Discipleship of Jesus Christ: Ordinances in the Temple

There are several common ordinances that occur in temples: baptism, confirmation, priesthood ordination, washing and anointing, endowment, and sealed marriages.

The first three ordinances mentioned, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and Church confirmation, and priesthood ordination for men are dual, as in the ordinances are permitted to occur outside of temples for the living. All ordinances for those who died without them occur by proxy (or a living host standing in) for departed loved ones in the temple.

Washing and anointing, endowment, and eternal marriage and sealings occur only in temples.

Marriage and family relationships sealed for eternity by the priesthood authority of Jesus Christ and washing and anointing to prepare covenanters for their roles as disciples of Jesus Christ will not be discussed in depth other than to say marriage is meant to be for eternity for the faithful follower of Christ. It is done so by the power to seal things up in heaven performed by authorized servants during mortal life done on earth.

Washings and Anointings

The washing and anointing ordinances are to rid covenant-keepers of the sins of this world, which is done by warning all who will hear and obey the good news of God and anointing us to be heirs with Christ.

The Endowment

The Endowment is a series of ordinances or it can be seen as one long ordinance where keys and tokens are given and received to strengthen faith in Jesus Christ and bind ourselves to Him in perpetuity.

Baptism is the first step into heaven, while the endowment is the power of God to know how to gain entrance into Heavenly Father's presence.

One particular part of the endowment of significant substance is the symbolic entrance into God the Father's presence that occurs at the veil of the temple, which is similar to the veil of the ancient temple at Jerusalem.

Like that temple, only the priesthood-authorized servants of God may enter the veil and enter into God's presence. Both men and women have priesthood access in modern times to perform and participate in ordinances of the temple.

The Temple Veil

The veil represents the separation of the mortal world from the celestial heavenly abode where God the Father and Jesus dwell. The beauty of the veil is that their are access points to provide a way to part it to speak with the Lord symbolically through the veil. Patrons symbolically take the hand of God and He ushers them into His symbolic presence.

Psychological Effect of Temple Endowment and Other Ordinances

The first psychological effect participating in these instructional ordinances has on me is that it prepares me for the one day I am going to stand at the veil of life to heaven for real. The ordinances in the temple are just a rehearsal. When I get to heaven, I gonna really sing!

Once I have given the keys and signals to the Lord that I have taken my covenants seriously and symbolically desire to enter His presence, I enter what is called the celestial room. In that place, all of those of us who have come through the veil enjoy the symbolism of being in the very heavens with God.

We congregate in this celestial room representing God's abode with family and friends and other patrons who experienced the ordinances with us on our own behalves or the behalf of those who have already passed to the world of spirits.

The second psychological effect that has on me personally is I believe there will be a reunion in heaven with our dearly departed loved ones in mortal life and our covenant-keeping ancestors all the way back to Adam and Eve just like we have in the celestial room of the temple in the presence of God.

I have a deceased daughter, mother, father, and other family and friends. The psychological longing for additional time with my loved ones fuels my faith in the hope of resurrection through our Savior Jesus Christ.

I feel strengthened by the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the symbolism in the temple helps me to want the actual heavenly scene of congregating in the highest heaven to become my reality--buoying up my faith in living and teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The psychology behind rituals reinforces my faith in things that I already believe to be true and does not diminish my desire to believe in any of those things. The comfort that mental connection brings is a function of the Holy Ghost as Jesus taught during His mortal ministry to His disciples that He would leave them with "the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:26-27)."

Jesus is truly humanity's Savior from sin and permanent physical death. I could not imagine myself in any other place than where I am as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Being in the temple and participating in those ordinances connects me to God in a manner that strengthens my resolve to keep all of His commandments in addition to attending the weekly church services. I feel special, desired, heard, and privileged, though I know that I am no better than any of the billions of people on the planet, I am one of a handful of people on Earth comparatively who knows God in the manner I know Him--a feeling I desire all people to experience who seek to because I believe my connection with God is better for having experienced the temple.

If I did not think so, my religion would not matter. I do believe all religions are equal under the law but are not all equally able to bring knowledge of salvation through Jesus Christ's atonement.

The final comfort temple worship provides is the joy that all people will have an opportunity to accept Jesus Christ's atonement whether in this life or the next and receive all the necessary ordinances to enter the presence of God regardless of what occurred in mortal life.

I wrote about the body of my temple and how I feel understanding and connection when that "temple" is healthy and open to the feelings of inspiration in my heart from the Holy Spirit.

I wrote about the temple as a building, a sanctuary where I go for meditation and ordinances that helps me to connect to God and serve as a proxy to my departed brothers.

I shared many personal feelings as I dare about my walk as a disciple of Jesus Christ in relation to the temple of both my body and a building. I invite all of you to share your faith by getting personal with it, even if you only do it with yourself.

Meditate on the things you believe and why you believe them. It will help open up a window from heaven to have a deeper understanding of God if you are honest with yourself and willing to learn through the Holy Ghost.