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About the endowment
The Initiatory
The Endowment Proper
The
Creation
The
Garden
The
Telestial World
The
Terrestrial World
The
Veil
Baptism for the dead
Sealings
Second anointing
Timeline
Historical documents
Masonic parallels
The endowment on film
Garments & temple clothes
Suggested readings
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THE GODS WITHDRAW
ELOHIM: Adam,
we have created for you this earth, and have placed upon
it all kinds of vegetation and animal life. We have commanded all these
to multiply in their own sphere and element. We give you dominion over
all these things and make you, Adam, lord over the whole earth and all
things on the face thereof. We now command you to multiply and replenish
the earth, that you may have joy and rejoicing in your posterity.
We have also planted for you this garden, wherein we have placed all manner
of fruits, flowers, and vegetation. Of every tree of the garden thou mayest
freely eat, but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not
eat; nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto
thee. But remember that I forbid it, for in the day thou eatest thereof
thou shalt surely
die.
Adam, remember this commandment which we have given unto you. Now go to--dress this garden, take good care of it, be happy and have joy therein.
We shall go away, but we shall visit you again and give you further instructions.
[Elohim and Jehovah withdraw from the Garden Room. Eve also withdraws from view, as if passing into a different portion of the garden. Adam is left alone.]
LUCIFER APPROACHES ADAM
[Lucifer enters.]
LUCIFER: Well, Adam, you have a new world here.
ADAM: A new world?
LUCIFER: Yes, a new world, patterned after the old one where we used to live.
ADAM: I know nothing about any other world.
LUCIFER: Oh, I see--your eyes are not yet opened. You have forgotten everything. You must eat some of the fruit of this tree.
[Lucifer pantomimes picking two pieces of fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He offers the fruit to Adam.]
LUCIFER: Adam, here is some of the fruit of that tree. It will make you wise.
ADAM: I will not partake of that fruit. Father told me that in the day I should partake of it, I should surely die.
LUCIFER: You shall not surely die, but shall be as the Gods, knowing good and evil.
ADAM: I will not partake of it.
LUCIFER: Oh, you will not? Well, we shall see.
[Adam withdraws from view.]
EVE PARTAKES OF THE FRUIT
[Eve returns.]
LUCIFER: Eve, here is some of the fruit of that tree. It will make you wise. It is delicious to the taste and very desirable.
EVE: Who are you?
LUCIFER: I am your brother.
EVE: You, my brother, and come here to persuade me to disobey Father?
LUCIFER: I have said nothing about Father. I want you to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil that your eyes may be opened, for that is the way Father gained his knowledge. You must eat of this fruit so as to comprehend that everything has its opposite: good and evil, virtue and vice, light and darkness, health and sickness, pleasure and pain. Thus your eyes will be opened, and you will have knowledge.
EVE: Is there no other way?
LUCIFER: There is no other way.
EVE: Then I will partake.
[Eve pantomimes taking one of the pieces of fruit from Lucifer's hand and eating it.]
LUCIFER: There. Now go and get Adam to partake.
[Lucifer pantomimes placing the second piece of fruit in her hand. He withdraws from view.]
ADAM PARTAKES OF THE FRUIT
[Adam returns.]
EVE: Adam, here is some of the fruit of that tree. It is delicious to the taste and very desirable.
ADAM: Eve, do you know what fruit that is?
EVE: Yes. It is the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
ADAM: I cannot partake of it. Do you not know that Father commanded us not to partake of the fruit of that tree?
EVE: Do you intend to obey all of Father's commandments?
ADAM: Yes, all of them.
EVE: Do you not recollect that Father commanded us to multiply and replenish the earth? I have partaken of this fruit and by so doing shall be cast out, and you will be left a lone man in the garden of Eden.
ADAM: Eve, I see that this must be so. I will partake that man may be.
[Adam pantomimes eating the fruit.]
THE APRON
[Lucifer returns as Adam is eating the fruit.]
LUCIFER: That is right.
EVE: [To Adam.] It is better for us to pass through sorrow that we may know the good from the evil. [To Lucifer.] I know thee now. Thou art Lucifer, he who was cast out of Father's presence for rebellion.
LUCIFER: Yes. You are beginning to see already.
ADAM: What is that apron you have on?
LUCIFER: It is an emblem of my power and priesthoods.
ADAM: Priesthoods?
LUCIFER: Yes, priesthoods.
ADAM: I am looking for Father to come down to give us further instructions.
LUCIFER: Oh, you are looking for Father to come down, are you?
[Elohim and Jehovah are heard speaking outside the Garden Room.]
ELOHIM: Jehovah, we promised Adam that we would visit him and give him further instructions. Come, let us go down.
JEHOVAH: We will go down, Elohim.
ADAM: I hear their voices; they are coming.
LUCIFER: See--you are naked. Take some fig leaves and make you aprons. Father will see your nakedness. Quick! Hide!
[Lucifer withdraws from view.]
ADAM: Brethren and sisters, put on your aprons.
[He waits until they have done so.]
[To Eve.] Come, let us hide.
[Adam and Eve withdraw from view.]
THE GODS RETURN
[Elohim and Jehovah return to the Garden Room.]
ELOHIM: Adam!
Adam!
Adam, where art thou?
[Adam returns.]
ADAM: I heard thy voice and hid myself, because I was naked.
ELOHIM: Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou partaken of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, of which we commanded thee not to partake?
ADAM: The woman thou gavest me and commanded that she should remain with me--she gave me of the fruit of the tree, and I did eat.
ELOHIM: Eve!
[Eve returns.]
What is this that thou hast done?
EVE: The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
LUCIFER IS EXPELLED FROM THE GARDEN
ELOHIM: Lucifer!
[Lucifer returns.]
ELOHIM: What hast thou been doing here?
LUCIFER: I have been doing that which has been done on other worlds.
ELOHIM: What is that?
LUCIFER: I have been giving some of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil to them.
ELOHIM: Lucifer, because thou hast done this, thou shalt be cursed above all the beasts of the field. Upon thy belly thou shalt go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.
LUCIFER: If thou cursest me for doing the same thing which has been done on other worlds, I will take the spirits that follow me, and they shall possess the bodies thou createst for Adam and Eve!
ELOHIM: I will place enmity between thee and the seed of the woman. Thou mayest have power to bruise his heal, but he shall have power to crush thy head.
LUCIFER: Then with that enmity I will take the treasures of the earth,
and with gold and silver I will buy up armies and navies, popes and priests,
and reign with blood and horror on the earth!
ELOHIM: Depart!
[Lucifer passes from the Garden Room into the World Room.]
CONDITIONS OF THE FALL
ELOHIM: Jehovah, let cherubim and a flaming sword be placed to guard the way of the tree of life, lest Adam put forth his hand, and partake of the fruit thereof, and live forever in his sins.
JEHOVAH: It shall be done, Elohim.
[Jehovah stretches his hand towards the tree of life.]
Let cherubim and a flaming sword be placed to guard the way of the tree of life, lest Adam put forth his hand, and partake of the fruit thereof, and live forever in his sins.
It is done, Elohim.
ELOHIM: Eve, because thou hast hearkened to the voice of Satan, and hast
partaken of the forbidden fruit, and given unto Adam, I will greatly multiply
thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children;
nevertheless, thou mayest be preserved in childbearing. Thy desire shall
be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee in righteousness.
Adam, because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife and hast partaken of the forbidden fruit, the earth shall be cursed for thy sake. Instead of producing fruits and flowers spontaneously, it shall bring forth thorns, thistles, briars, and noxious weeds to afflict and torment man; and by the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread all the days of thy life, for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Inasmuch as Eve was the first to eat of the forbidden fruit, if she will covenant that from this time forth she will obey your law in the Lord and will hearken unto your counsel as you hearken unto mine, and if you will covenant that from this time forth you will obey the law of Elohim, we will give unto you the law of obedience and sacrifice, and we will provide a Savior for you, whereby you may come back into our presence and with us partake of eternal life and exaltation.
EVE: Adam, I now covenant to obey your law as you obey our Father.
ADAM: Elohim, I now covenant with thee that from this time forth I will obey thy law and keep thy commandments.
ELOHIM: It is well, Adam.
THE COAT OF SKINS
ELOHIM: Jehovah, inasmuch as Adam and Eve have discovered their nakedness, make coats of skins as a covering for them.
JEHOVAH: It shall be done, Elohim.
Brethren and sisters, the garment which was placed upon you in the washing
room is to cover your nakedness and represents the coat of skins spoken
of. Anciently, it was made of skins. You have received the garment; also,
your new name.
THE LAW OF OBEDIENCE
ELOHIM: A couple will now come to the altar.
Brethren and sisters, this couple at the altar represents all of you as if at the altar. You must consider yourselves as if you were, respectively, Adam and Eve.
We will put the sisters under covenant to obey the law of their husbands. Sisters, arise.
Each of you bring your right arm to the square.
You and each of you solemnly covenant and promise before God, angels, and these witnesses at this altar that you will each observe and keep the law of your husband and abide by his counsel in righteousness.
Each of you bow your head and say, "Yes."
That will do.
Brethren, arise.
Each of you bring your right arm to the square.
You and each of you solemnly covenant and promise before God, angels, and these witnesses at this altar that you will obey the law of God and keep his commandments.
Each of you bow your head and say, "Yes."
That will do.
THE LAW OF SACRIFICE
ELOHIM: Brethren and sisters, you are about to be put under covenant
to obey and keep the law of sacrifice, as contained in the Old and New
Testaments.
This law of sacrifice was given to Adam in the garden of
Eden, who, when he was driven out of the garden, built an altar on which
he offered sacrifices.
And after many days, an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying,
"Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord?" And Adam said
unto him, "I know not, save the Lord commanded me." And then
the angel spake saying, "This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice
of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.
Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and
thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore."
The posterity of Adam down to Moses, and from Moses to Jesus Christ, offered up the firstfruits of the field and the firstlings of the flock, which continued until the death of Jesus Christ, which ended sacrifice by the shedding of blood.
And as Jesus Christ has laid down his life for the redemption of mankind, so we should covenant to sacrifice all that we possess, even our own lives if necessary, in sustaining and defending the kingdom of God.
All arise.
Each of you bring your right arm to the square.
You and each of you solemnly covenant and promise before God, angels, and these witnesses at this altar that you will observe and keep the law of sacrifice, as contained in the Old and New Testaments, as it has been explained to you.
Each of you bow your head and say, "Yes."
That will do.
THE FIRST TOKEN OF THE AARONIC PRIESTHOOD
ELOHIM: We will now give unto you the first token of the Aaronic priesthood with its accompanying name, sign, and penalty.
Before doing this, however, we desire to impress upon your minds the sacred character of the first token of the Aaronic priesthood, with its accompanying name, sign, and penalty, as well as that of all the other tokens of the holy priesthood, with their names, signs, and penalties, which you will receive in the temple this day. They are most sacred and are guarded by solemn covenants and obligations of secrecy to the effect that under no condition, even at the peril of your life, will you ever divulge them, except at a certain place that will be shown you hereafter.
The representation of the execution of the penalties indicates different
ways in which life may be taken.
[Elohim demonstrates the first token of the Aaronic priesthood.]
We give unto you the first token of the Aaronic priesthood. We desire all to receive it. All arise.
[All initiates receive the token.]
The name of this token is the new name that you received in the temple today.
[Elohim demonstrates the sign and penalty for this token.]
I will now explain the covenant and obligation of secrecy which are associated with this token, its name, sign, and penalty, which you will be required to take upon yourselves.
If I were receiving my own endowment today and had been given the name of _________ as my new name, I would repeat in my mind these words after making the sign, at the same time representing the execution of the penalty:
I, _________, covenant that I will never reveal the first token of the Aaronic priesthood, with its accompanying name, sign, and penalty. Rather than do so, I would suffer my life to be taken.
[Elohim leads the initiates in repeating this oath.]
That will do.
ADAM AND EVE ARE EXPELLED FROM THE GARDEN
ELOHIM: Jehovah, see that Adam is driven out of this beautiful garden into the lone and dreary world, where he may learn from his own experience to distinguish good from evil.
JEHOVAH: It shall be done, Elohim.
[Jehovah instructs the brethren to follow Adam, and the sisters to follow Eve, into the World Room. Elohim and Jehovah do not accompany initiates into the World Room.]
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NOTES
- In the 1990 revision, Elohim addresses himself (here and later) to
both Adam and Eve, rather than just to Adam. However, even in the 1990
revision, Adam alone is given the office of lord over the earth.
- This apparently contradictory language (they shall not eat, yet they
may choose for themselves; the tree is given to them, yet God forbids
it) comes from Moses 3:17, part of Joseph Smith's prophetic retranslation
of the Bible. The passage seems intended to soften the prohibition from
Genesis in order to accommodate the LDS belief that the Fall was a necessary
and desirable, albeit problematic, step forward in salvation history.
- The words "popes and priests" were replaced in 1990 with
a more generic reference to "false priests who oppress and tyrants
who destroy."
- This entire paragraph directed to Eve was omitted in the 1990 revision.
Also, the 1990 revision altered the subsequent paragraph (directed to
Adam) such that Adam is no longer chastised for having hearkened to
the voice of his wife. However, Eve is still required to covenant to
hearken to Adam's counsel on the grounds that she was the first to partake
of the forbidden fruit.
- In the 1990 revision, Eve covenants to obey the law of the Lord (not
Adam's law) and to hearken to Adam's counsel as he hearkens to the Father's.
- The statement that the garment was anciently made of skins was omitted
in the 1990 revision. This omission could be construed as an acknowledgement
that the endowment is not of ancient origin (though LDS apologists continue
to argue for parallels between the endowment and sacred rites of antiquity).
- In the 1990 revision, each sister is placed under covenant to hearken
to her husband's counsel as he hearkens to the Father. The effect, obviously,
is to soften the rhetoric of female subordination. This could be construed
as a step in the direction of gender equity. However, the fact that
Adam does not make a reciprocal covenant to hearken to Eve's counsel
reflects the continued LDS teaching that husbands are to preside in
the home.
- The pre-1990 ceremony moves sequentially through LDS scripture: the
Old and New Testaments are named in connection with the law of sacrifice,
the Book of Mormon is named in connection with the law of the gospel,
and Doctrine and Covenants is named in connection with the law of consecration.
The 1990 revision abandons this sequence, referring to the scriptures
generically, not by specific standard works (except in the case of the
law of consecration, where Doctrine and Covenants is still specifically
named).
- This paragraph is a direct quotation of Moses 5:6-8.
- All penalties were omitted in the 1990 revision. Elohim still impresses
upon initiates the sacred nature of the signs, tokens, and keywords, but
without using the word "secrecy"; and initiates still covenant
never to disclose them, but no longer at the peril of their lives.
Originally, the penalties included graphic descriptions of the particular ways one's life would be taken in punishment for violating the covenants of non-disclosure. (The same is true of Masonic ritual.) These graphic descriptions were replaced in the 1920s with a generic statement that rather than reveal the signs, tokens, and keywords, an initiate "would suffer my life to be taken." Note that this revision actually shifts the nature of the penalty: instead of a violent punishment falling upon those who disclose secret knowledge, the penalty becomes an affirmation that one will preserve the secret despite threats of violence.
- In the 1990 revision, this last sentence ("Rather than do so, I would suffer my life to be taken") was omitted from every oath of non-disclosure.