Biblical Reasons Ministry  

(From The Daily Tribune: Salt Lake, Sunday Morning, September 28, 1879)

The Mormon Endowment House is a plain adobe building, two stories high, built like a small dwelling house, so as not to attract attention. There are blinds to all the windows which are nearly always kept down. It is situated in the northwest corner of the Temple block, (which includes the Tabernacle, New Temple, &c.) and the whole block is surrounded by a very high wall.

On a certain day, not necessary to mention, I went to the Endowment House at eight o’clock in the morning, taking with me my endowment clothes (consisting of garments, robe, cap apron and moccasins). I believe people used to take their own oil, but that is now discontinued, as fees are charged. I went into a small room attached to the main building (designated in the plan by the name of Reception Room,) which was crowded with men and women having their bundles of clothing. The entrance door is on the east side, and in the southwest corner there is another, next to which the desk stood, where the clerk recorded the names, etc. Around the north and west sides were benches for people to sit.

On going up to the desk I presented my recommend from the bishop in whose ward I was staying, and George Reynolds, who was then acting as clerk, asked me my name, those of my parents, when and where I was born, and when I was baptized into the Mormon church.

That over, he told me to leave my hat, cloak and shoes in that room, and, taking up my bundle, I went into the room marked 3 on the plan, where I sat waiting till it came my turn to be washed.

THE WASHING

One of the women, an officiating high priestess, told me to come behind the curtain (which I have indicated by a waving line), where I could hear a great deal of splashing and subdued conversation. I went, and after I was undressed I had to step into a long bath, about half full of water, when another woman proceeded to wash me. I objected strongly to this part of the business, but she told me to show a more humble sprit. However, when she got down to my feet, she let me go, and I was turned over to the woman who had spoken to me first, and whose name is Bathsheba Smith (one of the widows of Apostle George A. Smith). She wore a large, shiny apron, and her sleeves tucked up above the elbows. She looked thoroughly like business.

THE ANOINTING

Another woman was standing beside her with a large wooden spoon and some green olive oil in a cow’s horn. This woman poured the oil out of the spoon into Bathsheba’s hand, who immediately put it on my head, ears, eyes, mouth, and every part of by body, and, as she greased me, she muttered a kind of prayer over each member of my body: My head, that I might have a knowledge of the truths of God; my eyes, that I might see the glories of the kingdom; my mouth, that I might at all times speak the truth; my arms, that they might be strong in defense of the gospel; my bosom—and here I must ask my readers to not think I want to tell this part of the story, but I do want people to know the truth, and how disgusting and indelicate this thing is. Mormon people deny many of these things, and civilized and decent people can scarcely realize that this institution is an infamous as it really is, but I solemnly assert that these things do exist. To continue: My bosom, that I might nourish the children whom I might raise by my husband (I was not then married, but expected to be), and another part of my body, that I might raise up a godly seed, that they might be pillars of strength to the upbuilding and strengthening of God’s kingdom upon the earth. And so she got down to my feet, when she hoped they might be swift in the paths of righteousness and truth.

MY NEW AND CELESTIAL NAME

She than turned me over to the woman who had washed me, and who whispered in my ear. I believe I am to be called up on the morning of the resurrection by it. It was "Sarah." I felt disappointed. I thought I should have received a more distinguished name. She told me that the new name must never be spoken, but often thought of, to keep away evil spirits. I should re required to speak it once that day, but she would tell me in what part of the ceremony, and that I should never again have to speak it.

ENDOWMENT ROBES

She then told me to put on my garments. These are made in one piece. On the right breast is a square, on the left a compass, in the center a small hole, and on the knee a large hole which is called the "Stone."

We were told that, as long as we kept them on, no harm could befall us, and that, when we changed them, we were not to take them off all at once, but slip out a limb at a time, and immediately dive into the clean ones. The neck was never to be cut low, or the sleeves short, as that would be patterning after the Gentiles. After that I put on my clothes, and in my stocking feet waited with those who were washed and anointed until she had finished the remaining two or three. This done, the little calico curtains (marked A and B) were drawn aside, and the men and women stood revealed to each other. The men looked very uncomfortable and not at all picturesque. They only had their garments and shirts on, and they really did seem as though they were ashamed of themselves, as well as they might be.

THE WEEK-KNEED CAN BACK OUT

Joseph F. Smith then came to where we were all waiting, and told us that, if we wanted to back out, now was our time, because we should not be able afterward, and that we were bound to go right through. All those who wanted to go through were to hold up their hands, which, of course, everyone did, believing that all the good and holy things, that were to be seen and heard in the "House of the Lord" were yet to come. He then told us that, if ever any of us attempted to reveal what we saw and heard in the "House," our memories would be blighted, and we should

BE EVERLASTINGLY DAMNED,

for they were things too holy to be spoken of between each other, after we had once left the Endowment House. We were then told to be very quiet and listen. Joseph F. Smith then went away.

BLASPHEMOUS MUMMERIES

In a few moments we heard voices talking loudly, so that the people could hear them, in the adjoining room. It was supposed to be a conversation between Elohim (Head God) and Jehovah. The conversation was as follows:

Elohim to Jehovah—"Well, Jehovah, I think we will create an earth; let Michael go down and collect all the elements together and found one."

Answer—"Very well, O Lord God, it shall be done."

Then, calling to another man, we could hear him say:

"Michael, go down and collect all the elements together, and form an earth, and then report to us what you have done."

Answer—"Very well, O Lord God."

The man they called Michael then left the prayer-circle room and came through the room they called the World, into the garden of Eden, the door of which was shut that faced the places C and D, where we were standing, listening and waiting. He remained there a second or two, and everything was quiet. At the end of that time we heard him going back the same way, to where Elohim and Jehovah were waiting. When he got back, he said: "I have collected all the elements together and founded an earth; what would’st thou have me do next?" Using the same formula every time they sent him down to the world, then they told him to separate the land from the water, light from darkness, etc., and so they went regularly through the creation, but they always told him to come and report what he had done.

When the creation was supposed to be finished, Michael went back and told them it was very fair and beautiful to look upon. Elohim then said to Jehovah that he thought they better go down and have a look at it, which they did, and agreed with Michael that it was a beautiful place; that it seemed a pity it should be of no particular use, but thought it would be a good idea to create man to live in and cultivate these things.

They then came out of the garden of Eden, which was supposed to have been newly finished, and, shutting the door after them, came to where we were standing. We were then told to shut our eyes, and Jehovah said to Michael, "Give me a handful of dust, and I will create man." We were then told to open our eyes, and we saw a man, that he had taken from the crowd, standing beside Jehovah, and to whom Jehovah said, "I will call thee Adam, for thou shalt be the father of mankind." Jehovah then said it was not good for man to be alone, so he would create a woman and a helpmeet for him. We were again told to close out eyes, and Adam was requested to go to sleep, which he obligingly did. Jehovah was then supposed to take a rib from Adam’s side and form Eve. We were then told to open our eyes and look upon the handiwork of the Lord. When we did, we saw a woman taken from among the crowd, who was standing by Adam’s side. Jehovah said he would call the woman Eve, because she would be the mother of all mankind.

THE DOOR OF THE GARDEN OF EDEN

was then opened, and we all marched in with our bundles, the men going first, as they always take the precedence, and we ranged ourselves round the room on benches. The four sides of this room are painted in imitation of trees, flowers, birds, wild beasts, etc. (The artist who painted the room was evidently more acquainted with whitewashing than painting.) The ceiling was painted blue, dotted over with golden stars. In each corner was a Masonic emblem. In one corner is a compass, in another a square, the remaining two were the level and the plumb. On the east side of the room, next the door, was a small wooden altar.

After we had seated ourselves, Jehovah told Adam and Eve that they could eat of every tree in the garden except of this particular apple tree, for on the day they ate that they should surely die.

He then took his departure, and immediately after in came a very lively gentleman, dressed in a plain black morning suit, with a little apron on, a most fiendish expression on his face and joyfully rubbing his hands.

This gentleman was supposed to be 'the Devil.' Certainly his appearance made the supposition quite easy (by the by, I have since seen that same gentleman administering the sacrament in the tabernacle on Sundays). He went up to Eve and remarked that this was a beautiful place, and that the fruit was so nice, would she like to taste one of those apples. She demurred a little, and said she was told not to, and therefore mustn't. But he pretended to pluck one of the painted apples and gave it to her, and she pretended to eat it. He then told her to ask Adam to have some, and she did. Adam objected strongly to tasting, knowing the penalty, but Eve eventually overcame his scruples, saying: "Oh, my dear, they're so nice, you haven't any idea, and that nice old gentleman here (pointing to the Devil) says that he can recommend them, and you need not be afraid of what Jehovah says.

Adam consented, and immediately after he said, "Oh, what have I done, and how foolish I was to listen to you." He then said that he could see himself, and that they had no clothes on, and that they must sew some fig leaves together. Every one then made a dive for his apron out of the little bundle.

The apron is a square half yard of green silk. A voice was then heard calling for Adam, who pretended to hide, when in came Jehovah. He gave Adam a good scolding, but finally told him that he would give him certain instructions, whereby he would have a chance to regain the presence of his Father and God after he was driven out into the world. These instructions consisted of grips, &c., and the garments he wore would protect him from all evil. (Mormons say of these garments that the pattern was revealed direct from heaven to Joseph Smith, and are the same as were originally worn by Adam.)

They then put on their caps and moccasins, the women's caps being made of Swiss muslin; it is one yard square, rounded at one corner so as to fit the head, and there are strings on it which tie under the chin. The moccasins are made of linen or calico. The men's are made exactly like those of pastry cooks, with a bow on the right side.

I should here mention, before I go further, that Bathsheba Smith and one of the priests enacted the parts of Adam and Eve, and so stood sponsors for the rest of us, who were individually supposed to be Adams and Eves.

They then proceeded to give us the first grip of the Aaronic or lesser priesthood, which consists in putting the thumb on the knuckle of the index finger, and clasping the hands round. We were then made to swear "To obey the laws of the Mormon Church and all they enjoin, in preference to those of the United States." The penalty for revealing this grip and oath, is that you will have your throat cut from ear to ear, and your tongue torn from your mouth, and the sign of the penalty is drawing the hand with the thumb pointing towards the throat sharply across and bringing the arm to the level of the square and with the hand upraised to heaven, swearing to abide the same.

We were then driven out of this into the room called the World, where there were three men standing at a small altar on the east side of the room, who were supposed to represent Peter, James and John, Peter standing in the center. He was supposed to have the keys of heaven. Men representing (or trying to) the different religious sects then came in and presented their views and said they wanted to try and save these fallen children. In doing this they could not refrain from exaggerating and coarsely satirizing the different sects they represented. Previous to their coming in, however, Peter had presented to us the gospel of Christ—at least he told us that Christ had come to die for the original sin, but that we had got to work out our own salvation, and that in the last days a prophet should be raised up to save all those that would believe in his divine mission; consequently these different representatives were told that their doctrines did not suit the people and that there was something wanting in their faith and so they could go. Then the Devil came in and tried to allure the people, and bustling up to the altar, Peter said to him: "Hallo, Mr. Devil, how do you do today! it's a very fine day, isn't it? What have you come after? The Devil replied that he didn't seem to take to any of those so-called Christian religions, why didn't they quit bothering about anything of that kind, and live a life of pleasure, etc. However, he was told to go, and that quickly.

Peter then gave the second grip of the Aaronic or lesser priesthood, which consists of putting the thumb between the knuckles of the index and second fingers and clasping the hand around. The penalty for revealing this is to be sawn asunder, and our members cast into int sea. The sign of the penalty was drawing the hand sharply across the middle of the body. To receive that grip we had to put on our robes, which consisted of a long straight piece of cloth reaching to our feet, doubled over and gathered very full on the shoulder and round the waist. There was also a long narrow piece of cloth tied around the waist, called the "sash." It was placed on the right shoulder, to receive the grip, the people to wear their apron over it.

The men then took the oath of chastity and the women the same; but they don't consider polygamy at all unchaste, but said that it was an heaven ordained law, and that a man to be exalted in the world to come must have more than one wife. The women then took the oath of obedience to their husbands, having to look up to them as their gods. It is not possible for a woman to go to Christ, except through her husband.

Then a man came in and said that the gospel (which during those few minutes' intervas had lain dormant for 1800 years) had been again restored to earth, and that an angel had revealed it to a young boy named Joseph Smith, and that all the gifts, blessings and prophecies of old had been restored with it, and this last revelation was to be called the latter day restoration. The priests pretended joyfully to accept this, and said it was the very thing they were in search of, nothing else having had the power to satisfy them.

They then proceeded to give us the first grip of the Melchizedek or higher priesthood, which is said to be the same as Christ held. The thumb is placed on the knuckle of the index finger, which is placed straight along the palm of the hand, while the lower part of the hand is clasped with the remaining fingers. The robe for this grip was changed from the right to the left shoulder. We were then made to swear to avenge the death of Joseph Smith, the martyr, together with that of his brother, Hyrum, on this American Nation, and that we would teach our children and children's children to do so. The penalty for this grip and oath was disembowelment.

We were then marched into the northeast room (the men, of course, always going first) designated the prayer circle room. We were then made to take an oath of

OBEDIENCE TO THE MORMON PRIESTHOOD

And now the highest or grandest grip of the Melchisedec priesthood was given. We clasped each other round the hand with the point of the index finger resting on the wrist, and little fingers firmly linked together. The place on the wrist where the index finger points is supposed to be the place where Christ was nailed to the cross, but they tore out and he had to be nailed again; and so you place your second finger beside the index on the wrist; it is called the

SURE SIGN OF THE NAIL,

and if this grip is properly given, it is very hard to pull apart. The robe was changed from the left to the right shoulder to receive the grip.

The men then formed a circle round the altar, linking their arms straight across and placed their hands on one another's shoulders. The priest knelt at the altar and took hold of one of the men's hands and prayed. He told us that an electric current of prayer passed through the circle and that was the most efficacious kind of prayer. The women stood outside the circle with their veils covering their faces, the only time during the ceremony that they did so.

The prayer over, they all trooped up the staircase on the north side of the house, into the room called the instruction room, where the people sat down on benches on the west side of the room. Facing them about midway between floor and ceiling was a wooden beam that went across the room from north to south, and from which was suspended a dirty looking piece of what was once white calico. This was called "the Vail," and is supposed to be in imitation of the one in Solomon's temple. On this veil are marks like those on the garments, together with extra holes for putting the arms through. But before going through the veil, we received a general outline of the instructions we had received downstairs.

This over, the priest took a man to the veil to one of the openings, (marked 1,) where he knocked with a small wooden mallet that hung on the wooden support. A voice on the other side of the vail (it was supposed to be Peter's) asked who was there, when the priest answering for the man said, "Adam, having been faithful, desires to enter." The priest then led the man up to the west side of the veil, where he had to put his hands through and clasp the man or Peter (to whom he whispered his new name, and the only one he ever tells, for they must never tell their celestial names to their wives, although the wives must tell theirs to their husbands) through the holes in the veil. He was then allowed to go through to the other side, which was supposed to be heaven, and this is where a strong imagination might be of some use, for anything more unlike heaven, I can't conceive. The man having got through, he went to the opening (No. 2) and told the gatekeeper to call for the woman he was about to marry, telling him her name. She then stepped up to the veil where the marks "B" are. They couldn't see each other, but put their hands through the openings, one of their hands on each other's shoulder and the other around the waist. (The marks at the plan at the sides are for the arms, and all the marks in the plan on the veil are exactly as they are in the endowment house. The top round mark is the place where they spoke through, and the square, compass and stone correspond with the marks on the garments; the two bottom marks were where the feet are put through,) with the arms so fixed, the knees are placed within each other, the feet of course being the same, the woman's given name was then whispered through the veil, then her new and celestial name, then the priestess who stood by to instruct the women told them to repeat after her a most disgusting formula or oath. I can not remember it thoroughly, but what I do, consists of "the heart and the liver, the belly and the thighs, the marrow and the bones." The last and highest grip of the Melchezedec priesthood was then given through the veil.

They then released their hold of each other, and the priestess taking the woman to opening No. 2, knocked the same as they did at the men's entrance, and the gatekeeper having asked "Who is there?" and the priestess having replied "Eve, having been faithful in all thing, desires to enter," Eve was accordingly ushered into heaven.

Before I go further I must tell how they believe the entrance into heaven is to be gained on the morning of the resurrection. Peter will call up the men and women, (for it is not possible for a woman to be resurrected or exalted, or to be made a queen in heaven, unless some man takes pity on her and raises her). If the marks on the garments are found to correspond with those on the vail, (the dead are buried in the whole paraphernalia), if you can give the grips and tokens, and your new name, and you are dressed properly in your robes, why, then, one has a sure permit to heaven, and will pass by the angels, (who they suppose are to be only ministering servants,) to a more exalted glory; the more wives they have, they think, the higher their glory will be. 

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"Jesus' blood on the altar was the ultimate payment. He made us worthy permanently. When Jesus died on the cross the veil covering the Holy of Holies tore in half. The mercy seat lay exposed to mankind. There is no veil, anymore, between God and man. Jesus ripped it down. But Mormonism has hung up a new one." -Kathleen Baldwin