FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The temple garment
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Criticism
Hostile critics often mock the LDS practice of wearing temple garments. They refer to these parts of our worship as "magic underwear" to shock, offend, or hold up to ridicule.
Source(s) of the criticism
- Bill McKeever and Eric Johnson, Mormonism 101. Examining the Religion of the Latter-day Saints (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2000), Chapter 15. ( Index of claims )
Response
Members of the Church are often subjected to critics—generally conservative protestants—who picket their meetings and temple dedications. It is not unusual for such protesters to display LDS temple garments, hold them up to ridicule, or treat them with disrespect. Protesters and authors often disparage the LDS wearing of the garment as "magic underwear," and insist that doing so is a unbiblical practice. (See here for photos and videos of several anti-Mormon demonstrations.]
Such actions are grossly offensive to Latter-day Saints. Only an attack on the character or name of Jesus would be worse, since the garment is tied closely to the LDS worship of Christ.
This section will explain the meaning of the garment in LDS theology and practice, and address charges that the use of clothing with sacred significance is "unChristian" or "unbiblical."
Critics' misrepresentation
Under the heading of Pre-endowment Instructions, McKeever and Johnson enter into a discussion on the nature of the 'temple garments.' In regards to this garment, the authors write: "By wearing the garments at all times, it is taught that the individual Mormon, depending on his or her faithfulness, is protected both physically and spiritually."[1] It is clear from the ensuing discussion that rather than focusing on the fundamental belief in a 'spiritual protection,' that McKeever and Johnson, in trying to sensationalize their account, are much more interested in the 'physical protection.' From the end of the section, where they end up comparing the garment to a "proverbial rabbit's foot or talisman," we see that they have little interest in accurately portraying Mormon beliefs. To begin with, they take a quote from a prominent LDS leader, Spencer W. Kimball, which might support such an interpretation. The quote reads:
- Temple garments afford protection. I am sure one could go to extreme in worshiping the cloth of which the garment is made, but one could also go to the other extreme. Though generally I think our protection is a mental, spiritual, moral one, yet I am convinced that there could be and undoubtedly have been many cases where there has been through faith, an actual physical protection, so we must not minimize that possibility. [2]
President Kimball here expresses his view that the protection is generally spiritually, though one cannot rule out the possibility that God would grant physical protection. Surely God can do as he chooses?
McKeever and Johnson misrepresent this statement, however. They introduce the citation with the words: "For instance, President Spencer W. Kimball said on 31 May 1948:" First (and this is also dealt with in the second part of this review) Spencer W. Kimball was not the President of the Church in 1948 when these remarks were written. He was, however, an apostle, having been ordained to that calling in 1943, and would become the President of the Church in 1973. Second, while McKeever and Johnson suggest that this was spoken by Kimball, in fact, this is excerpted from a personal letter written by Kimball in 1948 and a copy kept by him in his personal things. So, while it is true that it was written by Kimball, this hardly seems to carry the degree of authority which is lent to it in Mormonism 101 and some other critics' use of it. We are left with the realization that this is a personal opinion and not a doctrinal statement. We could recognize from his statement that while he sees the garment as having acted as a physical protection in many cases, he certainly never goes so far as to suggest that it does in all cases, nor, that we should expect it to function in that manner.
The reason for the garment
Boyd K. Packer, in his book, The Holy Temple, is explicit in what he feels this protection is:
- Members who have received their temple ordinances thereafter wear the special garment or underclothing. … The garment represents sacred covenants. It fosters modesty and becomes a shield and a protection to the wearer. … The garment, covering the body, is a visual and tactile reminder of these covenants. For many Church members the garment has formed a barrier of protection when the wearer has been faced with temptation. Among other things it symbolizes our deep respect for the laws of God-among them the moral standard. [3]
McKeever and Johnson also make the remark: "Mormons who remain true to the faith and wear the garments believe they will be protected." [4] While all LDS believe that there is a spiritual protection afforded by the garments, and some believe that there is a physical protection as well, the fact that this protection is in part dependent on the faith and worthiness of the wearer is merely another indicator that the garment cannot be compared to a 'lucky talisman.'
Not Biblical?
At this point, McKeever and Johnson change course and attack the practice of wearing the garment by trying to show how its use in the LDS Church is inconsistent with the use of similar garments in the Old Testament. They write:
- There is also no Biblical support for this unusual practice. In the Old Testament, only priests from the line of Levi and not the common Jew wore the linen undergarments. Still we find no biblical support for the notion that the priestly garments offered any special protection as described by various LDS authorities. … It appears that the idea of protective undergarments falls into the same category as the proverbial rabbit's foot or talisman." [5]
Although McKeever and Johnson do not mention this fact, Latter-day Saints assert that the garments of the priesthood received in the house of the Lord are representative of several things. First and foremost, we learn that these garments are representative of the coat of skins God gave to Father Adam to cover his nakedness. Theodore M. Burton said the following in a speech given at BYU on August 8th, 1966:
- Adam was given a garment of the Holy Priesthood as a sign of this endowment of power which he received from God. Eve, his wife, was given him of the Lord. She also was clothed in a garment of power. She was not to be the servant of Adam, …
- Traditionally LDS have believed that the garment which Adam was given by God in the Garden was symbolically this same garment of the holy priesthood.
- Why was it given to Adam? To cover his nakedness. As it is recorded in Genesis:
- And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. … And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. … Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins and clothed them.[6]
There is a repetitive theme in the Old Testament where nakedness and shame are associated with sin, and a covering, or a garment with righteousness. In 3/3-4.{{{4}}}?lang=eng#{{{4}}} Zechariah 3 3-4:{{{4}}} we get a narrative describing the calling of Joshua the High Priest:
- Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.
In Isaiah 47:3, speaking prophetically to wayward Israel, we read these words of the Lord: "Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man." There are many more instances, but perhaps the most significant to this discussion is the treatment of the special garments given to the Levitical priests.
A brief description of these special garments made for the priests is found in Exodus 28:. Especially relevant are verses 42 and 43.
- And thou shalt make for them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even to the thighs they shall reach: And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.
Critics might read this passage differently, but if taken literally then indeed there was some 'special protection' afforded by these garments. One of the points of interest here though, especially to LDS, is that this protection was only necessary when the Israelite approached God. As McKeever and Johnson pointed out, these garments were only required of the priests. In the LDS Church, the priesthood is offered to all worthy male members. The LDS practice is rooted in a similar theology.
The D&C makes this statement (DC 107꞉18-19) "The power and authority of the higher, or Melchizedek priesthood, is to … enjoy the communion and presence of God the Father and Jesus the mediator of the new covenant." In other words, this symbolic imagery of pure garments now necessarily covers our sins at all times, not just when we go "to minister in the holy place." Christians are to be a nation of priests, under Christ. It is therefore not surprising that LDS wear the reminder of their priestly duties—which are also reminders of Christ's all-covering atonement—at all times. They do not display them outwardly, for the reminder is for the individual member, not others.
In any case, it is the spiritual protection and reminder that remains at the forefront of LDS beliefs and practices regarding this garment. It is a reminder that we put on anew every day. It is a covering which sets a certain standard of modest dress. It is also a covering which would have to be removed before breaking many of the covenants of the temple. To this end, whether we believe that it serves us as a physical protection or not, its value to us is far above that of a mere protective covering. To us it is both a reminder and to the faithful, a witness of our willingness to obey our Father in Heaven. And it is from this context that LDS authorities' comments are drawn.
Conclusion
Endnotes
Further reading
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The temple garment
Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are sacred places where Church members participate in sacred ceremonies (ordinances) that help them come closer to God and prepare to live forever in an eternal family.
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External links
Printed material
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- Matthew B. Brown,The Gate of Heaven: Insight on the Doctrines and Symbols of the Temple (American Fork, UT: Covenant, 1999), 1.
- Matthew B. Brown, Symbols in Stone: Symbolism on the Early Temples of the Restoration, 2d ed., (American Fork, UT: Covenant, 1997).
- William J. Hamblin and David Seely, Solomon's Temple: Myth and History (London: Thames and Hudson, 2007), Chapter 3.
- Hugh W. Nibley, The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment, 2nd edition, (Vol. 16 of the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley), edited by John Gee and Michael D. Rhodes, (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book Company ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 2005), 1. ISBN 159038539X. 1st edition GL direct link
- Temple and Cosmos: Beyond This Ignorant Present (Vol. 12 of the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley), edited by Don E. Norton, (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book Company ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1992), 1.
- Boyd K. Packer, The Holy Temple (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1980), 1. ISBN 0884944115.