Endowment (Mormonism)

For the use of this term in an earlier or wider context, see Endowment (Latter Day Saints).

The celestial room represents the highest level of heaven in LDS theology, and is reached after passing the testing portion of the endowment ceremony.

In Mormonism, the endowment is a two-part ordinance (ceremony) designed for participants to become kings, queens, priests, and priestesses in the afterlife. As part of the first ceremony, participants take part in a scripted reenactment of the Biblical creation and fall of Adam and Eve. The ceremony includes a symbolic washing and anointing, and receipt of a "new name" which they are not to reveal to others except at a certain part in the ceremony, and the receipt of the temple garment, which Mormons then are expected to wear under their clothing day and night throughout their life. Participants are taught symbolic gestures and passwords considered necessary to pass by angels guarding the way to heaven, and are instructed not to reveal them to others.[1][2][3] As practiced today in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the endowment also consists of a series of covenants (promises to God) that participants make, such as a covenant of consecration to the LDS Church. All LDS Church members who choose to serve as missionaries or participate in a celestial marriage in a temple must first complete the first endowment ceremony.

The second part of the endowment, called the second anointing, is the pinnacle ordinance of the temple, jointly given to a husband and wife couple to ensure salvation, guarantee exaltation, and confer godhood.[7] Participants are anointed kings, queens, priests, and priestesses, whereas in the first endowment they are only anointed to become those contingent to following specified covenants. The second anointing is only given to a select group, and its existence is not widely known among the general membership.[5]: 11 [8][9]

The endowment as practiced today was instituted by founder Joseph Smith in the 1840s with further contributions by Brigham Young and his successors. The ceremony is performed in Latter Day Saint temples, which are dedicated specifically for the endowment and certain other ordinances sacred to Mormons, and are open only to Mormons who meet certain requirements. There was a brief period during the construction of the Salt Lake Temple where a small building referred to as the Endowment House was used to administer the endowment ordinance. The endowment is currently practiced by the LDS Church, several denominations of Mormon fundamentalism, and a few other Mormon denominations. The LDS Church has simplified its ceremony from its 19th century form.

A distinct endowment ceremony was also performed in the 1830s in the Kirtland Temple, the first temple of the broader Latter Day Saint movement, which includes other smaller churches such as the Community of Christ. The term "endowment" thus has various meanings historically, and within the other branches of the Latter Day Saint movement.

The prevalence of LDS Church members who participate in the endowment ceremony is difficult to determine. However, estimates show that fewer than half of converts to the LDS Church ultimately undergo the first endowment ceremony, and young people preparing for missions account for about one-third of "live" endowments (as contrasted with proxy endowments for the deceased).[6]: 173  The second endowment ceremony had been given 15,000 times by 1941, but has become less common today.[10][5]: 42–43 

  1. ^ Charles, John D. (2004). Endowed From On High: Understanding the Symbols of the Endowment. Springfield, Utah: Horizon Publishers – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple. Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church. 2019.
  3. ^ Homer, Michael W. (1994). "'Similarity of priesthood in masonry': The relationship between Freemasonry and Mormonism" (PDF). Dialogue. 27 (3). University of Illinois Press.
  4. ^ Prince, Greg (August 15, 1995). "Ordinances: The Second Anointing". Power from on High: The Development of Mormon Priesthood. Salt Lake City: Signature Books. pp. 189, 191. ISBN 978-1560850717. Archived from the original on August 17, 2022 – via Internet Archive. On 10 March 1844 Smith delivered a discourse on the subject of Elijah in which he gave his most complete explanation of the second anointing. He said ... [t]he function of the ordinance was to assure salvation ... Other ordinances considered essential for exaltation were generally held to be conditional—that is, the ordinance enabled exaltation, but the subsequent righteousness of the recipient secured it. By contrast, the second anointing guaranteed one's exaltation, and thus may be viewed as the crowning ordinance of Smith's ministry.
  5. ^ a b c Buerger, David John (1983). ""The Fulness of the Priesthood": The Second Anointing in Latter-day Saint Theology and Practice" (PDF). Dialogue. 16 (1). University of Illinois Press: 10–44. doi:10.2307/45225125. JSTOR 45225125.
  6. ^ a b Buerger, David John (1994). The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship. Signature Books. ISBN 9781560850427 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ [4][5]: 21, 36–37 [6]: 89 
  8. ^ Brooke, John L. (May 31, 1996). The Refiner's Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1644-1844. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. p. 294. ISBN 978-0521565646. The frequency of second anointings declined after the turn of the century, and they were virtually eliminated under the authority of Heber J. Grant in the 1920s, to the point that modern Mormons are generally unaware of the rituals existence ....
  9. ^ "Chapter 19: Eternal Life". Doctrines of the Gospel Teacher Manual (Religion 430 and 431). Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church. 2000 [1987]. Archived from the original on February 28, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023 – via Internet Archive. Caution: Exercise caution while discussing the doctrine of having our calling and election made sure. Avoid speculation. Use only the sources given here and in the student manual. Do not attempt in any way to discuss or answer questions about the second anointing.
  10. ^ Quinn, D. Michael (1992). "17. Mormon Women Have Had the Priesthood Since 1843". In Hanks, Maxine (ed.). Women and Authority: Re-emerging Mormon Feminism. Salt Lake City: Signature Books. p. 377. ISBN 1-56085-014-0. Currently some women have received this 'fullness of the priesthood' with their husbands. In the Salt Lake temple, the second anointing still occurs in the 'Holy of Holies' room which James E. Talmage wrote 'is reserved for the higher ordinances in the Priesthood...' The second anointing for both men and women is distinct from ordination to church priesthood offices.