on these similarities, although certain features of the two rituals have been called "analogous" by one official Church Historian and the apostle Jeffrey R. Holland stated in a BBC interview that endowment ordinance vows to secrecy are "similar to a Masonic relationship."^[e][35] The LDS Church apostle John A. Widtsoe downplayed the similarities, arguing that they "do not deal with the basic matters [the endowment] but rather with the mechanism of the ritual."^[36] One LDS Church educator, however, was censured in the 1970s by the Church Educational System for arguing that the endowment ceremony had a dependent relationship with the rituals of freemasonry.^[3]: 1

Some within the LDS Church, particularly Smith's contemporaries, have expressed the view that the endowment was given anciently by God in its original form at the Temple of Solomon, but that the form of the ritual degenerated into the form used by Freemasons. Heber C. Kimball clearly supported this position: "We have the true Masonry. The Masonry of today is received from the apostasy which took place in the days of Solomon and David. They have now and then a thing that is correct, but we have the real thing."^[29]: 45

After Smith officiated in Brigham Young's endowment in 1842 Smith told him, "Brother Brigham, this is not arranged perfectly; however we have done the best we could under the circumstances in which we are placed. I wish you to take this matter in hand: organize and systematize all these ceremonies".^[30]: 7 Young did as Smith directed, and under Young's direction the Nauvoo endowment ceremony was introduced to the church at large in the Nauvoo Temple during the winter of 1845–1846. A spacious hall in the temple's attic was arranged into appropriate ordinance "rooms" using canvas partitions. Potted plants were used in areas representing the Garden of Eden, and other areas were furnished appropriately, including a room representing the celestial kingdom.^{[37]: 366–374} Over 5,500 persons received their endowments in this temple.^[38]: 361

Young introduced the same ceremony in the Utah Territory in the 1850s, first in the Endowment House and then in the St. George Temple. During this period the ceremony had never been written down, but was passed orally from temple worker to worker. Shortly after the dedication of the St. George Temple, and before his death in 1877, Young became concerned about the possibility of variations in the ceremony within the church's temples and so directed the majority of the text of the endowment to be written down. This document became the standard for the ceremony thereafter.^[6]: 110 Also in 1877, the first endowments for the dead were performed in the St. George Temple.^[6]: 108

In 1893, minor alterations in the text were made in an attempt to bring uniformity to the ceremony as administered in the temples.^[6]: 128 Between 1904 and 1906, the temple ceremony received very public scrutiny during the 1904 Senate investigation of LDS Apostle and U.S. Senator, Reed Smoot. Of particular concern to senators was the ceremony's "law of vengeance", in which, during the hearings, it was revealed that participants took an oath of vengeance to pray that God would "avenge the blood of the prophets on this nation".^{[39]: 91 [6]: 134} The "prophets" were Joseph and Hyrum Smith, and "this nation" was the United States.^[6]: 134

Beginning in 1919, church president Heber J. Grant appointed a committee charged with revising the ceremony, which was done under the direction of Apostle George F. Richards from 1921 to 1927. Richards received permission to write down the previously unwritten portions of the ceremony. Among his revisions was the elimination of the "law of vengeance".^{[6]: 139–140} Previous versions of the ceremony into the 1880s also had the representative of the Lord cut the symbols in the garments with a knife through the veil,^[40][41] with one source suggesting an early version cut into the knee of the participant to create a scar.^[42] The committee also removed the violent language from the penalty portions of the ceremony. Prior to 1927, participants made an oath that if they ever revealed the secret gestures of the ceremony, they would be subject to the following:

my throat [...] be cut from ear to ear, and my tongue torn out by its roots
our breasts [...] be torn open, our hearts and vitals torn out and given to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field
your body [...] be cut asunder and all your bowels gush out.
[changed to] different ways in which life may be taken.^[6]: 141

Each temple president received a "President's Book" with the revised ceremony ensuring uniformity throughout the church's temples.^{[6]: 136—142}

The first filmed versions of the endowment were introduced in the 1950s, by a committee headed by Gordon B. Hinckley. That change was initiated by church president David O. McKay as a way of providing the instruction simultaneously in different languages, an innovation made necessary by the construction of the Bern Switzerland Temple, the church's first temple in Europe. As of 2005^[update], ceremonies in all but two (Salt Lake Temple and Manti Temple) of the church's 128 operating temples are presented using the filmed version.^{[6]: 166-169}

In 1990, further changes included the elimination of all blood oaths and penalties. These penalties, representing what the member would rather suffer than reveal the sacred signs given them in the ceremony, were symbolized by gestures for having the throat cut, the breast cut open, and the bowels torn out. Changes also included the elimination of the five points of fellowship,^[43] the role of the preacher,^[44] and all reference to Lucifer's "popes and priests" were dropped.^{[citation needed]}

The ceremony was also changed to lessen the differences in treatment between men and women.^[43] Women no longer are required to covenant to obey their husbands, but instead must covenant only to follow their husbands as their husbands follow God.^[43] Also, Eve is no longer explicitly blamed for the Fall,^{[citation needed]} and several references to Adam were replaced with references to Adam and Eve.^{[citation needed]} The lecture at the veil was also cut,^[45] and some repetition was eliminated.^{[citation needed]}

In the temple endowment, women were previously urged to be a priestess "unto her husband," while men were promised they will be priests to God.^[46] In January 2019, that topic was removed from the endowment process, in accordance with other changes that included more lines for Eve in their ritual performance of the Book of Genesis.^[47][48] Also in 2019, a letter from the church's First Presidency stated that "Veiling an endowed woman's face prior to burial is optional." It had previously been required. The letter went on to say that such veiling, "may be done if the sister expressed such a desire while she was living. In cases where the wishes of the deceased sister on this matter are not known, her family should be consulted."^[49]

A 1996 estimate by Richard Cowan states that around 150 million endowments have been performed, most of which were in behalf of deceased persons.^{[citation needed]}

The most well-known Mormon endowment ceremony is that performed by the LDS Church in its temples. This ceremony is open only to members of the church deemed worthy and given a "temple recommend" by their priesthood leaders after one or more personal interviews. It comprises four parts:^{[2]: 7 [50]}

1. An initiatory composed of the preparatory ordinances of washing and anointing
2. An instructional portion with lectures and representations
3. The making of covenants (i.e. oaths)
4. A testing of knowledge

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The "initiatory" is a prelude to the endowment proper, similar to Chrismation, and consists of:

1. Instruction
2. Symbolic washing and anointing ordinances
3. Being clothed in the temple garment
4. Receiving a "new name" in preparation for the endowment.^[6]

Washing and anointing are perhaps the earliest practiced temple ordinances for the living since the organization of the LDS Church.^{[citation needed]} There is evidence that these ordinances have been performed since 1832.^{[citation needed]} They were first practiced in the Whitney Store as part of the School of the Prophets and were part of the Kirtland endowment.^{[citation needed]}

As part of the endowment ceremony, the ordinance of washing and anointing symbolizes the ritual cleansing of priests that took place at Israel's Tabernacle, Solomon's Temple, and the Second Temple, later known as Herod's Temple. The washing symbolizes being "cleansed from the blood of this generation," and being anointed to become "clean from the blood and sins of this generation."^[6]

After the washing and anointing, the patron is given the temple garment, formally called the "Garment of the Holy Priesthood". This garment represents the "coats of skins" given to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.^[6]

Similar ordinances are performed for the living and the dead in LDS temples, where men are:

• Ordained to the priesthood (for the dead only, since a man coming to the temple for his own endowment would have previously received his Melchizedek priesthood ordination)
• Washed with water (which only involves a cursory sprinkling of water)
• Blessed to have the washing sealed
• Anointed with oil
• Blessed to have the anointing sealed
• Clothed in holy garments

Women receive the same ordinances, except for the ordination.^[6] As the final part of the initiatory, the patron is given a new name, which is a key word used during the ceremony. In general, this name is only known to the person to whom it is given; however, an endowed LDS woman reveals her name to her endowed husband (but not vice versa).^{[citation needed][f]}

The endowment focuses heavily on LDS belief in a plan of salvation and centered around the atonement of Jesus Christ on behalf of humanity's sins.^{[citation needed]} Parts of the doctrine of the plan of salvation explained include:^[55]

• The eternal Nature of God, of Jesus Christ, and their divinity
• The pre-mortal existence and eternal nature of man (mankind lived with God before mortal life)
• The reality of Satan, who is Jesus' and Adam's rebellious spirit brother
• The fall of Adam and the reasons for mortality, trials, and blessings
• The Atonement of Jesus Christ, and the need for the Atonement
• The relationship of grace, faith, and works
• Death, the literal resurrection, and qualifying for one of the three kingdoms of glory (or Outer Darkness)
• The need for personal righteousness, covenant keeping, and love of God and fellow man
• That Heavenly Father loves humanity as his children and wants people to become like he is, to receive joy
• The sanctity and eternal nature of the family

The endowment is often thought of as a series of lectures where Latter-day Saints are taught about the creation of the world, the events in the Garden of Eden, what happened after Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden into the "telestial world", and the progression of righteous individuals through "terrestrial" laws to one of the kingdoms of glory and exaltation.^[56]

During the ceremony, Latter-day Saints are dressed in temple clothes or temple robes, are taught in ordinance rooms about various gospel laws (including obedience, chastity, sacrifice and consecration) and make covenants to obey these laws.^{[citation needed]} The early Mormon leader Brigham Young taught that participants are given "signs and tokens" that "enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels" and gain eternal exaltation.^{[2]: 31–32 [57]} At the end of the ceremony, the participant is "tested" on their knowledge of what they were taught and covenanted to do and then admitted into the celestial room, where they may meditate and pray.^{[citation needed]}

The LDS Church defines a covenant as a sacred promise one makes to God.^[g]

The temple ceremony involves entering into five covenants:

1. Law of Obedience, which includes striving to keep God's commandments.
2. Law of Sacrifice, which means doing all that is possible to support the Lord's work and repenting with a broken heart and contrite spirit.
3. Law of the Gospel, which refers to the higher law that Jesus Christ taught, including baptism, repentance, and being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.
4. Law of Chastity, which means having sexual relations only with the person to whom an individual is legally and lawfully married, according to God's law.
5. Law of Consecration, which means dedicating time, talents, and everything the Lord has blessed an individual with to build up the church.^[59]

The promise given in the ceremony is that those who remain faithful will be endowed "with power from on high." ^[60]

At the end of the endowment ceremony the participant is tested at a physical veil by a man representing the Lord on the signs and tokens just learned.^{[29]: 44–45 [61]} Before 1990 at the veil the participant also put their arm around and pressed their cheek, shoulders, knees and feet against the person through the veil in what was called "the five points of fellowship."^[43]: 1

The endowment is open only to Mormons who have a valid "temple recommend." To be eligible to receive a temple recommend, one must be deemed worthy by church leadership and have been a member of the LDS Church for at least one year. A male member of the church must hold the Melchizedek priesthood to participate in the endowment. A temple recommend is signed by the person receiving the recommend, a member of the person's bishopric and a member of the stake presidency, who each perform a personal, one-on-one "worthiness interview." Persons seeking a recommend to attend the temple for the first time and receive their endowment will generally meet with their bishop and stake president.^[2]: 3

These interviews cover what the church believes to be the most important factors of personal morality and worthiness, including whether the person has a basic belief in key church doctrines such as the divinity of Jesus and the restoration; whether the person attends church meetings and supports the leadership of the LDS Church; whether the person affiliates with Mormon fundamentalists or other people considered by the church to be apostate; whether the person is honest and lives the law of chastity and the Word of Wisdom; whether the person abuses family members; whether the person pays tithing and any applicable spousal or child support; and whether the person has confessed to serious past sins.^{[citation needed]}

Prior to participating in the endowment, members of the LDS Church frequently participate in a six-part temple preparation class which discusses temple-related topics but does not directly discuss the details of the ceremony.^{[citation needed]}

Some members of the church were historically or are currently ineligible for the temple endowment. For about 130 years (between 1847 and 1978) all LDS endowment-related temple ordinances were denied to all Black women and men in a controversial temple racial restriction.^[65] As of 2023, all temple ordinances including the endowment continue to be denied for any lesbian, gay, or bisexual person who is in a same-sex marriage or homosexual sexual relationship.^[66][67] Transgender individuals who gender transition (even if just by changing their name, pronouns and gender presentation by clothing and hairstyle) are also barred from temple ordinances as of 2020.^[68] These restrictions have received criticism from both outside,^[69][70][71] and inside the LDS church.^[72][73][74]

In the modern endowment ceremony, recipients explicitly agree to a "covenant of non-disclosure" to keep some content such as the ceremony's signs and tokens (and formerly penalties) confidential.^{[75]: 229 [29]: 34} The remainder of the ceremony carries with it no covenants of secrecy.^[29]: 34 Most Latter-day Saints are generally unwilling to discuss specific details of the ceremony,^[75]: 229 and have been instructed by top church leaders that the only place where the temple ceremonies should be discussed, even amongst faithful members, is within the temple.^{[48][76][2]: 7} Many Mormons hold the making of these covenants to be highly sacred,^{[75]: 228–229} and believe that details of the ceremony should be kept from those who are not properly prepared.^{[77][75]: 228}

Prior to revisions in 1990, the LDS Church's version of the endowment included penalties which were specified punishment for breaking an oath of secrecy after receiving the Nauvoo endowment ceremony.^[78][79] Adherents promised they would submit to execution in specific ways should they reveal certain contents of the ceremony. In the ceremony participants each symbolically enacted three of the methods of their execution.^{[80][6]: 141 [29]: 55} In 1990 the LDS Church removed the "penalty" portions of the ceremony.^[80] Aspects of the ceremony held confidential have been published in various sources, unauthorized by the LDS Church.^[75]: 239

Official church publications have consistently stated that temple ceremonies are confidential and not to be discussed outside the temple, but the degree and breadth of information shared has shifted over time.^{[citation needed]} The non-public nature of the endowment is implied^{[citation needed]} early on by a reference in facsimile no. 2 in the Book of Abraham (part of the LDS Church standard works dated to 1835) when it states that there are things that "cannot be revealed unto the world; but is to be had in the Holy Temple of God."^[81]

In 1904, B. H. Roberts declared in testimony to the United States Senate that certain aspects of the endowment ceremony were intended to be "secret from the world".^[82] This information includes, in the initiation and instructional/testing phases of the endowment ceremony, certain names and symbolic gestures called tokens and signs.^{[6][unreliable source?][h]}

In 2021, the online versions of the General Handbook the specific covenants made during the endowment have been enumerated.^[60] This is the only new item that was not publicly discussed about the endowment that was added.^{[citation needed]} Since that publication, the covenants made and their doctrinal implications have been discussed in more public forums including the publication of an article listing the covenants made and explaining their significance.^[83]

Some Mormons have suggested that the reluctance to discuss the endowment encourages attacks and unauthorized exposés by evangelical Christians and others, and therefore advocate a more transparent attitude toward the ceremony.^[3]: 42 Transparency has increased a little bit since such criticisms were levied.^{[citation needed]}

The Latter-day Saint viewpoint is that the endowment is of ancient origin, revealed from the earliest time to the biblical Adam. Much research has been done by Latter Day Saints finding parallels between the endowment and ancient traditions. The LDS Church temple is referred to as a "house of learning" since it is a "kind of educational environment teaching by action and educating through ritual."^[84] The endowment ordinance, as presented in Latter-day Saint temples, has been referred to as a "ritual drama"^[85][86] that commemorates episodes of sacred history due to its "theatrical setting."^[6]: 166 When viewed as a restoration of ancient rites, the ritual drama and aesthetic environment in which the endowment is presented are both rich in Judeo-Christian symbolism. Comparative studies of the art, architecture, and rituals found in Mormonism, such as the endowment, reveal parallels to early Catholic and Jewish traditions.^[89]

The Testament of Levi discusses ceremonies and clothing that LDS scholar Blake Ostler relates to the modern LDS endowment.^[i] Some scholars have suggested that Jewish temple initiation was later merged with early Christian baptismal initiation sometime after the destruction of the Second Temple.^[91] By the fourth century CE, Christian baptism had adopted a much more dramatic and complex set of rituals accompanying it, including washing ceremonies, physical anointing with oil, being signed with a cross on the forehead, and receiving white garments and a new name, all which paralleled the Jewish initiation for priests and kings.^[91] St. Cyril of Jerusalem, in his Catechetical Lectures, related the anointing with oil at baptism with the anointing of a priest and king in the Old Testament, suggesting that the initiate actually became a priest and king in Christ.^[91]

The general theme of ascension through multiple gates or veils of heaven is found all throughout early Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and other Near Eastern religious writings, as well as in the Bible. Early works often describe angels and other sentinels which are set at these points, and several of these state that the ascending individual would be required to give specific signs and names to the sentinels in order to pass through the veil.^[92][90] The descriptions of key words, signs, and tokens being presented to the sentinels of the veils of heaven are particularly prevalent in old Gnostic Christian and Mandaean writings, and in Jewish lore. In one of the Nag Hammadi texts, Jesus promises that those who accept him would pass by each of the gates of heaven without fear and would be perfected in the third heaven.^[93] The Coptic Book of 1 Jeu describes Jesus instructing the apostles in the hand-signs, names, and seals that they must use before the guardians of heaven would remove the veils of heaven to allow them passage.^[90] In Hekhalot Rabbati 17:1–20:3, an old Jewish esoteric text, the faithful pass through seven doors in order to enter the presence of God, passing by angels whose names they must give, while presenting a seal.^{[citation needed]} 3 Enoch also describes the names and seals given to the angels.^[92]

The Latter Day Saint temple garment is usually identified by Mormon scholars with the sacred "linen breeches" (michnasayim/mikhnesei bahd) and the "coat of linen" (kuttoneth) that ancient Israelite priests were commanded to wear.^[94][88] According to the Talmud, worn-out undergarments and priestly sashes were burned, being used as torch wicks in the temple.^[95] The temple garment has been compared to the modern tallit katan, a sacred undershirt of Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Judaism. Both the temple garments in Mormonism and the tallit katan are meant to be worn all day under regular clothing as a constant reminder of the covenants, promises, and obligations the wearer is under.^[96] Latter-day Saint scholars interpret a biblical scripture in Luke as instructing the apostles to wait for both the pouring out of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost and the endowment ceremony before going out to evangelize.^[97][98]

• Second anointing