DISC-0047 / ITEM-0007

Temple endowment ceremony

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints · United States / worldwide

Disclosure date: 1990
Date precision: Day
Disclosure method: Journalism
Extent: Reference
Record review: Reviewed

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Restricted material and access

Temple ceremony including covenants / signs and tokens.

Material type: Closed liturgy
Restricted to: Members holding a temple recommend
Restriction mechanism: vow
Stated reason: The ordinances are sacred and are not discussed outside a temple (CLM-0042)
Tradition origins: 1830

Recorded practice status

Modified

Provisional: no dated status evidence is linked.

Status as of: Not recorded
Status claims: Not recorded

Disclosure dates, source publication dates, tradition origins and dates of practice are separate.

What this disclosure covers

Names three elements dropped from the ceremony in 1990; does not describe the ceremony

The source

Mormons alter rituals seen as offensive ↗ (SRC-0047; authenticity: Unassessed)

Author: The Roanoke Times (from The New York Times)
Original publication: 1990
Linked edition: Not recorded
Format: Newspaper
Provenance: published_exposure
Rights of source work: Copyrighted
Identifiers: Not recorded
Source content hash: Not recorded

Short wire report, 3 May 1990, p. A9, credited to The New York Times. Read in the Virginia Tech newspaper archive via the Wayback Machine.

Claims about this item

These claims may cite other sources for the same restricted item. Supporting and contradicting evidence remain separate.

CLM-0003 · Change

Penalty gestures were removed from the endowment ceremony.

Claim support: Single source
Record review: Unreviewed
Period: 1990
Locators: Not recorded
Sources counted as independent: Not recorded

Supporting sources

Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony: 1842–1990 ↗ (SRC-0013; authenticity: Unassessed)

Contradicting sources: none recorded.

Only one source recorded so far; contemporary press reports would make it independently corroborated. The 1990 press report SRC-0047 lists other changes (CLM-0041) but does not mention the penalties.

SRC-0013: Source authenticity is unassessed; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0013: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
CLM-0003: Record review status is unreviewed; review is not proof of truth.
CLM-0003: No page, section, exhibit or timestamp is recorded.
ITEM-0007: The recorded practice status is provisional: no dated status claims are linked.

CLM-0041 · Change

In April 1990 the church dropped from the temple ceremony the vow in which women pledged obedience to their husbands, the wearing of face veils by women, and a portrayal of non-Mormon clergy as hirelings of Satan.

Claim support: Single source
Record review: Reviewed
Period: 1990
Locators: whole report
Sources counted as independent: Not recorded

Supporting sources

Mormons alter rituals seen as offensive ↗ (SRC-0047; authenticity: Unassessed)

Contradicting sources: none recorded.

Checked against the archived report on 2026-11-04. A church spokeswoman declined to discuss the ceremony beyond general terms. The Tanners' 1990 book (SRC-0013) also covers these changes but has not been read.

SRC-0047: Source authenticity is unassessed; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0047: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
ITEM-0007: The recorded practice status is provisional: no dated status claims are linked.

CLM-0042 · Stated reason

The church's First Presidency says a dedicated temple is the most holy place of worship and that its ordinances are sacred and are not discussed outside a holy temple; it adds that details of temple work, including its language, have been adjusted periodically and will continue to be.

Claim support: Single source
Record review: Reviewed
Period: 2019
Locators: statement of 2 January 2019
Sources counted as independent: Not recorded

Supporting sources

Church releases statement on temples (First Presidency statement) ↗ (SRC-0048; authenticity: Verified)

Contradicting sources: none recorded.

Checked against the statement on the Church News site on 2026-11-04. The church describes the ceremony as sacred rather than secret.

SRC-0048: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
ITEM-0007: The recorded practice status is provisional: no dated status claims are linked.

CLM-0164 · Content

The video’s automatic captions associate four veil marks with corresponding garment marks and explain their symbolism.

Claim support: Single source
Record review: Reviewed
Period: Video uploaded 20 August 2012
Locators: SRC-0098: 00:12–01:34
Sources counted as independent: Not recorded

Supporting sources

Episode 1: Mormon Temple: Veil Instructions ↗ (SRC-0098; authenticity: Unassessed)

Contradicting sources: none recorded.

Read the exported English ASR captions. This is a caption-content claim; transcription errors and recording authenticity remain unassessed.

SRC-0098: Source authenticity is unassessed; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0098: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
SRC-0098: The source text's rights have not been established.
ARTF-0003: Artifact inspection is partial; use only its recorded inspected portions.
ITEM-0007: The recorded practice status is provisional: no dated status claims are linked.

CLM-0165 · Content

The captions identify token names using the initiate’s new name, a first given name and the Son of God.

Claim support: Single source
Record review: Reviewed
Period: Video uploaded 20 August 2012
Locators: SRC-0098: 02:31–03:54
Sources counted as independent: Not recorded

Supporting sources

Episode 1: Mormon Temple: Veil Instructions ↗ (SRC-0098; authenticity: Unassessed)

Contradicting sources: none recorded.

Automatic captions, without a complete audio comparison. No claim about every historical or present-day endowment version.

SRC-0098: Source authenticity is unassessed; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0098: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
SRC-0098: The source text's rights have not been established.
ARTF-0003: Artifact inspection is partial; use only its recorded inspected portions.
ITEM-0007: The recorded practice status is provisional: no dated status claims are linked.

CLM-0166 · Content

The captions describe a further token received through the veil, repeated back, followed by admission through a handclasp.

Claim support: Single source
Record review: Reviewed
Period: Video uploaded 20 August 2012
Locators: SRC-0098: 03:54–05:28
Sources counted as independent: Not recorded

Supporting sources

Episode 1: Mormon Temple: Veil Instructions ↗ (SRC-0098; authenticity: Unassessed)

Contradicting sources: none recorded.

The exact name of the final token is not spoken in this instructional clip’s captions. A selected frame does not authenticate the whole rite.

SRC-0098: Source authenticity is unassessed; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0098: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
SRC-0098: The source text's rights have not been established.
ARTF-0003: Artifact inspection is partial; use only its recorded inspected portions.
ITEM-0007: The recorded practice status is provisional: no dated status claims are linked.

Evidence qualifications

SRC-0047 · source_authenticity_unassessed: Source authenticity is unassessed; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0047 · source_without_content_hash: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
ITEM-0007 · status_without_dated_evidence: The recorded practice status is provisional: no dated status claims are linked.

Reviewed means checked against a source. It does not establish source authenticity, independent corroboration or present-day practice.

Item notes

Penalty gestures were removed from the ceremony in 1990.