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Only worthy members are permitted to participate in the secret temple ceremonies and they are admonished not to reveal the nature of them to others.

Magic underwear	Freemasonry ritual	Nauvoo temple
Baptism for the dead	Celestial marriage	Recent ritual changes

'Magic' underwear

Those Mormons who are initiated are given 'magic' underwear which must be worn next to the skin day and night to protect the wearer from harm. This practice originated with Joseph Smith himself [note: They did not work for Joseph or his brother Hyram!] and the pattern was considered so sacred that the design could not be changed. For years Mormon leaders vigorously maintained that the garments must be 'worn as intended down to the wrists and ankles and around the neck', and that they could not be altered from 'the very pattern in which God gave them'  But despite their efforts to enforce conformity the garments were 'mutilated' from the earliest times, and in recent years, to accommodate stylish fashions, abbreviated modifications have been permitted - Tanners 'The changing world'  526-527

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Freemasonry ritual

The rituals are essentially taken from the Blue degrees of Freemasonry..

Ex-33rd degree Mason Tom McKenney explains on page 183 in his book 'Tell me please..'

It was not long after Joseph Smith became a Master Mason that he got the 'revelation' for the secret temple ceremony. The rituals of the Mormon temple are so similar to those of the Blue Lodge that there can be no doubt that Joseph lifted most of it directly from the rituals of the lodge.

Many things are alike, but a few examples will suffice. Elements apparently stolen by Joseph Smith include the presentation and wearing of an apron, whispering of 'secret' information 'on the five points of fellowship (i.e. foot to foot, knee to knee, breast to breast, hand to back, mouth to ear), similarities in the oaths of obligation, the penalties and penalty signs for each, and the symbolism of the square and compass, which must be embroidered in significant places on their 'magic' underwear.

Masonic signs used in Mormon temple ritual.  From 'Christ, the Christian and Freemasonry'  by W J McCormick)	Yvonne Kitchen, on page 170 of her ministry manual 'Freemasonry. Death in the family'  lists the following similarities with Freemasonry.. The all seeing eye  The wearing of the apron with the square and compass  The five points of fellowship The special grasps and handshakes Star and sun symbols Penalties agreed to under oath The throat slitting sign The cutting out of the heart   - see recent ritual changes below Click here for more details of links with Freemasonry
The most famous of all Mormon aphorisms declares "As man now is God once was; as God now is, man may become"  This is again masonic thought.  Manley P Hall. [33rd degree Mason] on page 92 of 'Lost keys of Freemasonry' wrote, "Man is God in the making.."  Mormonism and Freemasonry have always been inextricably linked at the leadership level. Not only were Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Masons, but so was Smith's successor Brigham Young. As a matter of fact, the first five presidents of the Mormon church (its first five 'living prophets') were Masons.  - Tom McKenney  'Tell me please..' Page 183 All 'apostolic' successors since (Young) have been Freemasons. Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, Joseph Fielding Smith, and Herbert Grant. Masonic membership is still a requirement for members of the Mormon Church's 'apostolic' hierarchy. According to Tom McKinney, co-author of The Deadly Deception, the Mormon hierarchy must be members of the Masonic Blue Lodge. In Scottish Rite Masonry illustrated, Dr. J. Blanchard states of Mormonism and Masonry: "The two institutions are morally and legally the same" - John Daniel, 'Scarlet and the Beast' page 42, volume 1   return to top
Nauvoo Temple 'Now brethren, I obligate myself to build as great a temple as even Solomon did if the church will back me up. Moreover it shall not impoverish any man but enrich thousands.' - Joseph Smith The original Nauvoo Temple no longer stands. It was gutted by fire in 1848 and a tornado toppled one of its walls in 1850. Two other walls were torn down for safety reasons soon after, leaving only its western facade standing. The citizens, who occupied Nauvoo after the Mormons left, finally razed the Temple's remaining wall in 1865. The temple is awash with Masonic symbols, many of which are shared with deep occult. (the sun, moon, stars, all-seeing eye, pentagram, beehive, hand grip, and the beehive) Click here for a well documented account of these symbols.   return to top   Recent ritual changes For generations senior Mormons have been going through secret rituals within their 40 temples, having been told that these rituals were divinely revealed, and that, having gone through these secret rituals, they now were well on their way to God hood. In 1990 however the Mormon leadership began to bring in dramatic changes to the long held sacred rituals. Undoubtedly the changes were as a result of their secret being exposed and being shown to be - not divinely inspired - but drawn from the once secret rituals of Freemasonry. Click here for a full report on the changes   return to top

Baptism for the dead

One of the most controversial aspects of the Latter Day Saints is their being baptised for the dead. Its theology is based on the idea that those who have died without having heard the gospel should be given a chance to do so in their bodiless state.

Mormon author Jeff Lindsay declares..

While souls in the spirit world are being taught the Gospel (read Doctrine and Covenants 138..), they are faced with a dilemma: they need baptism to enter into a covenant with Christ and receive a washing away of their sins, etc., but they lack physical bodies in which to be baptized

The same author writes..

Baptism for the dead does not change anything for the person unless they choose to accept that ordinance. It simply makes it possible for the dead to accept baptism if they want it. It's entirely their choice.

This practice in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is NOT derived from 1st Corinthians15:29, but from modern revelation which restored that practice and the understanding and authority necessary for it to be done. As a result, we now can go to the Temple and be baptized by immersion in the name of specific deceased ancestors and others, one at a time, name by name, offering our vicarious service as a proxy for the deceased.

1st Corinthians 15: 29 is probably the most controversial verse in the New Testament, and nearly every commentator offers a differing view on what Paul meant, or whether it was a true translation. The reason for this is that scripture never asks that a principle stand alone on one verse. Kingdom principles run through scripture from Old Testament to New like veins of gold, appearing, disappearing and reappearing. There are NO other verses in the whole of scripture which link into or support the literal meaning of this verse.

However, the Bible does say..

 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, (Hebrews 9:27)

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Celestial marriage

Celestial marriage originated through 'a divine revelation' given to Joseph Smith when he was trying to persuade his first wife Emma to accept that God wanted him to have many other women as wives. It was declared to be 'a new and everlasting covenant'.  Below are extracts from the revelation taken from Doctrine and Covenants 132

It was the means by which a man could be exalted to become a God, or a Son of God..

Brigham Young said..

The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy. Others attain unto a glory and may even be permitted to come into the presence of the Father and the Son; but they cannot reign as kings in glory, because they had blessings offered unto them, and they refused to accept them.        - Journal of Discourses, Vol.11, p.268 - p.269, August 19, 1866

Now if any of you will DENY THE PLURALITY OF WIVES and continue to do so, I promise that you will be DAMNED; and I will go still further, and say that this revelation, or any other revelation that the Lord had given, and deny it in your feelings, and I promise that YOU WILL BE DAMNED. - Deseret News Nov. 14, 1855 

However when Polygamy was outlawed by four acts of congress between 1862 - 1887 Mormonism painfully underwent one of its very many changes.

Today, celestial marriage merely means to be married for time and eternity in an LDS temple. However it is a well accepted fact that in the western United States, there are at least 30,000 people involved in the practice of Mormon-based polygamy. The church turns a blind eye if this is not flaunted in public, but should it be they vigorously denounce it.

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