Hello, its the me again. I have so many questions and I’m sure your tired of answering them. As I stated before, I want to convert but I get a lot of grief and maybe bad information from people that oppose me joining the church. I know you can’t speak about the temple, but I have heard that before 1990 blood oaths were taken. Jesters such as slitting of the throat and stomach area were done. Is this true?
6 Responses to “Hello, its the me again. I have so many questions and I’m su…”
Luciano Prado
2011-07-25 01:06:38
Temples are considered houses of God, places of holiness and peace separate from the preoccupations of the world.
Hi Fernando. No worries about your questions. I enjoy answering them. You are right that I'm reluctant to talk about the details of the temple ceremony, since I consider them to be too sacred for public discussion. I should also point out that I first passed through the temple in 1999 and so am not personally familiar with the temple ceremony prior to that date. I have, however, done some research into this question that you might find helpful.
A blood oath is an oath associated with a penalty to kill or to be killed. Nothing of this sort was present in the temple ceremony, even prior to 1990. As is the case in the modern ceremony, promises are made to take temple covenants very seriously. Through modern revelation, God has changed the symbols associated with that promise over the years to better match our human culture. Symbols that may have been appropriate in the 19th century, for example, are not necessarily appropriate in our modern society.
Rest be assured, though, that both the modern and the 1985 version of the temple ceremony have nothing to do with killing or being killed. The purpose of the temple ceremony is rather to bring people to Christ. You can read more about this topic elsewhere, in case you're interested.
Art Sherwood
2011-07-18 20:26:11
I can't vouch for myself that these gestures ever existed since I first went through the temple in 1990. However, even if such gestures did exists, they would not have been blood oaths. All of the signs and tokens in the temple are symbolic and spiritual. Those kinds of gestures may have been used to signify the seriousness of violating the covenants made in the temple. It is not a physical threat but a spiritual warning. God sometimes uses such graphic symbolism to get the point across. Take Matthew 18:6 for example...
But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Richard
2011-07-20 22:28:08
Sorry I had to laugh at this... but than I got over it and realized the seriousness (and excuse me stupidity) of what people say to put a blemish on God's true Church... no there is not any blood oath or cutting people in any way. Quite the opposite is true in the LDS faith where we believe that animal and blood sacrificing were ended to the Lord after the Last sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ.
This dates back to 34-35 AD after Christ had risen from the dead. Of course the doctrinal truth of the stoppage of the shedding of blood wasn't re-manifest to the world at large until 1830 when the Book of Mormon was first published.
The LDS Faith has never had anything to do with blood sacrifice. The scriptures state clearly the only acceptable sacrifice now is that of a broken heart and contrite spirit, spiritually speaking of course and no longer of the flesh.
Pamela Dean Bonta
2011-07-25 00:45:23
The San Diego temple in San Diego, California.
Things that happen in the temple are highly symbolic and can take some time to understand. I spent six years of my life worrying about the bad information I received before I was baptized, instead of focusing on what the Holy Spirit was telling me and what I knew to be true. Going to the temple is a sacred privilege, a beautiful way to learn about Heavenly Father's teachings.
Ammon
2011-07-25 03:41:41
It is good to hear that you are planning on joining the church. The gospel of Jesus Christ has blessed my life immensely. The blessings that come through attending the temple have also helped me better understand the plan that our Heavenly Father has for us as His children. It has helped me to understand my responsibilities and obligations as a father, husband, and baptized member of Jesus Christ's church. Although we do not speak, in detail, about the "Endowment" portion of the temple ceremonies outside of the temple, I can say that we are taught about our duties as followers of Christ. Emphasis on obedience to the commandments, as contained in the scriptures, is reinforced in the ceremony. Just as we are taught in the scriptures, in the temple, blessings are promised to those who faithfully obey the commandments that God has laid out for us. We are also taught that we will have to pay the consequences of our conscious decisions to disobey God's commandments. At one point, the endowment ceremony included some hand gestures that displayed the seriousness of breaking the commandments of God. This, of course, was not intended to teach us what would happen physically, as some critics suggest, but was symbolic of our spiritual death if we choose to knowingly disobey God after we have received His commandments. The whole purpose of the endowment is to teach us of our sacred responsibilities and promised blessings. It provides teachings that will help us on our earthly journey through this life and then into the next. After you have been a member of the church for one year, you will have the opportunity to go to the temple and experience these teachings and blessings for yourself. If you would like to read more on this subject, I would suggest these articles. Good luck. http://fairmormon.org/Mormonism_and_temples/Endowment/Penaltieshttp://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Endowment
Shalon
2011-07-20 08:32:03
I can't speak about before my own Temple Endowments which I received in 2005. But given the nature of those I think I can safely say that it's not likely that there was ever anything violent. In fact, there is more of learning in the Temple than of anything else.
Having converted myself I can say with surety that you will receive a LOT of resistance from some people. It's often mentioned in the church that when you are closest to making the right choices to put yourself on God's path is when the Adversary will fight the hardest to pull you away. Do not be fooled. And feel free to ask us as many questions as you need to in order to reassure yourself.
A blood oath is an oath associated with a penalty to kill or to be killed. Nothing of this sort was present in the temple ceremony, even prior to 1990. As is the case in the modern ceremony, promises are made to take temple covenants very seriously. Through modern revelation, God has changed the symbols associated with that promise over the years to better match our human culture. Symbols that may have been appropriate in the 19th century, for example, are not necessarily appropriate in our modern society.
Rest be assured, though, that both the modern and the 1985 version of the temple ceremony have nothing to do with killing or being killed. The purpose of the temple ceremony is rather to bring people to Christ. You can read more about this topic elsewhere, in case you're interested.
But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
This dates back to 34-35 AD after Christ had risen from the dead. Of course the doctrinal truth of the stoppage of the shedding of blood wasn't re-manifest to the world at large until 1830 when the Book of Mormon was first published.
The LDS Faith has never had anything to do with blood sacrifice. The scriptures state clearly the only acceptable sacrifice now is that of a broken heart and contrite spirit, spiritually speaking of course and no longer of the flesh.
Having converted myself I can say with surety that you will receive a LOT of resistance from some people. It's often mentioned in the church that when you are closest to making the right choices to put yourself on God's path is when the Adversary will fight the hardest to pull you away. Do not be fooled. And feel free to ask us as many questions as you need to in order to reassure yourself.