Endowment (Mormonism)

In Mormonism, the endowment is a two-part ordinance (ceremony) designed for participants to become kings, queens, priests, and priestesses in the afterlife.

Participants are taught symbolic gestures and passwords considered necessary to pass by angels guarding the way to heaven, and are instructed not to reveal them to others.

All LDS Church members who choose to serve as missionaries or participate in a celestial marriage in a temple must first complete the first endowment ceremony.

The second part of the endowment, called the second anointing, is the pinnacle ordinance of the temple, jointly given to a husband and wife couple to ensure salvation, guarantee exaltation, and confer godhood.

The term derives from the Authorized King James Version, referring to the spiritual gifts given the disciples of Jesus on the day of Pentecost, in which they were "endowed with power from on high,"[12] Christians generally understand this endowment to refer to the gift of the Holy Spirit, which the Latter Day Saints believe is given at the Confirmation ceremony.

The Kirtland endowment included a ritual ceremony involving preparatory washings and anointings with oil, followed by a gathering in the temple in which many reported spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues and visions.

The instructional and testing phase of the endowment consists of a scripted reenactment of Adam and Eve's experience in the Garden of Eden (performed by live actors—called officiators; in the mid-20th century certain portions were adapted to a film presentation).

"[30]: 44–45 On May 3, 1842, Joseph Smith prepared the second floor of his Red Brick Store, in Nauvoo, Illinois, to represent "the interior of a temple as circumstances would permit".

"[e][36] The LDS Church apostle John A. Widtsoe downplayed the similarities, arguing that they "do not deal with the basic matters [the endowment] but rather with the mechanism of the ritual.

[citation needed] In the temple endowment, women were previously urged to be a priestess "unto her husband," while men were promised they will be priests to God.

[48]: 282  In January 2019, that topic was removed from the endowment process, in accordance with other changes that included more lines for Eve in their ritual performance of the Book of Genesis.

It comprises four parts:[2]: 7 [53] The "initiatory" is a prelude to the endowment proper, similar to Chrismation, and consists of: Preceded only by sealings in 1831, washing and anointing ceremonies are perhaps the earliest practiced temple ordinances for the living since the organization of the LDS Church.

There is evidence that these ordinances have been performed since 1832 when they were first practiced in the Whitney Store as part of the School of the Prophets, and were subsequently implemented in the Kirtland endowment.

[57] Parts of the doctrine of the plan of salvation explained include:[58] The endowment is often thought of as a series of lectures where Latter-day Saints are taught about the creation of the world, the events in the Garden of Eden, what happened after Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden into the "telestial world", and the progression of righteous individuals through "terrestrial" laws to one of the kingdoms of glory and exaltation.

[62][63] The early Mormon leader Brigham Young taught that participants are given "signs and tokens" that "enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels" and gain eternal exaltation.

[2]: 31–32 [61] At the end of the ceremony, the participant is "tested" at the veil on their knowledge of what they were taught and covenanted to do, and then admitted into the celestial room, where they may meditate and pray, but are discouraged from lingering.

[67] At the end of the endowment ceremony the participant is tested at a physical veil by a man representing the Lord on the signs and tokens just learned.

Persons seeking a recommend to attend the temple for the first time and receive their endowment will generally meet with their bishop and stake president.

[71] As of 2023, all temple ordinances including the endowment continue to be denied for any lesbian, gay, or bisexual person who is in a same-sex marriage or homosexual sexual relationship.

2 in the Book of Abraham (part of the LDS Church standard works dated to 1835) when it states that there are things that "cannot be revealed unto the world; but is to be had in the Holy Temple of God.

[89] Some Mormons have suggested that the reluctance to discuss the endowment encourages attacks and unauthorized exposés by evangelical Christians and others, and therefore advocate a more transparent attitude toward the ceremony.

[citation needed] The Latter-day Saint viewpoint is that the endowment is of ancient origin, revealed from the earliest time to the biblical Adam.

"[90] The endowment ordinance, as presented in Latter-day Saint temples, has been referred to as a "ritual drama"[91][92] that commemorates episodes of sacred history due to its "theatrical setting.

"[6]: 166  When viewed as a restoration of ancient rites, the ritual drama and aesthetic environment in which the endowment is presented are both rich in Judeo-Christian symbolism.

Comparative studies of the art, architecture, and rituals found in Mormonism, such as the endowment, reveal parallels to early Catholic and Jewish traditions.

[97] By the fourth century CE, Christian baptism had adopted a much more dramatic and complex set of rituals accompanying it, including washing ceremonies, physical anointing with oil, being signed with a cross on the forehead, and receiving white garments and a new name, all which paralleled the Jewish initiation for priests and kings.

[97] The general theme of ascension through multiple gates or veils of heaven is found all throughout early Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and other Near Eastern religious writings, as well as in the Bible.

[98][96] The descriptions of key words, signs, and tokens being presented to the sentinels of the veils of heaven are particularly prevalent in old Gnostic Christian and Mandaean writings, and in Jewish lore.

Both the temple garments in Mormonism and the tallit katan are meant to be worn all day under regular clothing as a constant reminder of the covenants, promises, and obligations the wearer is under.

[102] Latter-day Saint scholars interpret a biblical scripture in Luke as instructing the apostles to wait for both the pouring out of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost and the endowment ceremony before going out to evangelize.

The celestial room in temples like the Salt Lake Temple shown here represents the highest level of heaven in LDS theology, and is reached after passing the testing portion of the endowment ceremony.
Woman's endowment clothing circa the 1870s, from an illustration in Mark Twain 's Roughing It .
The temple garment underwear Mormons wear daily after receiving them during their initiatory ceremony [ 54 ] : 2:50 [ 55 ]
The Telestial Room of the Salt Lake Temple , where part of the instruction occurs
Participants wear the white temple clothing (cap or veil, robe, sash, green apron, and slippers) and perform ritual arm and hand motions called "signs" during the ceremony as depicted in this 1904 newspaper photograph. [ 60 ] [ 30 ] : 55 [ 61 ]
A woman in the ceremonial temple garb used during the endowment and sealing marriage ceremonies. For women, the veil part of the temple clothing is worn instead of the cap. [ 64 ] [ 54 ] : 1:55 [ 55 ]