When I was an elder and very devout many years ago, there were very few temples, and most of them were in Utah, You only got a recommend when you had to attend someone's wedding, if you didn't live close to a temple. The recommend was a 3-part carbon, 8½ x 5½ and was for a specific temple. Its ONLY use was to get you into that temple. It was not, as it is today, a membership card or certificat
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