It's not secret, it's sacred

[_Scottie]

Can members please stop with this tired phrase?

When you have something that isn't allowed to be shared, except with a select few, it is, by definition, SECRET!!

Also, I would like to point out that it is possible to be both secret AND sacred. This phrase makes it sound like it can only be one or the other.

Going back to the roots of the temple, the rites were NOT secret because they were sacred. They were secret because Joseph Smith didn't want people knowing the shenanigans he was performing in the temple. When the world imagines the secrecy is because of wild sex orgies on the alters of the temple, they aren't that far off from the REAL reason it was secret in the first place.

Last, if the saving ordinances in the temple are so sacred that outsiders can't know them, why is baptism open to all who wish to view? I would argue that the baptismal ordinance is every bit as important as the temple ordinance. I hear all the time how the world would mock the sacred ordinances of the temple, yet I don't see a throng of YouTube videos mocking baptisms.

[_Buffalo]

Can members please stop with this tired phrase?

When you have something that isn't allowed to be shared, except with a select few, it is, by definition, SECRET!!

Also, I would like to point out that it is possible to be both secret AND sacred. This phrase makes it sound like it can only be one or the other.

Going back to the roots of the temple, the rites were NOT secret because they were sacred. They were secret because Joseph Smith didn't want people knowing the shenanigans he was performing in the temple. When the world imagines the secrecy is because of wild sex orgies on the alters of the temple, they aren't that far off from the REAL reason it was secret in the first place.

Last, if the saving ordinances in the temple are so sacred that outsiders can't know them, why is baptism open to all who wish to view? I would argue that the baptismal ordinance is every bit as important as the temple ordinance. I hear all the time how the world would mock the sacred ordinances of the temple, yet I don't see a throng of YouTube videos mocking baptisms.

??

[_Scottie]

??

It was secret because Joseph Smith didn't want others (Emma included) to know that he was marrying/sealing himself to other women.

I don't believe there is any evidence to suggest that sex actually took place in the temple (please correct me if I'm wrong), but the sealings appear to have been performed so that Joseph Smith could have sex with his wives. Which is why I said it's not far off.

[_Spurven Ten Sing]

Actually, scottie, I believe it is secret because the rites which Smith plagiarized were also secret. He merely carried it over as well. The temple is unrelated to Smith's adultery.

[_Scottie]

Hm... I'm getting information from MormonThink...

http://www.i4m.com/think/temples/temple_legacy.htm

1. Creation of Temple Endowment Ceremony
In order to keep Smith's Polygamy a secret, he came up with the temple endowment with its oaths of secrecy. On Wednesday, May 4th, 1842, Joseph Smith initiated nine men into his new inner-circle called the "Holy Order," the "Quorum," the "Holy Order of the Holy Priesthood," or the "Quorum of the Anointed." For the first year, only a very select few men received the endowment and all were sworn to secrecy based on a death oath. By using a secret ceremony and oaths, Smith was able to keep his practice of polygamy a secret for years. History of the Church Volume 5:1 documents these first meetings and the participants. They were all in Smith's inner-circle of polygamy. Heber C. Kimball's journal (1840-45) also describes the introduction of the secret endowment as it relates to polygamy.

2. Closing of Temple Marriages
The practice of closed Temple marriages started with polygamy. Before polygamy in Nauvoo, Mormon marriages were performed anywhere. In fact, those performed in the Kirtland Temple were open to non members! Joseph Smith's own diary lists marriages he performed in the temple, which included non-members as participants and as witnesses. See "The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, 1835-1836." Today, Mormons have the tradition of closed temple marriages as a direct legacy of Smith's attempt to keep polygamy a closely-guarded secret. When he was marrying other men's wives without their knowledge, he had to have the ceremonies closed and secret.

[_Lucretia MacEvil]

Joseph Smith had good reason to keep it secret. Nowadays, they keep it secret because it's embarrassing.

[_Scottie]

Joseph Smith had good reason to keep it secret. Nowadays, they keep it secret because it's embarrassing.

Yeah, this is another train of thought I have.

The baptism is fairly innocuous. Not a lot that can be mocked there.

The temple rituals, on the other hand, are just downright weird. I think deep down members know it's secret because the world would give a collective W T F???

[_Nevo]

[Temple rites] were secret because Joseph Smith didn't want people knowing the shenanigans he was performing in the temple.

The only "shenanigans" that I am aware of that were performed in the Nauvoo temple during Joseph Smith's lifetime were baptisms for the dead. And these rites weren't exactly secret.

[_Fence Sitter]

[Temple rites] were secret because Joseph Smith didn't want people knowing the shenanigans he was performing in the temple.

The only "shenanigans" that I am aware of that were performed in the Nauvoo temple during Joseph Smith's lifetime were baptisms for the dead. And these rites weren't exactly secret.

Is this because the temple ceremony was actually being performed/developed else where?

[_Scottie]

Packham (I think i4m is Packham's website, right?) seems to believe otherwise.

Does anyone have more information on this? Why is MormonThink posting that it was secret because Joseph Smith was hiding polygamy?