...is supposed to be the Light of the World? You know, don't hide your light under a bushel and all that. I suppose they might quote Matthew about "shutting the door and praying in private", but that's about not making a flashy show of your faith.

They just can't admit that the temple is a secret club filled with ridiculous made up crap mixed with rip-offs of Masonry and other stuff (stuff the BoM condemns, by the way). The penalties were originally there to put enough scare into folks that they wouldn't spill the beans on this scam even if some dirty faced ruffians (like pretty much any non-mormon bad guy looks in a church movie) and cut their throat.

Dontcha think Jesus would *want* these super sacred things to be known?

Sacred not secret, my ass.

Oh, and another thing, FAIR basically *lies* when addressing this issue; when I mention the "ruffians", FAIR says that "evil men" might try and get the oaths out of you, but you'd let them cut your throat first. In the oath it says: "We *agree* that our throats...yadda yadda yadda".

I still maintain that the person taking the oath thop0ugh that a Danite type-person, under the direction of the prophet himself, would the deed.

And...Adam says "secrets", not "sacred things"....

Sorry I'm rambling, been sick for three days.

When having dialogue with tbm's on this subject I will point them to John 18:20 "Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing." This verse is clear and points directly to the temple.

They usually change the subject or start making illogical arguments. Then it becomes a nice transition point to start talking about cognitive dissonance.

Howdy CnB! I have a good TBM friend with whom I almost lost it when he said the temple was sacred, not secret. I told him to cut the crap--I'd been to the temple and the first thing in the Endowment is that there will be obligations of "secrecy." I told him to start being honest, and I wouldn't talk about things he'd be uncomfortable discussing about the temple. He agreed.

To me, more damning than the light metaphor is that when Jesus was at trial he said that he openly taught in the temple and none of his teachings were secret. If his accusers wanted to know his teachings, they should ask those who heard him. That haunted me after I went through the temple--why all the secrecy? Why all the not-so-secret handshakes and death gestures? Why the new names kept secret?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/14/2017 10:06PM by BYU Boner.

What about that passage in Nephi 2:17?

"There is nothing which is secret save it shall be revealed; ...."

It says the same thing as Luke 12:2-3: "For there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; neither hid that shall not be known, Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the house tops."


Both passages imply that this is a good thing.

Why does sacred mean we can't talk about it? Jesus's name is sacred, so is God's, and so are the scriptures, what about revelations and miracles? Every one of these we talk about.

If I hear it is sacred, then I will say, then tell me as Jesus commanded.

Most of the Gnostic religion centered on the secret teachings of Jesus over 1800 years ago.

It has been an ongoing thing ever since.