Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints might seem awfully mysterious to those who haven’t been inside one before. That’s truly unfortunate because it leads many people to believe we’re a religion with something to hide. The fact is that there are some things we consider extremely sacred and don’t share outside the temple, but we’re also anxious for everyone in the world to experience the full mystery of the temple firsthand. It’s one of the reasons we have tens of thousands of missionaries throughout the world. There are a few aspects of the temple so sacred we’re asked not to discuss them publicly. But sometimes we Latter-day Saints interpret that to mean we can’t talk about most anything we do in the temple. That’s simply not true. So, while there are a few things I can’t won’t talk about here, most of what we do in the temple is shareable. In fact, most of the more detailed descriptions of temple worship included in this article are quotes from scripture and modern Latter-day Saint leaders. Combined with images published by the Church itself, let’s take a look at the rooms included in every temple around the world, and what we do in each one of them. But before we get to that… What you need to know going into this After a temple is constructed, a series of public open houses are held. The public gets to take a tour of the new building before it is officially “dedicated” and becomes operational. Each of the photos in this article were taken before the temple’s dedication. After a temple is dedicated, photography is not allowed. In temples, Latter-day Saints perform ordinances. An ordinance “is a sacred, formal act performed by the authority of the priesthood.” Some ordinances happen in temples, some don’t. Baptism and participating in the sacrament are examples of ordinances that happen outside a temple. In order to take part in temple ordinances, participants must be baptized members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and they must be living in accordance with qualifying commandments. Individuals who meet the criteria are given a “temple recommend” card that grants them access to any temple in the world. Let’s start from the very beginning—the entryway When you enter any given temple, you’ll begin in an entryway similar to those in the photographs above. There will be volunteers in white clothing (suits for men, dresses for women) waiting for you at the desk. You’ll present your temple recommend card, and a temple worker will get you checked in. Unless of course, you don’t have a recommend. In which case they pull a lever, opening up the floor beneath you and dropping you into a pit of hungry alligators. Or they might just politely ask you to admire the temple from the outside. But if you do have a recommend and get checked in, you’ll then have the opportunity to participate in a variety of temple ordinances, depending on your age and needs. A word on clothing Temple patrons wear different clothing in different parts of the temple. So as to avoid confusion, here’s a quick guide: Sunday best: When you go to the temple, you wear your “Sunday best.” There’s nothing particularly special about this clothing other than the fact that wearing it shows a measure of respect to Lord when entering His house. This is the same kind of clothing you’d see Latter-day Saints wearing to church on Sunday. White temple clothing: After you’ve entered the temple in your Sunday best, you’ll probably head to a locker room (a really nice locker room) where you’ll change into white temple clothing (like the people in the photo above). The Temple Garment: We’ll talk more about this later. Sacred ceremonial temple clothing: We’ll also talk more about this later, but understand that sacred temple clothing is different than white temple clothing. Sacred temple clothing is worn over white temple clothing. Alright, now that we’re all on the same page, let’s take a trip through the temple: The baptistry Youth as young as 11 years old can help perform what Latter-day Saints call “baptisms for the dead.” Jesus Christ taught that “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” But what happens to all of those people throughout history that never had the opportunity to be baptized? Are they destined to inherit an eternal Hell on a technicality? We don’t think so. In this ordinance room, recommend-holders can participate in vicarious (or proxy) baptisms for people (preferably their own ancestors) who have passed on without having the opportunity. We believe the spirits of those ancestors will then have the opportunity to accept or reject that vicarious ordinance. You’ll notice the unique style of the baptismal font. To our modern sensibilities, it might look a little strange, but it is meant to mirror the “molten sea” of Solomon’s temple as described in 1 Kings 7:25 of the Old Testament, And he made a molten sea … It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. For vicarious baptisms, patrons change into white clothes (customarily a simple white jumpsuit) and enter the baptismal font. There, a volunteer will baptize the patron in behalf of the deceased person. The patron is usually baptized several times for several different people all within a few minutes. After the baptisms are performed, that same patron must be “confirmed” for each of those people. The Bible instructs that soon after baptism, those with priesthood authority lay their hands on the newly-baptized person’s head and bless them to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 8:14-17, Acts 19:1-6). Nowadays, this usually happens in a small room (below) adjacent to the temple baptismal font after the patron has changed into dry clothing. Regular baptisms (not baptisms for the dead) happen in a normal meetinghouse font. Regular confirmations take place during church … Continue reading What Latter-day Saints Do in Each Room of Their Temples (With Pictures and Descriptions)