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Development of LDS Temple Worship, 1846-2000: A Documentary History
In LDS theology, temple rites do more than inspire meditations on eschatological themes. Ideally they provide stability and comfort in the temporal world out of the belief that families can be sealed together for eternity. This is not without theological complications. For instance, early in Mormon history, the question was asked regarding which man a child should be attached to in the afterlife: his biological father or the man who murdered his father but was married to his mother? Another question raised in frontier Utah was whether to seal orphans of African descent to their adoptive Caucasian parents. Mormon bishops asked whether a woman could attend the temple after marrying a non-Mormon. The Church s First Presidency also puzzled over how to handle posthumous sealings for nineteenth-century polygamists in Mexico for whom the records had been destroyed. Since 1846 when the first temple with private rituals was completed in Nauvoo, much has changed regarding the content of the ceremonies, policies, and practices: who is married to whom, for instance, and standards regarding temple garments for soldiers and nursing mothers. The documents assembled in this collection include excerpts from leaders diaries, minutes of Quorum of the Twelve meetings, pastoral letters, sermons, and official publications. They include both carefully crafted statements and less formal, behind-the-scenes deliberations.
500 pages, Hardcover
First published April 5, 2011
59 people are currently reading
211 people want to read
About the author
Devery S. Anderson
11 books14 followersDevery S. Anderson, Salt Lake City, Utah, is a graduate of the University of Utah and is an editor at Signature Books in Salt Lake City. He has authored or coauthored several books on Mormon history, two of which won the Steven F. Christensen Award for Best Documentary from the Mormon History Association.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
March 13, 2011
The temple and its associated ordinances stand at the center of Latter-day Saint worship and theology. Yet an understanding of its origins and development are not well understood. this book goes a long way to fill that void.
With 478 pages of documents, plus 52 pages of introductory and explanatory text, Anderson's book is packed with an array of fascinating information, tracing through more than 150 years of developments related to the temple.
The introductory overview gives a useful summary of content, addressing major themes related to the temple including:
* A history of temples and temple ordinances
* Temporary places where temple work was performed when no temple was available
* Varying requirements for temple admission
* Rules for burial in temple clothes
* Adjustments to the temple ceremony
* World wide expansion of temples
* Temple film origins and development
* Consideration of a temple ship
* Changes and rules regarding temple garments
* The second anointing
* Blacks and the temple
* Women and the temple
The third volume in a series, and sensitive to promises of secrecy by members of the church, it covers a period spanning over 150 years, up through and including modern times. The documents represent a wealth of interesting and useful information covering the topics listed above, and much more. Many of the individual documents, in and of themselves, represent amazing historical revelations. But the sheer number of fascinating items packed into this large volume, represents a wealth of information about that which is most central to Latter-day Saints. Anderson's thorough and carefully produced work is a solid contribution to Mormon history.
With 478 pages of documents, plus 52 pages of introductory and explanatory text, Anderson's book is packed with an array of fascinating information, tracing through more than 150 years of developments related to the temple.
The introductory overview gives a useful summary of content, addressing major themes related to the temple including:
* A history of temples and temple ordinances
* Temporary places where temple work was performed when no temple was available
* Varying requirements for temple admission
* Rules for burial in temple clothes
* Adjustments to the temple ceremony
* World wide expansion of temples
* Temple film origins and development
* Consideration of a temple ship
* Changes and rules regarding temple garments
* The second anointing
* Blacks and the temple
* Women and the temple
The third volume in a series, and sensitive to promises of secrecy by members of the church, it covers a period spanning over 150 years, up through and including modern times. The documents represent a wealth of interesting and useful information covering the topics listed above, and much more. Many of the individual documents, in and of themselves, represent amazing historical revelations. But the sheer number of fascinating items packed into this large volume, represents a wealth of information about that which is most central to Latter-day Saints. Anderson's thorough and carefully produced work is a solid contribution to Mormon history.
October 30, 2017
An excellent resource
A fascinating book. While the documents could be repetitive in some portions, Anderson has organized a collection of primary and secondary sources that will help lead the reader to truly fascinating insights and an increased sense of appreciation for the Latter-day Saint Temple.
A fascinating book. While the documents could be repetitive in some portions, Anderson has organized a collection of primary and secondary sources that will help lead the reader to truly fascinating insights and an increased sense of appreciation for the Latter-day Saint Temple.
July 30, 2019
Fascinating viewing the Restoration approach to developing temple worship.
December 1, 2013
After the interesting and insightful introduction, this was just a long compilation of primary sources without any commentary or explanations. I'll admit the author was thorough: I think he found every single diary entry where someone in the 19th century attended the temple, and he reproduced those entries faithfully. If you want to read 600 pages of "I went to the temple today and was sealed to my wives," this is the book for you.
One thing I did find interesting...in the early temple years a woman couldn't get her endowments if she was having her period--she was "unclean." And before getting sealed, a couple was supposed to refrain from having intercourse for several days--again, it was "unclean."
One thing I did find interesting...in the early temple years a woman couldn't get her endowments if she was having her period--she was "unclean." And before getting sealed, a couple was supposed to refrain from having intercourse for several days--again, it was "unclean."
June 2, 2011
Overall this was very well done, and I appreciated the more detailed footnotes that this volume contained compared to the two companion books that Devery was involved in. However there are some big gaps too and I would have enjoyed reading about the decisions that lead up to dramatic changes in the temple ceremonies that were not discussed.
March 2, 2014
Other than being repetitive source material, this is an excellent chronological history of the progression of worship and understanding. Past experiences, questions, and struggles are relevant to today's development of both the temple and individuals as children of God. There are many gems and mysteries to be revealed to the careful and respectful reader/searcher.
January 8, 2012
Awesome and absolutely invaluable resource to the most fascinating subject in all of Mormonism. Indispensable!
April 28, 2023
A key to reading this book is the idea of a "documentary history." This book is a compilation of documents rather than arguments, which I suppose would be obvious to a scholar, but wasn't apparent to me as a non-specialist reader. The advantage to this format is that as a reader, you get the non-processed documents and get to draw your own conclusions from them rather than being told what to think, though there is some context offered in the footnotes. Once you get over the format and get used to skimming over multiple slightly altered versions of the Church handbook (especially in the later years), you get to dig into a fantastic study of how LDS thought about the temple has grown and changed over time.
I appreciated seeing that the same old discussions come up over and over again in different forms: the altering of garments, the pushing back against modernization by leadership, the constant fight against the changes creeping in by spreading to more temples, the adjudication of complex questions of sealing and worthiness. The more things change, the more people stay the same.
Another insight I had is that the first concerns about people not understanding the endowment don't show up until the 1940s and 50s, after the culture of Masonry had died somewhat in the United States making the endowment something for which the average member didn't have a context anchor. Not that the temple is a direct rip-off of Masonry (from what I can tell--I still need to pick up Method Infinite), but that the symbolic language that both drew on fell out of favor in the United States in the meantime. I highly recommend this book for any member with a little patience for reaching their own conclusions about the history of the temple.
I appreciated seeing that the same old discussions come up over and over again in different forms: the altering of garments, the pushing back against modernization by leadership, the constant fight against the changes creeping in by spreading to more temples, the adjudication of complex questions of sealing and worthiness. The more things change, the more people stay the same.
Another insight I had is that the first concerns about people not understanding the endowment don't show up until the 1940s and 50s, after the culture of Masonry had died somewhat in the United States making the endowment something for which the average member didn't have a context anchor. Not that the temple is a direct rip-off of Masonry (from what I can tell--I still need to pick up Method Infinite), but that the symbolic language that both drew on fell out of favor in the United States in the meantime. I highly recommend this book for any member with a little patience for reaching their own conclusions about the history of the temple.
September 19, 2023
Not what I expected. This is a collection of journal entries, letters, and other documents mentioning temple ordinances, recommends, etc.
I believe I'm glad that I read it. I did pick up many points about changes in practices. Here are just a few I noticed. Did you know that originally *the* prophet signed *all* recommends? At first a recommend was for a particular temple; you took two parts of a triplicate, and the temple kept one part. If you wanted to attend a different temple, you needed another recommend. All recommends used to expire at the end of the year: you had to get a new one every year. At another time all recommends expired twice a year: March 31 and September 30. "Church members will, therefore, be required to make application each six months for recommends." (page 275) In the early years all garments were handmade or off-the-shelf underclothes were purchased and made official. Only relatively recently has Initiatory been handled separately from Endowment. As membership grew and temples multiplied, the church adjusted procedures.
This would be an excellent resource for someone researching particular aspects, such as the age when someone may receive their endowment or who signs which kind of recommend. But it is *not* a narrative. There is *much* repetition: people write much the same thing.
Some documents about permission to use a bit of Disney's "Fantasia" for creation scenes is on pages 296 to 298. Those pages also have notes and documents about making the movies for the endowment.
I enjoyed reading perspectives about how important it is for us to make covenants with God in the temple.
I believe I'm glad that I read it. I did pick up many points about changes in practices. Here are just a few I noticed. Did you know that originally *the* prophet signed *all* recommends? At first a recommend was for a particular temple; you took two parts of a triplicate, and the temple kept one part. If you wanted to attend a different temple, you needed another recommend. All recommends used to expire at the end of the year: you had to get a new one every year. At another time all recommends expired twice a year: March 31 and September 30. "Church members will, therefore, be required to make application each six months for recommends." (page 275) In the early years all garments were handmade or off-the-shelf underclothes were purchased and made official. Only relatively recently has Initiatory been handled separately from Endowment. As membership grew and temples multiplied, the church adjusted procedures.
This would be an excellent resource for someone researching particular aspects, such as the age when someone may receive their endowment or who signs which kind of recommend. But it is *not* a narrative. There is *much* repetition: people write much the same thing.
Some documents about permission to use a bit of Disney's "Fantasia" for creation scenes is on pages 296 to 298. Those pages also have notes and documents about making the movies for the endowment.
I enjoyed reading perspectives about how important it is for us to make covenants with God in the temple.
September 1, 2020
This is a wonderful resource to the budding Church historian. It is a compilation of documents that detail not only changes made to the Church's temple endowment ceremonies, but also provides insights into early Church leaders' opinions in regard to its details.
This work endeavors to detail the changes made to the temple endowment ceremony, but still maintains the integrity of the sacred nature of the temple.
This work endeavors to detail the changes made to the temple endowment ceremony, but still maintains the integrity of the sacred nature of the temple.
December 19, 2017
Great resource for primary source material on the development of temple worship. I recommend reading Wilford Woodruff’s Witness in addition to this book for a full picture of the development of LDS Temple worship and doctrine.
March 18, 2021
Although this book is dry and repetitive in parts, it is also a fascinating look at the history of the LDS temple. Using primary source documents exclusively, he weaves the story of temple developments throughout church history. I read it slowly over about a year in bits and pieces.
December 10, 2018
A scholarly masterpiece. using original sources, this book traces the development of Latter-day Saint temple worship.
July 26, 2016
A collection of journal entries, letters between general authorities, official statements, handbook entries, and meeting minutes that document policies, thoughts, and experiences related to latter-day temples. There is about a fifty page introduction that gives an overview. This alone, is worth reading. The rest is hit or miss. It is a miss when it grows repetitive. It is a hit when it abounds with trivia and interesting experiences.
As often, we think of temple symbolism and ceremony as immutable from the dawn of time as a chief corner stone, this is a good reminder that religious experience and spiritual meaning changes as culture and human perception evolves. The book does not go into a lot of detail of the liturgy proper, but what can be read from the letters and policy changes, the understanding of much of the specifics within the House of the Lord has varied over time. Sometimes they were more expansive, as the policies towards women and blacks liberalized in the late 20th century. Other times, they were more limiting, as in 1940 the ring ceremony was removed from the marriage sealing, and rooms with alters at which individuals could pray privately were ceased, or the early practice of baptisms for healing discontinued. Some practices would seem arcane today, like following the Leviticus edict to abstain from intimacy for 10 days prior to performing temple rites.
A few ideas that weren't wholly implemented: In 1936 three out of four apostles on a committee recommended "garments without sleeves." Feeling, "sure that such a modification will greatly please many good women throughout the Church, and we have not been able to see that we are yielding any vital thing in this slight change." This, and the change from the original ankle/wrist garments teach us about the relationship between garment lines and the principle of modesty. Again, the theme is that it is not sacrosanct.
Another idea left in the past: President McKay's journal records Elder Howard W. Hunter permitting women to be used as witnesses for live temple marriages in the London temple. Upon being asked whether this is permitted for proxy marriages, President McKay records, "I could see no reason why the women could not so serve."
These and many more other, very interesting and relevant factoids and discussions are found in the book. At well over 500 pages, it can drag on at times, but almost every sitting I would find something new and interesting.
As often, we think of temple symbolism and ceremony as immutable from the dawn of time as a chief corner stone, this is a good reminder that religious experience and spiritual meaning changes as culture and human perception evolves. The book does not go into a lot of detail of the liturgy proper, but what can be read from the letters and policy changes, the understanding of much of the specifics within the House of the Lord has varied over time. Sometimes they were more expansive, as the policies towards women and blacks liberalized in the late 20th century. Other times, they were more limiting, as in 1940 the ring ceremony was removed from the marriage sealing, and rooms with alters at which individuals could pray privately were ceased, or the early practice of baptisms for healing discontinued. Some practices would seem arcane today, like following the Leviticus edict to abstain from intimacy for 10 days prior to performing temple rites.
A few ideas that weren't wholly implemented: In 1936 three out of four apostles on a committee recommended "garments without sleeves." Feeling, "sure that such a modification will greatly please many good women throughout the Church, and we have not been able to see that we are yielding any vital thing in this slight change." This, and the change from the original ankle/wrist garments teach us about the relationship between garment lines and the principle of modesty. Again, the theme is that it is not sacrosanct.
Another idea left in the past: President McKay's journal records Elder Howard W. Hunter permitting women to be used as witnesses for live temple marriages in the London temple. Upon being asked whether this is permitted for proxy marriages, President McKay records, "I could see no reason why the women could not so serve."
These and many more other, very interesting and relevant factoids and discussions are found in the book. At well over 500 pages, it can drag on at times, but almost every sitting I would find something new and interesting.
June 15, 2013
The introduction was the best part of the book. Everyone after the introduction was pure transcripts of journals and other sources. No commentary at all. Many of the items were repeats. It seemed like the author had an obsession with the second anointing. It is certainly a fascinating topic but 10 copies of the almost exact same journal entry or letter gets a little dull. There are also some long entries where maybe a sentence was changed but rather than note the changed sentence 2 or 3 pages of the same entry that occurred a few pages before was repeated. At the minimum I would have hoped for a emphasis of the change from the previous item.
In summary maybe 5 percent of the book is interesting. 40 percent is repeated information, and 50 percent is about the second anointing (although not much actually about it just more people who did it and when they did it).
In summary maybe 5 percent of the book is interesting. 40 percent is repeated information, and 50 percent is about the second anointing (although not much actually about it just more people who did it and when they did it).
September 2, 2015
True to its name, this is a book full of documents which show both official instructions and private experiences involving LDS temple worship for the period of 1846-2000. The documents both reinforce the importance of temple worship in the LDS church and also show how small changes were made over time to make the practice of temple worship more efficient and convenient. This book contains minimal commentary on the relative merits of temple worship or specific parts of that practice. Rather, it provides a well-documented foundation on which further commentary could be made.
July 25, 2012
Absolutely invaluable! One of the most fascinating aspects of this book is seeing the ebb and flow of administrative decisions that are made by Men in authority regarding theological issues. Secondly, It provides a time line for the availability of the 2nd Anointing and to whom those blessing are available to then and now.
I read it straight through but it will be a reference book for the rest of my life.
I read it straight through but it will be a reference book for the rest of my life.
September 9, 2012
For some reason I thought that this book was going to be exciting, but it's mostly a bunch of legalistic "if a man marries a wife..." kind of questions that were posed to the First Presidency; so I guess this might be interesting if you're into that kind of thing. While the subject matter might have been a bit dull, the editors did a good job of compiling the disparate sources.
July 6, 2011
Learned a ton just from the introduction.
June 8, 2011
A nice reference book.
May 16, 2011
Interesting stuff. Wish there had been a synthesizing essay at the end to match the intro.
May 5, 2011
There is some interesting material in here, but overall, the book comes across as kind of a data dump. It would have been nice to have more explanation and contextual commentary.
August 19, 2014
Great information, but I would like to know the original sources and context.
January 16, 2016
an interesting look at the changing method of temple worship over 150 years
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews