http://www.lds-mormon.com/whytemplechanges.shtml

In 1987, David John Buerger (an active but liberal Mormon), published an article in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, a liberal Mormon publication which is not controlled by the LDS church. In the article, Buerger suggested that LDS church leaders needed to seriously consider making changes in the temple endowment ceremony to counter declining rates of attendance.

Although possibly just a coincidence, the Mormon Church issued a survey to about 3,400 members in Canada and the U.S. to determine members' opinions concerning temple work and various other topics only a few months after the 1987 Buerger article.

Soon after the 1988 survey, plans were underway to change the endowment ceremony again (the ceremony had been modified many times since its introduction in Nauvoo, Illinois in the early 1840's). In 1990, the revised ceremony became effective, and the Protestant minister was eliminated from the film.

Some of the key changes were:
1. Protestant minister paid by Lucifer to preach false doctrine was eliminated.
2. All penalties (and gestures like throat slashing, chest slashing and bowel slashing) were eliminated.
3. Women's promise to be obedient to husbands was modified.
4. The intimate position at the veil (foot to foot, knee to knee, breast to breast, hand on shoulder and mouth to ear) was eliminated.
5. The strange words "Pay Lay Ale" (meaning "Oh God hear the words of my mouth") were eliminated.

Instructions: "...we have developed this survey to help us understand your thoughts, feelings, and experiences relating to temple and genealogy activities.... along with you, approximately 3,400 other members in the United States and Canada are being asked to participate in this project.... We hope that you will feel you can be candid and open in your answers.... what you write will be anonymous. We will not be able to associate your name with the questionnaire you complete…This survey should be returned in the mail by March 30th, 1988…"

Survey question 28:
For a person who had been through the endowment ritual, "did you feel spiritually uplifted by the experience?" and "was the experience unpleasant?" and "were you confused by what happened?"

Survey question 29:
"Briefly describe how you felt after receiving your own endowment."

Survey question 37-k:
"Did you find it hard to go to the temple?"

Survey question 39-b:
"have you ever fallen asleep during sessions?"

Survey questions 70-a and 70-b:
"Do you believe the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a prophet of God?"
"Do you believe The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church on the earth?"

Survey question 77-g:
"Do you have any doubts about specific LDS doctrines and teachings?"

A page at the end of the Survey was left blank in case the person had "any additional things to write about your feelings or activities in temple or genealogical work..."



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Thanks for posting the info. Be interested to see the full survey. Seems pretty long with at least 77 open ended questions. Would have kept quite a few people busy at COB going through those and I wonder what the reactions would have been if survey participants had been fully truthful on their doubts and concerns. Hopefully they were anonymous.

So much for god being the same today, yesterday, and forever. Changing the temple ordinances, changing the BoM, changing the gospel principles, changing the biblical definition of tithing.

Glad2B Out

Not only is Mormon God not the same yesterday today and tomorrow, but gives revelation according to PR survey.

Also from the article:

Since most Mormon converts in the 1970's and 1980's were coming from a Christian background, it was becoming apparent to LDS leaders in the 1980's that ridiculing the Protestant minister in the temple film was offensive to many new converts. There were even some reports of converts attending the temple once, and vowing to never return -- sometimes even refusing to return to any LDS meetings.

It changed since the death of jesus, nailed to the cross.
Mormonism now catching up with this change in 1990, trying
to get it more right, prooves its just the blue print
the hard way, where after all ye can do, only then does
grace take affect.....

No wonder hell crushes down apon the lds church not
because its true but because its the blueprint deception
to pull people away from the beautifal and finished
atonement of jesus christ...

Tho there comes a time from holy place in our hearts
to holy of holies where we enter and not desire to sin
anymore and if so, grace may not take affect at that
level as more accountable. But a true church should
not be a church of fear and threats ever since christ
died....Knowing that all this nonsense ended on the cross
who would want to deny the christ once enter the heart
of holy of holy sanctury, and delibately sin, can loose
their salvation despite some born again teachings once
saved always saved.. NOt true....

God is love. I am not at the holy of holy place tho
aware it is the process but not require free-masonary
rituals to get there or a building, or work for the dead
for the bible says the dead are concious of nothing.
No occult, no spirit world existance, no dead spirits.
Just enter into the holy of holy in our hearts and
our desire for sin will not be deliberate again, tho
we may still sin. Tho christ was tempted he never gave in.
Grace takes affect always. There is nothing we have to do
to earn heaven. We just have to connect mind and heart
as one and dont need a disney mormon empire nonsense to
get there. Relegion sucks in vonerable sincere people
who think they have to answer to priests and rituals
to be saved. All this ended on the cross of jesus.

Love Larry....

I didn't know anything about it at the time. I just knew that a bunch of things changed and I was very happy about it!

This is doctrine by popular vote? Hell, I don't like Joseph Smith but he indicated that every word of the original endowment was necessary for one's salvation....and they've been chipping away at it ever since.

This bothered me when I was a temple supervisor, and it bothers me now. Either it was true, or it was false. Apparently, it's false...or so they have made it with all their ridiculous changes. Of course, if it was always false, it doesn't really matter, except for the billions of dollars they have spent building, maintaining, etc. all the 140 temples of the world...as well as the waste of human life, the hours and years of service given to a false doctrine. I don't think that matters to them. The temple has become a power chip for those in control....obey us, worship us, pay us and we'll let you enter.

"Don't worry, in time they will change those things". I think I was talking about the sexism (veiling faces, obeying dh, he know my name...but I don't know his). I think that helped me realize that the whole thing is made up. They just change it to try to keep the public opinion happy.

happy easter also FreeRose. the resurrection of Jesus
we can truly rejoice, the living christ,that loves us
and set us free from relegious bondage such as mormonism
and any other ism control demoninations. Whatever we choose
to do, do it without abuse. Enjoy ones coffie,wine,sexual
release(pref intimate). Take the bible word literarly will
crush/joy kill and put us in bondage, tho that is no excuse
to follow false prophets who when speak,the debate is over.

Free thinking humans we are, evolve with love,intimacy.
When we are told we are groveling sinners and nothing
outside of our demoninations, that only leads us to
abuse and rebellion, until we find the real jesus that
will not condem us in the process sanctury of our heart/mind
evolution connection/personal relationship with christ.

Gratitude that we can experiment without answering to
priests will lead us naturally to the holy of holy sanctury
when we get to a point we dont desire to sin..

No point climbing up the mountain only to realize we climbed up the wrong one as mormonism... get there in your own time
and pace. Eventually we can outgrow any thing,substance
if its medically not good for us, tho we will find the truth
of the matter in moderation it is rather good for us.

Love is all their is. enjoy life, and let the pressure out
by accepting the cross of jesus ended the bondage.
There is nothing we need to do to earn heaven.
Just belief,gratitude and intimate connection with god
and out temple body that does not restrict us from
enjoying a coke, coffie, wine etc in moderation.
There is no such thing as moderate heaven. Just heaven
and immortality, or the resurrection of mortality only to
die a 2nd death and terminated existance.

Disbelief in a loving god is worse than adultary and so
is a stoney unforgiving heart.... Be happy, eat drink
and be merry but DONT DENY THE CHRIST, just deny the
mormon legalistic rules of bondage..

For buddhists who practice compassion, if true I read
that christ incarnated even as the buddah to reach
those people in their own way and traditions. That is
how much god loved us....Anything is better than
being a pharisee and saddecee tight ass stubbon arogant
mormon judgmental jewish legalistic mentality..

Its a dark world until we realize that we are all special
and not cut of from god as soon as we accept LOVE and
forget about all the legalism nonsense as long as we
dont advocate relegion and state join as one as that is
sign of antichrist to avoid..

Larry.Australia.