About 15 years ago my dad sat all of us kids (6) down to tell us about something important and amazing that happened to Grandpa. My mom was visibly uncomfortable and voiced a quiet plea for my dad to not continue with what he was going to say. After all, it was her father, not his that was the subject of the story. He resisted her pleas to stop and she submissively ended her protest. He then told us how our grandfather, a Stake President, was taken to the temple recently and that an apostle had washed his feet. He said we weren't supposed to talk about it (hah) and that grandpa had his "calling and election made sure". I knew what that meant and was happy that Grandpa was guaranteed the highest degree of the celestial kingdom. After a few minutes though I began to feel sad and confused. This grandpa, my maternal grandpa, was very quiet and didn't really talk to us kids. We were never allowed to touch anything other than toys in his house as my mom would recount how grandpa used to scold them as kids if they ever put their hands on the walls. I liked him, but he was very distant and unfriendly (and wealthy). I don't recall having any fun with him ever. My paternal grandfather, however was my hero and friend did all the stereotypical grandpa/grandkid stuff. He was warm and funny and gave us all his attention. He was a convert and had become less active and drank tea . . . in short, he wasn't in nearly the same standing in the Mormon God's eyes as my maternal grandfather.

And that's what bothered me. The cold, gruff, unfriendly grandpa was going to heaven and the warm, fun, giving grandpa's eternal salvation was at stake because he didn't often go to church and drank tea.

Another related incident about the second anointing occurred while I was dating my wife. My dad seemed to think I was better than her because her family wasn't Mormon (she was a convert) and that this obvious misfortune needed to be pointed out to her. She had come to my parents house with one of her girlfriends to visit me. Something she did or said must have made him upset so he decided to have her and her friend sit down to tell us something important. I had no idea what was coming, but this is what he said to the best of my memory: "Girls, sit down. I want to tell you about something so sacred that you can't repeat it." He looked at my future-wife and said, "you need to know the stock (old cowboy word for 'ancestry') my son comes from. A couple years ago his grandpa was taken into the temple and had his feet washed by an Apostle! Just like Jesus and the apostles of old. He had his calling and election made sure. That's the type of stock he comes from."

He left it at that. I don't recall anyone saying anything and slowly we all got up and resumed doing whatever we were doing before, but it makes me so mad looking back that he tried to use that experience to help her understand her 'place' in the world. My dad had no problem with status as he was, surprisingly, also a racist. But that's a story for another time.

You said everything you needed to about cold gruff grandpa to explain why he was the one getting his reserved seat to heaven, "wealthy."

Wealthy is the key. This is the way they bind those rich ass tbm members to morg. I don't think they give it to middle class. Poor = unrighteousness. I personally think it is the mormon version of papel indulgences.

Incredible stories. So true. Mormonism in a nutshell. Mormon folks are so full of themselves..god's in embryo.

Maybe, he was actually being CONDEMNED to HAVE to be a Mormon for the rest of eternity!

Your nice grandpa will be free!

Did you know at the time that his calling and election made sure also ensured you would also go to the Celestial Kingdom? If so, how did you feel?

Your "stock". Makes you sound like a stud bull.

and yet we aren't punished for Adam's sin's, but for our own transgressions. But somehow our lineage matters to god....?

If you can ever get that document scanned it would be worth keeping. Make another scan after you've redacted the name as well.

Crawling and erection with a maid du jour? That's some ceremony, there.

An odd note about the last paragraph, when I was LDS I was always instructed to never speak of tgethe temple. Yet, here is another story of someone spilling the neans on the sacred nature if the Lard's house on earth. For such a sacred place, the Mormons sure love to talk about it often.

may benefit from this information I posted at the Temple Section of the Salamander:

http://www.salamandersociety.com/temple/

Like much of what Mormonism is about, the second anointing is just another boring meeting designed to flatter and obligate the gullible into thinking they're so special. Yuck!

I am glad that you had at least one grandpa who was a real human instead of a Mormon robot. I had the bad luck of having never having any personal dealings/interactions with any my four grandparents.

Its weird about him recounting the story of your grandfather as if it made him somehow special or important.

Same experience here. Wife's father (kids grandpa) was high priest, spout off, be religous, but he had more or less nothing to do with my kids. They rarely even sent a bday or Cmas present. The guy was loaded. My kids did not cry when he died and when sister in law spoke at his funeral - "I never went hungry and always had a bed" was the best she could muster.

Wife has fond memories of her non-member Grandpa, and crappy memories of her crazy ass (father side) grandpa. I guess her dad learned the behavior from his dad.