I don’t mean any disrespect to the Mormons or to what they believe to be sacred, but I am just a very curious person and I had to know. I have always been curious with what goes on in the Mormon temple. Since I have left and will never step foot inside I did some research. I googled “Mormon endowments” and a YouTube video came up. Someone had snuck a camera into an endowment session and recorded the whole thing. As I sat and watched it all I could think was Do people really think this is normal? Doesn’t any of the ceremony or clothing they have to wear strike them as odd or raise questions? And don’t they realize that some of the things said in the movie they watch are not found in the Bible or the BOM? After doing several hours of research I discovered that Joseph Smith was a Freemason and many of the endowment rituals are copied from rituals in Masonry. JS also claimed that Masonry had been taken from the priesthood. Also, is it true before they changed the ceremony in the 90’s, during endowments they had to make an oath that if they divulged the secrets they would have their throats slit, organs torn out, etc.? It is just astounding and really sad to me that people will follow so blindly, no questions asked.

P.S. If you comment on this please try to be respectful. I am not trying to be rude or mock Mormons for what they believe. I don't like mocking any religion. People will believe what they choose...I am only trying to express my continued shock of how much info they hide from their members and the falsehoods they tell.

Ya! It is what it is!

...OK. I would like to be disrespectful, but here is this.


http://www.utlm.org/onlineresources/masonicsymbolsandtheldstemple.htm

I actually just read this article this morning and still have it up on my computer.

The silliness of the Temple (along with the fact that the Book of Abraham is a proven hoax) was one of the first things that drove me away from the church.

Secret handshakes to get into heaven? WTF? So if I get Alzheimer's before I die and forget the secret handshakes, I can't get in. But some dude who watched the secret handshakes on Youtube are perfectly fine?

My grandma had Alzheimer's and her and my grandpa still went to the temple as long as she could. She had to have a temple worker do pretty much everything for her. Then at the veil, they had to say one word at a time in her ear for her to repeat. It was very sad. Hope she got through okay on the other side. I miss her!

For me, it was a case of monkey-see, monkey-do. When I went through the temple when I was 19, I really had no critical thinking skills. I had both parents, my fiancé and several other family members there. They were all older and wiser than I was so I figured that they knew more than I did. So I did mental gymnastics to fit it into my view of the church.

You are correct as to what did go in in the temple and what goes on now.

Members who prepare (i.e., go thru so-called "temple preparation classes") to go to the temple without any true preparation. I attended prep classes in the 1990's after having gone thru the temple once in 1977. There is no true preparation for the members' first sojorn, other than to tell the novices that they will learn "important things" including the "signs and tokens" (the reason being so they can pass the angels who stand as sentinels on their way to the celestial kingdom), wear special white clothing while in there, begin to wear the so-called "temple garment" underwear for the rest of their lives, and to remember that what goes on inside the temple is sacred, not secret.

Sacred.

Right.

The temple was my catalyst for finding the truth about mormonism. My wife and I did the endowment session and were sealed afterwards, all on the same day. I felt like a complete idiot once I put on the temple outfit. Somehow, I never realized what the outfits looked like before hand. We purchased them ahead of our temple trip, but I never took them out of the package and just figured it was white pants or something. Boy was I wrong. We also took the temple prep class which was beyond useless.

My wife almost broke down and cried during one part of the endowment process. It was when we had to get up in the front and chant something in a circle.

My father - a TBM - was in the sealing room waiting to watch the ceremony. I faked a smile as I walked in but all I was thinking was how bogus everything was and how could he raise me in a church like this - secret names, secret underwear, secret handshakes, secret everything. I still wonder to this day if he could tell my smile was fake. Thankfully, we already had our civil marriage long before the temple so our real wedding day was not ruined.

Afterwards, I started to research more about the mormon church and was completely blown away. Somewhere along the lines I found this site and even more information. I consider myself one of the lucky ones since I'm still pretty young and haven't paid too much tithing up to this point in my life. If I had any doubt about paying tithing, City Creek Mall removed any concerns.

I was so uncomfortable with my first temple experience as I prepared to go on a mission at 19.

The washings and annointings freaked me out.

Then, they put me in the garment and told me that I must never remove it. I thought, "Yeah, right. We will see about that."

During the ceremony, the film projector broke down and we all sat in silence for about 20 minutes until someone appeared at the front of the room and said, "Does anyone know how to fix a film projector?" I kid you not.

When I was forced to make covenants "of my own free will" I thought, "It would be nice if they told you what you were agreeing to before you were forced to agree to it."

The silly part was the moderator announced in front of the entire room that anyone could voluntarily withdraw. Yeah, right! In front of my brother, my bishop, my parents, etc. I have never heard of anyone withdrawing.

When I arrived in the Celestial Room, I was surprised that I had zero resemblance of a spiritual experience. The room was like a nice hotel lobby but everyone was talking in whispers.

Afterwards, my brother wanted to celebrate. I told him I had a massive headache and wanted to go home and take a nap -- which I did without garmies, of course.

It's such BS. Before you go to the Temple, you think getting to the celestial kingdom is all about good works, reading the BoM, repentance, etc. After you go to the Temple, you find out that all you need to get to the Celestial Kingdom is the secret handshakes (that were stolen from the Masons. Guess they are all in the CK now).

The temple was my way out too. It was just too creepy. The last time I went was in 2006 shortly after my mission. I investigated online as to the origins of the temple ceremony. At first I thought the information I was reading was just a bunch of anti-mormon lies from people who still had a chip on their shoulder. But as time went on I realized that the things I was reading about the temple were true. I soon realized that if this was bogus, the all important temple, the centerfold of the Mormon church, what else was? I came to the conclusion that the BoM, church history, doctrine, gay marriage, everything, was wrong. I ended up here on this site and browsed for years and eventually left the church before marrying my partner in 2011. But it WAS the temple that got my brain cells to function rationally again (might have ever been the first time!)

I'm so glad I didn't invest too much tithing into the church. I was horrible at it anyway. What bothers me is that my ancestors, grandparents and TBM parents did and so do many of my extended family. There's no inheritance for me because their livelihood was centered on the church, of which I'm no longer a part of!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/07/2014 10:49PM by mrcoffee84.

My thoughts on the cult temple:

Too weird for words
Extract me quick
Mixed bag of hot air
Pay, Lay, HELP!
Lordy, Lordy, how much did I drink?
Explanation....NOW!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/08/2014 12:49AM by presleynfactsrock.

"to express my continued shock of how much info they hide from their members and the falsehoods they tell." - I was in the CULT until age 15 so I never went in the temple, but this is really it. and I continue to feel shock about the same things you do.

Now that the world (including the CULTers) are finding out all about the insanity that is the CULT, things are getting unpleasant for the CULT.

I can't continue and stay respectful so I am done.

They hide mountains of information from the most devout members. They're currently trying (and succeeding with some) to put the fear in them for looking on the internet for information.

I was 53 when I found out the truth. It was shocking. I am a 5th generation mormon. There are mormons in my family that are 7th generation. I am the evil one. Nobody would ever give any weight to anything I would tell them. They also will not look for themselves.

I'm the only one i know of out of 100's of relatives that has left the church. The rest of them seem to enjoy the deception.

If someone is offended by the truth, I no longer care. That seems to happen when you hit the 50 year mark. Enough insanity already. Some people seem to enjoy being insanely mormon.

I don't give a damn if I say something that offends them. They've been offending me all my life.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/08/2014 02:11AM by madalice.

Hi Madalice,

What was it like leaving at 53? My parents are of that age and I wonder if they are getting "too old" to make such a change. I fear they have given so much to the church to consider stopping now. They were both BIC and basically perfect Mormons. Have you written an account of your experience on here?

Thanks

The folks in Mormonism deserve respect just because they are human beings.
The corporate cult (LDS Inc.) deserves NO respect. As in most cases respect must be earned. To date the LDS cult has earned nothing but DISrespect.

If I comment on this you require respect.....

What's up with that, welcome to RfM, control much in your realm of influence?

Please say whatever the hell you want in response.

Sheesh.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/08/2014 02:55AM by gentlestrength.

Madalice - You are exactly right. They offend me and I don't care if I offend them. Life is too short to play these insane games expecially after 50.

Here is another site:

http://vigilantcitizen.com/sinistersites/sinister-sites-temple-square-utah/

For fuck sake, I grew up in Christian Church, an Eastern Orthodox CULT, (like Greek Russian)....
As far as symbolism goes, which is less creepy? Any of you have been in Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame?
What are we comparing Mormon Temple to.
Sandra Tanner and her Cohorts have a different agenda to put Mormon CULT down, so they can elevate their own version of CULT.

The only reason people don't run out of the temple ceremony immediately is social conformity. They see others that they know sitting there taking it all in and not batting an eye. "If others are doing it, it must not be so bad. Maybe I'm missing something." Temple attendees are told not to talk about the experience, so they have no idea how everyone else really feels about it. They are also told to visit the temple frequently, and if they do, they will learn more. they are told that there are hidden layers of meaning, that can only be unlocked after going through many times. Of course, the church wants people to go over and again, because the temple is the church's control mechanism. If one takes the temple endowment at its face value, that is very clear. But the members are too distracted because they are busy listening and looking for symbolism and metaphor.

This is as respectful as I can get:

What goes on? Drool-inducing boredom for 2.5 hours, forced to watch a poorly written script in the form of a movie. Changing in and out of "robes of the priesthood," then performing actions that have no foundation in Christianity.

I'll provide an alternate view.

I liked the temple. I was an introvert living in an extrovert's messy noisy world, so the temple was a blissfully clean and quiet place. I wasn't judged on my manner of dress, and I wasn't expected to make uncomfortable smalltalk. There were few opportunities for social mis-steps because everything is ritual -- learn the ritual, and you fit in 100% because that's what everybody else is doing.

However, I did feel betrayed when they failed to warn me that I would be required to sacrifice my time, talents, everything -- including my own life. Oh sure, they give you the opportunity to leave, but unless I am mistaken, that's BEFORE they ask you to die for the Church. You've invested so much of your life to get to the temple -- so much self-denial, so many hours, so much money -- when they put you in the double-bind, it's unthinkable to walk out on your investement at that moment. There's no time to mentally catch your breath.

After going many times over meany years, I also failed to see any 'deeper meaning' to the symbolism. At the time, I assumed the problem was me, but now I see it's just because the rituals have no divine origin but are instead just Masonic / made up / regularly altered, so the only meaning you'll find is meaning manufactured in your own subconscious.

The rituals did seem weird, but I saw that as a good thing. I was supposed to be special -- you know, I was going to be a God with my own planets someday, all that. Since they were massaging my ego, I eagerly drank it all up.

In my day we had to promise never to divulge the "tokens of the priesthood, or face death. Than we had to pantomime our own deaths--slitting of the throat from ear to ear, having our heart ripped out, and being disembowelled. They took those parts away only in 1990. They also changed all the references about "secret" and "secrecy" to "sacred" and "sacredness."

One thing the temple did to me was put up front, right up close, those doubts and questions I had pushed way, way down. Prior to the temple, I had classes at college, like philosophy and anthropology, that got me thinking, and had read No Man Knows My History, but my friends and community in the church had kept me pushing the doubts further down.

But, the weird and scary and silly temple ceremony pushed me over the cliff so that I was willing to start really searching and questioning seriously, even if it meant loosing many of my friends and community. I truly felt for the first time that I was into something deceitful and dangerous and, well, stupid.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/08/2014 04:50PM by presleynfactsrock.

bella10 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> P.S. If you comment on this please try to be
> respectful.

Personally, I think you are in the wrong place. Read the board rules and recognize there is a place for them and a place for us. This is not the place for us to be respectful of their religion.

I don't think you understand what I meant by respect. Do I look at the Mormon church with high esteem? No, but I don't believe in mocking and ridiculing others beliefs. I wouldn't want someone to do that to me so why would I do so to others? All I am asking is if you can't say something without being crude please do not comment.

bella10 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> No, but I don't believe in mocking and
> ridiculing others beliefs.

That is what I love to do here.

> All I am asking is if you can't say something
> without being crude please do not comment.

I can do it without being crude. Oh, LDS Inc. just make it so easy. You have seen the temple outfit, no?

Have any of you read "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion", by Robert Cialdini?

This is a very illuminating book that will show you many of the ways that TSCC has and continues to control its members.

I haven't heard of it, but I will definitely look into it. Thanks for the suggestion!