Monday, May 23, 2011

Do mormons make couples consummate their new marriages inside the temples?

Are temple marriages consummated in the temple? This news story
about the flds eldorado temple says they do.
http://www.religionnewsblog.com/21110/flds-temple

If they are not consummated in the LDS church currently, is there
any evidence that ever was practiced in the early church?




Dave U. Random


Thank you for your question Mr. Random, and first let me say that article is more than a little disturbing. I can't speak for the FLDS (Fundamental Latter-Day Saints, I think) church. It is as foreign to me as it is to most people. But in the LDS church proper, I can say with surety that, as practiced today, no, LDS marriages are not consummated in the temples. 


The temple ceremonies place a major emphasis on chastity and modesty, as does the church in general. It's stiflingly modest and chaste in fact. On my wedding day the only time my husband and I touched at all in the temple was when her took my hand over the alter so we could agree to the vows. It was . . . pardon the pun . . . very anti-climactic. The church is extremely sexually repressive. I think a little kink in the temple might spice it up! but no. Sex is only acceptable between a man and a woman who are married and even then it is intended to be private and sacred and procreative, a holy union. 


the second part of your question--did this ever happen--made me do a little digging. I doubted it, but I did check to see if i could find anything on it. I wondered if maybe there was the tinyest chance I had missed that in the history. but no. 


While the temple ceremony has changed, it hasn't changed quite that much. But when it has changed, the changes have been very Orwellian. The change is made--for example something is removed--and then it is simple never discussed and in no time it is like what ever was removed was never there to begin with. 


When I went through the temple some 13 years ago, my friend told me, "There used to be a part where it told you the consequences of breaking your vows." Now it's just a vague warning of dreadful things that will take place if you don't live up to every vow made in the temple. 


I googled recently and found out what he meant by telling you the consequences. 


This is a fairly accurate transcript of what is said in the temple. Though some of it, like the Blood Oaths, are no longer part of the ceremony. And this page is a pretty good description of some of the things that were removed. 


I bring up these other issues because it shows the changes that have been made in the temple ceremonies. As for the consummation, I think there would still be traces and hints, even in the Orwellian and cleansed history of the church. 


*****
If you have a question about mormons or mormonism, please send it my way at askanexmormon@gmail.com



4 comments:

  1. If you want to research this further, you might want to look into when bathtubs were removed from the temples.

    My vague understanding from when I looked into this previously is that at the end of the anointing ceremony, a man and his new wife (not necessarily first wife), would enter a tub of anointed oil together and consumate things, even in the salt lake temple.

    So I'll repeat my hint on thisss: Look into when bathtubs were removed from the temples.

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  2. I'll look but I looked and I asked others more knowlegable about church history, and this was new. I suspect it is something the FLDS group has done on their own.

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  3. First you talk about how weird Mormons are, but then you say they should be less repressive and allow sex in their temples to "spice things up." Huh? This would make them more normal?

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  4. *blushes deeply* I admit that was a joke, and likely in poor taste. I didn't know how severly the sexual repression went, for me, until I gave myself permission to explore. So that one is a little close to the surface for me. No, I did not mean to indicate that there should be sex in the temples. That would be even odder than what goes on.

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