Ok, maybe it was only me who was on the subject. Anyway, referencing the last thread I commented on, referring to the fact that I can't be held responsible if I tell the passwords because my baptism and endowment were not valid as they happened before 1978 and I was baptized by someone not worthy to hold the priesthood because he didn't know he had Negroid blood (I win the run-on sentence award).

So I've been told that it doesn't matter if we tell someone the signs and tokens or godforbid, sell them for money, because God will not recognize them if that person hasn't been endowed. So WHY then did we have to promise to let our throats be slit and our guts spilled before we'd reveal them? Why did I have to have nightmares about someone holding a knife over me asking for the password? Anyone can get them from the internet now, damnit. I can't even make any money from selling them.

Did anyone else take that literally? Did you believe that someone could get into heaven illegally and you'd be held responsible for telling them how? Or was I the most brainwashed person ever?

Yeah, that was the first thing that came to my mind when I did the silly ritual for the first time (ok, to be honest, it was the second thing -- the first thing was, 'wtf is this shit?'):

Why do I have to learn secret handshakes and passwords if god knows everything, and will already know I'm a faithful mormon or not as I make my way to the Celstial Kingdom?

It made no sense at all. I thought it was not just ridiculous, but completely illogical.

I was right :)

edit: by the way, with regard to the "invalid" nature of your "ordinances" -- I've told the story here before about a guy in my ward who found out he had a black ancestor 5 or 6 generations before, and was stripped of his "priesthood," had his temple marriage declared null and void, and was shamed publicly about it in sacrament meeting. Given that kind of action, which the church took on numerous occasions, you're entirely right -- yours never counted, even in their own eyes!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/02/2018 03:15PM by ificouldhietokolob.

Wow, nice to know that. I wondered what happened before 1978 if someone who'd been all in found out they had tainted blood. I'd been told that in that scenario they would put them on some kind of probation where they couldn't use the priesthood but I wondered how that worked and what happened if they were married.

yeah, it doesn't matter what they say now. Back then it was not legit. If I still believed and was a member now, I'd insist on being re-baptized. And if they said it wasn't necessary, I'd want a damn good explanation of why.

Doesn't the New Testament say: "...not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it."?

But you need a secret password because doesn't know if you wanked a lot or voted for Clinton?

It's kid's treehouse stuff.

I assume You mean the tokens of the priesthood from the temple.

Ya I got the crap beat out of me because I refused to reveal them.

Then I found out the church in the 90s said nevermind.

when I heard that God given special name that either God didn't know me or they were full of shit. Lucy. That was one of those BIG ah-ha moments for me, but I hung on for a while as I didn't know what the real answers were for my marriage and this person I was concerned was damned.

I never could buy it, none of it. It was, like I've said, one of the biggest disappointments of my life.

Hey, I've never used Lucy for a password! A new one I can use.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/02/2018 04:04PM by cl2.

I remember thinking the signs were so pointless, the memorization was a badge of honor for people. I could just see the eyes of the other men meeting mine and them saying "watch how fast I can get through the veil to the celestial room" haha.

Then it was also weird that I got to know my wife's new name but she could never know mine. Should I tell her? lol

Hannah, which I truly don't mind. He has long since forgotten it, I'm sure.

When I ventured to ask what his temple name was, he said he didn't remember. Since I have never known him to lie, I believe him.

We know now, thanks to DNA analysis, that humans migrated out of Africa, so literally everyone has or had at least "one drop" of so-called "African blood" – including Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and everyone else they ever ordained. By mormon standards, then, no one has ever qualified to hold its stupid priesthood, and all its ordinances are therefore invalid, even those post-1978.

Another reason, IMO, why the cult can never officially accept evolution and must continue to teach young-earth creationism. Its very legitimacy is at stake.

Big mistake to take away the throat slitting and dis-embowlment. The temple schtick became so pedestrian without them. Suddenly the signs and tokens seemed more appropriate for getting into a tree house than getting into a CK and seemed pointless, like mightybuffalo said. You gotta have a gimmick---as Joseph well knew. The whacko outlaw aspect of Mormonism is what got it to where it was in Joseph and Brigham's day. Nobody wants to drive the Mormons out of town nowadays, they've been neutered.

It's all so watered down now.

Walmart - LDS Inc. pretty much the same.

Would you sacrifice yourself for Walmart?

It's amazing just how much dogma can take over and control your life.

I've never spent 10% of my income at Wal-Mart (net or gross?) But if I did at least I would have something to show for it besides a get in the temple card.

My husband joined the church in the 60's, then found out about the priesthood restriction. He knew from his relatives that he was about 1/32 Black African. He was afraid to tell them that he had the Forbidden Bloodline, so he made excuses not to be ordained to the priesthood. But after a while the pressure from the Bishop and others was too great, and he submitted to the Aaronic Priesthood. Time passed, and now they were pressuring him to be ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood. The Holy Ghost did not reveal his secret to the interviewing Bishop, so he went and got a Patriarchal Blessing. Everyone knows that if a person has the Forbidden Blood, the Patriarch will pick up on it! Alas, the Holy Ghost chose not to inform this Patriarch of the truth. My husband got a wonderful blessing, promising him all kinds of things that never happened. Punishment for not revealing that he had the Curse?

Anyway, they ordained him to the Melchizedek Priesthood years before the Priesthood Restriction was lifted. In the 80's we met and married. One day, we had the feeling that we should "confess" to the Bishop that he had allowed himself to be ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood when he knew he had the Curse. Should he be re-ordained to ensure his priesthood was valid? But the Bishop looked embarrassed! He exclaimed: "No, no, none of that even matters now. Forget about it! Forget it ever happened" And he proceeded to change the subject.

I was puzzled. The Bishop acted as though the whole thing was a mistake, yet I had been taught that Joseph Smith had received a revelation from God and therefore could not be mistaken. A true Prophet of God could never proclaim that something was revealed by God and be mistaken. Little did I understand LDS church history back then!

Being TBM, I soon brushed this off and forgot about it for many years. Then came the advent of the internet...