What follows is a redacted letter to some dear friends as a follow up to a conversation that touched on the temple. I was speaking to members but there is nothing new to the world or inappropriate for a frank but respectful conversation.
"As you both of you are in the business of preparing folks for meeting and engaging God, I thought I might share a few insights on our worship of the Lord through Temple experiences. I meant to send this to you guys a while back when we touched on the topic but I am slow!
This link is to a letter in my essay collection written long ago but quite relevant. Temple Prep Letter to a friend
But I will share another funny vignette that does teach the need to be actually less secret about the sacred so those who engage for the 1st time are not quite so surprised by the ancient ritualistic nature of the Temple rites.
My own 1st experience was on this wise. I had but 6 months or so previous been born as a new creature. It was a pretty dramatic turn about for me. No, I wasn't robbing folks or such but my orientation switched entirely, overnight, from looking inward to looking upwards and outward. With a new heart, I was ready to serve God and the last step on that journey was to be endowed with the promises and covenants in the temple.
I knew about nothing other than Dad, the priesthood holder and my Mom, had different undergarments than were the norm for most folks; Though my brother who went to Japan was frequently be asked by the locals where they could get those cool underwear - kind of like cyclist base layer ....anyway it was not so much about the style but how they are presented to the initiate in those days that this story focuses on.
While the way the Temple presentation/story is told is modernized and less primitive in construction - I was totally cool with the washing and anointing part - very ancient, very primitive and visceral - defiantly a guy thing - felt like an aboriginal experience as they anointed (nothing distasteful or sensual - seriously!) but we are talking about being given an undergarment and what you wore before that was akin to a hospital gown for the same reasons. The Priest would anoint your head, shoulders, neck, arms, legs and tummy with just a touch of water or oil respectively. All tastefully done and all very ancient in experience.
Then all clothed we went to another room ready to receive the "endowment" where you promise to keep God's laws in detail and He in turns promises exaltation to you. I dive into those promises in that essay link On Temple Prep. But then I had a sudden question pop into my head - Trust me there was nothing whatsoever sexual or untoward about the experience; nadda. but it was intimate and no way would it be appropriate for a male priest to do that to a female and so my head was whirling.
There are a few spots in the ceremony where you are invited to step away if you want. I was about to do just that with that question in my head, but , but you see I had had a transcendent experience with the Almighty who spoke though an experience ((...of my coming to Christ or How the Scriptures brought me to Christ) with the Book of Mormon. I was made a new creature overnight and new He was real and this was real. I told myself -"keep your hand down and your butt in the chair. You must simply not understand something real important!" I tell you it was hard. I am a thinker - God has blessed me as a problem solver with a rigidly logical mind and part of my facts suggested to my logical mind that I should figuratively 'run'!
To me this was an Abrahamic experience of total contradiction and total faith. My faith and and trust in God and the goodness of my family and all about be told me I must be shy something rather critical to this moment and so I sat and took in the experience and made my covenants with God. Entering what they call the celestial room - Truly a close proximate of what a heavenly room might be. I found my mother and father and drawing them aside I discretely inquired. "Mom, what about the washing/anointing part. Isn't that pretty inappropriate for a priesthood brother to do that to the gals?" She looked stunned for a moment then stifled what could have been a belly laugh welling up and said "Oh Son, women are ordained with priesthood power in the temple to perform those ordinance for the women!"
I was instantly relieved and also a bit stunned and then greatly chagrined. A few discontented people are always mouthing off about women having priesthood power and there they are! Odd this was never ever mentioned. Seemed like a pretty big thing to never so much as broach the topic.
Nowday's, the ancient feel is largely replaced with symbolic anointing and the 'cross your heart and hope to die' sort of language of the 1800s - all gone, but the story is same, just the telling a bit more refined for our modern sensibilities. Any time I have spoken to a newbee I've remembered that there are really precious few things that are actually covenanted to not be uttered outside the walls. The rest may be spoken in respectful circumstances. Too much of the hush hush smacks of the Pharisaical encumbrances to never uttering God's name and so forth. Sacred does not have to mean secret.
This pearl was meant to be shared and rejoiced in when found."
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