Temple garment (Mormonism)
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Categories: Latter Day Saint ordinances, rituals, and symbolism
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and a few other sects of Mormonism, the temple garment is a set of sacred underclothing worn by male and female Latter-day Saints who have taken part in the washing and anointing ceremony in Latter-day Saint temples.
The temple garment (formally the Garment of the Holy Priesthood or informally, the garment or garments) symbolizes the "coats of skins" which Jehovah (Yahweh) made for Adam and Eve before casting them out of the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:21). Latter-day Saints who have been endowed in the temple are expected to wear the garment to remind them of special promises or covenants to God. Latter-Day Saints are commonly clothed in them and the outer temple clothing for burial. The garment is believed to be a spiritual "shield and protection" against the powers of evil, (and sometimes against physical harm, according to some Latter-Day Saints).
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Construction of the temple garment
In the 19th century, the temple garment was a long, single-piece article of clothing resembling a union suit, with special markings over the breasts, navel, and right knee. Originally, garments were made in a number of colors, but in 1893 the LDS Church expressed an official preference for the color white. Subsequently, the garment has undergone style changes, to reflect changes in lifestyle and modesty. In 1923, the Church offered a garment design that was shortened to the knees and shoulders. In 1979, the Church offered a two-piece garment. While normally white, the garment is currently made in the color brown for regulation military use.
Sold online, in temples, and various outlets called "Beehive Clothing", the garment is available in several fabrics and styles; however, new styles must be approved by the Church leadership. It is also possible to make one's own garments based upon one of a small number of Church-authorized patterns.
The garment contains four special symbolic marks: one on each breast, one at the navel, and one over the right knee. A change in the 1930 version of the LDS endowment added a brief explanation of what the marks meant, and still exists in the current version.
Receiving the garment
The temple garment is given during the washing and anointing ceremony in Latter-day Saint temples. This ceremony is a prelude to the Endowment ceremony, and in it, the person being washed and anointed is ceremonially given the garment.
The garment as a shield
In general, Latter-day Saints view the garment as a symbolic and spiritual shield against the powers of evil.
Some Latter-day Saints, moreover, believe that the garment provides the wearer with special physical protection. For example, in an April 1996 interview with Mike Wallace on the show 60 Minutes, Latter-day Saint Bill Marriott, CEO of Marriott International, claimed his garments protected him from being burned during a boating accident. This, however, is not an official doctrine taught by leaders within the church.
Unauthorized sale and use
Church leaders have publicly discussed the above principles and beliefs since the mid-1840s, however, because of the sacredness surrounding temple rites and the garment, some outspoken critics of the Latter-day Saints have utilized it as a source of humor and parody. Due to the considerable number of temple garments in existence, there have been several cases where people (including some ex-Mormons) have distributed photographs of models wearing temple garments in a manner contrary to accepted LDS practice. For example, a model wearing a temple garment was published in a popular adult magazine during the 1940s and in another adult periodical in the 1960s. Garments are featured in a book about undergarments published in the 1990s, and also in various anti-Mormon books during the 1980s. In 2004, photos which hinted at people engaged in sexual acts dressed as Mormon missionaries wearing garments were showcased in a Salt Lake area art display, which incited considerable protest by college students who were returned missionaries. The four photos in question were moved to a room apart from the public display. They were subsequently stolen.
With the advent of the Internet, there are additional sites that publish photographs of garments for educational, parody or other use. A more recent controversy surrounds the open sales of temple garments on the eBay auction web site multiple times since 2000. Typically the garments are removed for a violation of eBay policy unrelated to its religious context.
During the October 2003 General Conference of the Church, some anti-Mormon demonstrators wore garments around their necks and defaced them in ways that were extraordinarily offensive to those in attendance. In light of the violence that resulted during the 2003 Conference, the municipality of Salt Lake City planned stronger enforcement of fighting words and hate speech laws for the April 2004 Conference in Salt Lake City with new protest buffer zones.
The sacred nature of the garment
To members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the temple garment represents the sacred and personal aspects of their relationship with God. For this reason, Church members do not discuss the garment in a casual or disrespectful manner.
In a Church publication entitled Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple, the story is told of a church leader who answered questions from a group of US Navy Chaplains representing various faiths. The chaplains asked about distinctive practices of the LDS Church. One chaplain asked about the special underwear that LDS sailors wear. The church leader responded by asking the chaplain if he wore clerical clothing as he performed his duties as an ordained minister. The chaplain responded that he did. The church leader surmised that this action probably held some significance, as it set the priest apart from the unordained members of the congregation. The following paragraphs are quoted from that work:
"He then told them: 'You should be able to understand at least one of our reasons why Latter-day Saints have a deep spiritual commitment concerning the garment. A major difference between your churches and ours is that we do not have a professional clergy, as you do. The congregations are all presided over by local leaders. They are men called from all walks of life. Yet they are ordained to the priesthood. They hold offices in the priesthood. They are set apart to presiding positions as presidents, counselors, and leaders in various categories. The women, too, share in that responsibility and in those obligations. The man who heads our congregation on Sunday as the bishop may go to work on Monday as a postal clerk, as an office worker, a farmer, a doctor; or he may be an air force pilot or a naval officer. By our standard he is as much an ordained minister as you are by your standard. He is recognized as such by most governments. We draw something of the same benefits from this special clothing as you would draw from your clerical vestments. The difference is that we wear ours under our clothing instead of outside, for we are employed in various occupations in addition to our service in the Church. These sacred things we do not wish to parade before the world.'
"He then explained that there are some deeper spiritual meanings as well, connecting the practice of wearing this garment with covenants that are made in the temple. We wouldn’t find it necessary to discuss these—not that they are secret, he repeated, but because they are sacred."
[Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple]
References
- Temple Garment: “An Outward Expression of an Inward Commitment” By Elder Carlos E. Asay
- An illustration of the evolution of the garment since 1842.
- McDannell, Colleen. "Mormon Garments: Sacred Clothing and the Body." Material Christianity: Religion and Popular Culture in America (Yale University Press, 1995), pp. 198-221.
