Opt out of endowments?


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I’m a convert. My year is up in 3 weeks and I’m counting down until I can receive my endowments. I know some people opt out of endowments. Even some people at our ward who are very active in the church. So I’m curious as why people would opt out? This is not to look down on anyone in anyway. I just want to understand more about the whys and hows of the church. 

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Going to the temple?  Exciting!

I've never heard the term "opt out" in regards to endowments.  I think it's probably more accurate to say that people just don't pursue going to the temple like they should.  Lots of reasons for this - fear, ignorance, apathy come to mind.

And maybe other people go to the temple and receive their endowments, and then later fall away from the church or go inactive, or stop believing or some such.  Again, lots of reasons for that too.

From where I'm standing, once you know what you believe and why you believe it, your testimony is pretty much rock solid and the only thing that can prevail against it is you.  

 

Edited by NeuroTypical
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@NeuroTypical yes I guess opt out may not be the right term however I used it in regards to those that I’ve notice that seem to have great faith and testimony and yet steer away from persuading their endowments. And it seems to be those who have been raised in the church rather than converts. As a convert I have been counting down the days. I can’t wait to be able to cross to that side of the Temple. To be able to receive and also to be able to perform all the ordinances for my relatives. 

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There is a sister in my ward that has told me, and this is almost a direct quote, "I don't feel like I'm temple worthy right now, and I'm not yet willing to make the changes in my life I would need to in order to go to the temple."

I admire and respect her candor. And if that's how she feels, I will respect it.  I certainly have more respect for her actions than I do for those who do it because "It's what comes next.*"

 

* and to be clear, I'm not referring to anyone in particular, and certainly not @Hello. I commend those who honestly evaluate their worthiness and what they are wiling to give at the moment, regardless of the consequences.

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3 hours ago, Hello said:

I’m a convert. My year is up in 3 weeks and I’m counting down until I can receive my endowments. I know some people opt out of endowments. Even some people at our ward who are very active in the church. So I’m curious as why people would opt out? This is not to look down on anyone in anyway. I just want to understand more about the whys and hows of the church. 

"Opt out" really isn't a good phrase here (as you yourself agree on).  The Endowment is a saving ordinance and a covenant which ultimately all disciples of Christ (past/present/future) will join in.  You can't "opt out" of it.

However, the timing is up to a person.  

Sharing my personal story: I grew up in the church, but didn't serve a mission and my husband is not a member, and not being an adult convert there was no year-wait deadline.  So all in all there wasn't a "you need to get your endowments for this event" moment in my life.  It was just up to me.  I wanted to be when I was ready, not before.  So I spent a years doing extremely thorough study/praying/pondering on things before I felt ready and finally got endowed at age 30.  

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I totally agree no one should do it because it’s the next step! I guess as a convert everything is new and exciting to me. And would have gotten endowed the next day if I could have! I want to wrap myself in all things gospel related. And I can’t wait to get my garments! I love seeing my husband in his and knowing what they stand  for. 

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Hello @Hello I am an old timer 5th generation member from pioneer ancestry.  I once attended a wedding/seeling where the bride - both her parents and all 4 of her grandparents attended - the husband was attending with both his parents and all 4 of his grandparents attended her initial endowment along with many siblings (both sides) aunts and uncles and cozzens.  The entire session was full (Salt Lake Temple) and exclusively family.   I would like to say that all lived happily ever after but sadly some years later the couple have not kept their covenants and have separated themselves from their sacred covenants and church attendance.  

The desire of "converts" to strive for saintly covenants is indeed prophetic and symbolic of the restoration.  You are no less a fellow citizen than the many generation descendants of the first members of the church in this last dispensation.  Obtaining temple covenants is not the end of a great quest but a beginning.  I have kept my precious temple recommend (covenants) current for 50 years.  Mostly, the reason for lack of temple attendance is, from what appears to me, to be 3 failures of so many members:

#1. Failure to tithe.

#2. Failure to love and appreciate the spiritual blessings of living the Word of Wisdom through strict and unwavering covenant. 

#3. Fault finding and evil speaking of the L-rd's anointed. 

After rereading this post - I thought to add one more - #4. Pride and refusal to repent.

There may be many others but I believe this covers about 98% or more of the reason many fail to maintain temple covenants.

 

I would mention one something concerning the temple - Two of the most sacred and powerful spiritual witnesses I have received during my lifetime have occurred while attending the temple - both of which I would consider too sacred to speak of in any more detail on the internet.  In addition hundreds or perhaps thousands of lessor spiritual nudging and quiet whisperings manifesting the divine involvement; bringing to light many blessings of temple worship and covenant.

 

The Traveler

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My grandmother joined the church when she married my grandfather because it's what was done. Neither were particularly active. They were never sealed while both lived. My grandmother attended enough meetings, to be social and it was a nice church.

She was in her early 70s before she received the endowment. She was ready with a far greater testimony. Her daughters took her through.

You may have those who aren't interested and you may have those interested but not yet ready.

While I hope it doesn't become the latest trend to wait for worldly reasons rather than being mindful of one day receiving, it's all about being ready.

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5 hours ago, MarginOfError said:

There is a sister in my ward that has told me, and this is almost a direct quote, "I don't feel like I'm temple worthy right now, and I'm not yet willing to make the changes in my life I would need to in order to go to the temple."

I admire and respect her candor. And if that's how she feels, I will respect it.  I certainly have more respect for her actions than I do for those who do it because "It's what comes next.*"

That's not exactly "opting out" though.

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On 7/2/2019 at 3:24 PM, Jane_Doe said:

The Endowment is a saving ordinance and a covenant which ultimately all disciples of Christ (past/present/future) will join in.  You can't "opt out" of it.

What do you mean by 'saving'?  I couldn't find any temple endowment mentioned in the
Book of Mormon or Pearl of Great Price. Who instituted the endowment and when?

Thank you,

Gale

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20 hours ago, GaleG said:

What do you mean by 'saving'? 

It's a bit complicated because of the differences of meanings, but when we refer to "saving" ordinances we specifically mean ordinances required to be exalted in the Celestial Kingdom.

20 hours ago, GaleG said:

Who instituted the endowment and when?

Depends on if you mean the modern version and if you mean restored or instituted.

We believe the endowment was given to Adam and persisted though God's true church whenever it has been on the earth.

The modern restoration of the endowment was revealed to Joseph Smith.

Edited by The Folk Prophet
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On 7/8/2019 at 12:27 PM, The Folk Prophet said:

We believe the endowment was given to Adam and persisted though God's true church whenever it has been on the earth.

Is there a scripture in the Bible, Book of Mormon, or Pearl of Great Price to show people knew of and/or
participated in the endowment ceremony?

Thanks,
Jim

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32 minutes ago, theplains said:

Is there a scripture in the Bible, Book of Mormon, or Pearl of Great Price to show people knew of and/or
participated in the endowment ceremony?

Thanks,
Jim

There’s a distinction between the endowment versus the endowment ceremony.  

The endowment consists of a series of specific covenants that an individual makes with God.

The endowment ceremony is the modern LDS liturgy in which those covenants are administered together over a period of a few hours, together with some teaching. 

But, there’s no eternal requirement that the covenants associated with the endowment all be administered at the same time.  The modern endowment ceremony suggests that it is hypothetically possible to enter into one covenant of the endowment, and then go for months or years before receiving the next covenant.  

So yes, I believe Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Peter, John, etc. were familiar with the endowment; and certainly the concepts of the endowment covenants turn up all over the scriptures.  (Whether the broad population of ancient Israel under the law of Moses was familiar with it is a tougher question to me, because the endowment covenants are administered under the Melchizedek order of priesthood and this order—with very few exceptions—didn’t exist in ancient Israel; and Nephite culture was an outgrowth of ancient Israelite culture.)  But that does not mean that the patriarchs who received their endowment underwent, or were familiar with, anything like modern Latter-day Saints “endowment ceremony.”

By way of analogy:  there’s “calculus”, and then there’s “Calculus 101” taught by Dr. Jones at UCLA.  Isaac Newton never stepped on the UCLA campus and never met Dr. Jones or saw her syllabus or reviewed the course textbook—but that didn’t prevent Newton from knowing calculus.  And the fact that Newton never imagined the existence of UCLA or Dr. Jones or her textbook, doesn’t undermine the value of Dr. Jones’ Calculus 101 course.  

Edited by Just_A_Guy
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On 7/13/2019 at 10:36 PM, Just_A_Guy said:

So yes, I believe Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Peter, John, etc. were familiar with the endowment; and certainly the concepts of the endowment covenants turn up all over the scriptures.

Which scriptures indicate they were familiar with the endowment ceremony?

Thanks,
Jim

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I have an amazing sister in my ward (we used to co-teach in primary) who has not taken out her endowments. She is temple worthy and attends regularly with the youth to participate in baptisms. She is a convert who was married for 15years before joining the church. Her husband took the missionary discussions with her, but decided not to join. He is happy that she attends on Sundays and is generally tolerant, but would be very upset by her wearing garments. So she prays that this is just not the season for her to do this work and waits patiently for his heart to change or she outlives him (her words not mine!!) and tells me she is learning a lot about patience.

She is a better woman than I

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On 7/17/2019 at 6:13 PM, Just_A_Guy said:

I didn’t say they were familiar with the endowment ceremony.  

Let me rephrase my question on your earlier post:

"I believe Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Peter, John, etc. were familiar with the endowment;
and certainly the concepts of the endowment covenants turn up all over the scriptures
."

What specifically is the endowment and these endowment ceremonies they were familiar with and
would you mention a  few of the scriptures you are referring to?

Thanks,
Jim

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On 7/25/2019 at 1:49 PM, theplains said:

Let me rephrase my question on your earlier post:

"I believe Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Peter, John, etc. were familiar with the endowment;
and certainly the concepts of the endowment covenants turn up all over the scriptures
."

What specifically is the endowment and these endowment ceremonies they were familiar with and
would you mention a  few of the scriptures you are referring to?

Thanks,
Jim

From https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2012/07/understanding-our-covenants-with-god?lang=eng:

The Endowment

The temple endowment is a gift that provides perspective and power.


During the temple endowment we receive instructions and make covenants related to our eternal exaltation. Associated with the endowment are the ordinances of washing and anointing and being clothed in temple garments as a reminder of sacred covenants. Temple ordinances and covenants are so sacred that they are not discussed in detail outside of the temple. Because of that, President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, advised, “It is important that you listen carefully as these ordinances are administered and that you try to remember the blessings promised and the conditions upon which they will be realized.”


Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has taught that the key to receiving divine power to overcome opposition and move the Church forward “is the covenant we make in the temple —our promise to obey and sacrifice, to consecrate unto the Father, and His promise to empower us with ‘a great endowment.’”


You can learn more about the principles behind the covenants we make in the endowment by studying the following:


    “Obedience,” Gospel Principles (2009), 200–206.

    M. Russell Ballard, “The Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign, Oct. 1998, 6.

    On “the law of [the] gospel” (D&C 104:18), see Doctrine and Covenants 42.

    “The Law of Chastity,” Gospel Principles (2009), 224–32.

    D. Todd Christofferson, “Reflections on a Consecrated Life,” Ensign, Nov. 2010, 16.

Edited by Just_A_Guy
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