What was the church like in the 1950s?


Lakumi
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I have a book entitled, 'Development of LDS Temple Worship, 1846-2000: A Documentary History,' by Anderson. The book includes a large number of primary sources - the actual memos & letters addressing issues that had come up - like young girls wearing miniskirts to the temple in the 1960's. Some of the interesting things I came away with:

People were advised not to adopt black children. Black children could not be sealed to white parents.

The Church considered buying a cruise ship to use as a temple to go around to South Africa and other places without a temple.

I think this has been mentioned on the board, but it was new to me when I read it, that parts of Fantasia from Disney were used in the Temple film.

Women who were married to non-members were not supposed to get a temple recommend. If she had one already, she could keep it.

The book is fascinating and only $9 something from amazon Kindle.

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The LDS church's formal policy with it's antipathy to the use of the cross started in the late 50s. David O McKay, who was the president commented in his journal:

Bishop Joseph L. Wirthlin called me by telephone and asked me the Church's position on the following question: He stated that he had been asked today if it would be proper for L.D.S. girls to purchase crosses to wear. It is Bishop Wirthlin's understanding that there is a company downtown which is pushing the selling of these crosses to girls.

I told Bishop Wirthlin that this is purely Catholic and Latter-day Saint girls should not purchase and wear them. I stated further that this was a Catholic form of worship. They use images, crosses, etc. Our worship should be in our hearts.

Bishop Wirthlin said that this had been his opinion, but he felt that he should check with me before making a statement. (DOMD, April 29, 1957) (Banishing the Cross....by Michael G. Reed)

M.

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Missionary work would become more organized in the 1950s.

...The church would issue in 1953 The Systematic Program for Teaching the Gospel, the first set of missionary lessons issued by the church to be used in all missions. The tremendous missionary success of the LDS Church, since 1950, owes much to this more thoughtful and systematic missionary lesson approach, particularly its emphasis on the Book of Mormon as a proselyting tool.12...(Mormon Missionary Work: A Brief History and Introduction)

Missionary Work

M.

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Looks like the film was made in 1969 Mormon Temple Film (1969) - IMDb. I don't know if there was an earlier one. Fantasia was released in 1940, so it would have been available, and maybe considered old enough that Disney didn't have anything to lose by letting the Mormons use part of it.

In the Development of Temple Worship, it states that the original permissions for the Fantasia excerpts were about to expire. When the Church leaders inquired about an extension, Disney agreed to let the LDS use it as long as they wanted, as long as there was no charge.

Did you know that Gordon Jump, of 'WKRP in Cincinnati' fame was in the 1969 movie! Yes he was.

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What makes you think this?

...Groundbreaking and dedication of the lot were performed by David O. McKay on 5 August 1953. He dedicated the temple on 11 September 1955...

The presentation of the Endowment was particularly challenging in this temple, because it was the first international one, requiring many different languages for its attendants. It was solved by using a film, dubbed in all required languages. Gordon B. Hinckley supervised the initial making of this film and was the person responsible for transporting the film to Switzerland.[1] Since then all new temples have been equipped with recordings in lieu of live presentations by temple workers.

Bern Switzerland Temple - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

M.

Edited by Maureen
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...Groundbreaking and dedication of the lot were performed by David O. McKay on 5 August 1953. He dedicated the temple on 11 September 1955...

The presentation of the Endowment was particularly challenging in this temple, because it was the first international one, requiring many different languages for its attendants. It was solved by using a film, dubbed in all required languages. Gordon B. Hinckley supervised the initial making of this film and was the person responsible for transporting the film to Switzerland.[1] Since then all new temples have been equipped with recordings in lieu of live presentations by temple workers.

Bern Switzerland Temple - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This source claims that the filmed endowment originated at this temple, but not that it originated at this temple's 1955 dedication. I don't know when the endowment presentation went to film instead of live actors, but I had thought it was during my lifetime, maybe around 1970, and certainly (I had thought) later than 1955.

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"The first filmed versions of the endowment were introduced in the 1950s, by a committee headed by Gordon B. Hinckley. That change was initiated by then Church president David O. McKay as a way of providing the instruction simultaneously in different languages, an innovation made necessary by the construction of the Bern Switzerland Temple, the Church's first temple in Europe. As of 2005, ceremonies in all but two (Salt Lake Temple and Manti Temple) of the Church's 128 operating temples are presented using the filmed version.[45]"

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