Enigma’s post about her daughter reacting to temple clothing (https://www.exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,2255533) got me wondering.

Why were we required to wear the silly apron in the temple? The apron represents Adam and Eve’s crude attempt to hide their nakedness from God. God gave them garments and they ditched the aprons. Why are temple attendees told to put on aprons? Adam and Eve’s aprons didn’t come from God, and they certainly don’t represent anything holy. I remember putting it on, and putting it back on when I donned the robe of the priesthood, and I put it back on when I changed the robe to the other shoulder, and I kept it on in the prayer circle and up to, and through, the veil.

I know that nothing in the temple ceremony makes any sense, but why wear the friggin’ green aprons?

After all, God Himself provided them to Adam and Eve. This suggests two things:

1) JS was Biblically ignorant, and/or
2) The core of the temple rituals was just a callous appropriation of the Masonic rites.

Because Masons wear aprons in their ceremony and that’s what the endowment ceremony was plagiarized from. I don’t have the time or space or knowledge to tell you more, but you can either google or YouTube all you need to learn.

In my day there was a line explaining that Satan's apron was a symbol of his priesthoods (plural)

I always thought the green apron was a symbol of priesthoods.

50's and 60's the Apron Satan wore had actual symbols on it. Moslem crescent moon one one I specifically remember as I asked a GA (upper room of SL Temple, missionary group) about it and he assured us the Moslems were one of Satan's personal religious groups.
Just try to find Satan's apron with symbols in the temple now -

It was a copy of a typical Masonic apron.

Yes, it's from the Masons. It was the Mormons who make the embroidered green aprons, cut out in leaf-shapes at the bottom, and with green beads and sequins. I'm not kidding!

The Mormons used to brag at the simplicity, modesty, and un-worldliness of the temple robes. Whenever I went to the temple, I was barraged with the smell of perfume and hair spray in the ladies' dressing room. The women had their own tight-fitting temple dresses--not the rented flour-sacks--and thinner, more bride-like veils. They elbowed each other at the mirrors, putting on heavy makeup and lipstick, and behaved like brides on their wedding day. My SIL and her friends would always have beauty salon appointments the day before going to the temple. She admitted that she wanted to look like a bride for her husband. I didn't have the heart to tell her that my brother told me it was the semi-naked Eve in the movie that put him in the mood. My brother used to fantasize about the many other wives he was going to have in the Hereafter. Honestly, the apron was a necessity for a lot of those men.

is that my deaf grandmother would make the aprons. She embroidered them and people paid her to do it. I gave 2 of them to my TBM daughter and we do want to keep them as heirlooms in the family. They put so much importance on things like this and it was and is very much a status symbol what your temple clothing is like. I rented a dress once and I told my husband I'd never go back again if I had to rent. I used my temple dress 3 times I believe. And that robe! What was the robe for???

It isn't cheap to go to the temple. Another hit to members who already are paying tithing and barely feeding their children.

Breeze, that is really interesting about your SIL. I never ever thought of that, but then my husband is gay, so I guess I never thought about that!!! But I was too stressed about the whole experience and doing something wrong, getting unwanted attention.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/15/2019 12:45PM by cl2.

My daughter got married in the temple, like yours did. I didn't attend the temple, but had two callings, as the organist and a Sunday school teacher, and the bishop "gave me permission" and a recommend to attend her temple ceremony--after I paid a few thousand dollars in tithing. This disgusted me, and I asked my daughter if she would rather have that nice chunk of cash, for her and her husband to start out their new life. She was going to work to put him through grad school, which is the way Mormons do things. My daughter said that she wanted me to be with her when she got married, more than she wanted the money. I was the only one in our family who was allowed in the temple. All the others were from the TBM groom's family.

Anyway, we did get a lot of "unwanted attention" at the temple, as I was supposed to help her with her baggy rented temple costume, take the apron on and off, (where to put it? On the floor?) and switch the cape, and tie the bow, and wrestle with the veil, and her slippers kept falling off, etc. We kept everyone waiting, every time. Awkward and rushed, and not spiritual in the least.

Afterwards, my daughter cried, and said, "THAT was not what I thought my wedding would be like." (I gave her the money, anyway, towards the down payment on their house, a few years later, even though the TBM husband had been giving 10% of daughter's wages to the cult.)

Obstacles--that's what the cult gives people--obstacles to block us, to make us work around, or to tip-toe around, to cost us money, to interfere with relationships and our lives.

Sorry to ramble.

My other SIL and her friends, in a different city, would also dress up for the temple. They had little "YSL" designer suitcases with their 200-dollar dresses and lovely hand-embroidered aprons and satin slippers inside. They would get their hair and nails done, and arrange for a babysitter. They would go with other ward couples to the LA temple, out to dinner and a show, then stay overnight at a fancy hotel. Yeah, it was like a second honeymoon, to them.

Nothing quite like going to the temple to feel in the mood for romance!

I usually came out looking like I had been through hell.

That is just so hilarious.

I would have been just as bad if I had gone in with my daughter for her endowment. She had taken her endowment out before the wedding. A year before. My mother asked me to take someone else. She said she'd go along, but that she was too nervous any time she went to help me. My husband's sister went with me, but she didn't help me. I just did it all myself. The prayer circle was horrible as my veil kept coming off and they had to wait for me. That shoulder elbow to the shoulder stuff, etc. I needed a hand to hold my veil on.

I get that the mormon ceremonies are copied from the Masons, but do both mormon man and woman wear the apron? I'm kinda gathering that only the woman wears the apron.

So if only women wear them, please explain how the apron went from Masonic men to mormon women. I'm confused.

Notamormon here.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2019 04:40PM by Phil in Roy.

Both wear the apron.
For pictures, see this

http://packham.n4m.org/temples.htm

I can think of two reasons (not mutually exclusive?) that masons--the real old-timey cathedral/fortress building guys--wore aprons:
1: it simply helps keeps rock dust from settling on your medieval duds, and 2: the pouch-style aprons was where you kept your chisels and other tools, not to mention your handy-dandy compass and square, which have NOTHING to do with christianity of course.

The Masonic lodges could easily point out these similarities, but Mo's? Nah, they gotta make up CYA shit and not admit JS stole 'em.

My dad was a mason... not sure of the degree but he was higher up.

At his funeral my uncle (also a mason) was upset because he wasn’t dressed in his apron.

I had never even seen my dad in any mason gear...so had no idea what my uncle was talking about! Still haven’t found it around the house!

I know Mormons are buried in their temple clothes...does this include the apron??

Carrie

>I know Mormons are buried in their temple clothes...does this include the apron??

Yes.

My x and I and another couple were in a session, I'll skip what made this so funny, anyway he didn't have his hat in the packet and I turned to him and said they must not like u here and he said my glasses made my eyes look big and he busted out laughing and of course so did I, it was something trying to get it under control. U can't imagine how hard we were laughing without making a sound.

Not sure. I went once on my wedding day and was so freaked out by the bizarre that I never went back.

You were wise to have learned your lesson with just one visit. It took me many years, and countless visits.