Understanding the LDS Endowment Ceremony, Symbolism, Part 3 of 3

An attempt to Foster understanding - respectfully.

Last week we discussed part 2 of the Endowment Ceremony. If you have not read it, I would encourage you to read part 1 and part 2 it before proceeding with Part 3.

What is the purpose of this article?

The content in this series of articles come from notes I put together while I was LDS, trying to make sense of everything I was experiencing in the Temple. This was largely because I did not feel that I was properly prepared for the Temple, and the first time I went, I was totally freaked out. If it wasn’t for the fact that I was in the MTC on a mission the week after, I never would have gone back and likely would have left the LDS Church soon after.

THE LDS Temple is completely unlike anything else in the normal LDS experience. You could say it’s very Old Testament and filled with things that even most LDS don’t understand. I have literally seen new LDS members, after the 1 year waiting period, go to the temple and then leave the LDS church because they were so freaked out. (this is not the majority but it does happen.)

My hope is that these notes may help better prepare people going to the temple for the first time since, at the time I wrote this, I viewed the official “temple prep class.” as being close to worthless when preparing newbies for the ”shock value” of going to the Temple. I didn’t want to see other LDS members get freaked out and leave the church because of it. A simple Google image search obtained some of the images used below of LDS ceremonial clothing. Please don’t freak out.

Christ and the Tokens

From time to time, I have encountered the question, “Where is Jesus in the temple?” It is a good question. Jesus is in the presentation but plays little more than a middleman, conveying information from God the Father to the Apostles and back again. But Jesus does appear in the endowment beyond a Jehovah on screen as he is also in the audience.

The patrons represent themselves during their first endowment session and thereafter represent deceased persons. At the same time, the male patrons represent a fallen Adam, and the female patrons represent Eve.

But while these multiple levels of representation are occurring simultaneously, there is another level of representation.

All men and women individually work and interact with Jesus Christ during the ceremony. During the endowment, each temple patron symbolically participates in portrayals of Jesus's birth, death, and resurrection.

They do so through the tokens they receive. The third and fourth tokens are the most obvious in this regard and, taken together, represent the crucifixion of Jesus. All patrons are symbolically crucified through the third and fourth tokens and may say with Paul,

“I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”

(Gal. 6:17)

This gives us a clue as to the meaning of the first and second tokens, which should similarly be taken together in order to discern their meaning. The first and second tokens are almost identical. There is only one difference. It is the difference that is important. The difference between the first and second tokens represents the movement from a higher place to a lower place. They represent movement from heaven to earth. Taken in context with the third and fourth tokens, they represent the advent of the Savior from heaven into mortality. They represent the Savior’s birth. They represent “the condescension of God.”

(1 Nephi 11:16)

Through the four tokens, the patron symbolically participates in Jesus's birth and crucifixion and, by implication, the life Jesus lived between these two events.

After the crucifixion, the patron, still following the example of Jesus, ascends to heaven to be with the Father (represented by the Celestial Room) leaving behind the empty endowment room/tomb.

The Atonement of Jesus is represented at the veil, both as Jesus himself wrought it, as well as the atonement it provides his followers.

Symbolism of Signs

The signs viewed together have their own meaning. Whereas the tokens are Messianic, the signs are Sacerdotal in nature, or in other words, they relate to priestly functions.

It is important to begin by noting that the first three signs are sequential and cumulative (they connect with and build upon each other).

Signs are made with arms and hands held in certain formations. The first sign is made only with the right arm. In the second sign, the first sign is now made with the left arm, and a new sign is introduced for the right arm. In the third sign, the second sign shifts from the right arm to the left arm, and a new sign is introduced for the right arm.

The fourth sign departs from this pattern and represents God's blessings descending from heaven. When taken together, the four signs seem to represent priestly functions.

With that in mind, here is a quotation from the History of the Church 2:379-82, which describes the 21 January 1836 introduction of the Kirtland temple ritual prior to its dedication. The Kirtland temple ritual was a simple ceremony consisting of washing and anointing the body, blessing and sealing the individual, and washing the feet.  After washing and anointing each other in the attic of the printing office, Joseph Smith and his associates congregated in the unfinished temple where the First Presidency (early leadership of the LDS church) consecrated oil and progressively laid hands on each other’s heads, blessing and anointing each other to their offices. Now, the quote from Joseph Smith:

At early candlelight, I met with the Presidency at the west school room in the Temple to attend to the ordinance of anointing our heads with holy oil. . . . . I took the oil in my left hand, Father Smith being seated before me, and the remainder of the Presidency encircled him roundabout. We then stretched our right hands towards heaven, blessed the oil, and consecrated it in the name of Jesus Christ.

We then laid our hands upon our aged Father Smith and invoked the blessings of heaven.  I then anointed his head with the consecrated oil and sealed many blessings upon him.

The passage does not say if the oil was in a bottle or some other container, but if it were not, there are only so many ways Joseph could have held it.

During this meeting, which lasted until 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning, visions were seen (a part of which may be found in D&C 137), angels ministered to many, and “the spirit of prophecy and revelation was poured out in mighty power.”  The meeting was “closed by singing and invoking the benediction of heaven, with uplifted hands.”

Robes, Priesthood, and Gender

Temple patrons don certain clothing necessary to "officiate” in ordinances of the Priesthood. By this they mean the earthly temporal priesthood of Aaron (The Aaronic Levite Priesthood) and the Melchizedek Priesthood (The Eternal Priesthood fulfilled in Christ.)

Both male patrons and female patrons are vested in and wear this clothing. (A detailed look at the symbolism of temple vestments is discussed in the section Vestments, below.)

But where in the temple do the male and female patrons officiate in the ordinances of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods? The answer may be found in the subsequent use of the signs and tokens as part of engaging in the true order of prayer and in the use of the tokens and names at the veil. In order to use all the tokens, names, and signs, one must officiate in both the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods, and men, as well as women, receive the fourth and most sacred name from God and thereafter enter into the presence of God. LDS’s believe that in order to do this, they must possess the Priesthood after the order of Melchizedek. (D&C 84:21, 22)

Elder Oaks recently (though somewhat obliquely) observed that temple matrons “officiate in a priesthood ordinance” when they wash and anoint female patrons prior to receiving the endowment. But this observation applies not only to temple matrons. It applies to every woman who receives her temple endowment.

This may account for why many early Church leaders, including Brigham Young, believed that women who had received their endowment held the priesthood.

Criticisms of the Endowment

There have always been criticisms of the endowment ceremony. Here are some that I’ve come across where I’ve found good answers:

• Gender Roles - The temple ritual has been criticized due to its handling of gender in a couple of ways.

a.     That women have to covenant to obey their husbands. (This was removed from the ceremony.)

b.     That women going through the temple for the first time get the name of the fourth token from their husbands, not God, giving the impression that the husband stands between a woman and god.

c. Men can know the new name of their wives but wives cannot know the new name of their husbands. This is based on the belief that Male LDS priesthood holders will be resurrected first, and that it will be the Man's job to call his wife forth from the grave by using her new name.

In my understanding, recent changes in the temple ceremony have resolved issues A and B. But C remains.

The best response to this that I’ve read is the following:

“Women have been charged with the sacred responsibility of bringing our Heavenly Parents’ spirit children into this world (including the son of God!) Men have been charged with the sacred responsibility of bringing these children safely home again.”

“When Adam partook of the fruit, he did it for Eve, in essence covenanting with his wife that he would support her in her role. Eve then covenanted that she would support him in his role. One cannot succeed without the other.”  

To address criticism B, it should be pointed out that the husband is acting in the place of the officiator (an Angelic Guardian), not God. A woman’s relationship with God is directly between her and God. Also, however, there is a practical reason why this is done. If the husband is going through with the wife for her first time in the temple, he needs to get her New Name so that he can use it to call her forth in the morning of the first resurrection. It is believed by LDS that Christ will raise the Men from the dead first and that they will raise their wives by using their “new" temple names to call them forth.

Priesthood

The Endowment ceremony places a large focus on the Priesthood, after all if you are to be a Priest and King unto God in the next life, the ability to do that is connected with the Priesthood. I believe that the following, from the Orthodox Study Bible is instructive for this topic. Mormons believe in both the Priesthood of Aaron - the Levitical or what they call the Aaronic Priesthood, and the Melchizedek Priesthood. Part of the endowment provides knowledge and ability to officiate in the ordinances of the Melchizedek Priesthood.

Temple Vestments

In this article, I'm going to refer to LDS Temple ceremonial clothing occasionally as Vestments because Orthodox, Catholics, some High Church Protestants, and Jews are familiar with that term - that's what our priests wear. Like in the Endowment video - they are a symbol of priesthood authority.

Although the Endowment narrative, has what I believe to be a not-so-subtle dig at the vestments of Catholic and Orthodox priests. Lucifer at some point appears in what somewhat resembles priestly vestment. When Adam and Eve ask Lucifer what he's wearing Lucifer proclaims that his clothes are a symbol of *his* power and priesthoods. This, I believe, is intended to (subconsciously) create a distrust of non-LDS Clergy who wear traditional vestments (by building negative subconscious associations.) As an orthodox Christian now, I personally find the implications of this insulting.

Endowment or temple ceremonies almost always involve several articles of clothing that have religious and symbolic meanings. This section is dedicated to examining the symbolism of LDS temple vestments in comparison to the Levite High Priest's vestments.

Please note that there is no scholarship that has produced this information. This information is based soley on my observations, and sometimes speculations based largely on my understanding of Early LDS Church history, the early organization of Priesthood offices during the Kikland Temple period and my reading of Exodus 28, where God instructs Moses as to the building of the Tabernacle and the high priests vestments.

LDS temple vestments seem to be loosely patterned after the priestly vestments described in Exodus 28 (28:4) with some modifications. God instructed Moses to construct the temple ceremonial clothing of the high priest for Aaron. This included a Robe, an Ephod, a Girdle, and a Mitre.

And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.

4 And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.

6 ¶ And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work.

7 It shall have the two shoulder pieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together.

9 And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel:

10 Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth.

11 With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in (settings - ouches) of gold.

12 And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a memorial.

13 ¶ And thou shalt make settings of gold;

14 And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work shalt thou make them, and fasten the wreathen chains to the ouches.

15 ¶ And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it.

16 Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof.

17 And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.

18 And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.

19 And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.

20 And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their enclosings.

21 And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.

Exodus 28 2,4-21

Likewise, LDS initiates wear a Robe, an Apron (instead of an Ephod), a Sash (instead of a girdle), and, for men, a cap that represents the Mitre. In place of a cap, women wear a veil, which they use to cover their faces during prayer, a practice no doubt inspired by 1 Corinthians 11:5. Men and women alike wear slippers in the temple instead of shoes, recalling God's command that Moses remove his shoes on holy ground (Exodus 3:5). For the endowment, women wear white dresses, while men wear white shirts, white pants, and white ties; the temple vestments are placed over this basic clothing.

Before we continue to examine LDS temple clothes and possible symbolic meanings, it may be illustrative to look at examples of ancient temple clothing, starting with the Ephod.

Ephod of the High Priest of the Temple

The Ephod contains what is called ‘the breastplate of judgment.’ The breastplate contained 12 stones of different types, each to represent the 12 tribes of Israel. (Exodus 28:15) In the breastplate was contained the Urim and the Thummim (Exodus 28:30) These were essentially ‘seer stones’ that were to be worn over the heart. This clothing symbolized Aaron’s role as Judge over the children of Israel. In addition, there was very specific instruction given as to the shoulder pads and gold chains, which connected the various parts of the Ephod to the breastplate.

The shoulder pads were to include one stone each. Each stone had engraved upon it the names of 6 of the 12 tribes of Israel “as a memorial” (Exodus 28:12) These stones were to be set in gold ‘settings’ as can be seen below.

The shoulder pads were connected to the ‘breastplate of judgement’ via gold chains. (Exodus 28:25-27)  While the scripture does not elucidate the meanings of these chains, I hypothesize that there is symbolism that he carries the responsibility for all of Israel on his heart and shoulders - with the Gold representative of the Glory and Holiness of God. Responsibility for what? For Judgement, for officiating in the priesthood, and for serving in the office of a high priest. He bears the weight of exercising God's Judgement. Exodus 28:30: “And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart when he goeth before the Lord; and Aaron share bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually.” … 35 - And it shall be upon Aaron to minister….

I believe that these chains symbolize the connection of his priesthood office with his responsibility and right of office to serve as a high priest and act as a judge.

The following diagram shows the full temple clothing.

Old Testament High Priest’s Vestments

The meanings of the symbols expressed below are my opinion since there does not seem to be any authoritative LDS source that explains them. The meanings derived are from my own research and what I found in the scriptures. Note that I believe that some of these things may have multiple symbols attached. I.e., they have multiple meanings. This is quite normal in religious symbols and is called multi-vocality by anthropologists, which is a fancy way of saying that each symbol can be saying multiple things. Often, they are coordinated to present multiple levels of symbolism.

Here is a good link that reviews and describes the Orthodox Priestly Liturgical Vestments https://www.saintjohnchurch.org/orthodox-liturgical-vestments/

Endowment Ceremony Clothing Symbolism

The Mitre (Men’s Hat)

The camelaucum, the headdress from which both the miter and the papal tiara stem, was originally a cap used by officials of the Imperial Byzantine court. At the Roman rite of their Coronation, the Pope placed a miter on their heads before placing the crown over it.

In this way, the Mitre is a type of preparatory crown. It is the foundation upon which the final crown will sit. Recall that the Endowment ceremony is one in which participants have been anointed to become kings and high priests unto God and are being prepared to do so.

As a metaphor for the crown and hence a King, the Mitre can represent the Godhead, which directs the ‘body’ of the church. We’ll see this also connect with the Ribbon and the Blue Lancer (string) below.

If you are wondering what the LDS Temple Mitre looks like, it kind of looks like a white shower cap with a ribbon on one side and a longer string on the other. Personally, I always thought wearing it made you look like Chef Boyardee.

Bishops in the Orthodox church also wear a Mitre.

Red brocade mitre worn by an Orthodox bishop.

Men’s MItre Ribbon (Golden Plate)

On the ancient vestments of the High Priest there was ‘a plate of pure gold attached to the Mitre, graven upon it was [...] HOLINESS TO THE LORD.” (Exodus 28:36) The LDS version has a white ribbon on the side opposite the string. The ribbon on the LDS miter has three portions that may symbolize the composition of the Godhead (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.) We are told that it was fixed there so that Israel may be accepted before the Lord. Like the Mitre, there are 2 levels of meaning here:

1.     The Ribbon on the Mitre means that the Kingship only exists to represent and serve the Lord’s will.

2.     The Ribbon manifests the Godhead as being actualized in the present Kingship.

Attachment of the Ribbon to Robe

Also referred to as the “Blue Lance” (Exodus 28:37), The “blue lance” in the LDS version of the Mitre connects the Mitre itself to the Robe. The robe is a long, pleated white robe (Which you can see in the image below.) (It represents the right to officiate in the priesthood - which means both the ability to act in God's name and the ability to participate in an ecclesiastical government.) I believe that this string symbolizes a couple things:

1.     That the powers ruling over / leading and judging are inseparably connected to the offices of the priesthood.

2.     Revelation (explained further below in the discussion of the Top Loops)

According to a lecture on the Perl of Great Price, Hugh Nibley expounds that the ‘knot’ that connects the Ribbon to the Robe represents ‘the safe place’, The Chosen and the Saved, or the Eternal. It represents security and safety. ‘Sa’, is the name that was later given to the palace at Luxor, but it means the holy and safe place, the place where the Egyptian Gods were United in Brotherhood.

The Robe