Temple garment
Anti-Mormon activists have occasionally publicly displayed or defaced temple garments to express their opposition to the LDS Church.
[11] General authority Carlos E. Asay adds that the garment "strengthens the wearer to resist temptation, fend off evil influences, and stand firmly for the right.
"[12] In Mormon folklore, tales are told of Latter-day Saints who credit their temple garments with helping them survive car wrecks, fires, and natural disasters.
"[13] To members of the LDS Church, the temple garment represents the sacred and personal aspects of their relationship with God.
Church president Joseph F. Smith taught that the garment was to be held as "the most sacred of all things in the world, next to their own virtue, next to their own purity of life.
"[14] For this reason, most church members feel uncomfortable discussing the garment in a casual or disrespectful manner.
[17] Members are instructed not to dispose of old or torn garments by throwing them in the trash, but rather to cut them to pieces with scissors, or burn them instead.
The garment as first described in the 1840s was a one-piece undergarment extending to the ankles and the wrists, resembling a union suit,[18] with an open crotch and a collar.
[22] Unlike Taylor, McKay did not describe the symbolism of the collar or the tie-strings because those elements of the garment had been eliminated in 1922.
Grant to stake and temple presidents, stated that after careful and prayerful consideration the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church had unanimously decided that specific modifications would be permitted to the garments: sleeves could end at the elbow; legs could be shortened to just below the knee; and buttons could be used instead of strings.
In the 1930s, the LDS Church built Beehive Clothing Mills, which was responsible for manufacturing and selling garments.
[31] Endowed members can find their membership record number on their temple recommend or by obtaining a copy of their Individual Ordinance Summary.
"[33] In the church's General Handbook, leaders are instructed to tell members they should wear garments throughout their lives, and that they should not alter them.
[34] Additionally, the temple garment has been compared to the modern tallit katan, a sacred undershirt of Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Judaism.
Both the temple garment 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.
