Temple Endowment in Book of Mormon?

CONTENTS OF STUDY:

• What is the LDS temple endowment?

• Source of the endowment ceremony?

• Where is the ceremony in the Book of Mormon?

• CHART: Comparing the sermons to the temple endowment

• About the Sermon on the Mount

• Subjects and format of the Sermon on the Mount

• Different interpretations of the sermon

• Significance of the theory

• Other historical evidence for ancient origins of ceremony

• Source of theory

• Response of Church leadership?

• Why connected only now?

WHAT IS THE LDS TEMPLE ENDOWMENT?:

For those who are unaware, the LDS temple endowment is one of the primary sacred ceremonies/rites/ordinances performed is LDS temples around the world. The ceremony consists of a presentation of the creation/fall of man, participants where white temple clothing, they make covenants (ex. to be faithful to their spouse etc.), they receive sacred instruction (some of which should only be discussed in the temple) and move through various rooms until they enter through a veil into the "Celestial Room" which represents eternal life in the Kingdom of God. Central to every aspect of the ceremony is the person, work and divine calling of Jesus Christ.

SOURCE OF CEREMONY?

Beyond the knowledge that the ceremony was revealed to the prophet Joseph Smith Jr., there are not any additional details as to how that revelation came. For example, did it come through direct revelation (ex. a dream, vision, voice, the Spirit etc.), or was it inspired by any readings or ceremonies that existed during Joseph's time etc.? We don't know. God works in mysterious ways, but however God did it, the ceremony is now available.

WHERE IS THE CEREMONY IN THE B OF M?

On the subject of this ceremony, some critics of the church have criticized our claim that the Book of Mormon contains "the fullness of the gospel" since the book (to their knowledge) does not include the LDS temple endowment ceremony which we Latter Day Saints believe must be received in order to receive all the blessings of God. This criticism can be addressed in various ways independent of this study, however, what if the endowment ceremony actually WAS in the Book of Mormon?! The point of this page is to present the view that is held by some LDS scholars that the ceremony is indeed found in the Book of Mormon, and not only in the Book of Mormon, but in the New Testament as well! So where might the ceremony be? 3 Nephi chapters 11-24. These chapters give the account of the appearance of Jesus to an ancient people in the Americas after his resurrection. During that visit, Jesus repeats the Sermon on the Mount which he gave during his mortal life, though with additional teachings and rituals beyond what is recorded in the New Testament. The theory is that the "Sermon on the Mount" that Jesus preached in the Old World (Matthew chapters 5 through 7) and to the New World (3 Nephi chapters 12 through 24) may have actually been given within a temple ritual context, and more specifically, that they may have been the initial revelations of the modern LDS temple endowment ceremony itself (or, at least, that it was meant to become the such).

CHART COMPARING THE SERMONS TO TEMPLE ENDOWMENT:

Here below is a comparison of the elements of the LDS Temple Endowment to the elements in the New Testament and Book of Mormon "Sermon on the Mount"s. Notice that virtually every single element of the LDS Temple Endowment is found to some form in these sermons.

As you review the information, please know the more sacred, non-public elements of the temple ceremony (those which are only to be discussed in the temple) will, of course, not be discussed in this study.

ABOUT THE SERMON ON THE MT:

• The Sermon on the Mount is probably the most well known sermon that Jesus ever gave

• Many of the statements are given in a way that is easy to remember or memorize

• In addition to the more full sermon in Matt. 5-7, parts of the sermon are recorded in Luke 11 as well

• Jesus repeated this sermon (nearly word for word) to the Lehites as recorded in the Book of Mormon

• There has been great controversy amongst Christians the last two thousand years regarding the overall meaning of this sermon (see the "Different interpretations" section below for details on the different understanding of the sermon)

SUBJECTS AND FORMAT OF THE NT SERMON ON THE MOUNT:

As seen in the chart below, the New Testament Sermon on the Mount is a very unique and seemingly strange sermon, touching on many different subjects (which range from blessings, to instructions on giving oaths, to adultery, to group prayers, to the forbidding giving of sacred things to certain people etc.) This is truly an unusual and perplexing format for a normal sermon. However, understanding the sermon within a ritual context can explain much of the unique format. This is especially supported by the fact that ritual/ordinance elements are specifically mentioned in the sermon (ex. instructions regarding the giving of oaths, forbidding of vain repetitions, group prayers, temple altar instructions etc.)

APOCALYPSE OF ADAM NAG HAMMADI TEXT: The "Apocalypse of Adam" is an ancient document discovered at Nag Hammadi (upper Egypt) that dates to the first to second century AD. The text records events relating to the fall of Adam and Eve and the passing on of that knowledge to their son, Seth. What is amazing is about this text is that provides details that are not in the Bible yet which are a part of the presentation of Adam and Eve in the LDS temple endowment as revealed by Joseph Smith. This is significant since this ancient document was not discovered until 1945, over 100 years after the time of Joseph Smith. Here below are some of the points that are of particular interest for those that are familiar with the LDS temple endowment presentation. Below those points is a link to the complete text of the document as well as a link to the Wikipedia link of The Apocalypse of Adam:

• Adam falls asleep and someone says, “Adam, arise”

• Eve gave Adam special knowledge about God

• A being appears to Adam and Eve claiming to be their God. However, Adam and Eve soon realize that they are more powerful than the being. At first (before the fall) Adam and Eve don't recognize who the being is, but after they fall, they do recognize him.

• Three men appear to Adam and tell him of an "illuminator" that will come to redeem him

• The record speaks of "the hidden knowledge of Adam" (Note: Not only does the Temple Endowment given additional knowledge regarding the events of the fall of Adam and Eve that are generally unknown to the Bible and to non-Latter Day Saint Christians, but the Book of Mormon also gives unique teachings of the such, for example, it teaches that"if Adam had not transgressed... they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin. But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy", (2 Nephi 2).

SOURCE OF THEORY:

The primary source of this theory is the works of John Welch, a professor at J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University, the current editor of the periodical BYU Studies, the founder and previous President of FARMS (Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies), the discoverer of the presence of the Hebrew literary form chiasmus in the Book of Mormon, a previous member of the board of editors for the Encyclopedia of Mormonism and a contributor to Joseph Smith papers. Here below is a link to a publication by Mr. Welch on this connection between the Sermon on the Mount and the LDS temple ceremony:

https://publications.mi.byu.edu/book/the-sermon-at-the-temple-and-the-sermon-on-the-mount/

RESPONSE FROM CHURCH LEADERSHIP:

I have not yet been able to find much of an authoritative yea or nay on this theory by the leaders of the church (prophets, apostles etc.) However, I did find one source. Below is the link to a brief article in the LDS publication Deseret News named, "The hidden meaning of the Sermon on the Mount" which briefly explains John Welch's theory. In that article, we are given a quote by Mr. Welch in which he recounts a time when he presented the idea Elder (Apostle) Neil A. Maxwell:

"When I first noticed the temple pattern in the overall structure of the Sermon at the Temple in January of 1988 it was an overwhelming, all consuming experience. Time stood still all that day as its pieces fell in place," Welch said. Welch was president of the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) back then. Elder Neal A. Maxwell had asked him to let him know if anything important ever came up. After showing his wife what he had found, they decided to call Elder Maxwell. "Isn't it interesting," Elder Maxwell said according to Welch, "how the Lord can turn what people have seen as the Book of Mormon's greatest weakness (referring here to the fact that Book of Mormon critics often "saw the presence of the Sermon on the Mount in the Book of Mormon as an easy target") into one of its greatest strengths."

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705382037/The-hidden-meaning-of-the-Sermon-on-the-Mount.html?pg=all

WHY CONNECTED ONLY NOW?: If the temple endowment ceremony is largely found in the Book of Mormon visit of Christ to the Lehites, they why was not it not discovered until recently? There is no records in church history of any church leader making any connection between the Sermon at the Temple (or the Sermon on the Mount) until the 1980s. The connection is cool and inspiring, so one would have thought that it would have been spoken of during the last 200 years. Also, in this Book of Mormon sermon was the inspiration for the temple endowment ceremony, why did he never mention the connection? A couple possible answers (all of which assume that there is a connection):

• Joseph and following church leaders may simply have never realized the connection

• Even though these sermons do not reveal details about the sacred, non-public elements of the temple, perhaps the church knows of this connection but has decided not to teach it publicly because of the general sacred nature of the ceremony.

• Perhaps the connection was known, but it was not revealed by the church for the purpose of leaving it for the church to find and discover for themselves; perhaps it is a reward of knowledge only for those that are diligently seeking in and feasting on the Book of Mormon. Cool thought!