And let all my people who dwell in the regions round about be very faithful, and prayerful, and humble before me, and reveal not the things which I have revealed unto them, until it is wisdom in me that they should be revealed. (D&C 105:23)
I’m sure many of you have heard the news: Last night the Church released a new video that teaches the world about the sacred temple clotting and garments. The video even goes as far as to show them.I was stunned, just as many of you were.
The video, (which I linked to at the bottom of the page) is very well done, easily understandable, and timely. Yet I was still stunned. Obviously this new direction and video came from the highest levels of the Church – but it took me a few minutes to really believe and accept that a sea-change had happened.
All of my life I have done my best to keep sacred things sacred – including the wearing of the garment, and details of my temple worship. That included not talking about them publicly, or showing them. I’m sure most of you have lived the same way. Obviously things have changed. I believe it is a change for the better.
Our “secrets” have not been secrets for a very long time. Evil and curious people have been posting pictures of sacred temple clothing online for years, while most of us have felt icky and wrung our hands. Personally, I think the video is great thing. Here’s why:
I would rather “own” the discussion to ensure that it is correct, rather than try to hide what can no longer be hidden and let the evil forces control the issue.
From now on, if someone has questions about these particular sacred things, they can go to a legitimate source for a greater understanding.
About two years ago, when the Presidential election was well under way, there was a lot of buzz in the media about garments. I wanted to talk about them, and how sacred they are to me. Instead of addressing it directly, I wrote a post entitled “Rings & Things.”
Here it is again, as a reflection on subtler times:
Of Rings & Things
With all the media attention on the LDS faith, I have been asked by several readers to write my thoughts about the sacred garment that endowed church members wear. I’m not going to do that, but some of my thoughts below are analogous. If you understand wedding rings, you can understand the garment.
A few years ago, one of the cottonwood trees in our backyard died. In the tradition of “manly men,” I decided that we could remove it ourselves. It was a family affair – everyone helped cut down the smaller branches with clippers and saws, until it was time to break out the power: My chainsaw.
I had everyone stand clear as I fired it up and began to take down the big stuff. As I was cutting through one of the larger branches, a smaller branch broke loose and was coming right at my face.
I did the unthinkable: I took my left hand off the saw to shield my face.
Without the pressure of my left hand, the saw kicked – right towards my face. But it didn’t hit my face because my hand was already there. I watched, in seeming slow motion, as the saw cut through my glove and into my hand. Then the chainsaw stopped.
I dropped the saw to the ground and calmly called to my wife, “Sweetheart, I think we have a problem.” She walked over to see what had happened. We were relieved to see that my fingers were all still attached, but the wound was nasty. Then it started to bleed. A lot.
She ran into the house and grabbed a dishtowel which we wrapped tightly around my hand to slow the bleeding, but it dripped a trail of blood as we hurried to the car. She took me to the nearest urgent care.
Two doctors attended to me quickly. They unwrapped my hand and were also relieved to see that my fingers were still intact, but the injury was going to take some cleaning and stitching. As they rinsed the wound, they commented about how lucky I was that my fingers had not been severed.
Upon closer examination, it became obvious as to what had happened. The saw cut halfway through my pinky, and had started to cut through my ring finger before it stopped. The saw blade had hit my wedding ring, causing the chain to kick back a tiny bit – just enough to spare my fingers.
As the bleeding subsided, I was taken for x-rays. The chain had actually cut halfway through the bone of my little finger, but the bone had not snapped. All that was left was to stitch me up and send me home. The skin above my ring was chewed up enough that the doctors said they would need to cut my ring off before they could stitch me up.I refused. I told them that they were not cutting my ring off. They were incredulous – and I was ridiculous. In retrospect, I think I was probably in shock.
My EC encouraged me to cut the ring, but I refused. Instead, I tucked the edges of the laceration under the ring, and then wiggled the ring up my finger. Repeating this tortuous procedure several times, I was able to get the ring off.
Everyone in the room was pretty grossed out by now, and my wife was trying not to throw up. By then I was feeling nauseous and in need of painkillers. They numbed me up, stitched me up, and sent me on my way…..with my un-cut wedding band in my pocket.
Why would I share this story? Because it is gross, and manly, but mostly to let you know that I value my wedding band.
When I married my sweet wife 28 years ago, it was the best day of my life. On that day, a new family was created – an eternal family. In order for that to happen, we had our marriage solemnized in the right place, by the proper authority. We chose to be married in a holy temple, by the authority of God’s priesthood.
I wear my ring to remind me of my marriage covenants.
To me, my ring is a constant reminder of those covenants I made with my wife.
To me, my ring is a constant reminder of those covenants I made with God.
To me, my ring is a constant reminder of who I am – part of an eternal partnership.
I wear my ring for protection. Not necessarily from chainsaws.
A wedding ring can also protect me from appearing to the world around me to be something I am not. In this case: Available.
My wedding ring can protect me from myself. It can serve as a “fail-safe” reminder. Should I permit myself fall into certain temptations, succumbing could only be realized by taking my ring off – literally or figuratively.
Even though my ring did save my fingers, I make no claims that it is magic. But I do know that I was protected because I was wearing it. More importantly, and more simply, it reminds me of the most important parts of my life.
And so, I will respect it, and wear it, for the rest of my life.
Here is the link to the new video. Mind you, the things talked about are still sacred.
Maybe it is a generational thing, but I have long thought that President Packer is correct in saying that we keep more secret about the temple than necessary. There is a lot of doctrine taught there that isn’t secret, only sacred, and can be discussed. I feel temple clothing and garments fall into that category. Certainly not to be chatted about casually, but not to be taboo either.
I really loved the video. I have shared it with all of my children. I saw my Mothers Temple Clothes when I was a child, Its education. They understood the Temple better and in different ways, and on a deeper . level. Knowledge is good, and this video approved by the Prophet shows that the church is expanding, and we are taking control of the conversation of who we are. It dovetails perfectly with the Meet the Mormons video I feel like it is time. We should own the conversation rather then let people speculate. I felt the spirit strongly while watching it. I loved that they explained why we wear them by relating it to other religions and that we wear them for the same reason they do,
I thought the video was very tastefully done. FOML3 is preparing to enter the temple next month; I imagine (and hope) that this video is used as part of her temple prep class. If not, I’ll make sure she watches it before we go shopping for temple clothes. Now that many temples (including ours) don’t rent clothing, people naturally come into contact with the clothing before actually entering for their own endowment. I think this is a good thing to help make the experience more smooth and less overwhelming.
Love this post. Love that new video. I was unaware. Thank you for sharing it here!
Thank you. It was perfect for FHE with our teenage sons getting ready for the temple and their missions. Perfect scripture to introduce it all
Frustrating and confusing that the computer in the Ward Clerk’s office will not open the YouTube page for this.
My parents were converts to the Church when I was five years old. My parents were not able to go to the Temple until I was 11 years old. My mother taught me that Temple Garments were sacred and should never touch the ground. When I did the laundry I was always careful to take extra care when washing garments. I never saw my parents Ceremonial Robes until I received my own endowments. I was shocked when I recently learned that someone had used a small camera disguised as a tie tack to film the new films in the Endowment Ceremony. I am happy that the Brethren have decided to openly show and discuss the significance and sacred nature of our Temple and Ceremonial clothing. I believe that most people will be respectful of our beliefs and those that do not will eventually be answerable to our Father in Heaven. The video was very well presented and preempts those who would demean and ridicule our sacred beliefs.
I had been a member of the Church for two years when I entered the temple for the first time to receive my endowment. No one had talked to me about the temple and I never attended any classes. I felt peace, love and fortunate to be in this beautiful environment.
As you said, it is still sacred. I cannot see me for any reason saying anything beyond what is in the film. I might not even venture that far. Now we have a link. I’ll use that. I was also shocked, but I remember sitting on my bed with my mother who was not a member and showing her my temple robes. It felt like the right thing to do at the time. I never regretted it. A few years later, I was her escort in the Temple when she received her endowment. I am always at peace (after a few minutes of shock) when the church does something out of the box (so to speak). It always seems right and at the right time. “We thank thee, O God, for a prophet, who guides us in these latter days.”
I have to agree with Jenna. The first time I remember seeing the temple clothing was at my grandfather’s funeral when I was 16, and I honestly felt like I kind of wasn’t supposed to look at him because he was dressed in his temple robes and I had been taught that no one was supposed to see those outside of the temple. The next encounter with the robes was at my own endowment, and like Jenna it was shocking and distracting to me and I felt so awkward during my endowment with the unfamiliar clothing. I also remember being asked when I bought my temple clothes what style of this or that I would like, and I was so frustrated because I had no idea what they were even talking about. (Of course that could have been remedied by waiting to buy those things until after I was endowed). In summary, I would have loved to have had this video resource available before I went through the temple for my own endowments, and even as a resource before my grandpa’s funeral. I am so grateful that I will have this to show to my own daughters as they prepare for the temple when they are older, and also maybe even before funerals of great-grandparents. I feel that it will be one of those things I will share with them as the spirit dictates.
I lost my mom recently. She was dressed in temple clothes for her burial. I had never given much thought to how frequently the temple robes are displayed for anyone to see. A majority of my family are not LDS and a few of them asked me questions but most did not although I’m sure they had them. I found myself wishing that there was some way to share with everyone the significance and sacredness of the clothing. It would be helpful to have a small pamphlet that contained the same content as the video that could be shared in such a setting.
I think it is important for the Church to own the message and to ask for respect as well. I think the video is well done and will be helpful to members in knowing how to respond to questions.
BC, when I saw the video I thought about how/when I would use it. This wasn’t something I had considered, but I love the idea. Next time I have a family funeral and not everyone is familiar with it (when my grandmother will pass away) I will now know where to send my cousins that want to know what is up with her burial clothing. Thank you for the idea.
I also think this is a great approach, more pre-emptive and taking back the arena, since it is available elsewhere for anyone to find. I’m sure I had seen deceased endowed members clothed in temple robes before my own endowment, but I didn’t remember anything about the temple clothing, so I would’ve appreciated this before going to the temple too. My impressions on the clothing when I first went to the temple were “handmaiden of the Lord” for the women, and “escaped kitchen help” for the men. Not very reverent, I know, but that’s the first thing that came to my mind when I saw the men’s clothing. I’m going to forward this to a missionary receiving his endowment in the next few weeks. Also- I think the ring analogy is perfect. I will probably use it at some point. Thanks!
I’m so glad I wasn’t the only one. I giggled out loud (totally not on purpose) when I looked up and saw my future husband…my poor mom stepped on my toe and shot some laser beams my direction. I still smile when I think back on that day. He’s a supremely amazing catch, and kept loving me even after I giggled out loud.
I love this video. I did not see the temple clothing ever until I was in the middle of my own endowment. It was a bit shocking to me and continued to distract me throughout the ceremony. A video like this would have helped me be prepared for the unfamiliarity of the clothing beforehand. They are indeed sacred, but I think it is helpful not only for non-members to view them in the proper way (such as through this video) but certainly for prospective temples goers as well. Granted, I have only been an endowed member for 9 years. I can see why this video would make older members uncomfortable.
I love the metaphor and what it represents. I feel like the Lord is hastening His work and this is just one more example of that. I’m in awe of what is going on in the world around us! It’s just amazing!
You know, I thought the video was really good. I definitely agree though, share as the Spirit dictates. It reminded me of when I was a Laurel in Young Women and we had a Stake Laurel Camp. One of the stake YW leaders was given permission to speak to us about the importance of going to the temple. A part of that was she showed us her temple clothes. She didn’t give us specifics, but she showed them to us. I didn’t have a lot of funerals in my family prior to that time, so it was the first time I had ever seen them. BUT, it was a sacred time and place. It was dictated by the spirit and she was given permission to do it. She didn’t go running around showing everyone her temple clothes. I remember it being a very nice and spiritual experience. My second year of Laurel camp we had a different stake leader. She didn’t feel comfortable with it, and in her case, didn’t show us any temple clothes, and focused on why she felt going to the temple was important. Was either person in the wrong? I never felt so. I still don’t. Just like, I have friends posting the video all over facebook, and others that don’t feel right about it so they don’t.
I saw it last night. At first I thought it was going to be a “mockumentary” but then I saw that the URL led to the Church’s site. I was also amazed at its content. In the past, my non member friends have teased me about various parts of our religion. The one thing that they have always respected is my request that all temple related things (including the garments) are off limits for discussion/teasing. Now, if any of my non member friends have questions, I will now have a place to send them for the official explanation so that I don’t have to try and negotiate that “mine field”.
I LOVE that you started this post with that awesome scripture, it goes along so well with this concept.
However, I am personally feeling an internal struggle with this video. Do I post a link to this video on Facebook, or encourage my non-member families to watch it, or do I show it to my 17 year old? I guess my feeling is maybe not to specifically share it unless a need for it comes up, but I am not sure whether that is inline with the church’s thoughts on this or whether they would say share with everyone at anytime. Hmm, any thoughts on those feelings, MMM?
I would only share it as the Spirit dictates
Yes. What a lovely use of metaphor.