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From: aidler@sol.uvic.ca (E Alan Idler)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Mormon Temples
Message-ID: <May.9.05.40.11.1993.27471@athos.rutgers.edu>
Date: 9 May 93 09:40:12 GMT
Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu
Organization: University of Victoria
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Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu

mserv@mozart.cc.iup.edu (Mail Server) writes:

>saw8712@bcstec.ca.boeing.com (Steve A. Ward) writes:

>>dan@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu writes:
>[Dan's question about Mormon Temple rituals deleted for brevity]
>> 
>>Just thought I would interject this, and I believe you Dan when you say
>>that you don't mean to offend:  For us LDS temple goers, the temple
>>ceremonies are very sacred.  So much so that anyone who goes there
>>promises never to divulge them.  So how much can you trust someone
>>who is telling you about the cerermony? 

>One thing I don't understand is why being sacred should make the
>temple rituals secret.  There are lots of sacred things in
>Christianity, including the Sacred Scriptures themselves, but there is
>nothing secret about these things.  

Is it appropriate for the Lord not to reveal certain 
things before the world (i.e., publish them widely)?

These things sacred to Himself.  He may place any 
pre- or post-conditions He feels are necessary.

Moreover, there are precedents in scripture where
knowledge of sacred things is withheld:

1. After the Transfiguration Jesus instructed
Peter, James, and John to "tell the vision to no 
man, until the Son of man be risen again from 
the dead" (Matt. 17:9).  
If we were living at the time of Savior, there
would be no (public) record of this event.

2. A faithful friend of Paul experiences a vision 
of "paradise" when he "heard unspeakable words, 
which it is not lawful for a man to utter"
(2 Cor. 12:4).
This person heard something which Paul can not 
write to the Corinthians (and us).

3. There is an incident recorded in the Book of
Mormon where words uttered by "babes" were 
"forbidden that there should not any man write
them (3 Nephi 26:16, the entire text follows
for those of you without access to the BOM).

3 Nephi 26:16
Behold, it came to pass on the morrow that the 
multitude gathered themselves together, and they
both saw and heard these children; yea, even 
babes did open their mouths and utter marvelous
things; and the things which they did utter were
forbidden that there should not any man write them.

Some LDS scholars speculate that these words
which could not be written are the sacred
portions from temple we are to withhold from 
the world (but it could be something else).

>I
>can understand why Mormons would limit temple access to only faithful
>Mormons, but I have never understood the emphasis on shrouding temple
>ritual in mystery.  

There is much we can discuss about the temple 
ordinances.  We can discuss regarding baptisms
and other vicarious ordinances for the dead.
We can discuss certain concepts regarding the
endowment ("the ritual").
However, there are certain elements I can not
discuss with anyone (including other saints)
outside of the temple.
As a portion of the endowment, we receive the
tokens and signs that will permit us access
to Heaven.  I must keep this knowledge sacred 
and respect the conditions under which it is
revealed to me.

A IDLER
