Jul. 1, 2012 at 7:34pm with 2 notes
temple
I love big love

WARNING: there’s a temple clothes picture under the read more, so don’t read this if it will offend you

Fun fact: it has only taken me a week to make my way through the first three season of Big Love…and since I’ve also been working full time, that means I’ve been spending nearly all of my free time watching this classy HBO show. I have loved it so far, but Friday I saw the infamous temple episode, and it really upset me.



I already knew most of the basics behind the temple clothes, and I knew some of the things about the temple, but actually seeing part of the temple ceremony…thank god I came to my senses about mormonism when I did, because I know that if I had tried to go through the temple I probably would’ve run out screaming.
I don’t know a ton about the temple ceremonies (since I haven’t done them myself), but I know enough to know that for women, it involves promising to “hearken” to your husband, which I take serious issue with.
What really bothers me about the temple is the pressure to make the covenants. So many things in the temple are kept a secret, and people don’t find out what the temple really is until after they get there. By then, you’re technically allowed to back out, but remember: most of the people going to the temple for the first time are either
  1. about to go on a mission (somewhere between 19 and 25) or
  2. about to get married (usually somewhere between 18 and 25).
Backing out of the endowment at this point totally messes up your life plans and your immediate future, because it means that you can’t go on your mission or have a temple marriage, both of which have their own social pressures anyway.
Also, most people going through the temple for the first time really haven’t been out of the church youth programs for that long. In church settings, they probably don’t quite see themselves as full-fledged adults yet (I know I don’t), and so they have a blind faith that the temple will make sense later since many of the adults they know at church attend the temple and seem to be fine with it.
ALSO, the temple is kept such a secret that there is really no way to talk about faith questions regarding  the temple because you’re not supposed to discuss any of it. Because there’s no open discussion, it just makes everything even more confusing.
So no, I am not a big fan of the temple (but they are SO PRETTY)
 and I don’t think I ever will be.

  1. kittymarx reblogged this from mormonrants and added:
    These are my concerns. You’re expected to just go in but no one tells you anything. Temple preparation class is a waste...
  2. mormonrants posted this