In the theology of the
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by ...
, an endowment refers to a gift of "power from on high", typically associated with the ordinances performed in
Latter Day Saint temples. The purpose and meaning of the endowment varied during the life of movement founder
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...
. The term has referred to many such gifts of heavenly power, including the
confirmation
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...
ritual, the institution of the
High Priesthood in 1831, events and rituals occurring in the
Kirtland Temple in the mid-1830s, and an elaborate
ritual
A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...
performed in the
Nauvoo Temple in the 1840s.
The term ''endowment'' has the most significance to adherents of the Latter Day Saint branch known as
Mormonism
Mormonism is the theology and religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationism, Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to va ...
, including most prominently
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
(LDS Church), which practices a form of the
Nauvoo endowment. The Nauvoo endowment ceremony, introduced by
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...
and codified by Mormon leader
Brigham Young
Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...
, consisted of symbolic acts and covenants designed to prepare participants to officiate in priesthood ordinances, and to give them the keywords and tokens they need to pass by angels guarding the way to heaven. In the LDS Church's modern practices, the endowment ceremony directs new participants to take a number of solemn oaths or
covenants such as an oath of
consecration
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...
to the LDS Church. Also in the LDS Church's modern practices, completing the endowment ceremony is a prerequisite to both full-time
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
service and
temple marriage. In order to enter a temple and participate in the endowment ceremony, church members must hold a current
temple recommend.
1830 endowments: Endowment of the Holy Spirit and confirmation
Although it was not generally referred to as an ''endowment'' at the time, in retrospect, Latter Day Saints have viewed the
confirmation
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...
, first performed on April 6, 1830, and attendant outpourings of the
spiritual gifts, as an early type of endowment. The term derives from the
Authorized King James Version, referring to the spiritual gifts given the disciples of
Jesus
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
on the day of
Pentecost
Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...
, in which they were "endowed with power from on high". Subsequent to these early confirmations, Mormons exhibited what they viewed as
spiritual gifts such as having visions,
prophecy
In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain di ...
, gift of healing, gift of knowledge, gift of tongues. Unlike the other Latter Day Saint endowments, confirmation has continued to coexist with later endowments as a separate
Latter Day Saint ordinance. In the
Community of Christ, formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the "endowment of the Holy Spirit" such as occurred on the day of Pentecost is the only recognized endowment.
1831 Kirtland endowment: Conferral of the High Priesthood
The first reference to an endowment by
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...
, the founder of the
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by ...
, was in early 1831, some days after Smith was joined in his ministry by
Sidney Rigdon, a newly converted
Campbellite minister from
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
. Rigdon's congregation also was converted to Smith's
Church of Christ. Rigdon had apparently disagreed with the Campbellites in that he believed in a
Pentecostal
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...
endowment of power beyond the abiding presence of the
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...
endowed upon confirmation. While Rigdon believed the teachings of the early Mormon missionaries who converted him, he thought the missionaries were lacking in heavenly power.
In January 1831, Smith issued a revelation where he wrote that after Mormons relocated to
Kirtland, Ohio, they would "be endowed with power from on high" and "sent forth". Smith reiterated this in February 1831, stating that the "elders of the church Smith reaffirmed that the faithful members would "be taught from on high" and "endowed with power", and that God would call the elders of the church together in Kirtland in a
general conference and "pour out
isSpirit upon them in that day they assemble themselves together". In a revelation given to an individual, Smith assured the man that "at the conference meeting he
ouldbe ordained unto power from on high".
This general conference of the church was held from June 3 to June 6, 1831, in which a number of men were ordained to the "High" or
"Melchizedek" Priesthood for the first time, which ordination "consisted
fthe endowment--it being a new order--and bestowed authority". Later that year, an early convert who had left the church claimed that many of the Saints "have been ordained to the High Priesthood, or the order of Melchizedek; and profess to be endowed with the same power as the ancient apostles were".
1833 Kirtland endowment: School of the Prophets
In 1833, Joseph Smith established what he called a
School of the Prophets,
Although the events at this school were never specifically called an "endowment", it has been classified as such by scholars including
Gregory A. Prince because of similarities with the 1831 and 1836 endowments, and the fact that part of the school's stated intention was so that the church's elders could be "endowed with power from on high".
[.] At the beginning, the school was "accompanied by a pentecostal outpouring, including speaking in tongues, prophesying and 'many manifestations of the holy spirit'".
It included a new Latter Day Saint ordinance of
foot washing.
1836 Kirtland endowment
A year and a half after the June 1831 endowment, Smith said he received a revelation in December 1832 to prepare to build a "house of God", or a
temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
. A revelation soon followed identifying the location of the temple in Kirtland, Ohio, and another revelation affirmed that in this building the Lord "design
dto endow those
ehad chosen with power on high". In a later revelation the Lord indicated that the elders were to be "endowed with power from on high; for
e had
E, or e, is the fifth Letter (alphabet), letter and the second vowel#Written vowels, vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others wo ...
prepared a greater endowment" than the 1831 endowment. Upon the completion of the
Kirtland Temple after three years of construction (1833–36), the elders of the church gathered for this second promised endowment in early 1836.
The Kirtland Temple endowment ceremonies were patterned after
Old Testament
The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
sacerdotal practices. They consisted of preparatory washings, administered in private homes, in which men washed and purified their bodies with water and alcohol . After this, they gathered in the temple where they were anointed with specially consecrated oil and with blessings pronounced upon their heads by Smith and other church leaders. The men's anointings were sealed with uplifted hands. Following these ceremonies many men reported participating in extraordinary spiritual experiences, such as seeing visions, speaking prophecies or receiving revelations. The culmination of the endowment was a solemn assembly, held on March 30, in which the men partook of the
sacrament
A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol ...
and then washed each other's feet. Those present spent the rest of the day and night prophesying, speaking in tongues, testifying and exhorting each other. To those present it was a "day of
Pentecost
Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...
". Indeed, Smith told the solemn assembly that they could now "go forth and build up the kingdom of God".
On April 3, 1836, Joseph Smith and
Oliver Cowdery recounted the appearance of
Jesus
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
to them in the Kirtland Temple, and his acceptance of the building as his house. This was followed by the appearance of three
prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...
s:
Moses
In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...
, Elias, and
Elijah, each of whom bestowed additional temple-related authority on the two men.
Initially, Smith intended the Kirtland endowment to become an annual affair; he administered the same ceremonies again in 1837. However, because of persecution the Mormons largely abandoned Kirtland and its temple in 1838-39 and moved west. As Smith's theology expanded during the 1840s, the Kirtland endowment was superseded by the Nauvoo endowment. Mormons looked back upon the Kirtland Temple rituals with the authority bestowed by the three prophets as preparatory to the greater endowment revealed at Nauvoo. This was certainly the view of Brigham Young, who said:
Nauvoo endowment
On May 3, 1842,
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...
prepared the second floor of his
Red Brick Store, in
Nauvoo,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, to represent "the interior of a temple as circumstances would permit". The next day, May 4, he introduced the Nauvoo endowment ceremony to nine associates:
Associate President and
Patriarch to the Church Hyrum Smith (Smith's brother); first counselor in the
First Presidency,
William Law
William Law (16869 April 1761) was a Church of England priest who lost his position at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, when his conscience would not allow him to take the required oath of allegiance to the first Hanoverian monarch, George I of Grea ...
; three of the
Twelve Apostles
In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...
,
Brigham Young
Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...
,
Heber C. Kimball and
Willard Richards; Nauvoo
stake president,
William Marks; two
bishops
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
,
Newel K. Whitney and
George Miller; and a close friend, Judge
James Adams of
Springfield,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
.
Throughout 1843 and 1844, Smith continued to initiate other men, as well as women, into the endowment ceremony. By the time of
his death on June 27, 1844, more than 50 persons had been admitted into the
Anointed Quorum The Anointed Quorum, also known as the Quorum of the Anointed, or the Holy Order, was a select body of men and women who Joseph Smith initiated into Mormon Temple (Latter Day Saints), temple Ordinance (Latter Day Saints), ordinances at Nauvoo, Illin ...
, the name by which this group called themselves.
The Nauvoo endowment consisted of two phases: (1) an initiation, and (2) an instructional and testing phase. The initiation consisted of a
washing and anointing, culminating in the clothing of the patron in a "
Garment of the Holy Priesthood", which is thereafter worn as an undergarment.
The instructional and testing phase of the endowment consisted of a scripted reenactment of
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...
's experience in the
Garden of Eden
In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden (; ; ) or Garden of God ( and ), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28 and 31..
The location of Eden is described in the Book of Ge ...
(performed by live actors called officiators; in the mid-20th century certain portions were adapted to a film presentation). The instruction is punctuated with personal covenants, gestures, and a
prayer circle around an altar. At the end of instruction, the initiate's knowledge of symbolic gestures and key-words is tested at a "veil", a symbolic final frontier for the initiate to face the judgment of
Jesus
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
, before entering the presence of God in the
celestial kingdom.
See also
*
Temple (Latter Day Saints)
Notes
References
*.
*.
*.
*.
*.
*.
*.
*.
*.
* Ehat, Andrew (1982). "Joseph Smith's Introduction of Temple Ordinances and the 1844 Mormon Succession Crisis", Thesis, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.
*
Endowed from on High: Temple Preparation Seminar; Teacher's Manual'' (2003). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah. †
* .
*.
*.
* Packer, Boyd K. (1980). ''The Holy Temple.'' Bookcraft Publishers, Salt Lake City, Utah. .
* Packer, Boyd K. (2002).
Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple.' The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, UT. † Note: This pamphlet is adapted from Packer's ''The Holy Temple.''
*. See also: ''
Book of Commandments''
*
excerpt*.
* Smith, Joseph, et al. (February 1, 1832 - November 1, 1834) ''Kirtland Revelation Book'', LDS Church Archives, Salt Lake City, Utah
Digital reprintby the
Joseph Smith Papers Project
*, copied to .
*. See also: ''
The House of the Lord''
*.
*.
* Widstoe, John (1954). ''Discourses of Brigham Young'', Deseret Book, Salt Lake City, Utah.
* Widstoe, John (1960). ''
Evidences and Reconciliations'', Bookcraft, Salt Lake City, Utah.
{{Refend
:
† The materials published by the LDS Church directly may only be available from the church's distribution center.
Latter Day Saint temple practices
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