Mormon Endowment Ceremony

The creators of HBO's controversial polygamy drama, "Big Love," defended an upcoming episode depicting a scene of a sacred and private LDS temple ceremony that has riled some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Meanwhile, while the TV network has apologized to those who may be offended by its contents.

"We therefore took great pains to depict the ceremony with the dignity and reverence it is due," according to a statement by creators Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer. Both were editing the season finale this week and unavailable for interviews.

The duo's unusual drama, about a modern-day Utah polygamous family, sparked controversy this week when Scheffer and Olsen announced that Sunday night's episode will include an endowment ceremony in an LDS temple involving one of the sister wives, played by Jeanne Tripplehorn. The scene, which was apparently supervised by an "ex-Mormon," includes sets of the temple's celestial room and the sacred temple clothing worn during such ceremonies.

"This approach is entirely evident in the scene portrayed in this episode and certainly reflected in Jeanne Tripplehorn's beautiful and moving performance as she faces losing the church she loved so much," the creators said in the statement. "In order to assure the accuracy of the ceremony, it was thoroughly vetted by an adviser who is familiar with temple practices and rituals."

Here is a link to the rest of the story: Big Love

Here are links to other reports about this story:



"Big Love" series to show rites from LDS temples
ABC 4
, USA
- Mar 10, 2009
- 8 hours ago
They argue that temples and temple ceremonies are not as much secret as very sacred. One BYU student asked, "Doesn't it say in the scriptures 'cast not your ...


Mormons Mad at Big Love
Queerty
, USA
- Mar 10, 2009
- 9 hours ago
And according to TV Guide, it now seems the show's writers are to depict what they understand to be sacred temple ceremonies. Certainly Church members are ...


LDS temple garments seen in TV Guide magazine
KIDK
, USA
- Mar 09, 2009
- Mar 09, 2009
This Sunday an episode will air showing temple ceremonies. This months TV Guide even shows a picture of Temple Garments. "I think that there's a lot wrong ...


The Ceremony in question is the, Mormon Endowment Ceremony

Here is what I have found about it:
The Mormon Endowment includes four basic aspects. One is a preparatory ordinance of ceremonial washing and anointing, and dressing in sacred temple garments or so-called "Mormon underwear," plus temple robes, always white as a symbol of purity and equality between everyone in attendance. Another aspect is a course of instruction that features the creation of the world, some of the experiences of Adam and Eve, and the plan of salvation or redemption available to every human thanks to the sacrifice of Christ. Covenants constitute yet another aspect of the Endowment: Mormons solemnly promise the Lord to be obedient, giving of self, chaste, and loyal to the restored Church of Christ and its cause; in return, God is enabled to fulfill promised blessings of joy, protection, progress, and eventual return to His glorious presence. Finally, temple visitors can actually feel a degree of divine presence even now, for Mormon temples are specially dedicated as places of holiness, of light, of peace and revelation and understanding. The Lord's hand can be felt in the Mormon Church's practice of temple building, and it can be felt in the hearts and lives of those who worthily and reverently enter the temple.

Information is conveyed in a highly symbolic manner during the Endowment in Mormon temples. Members of the Mormon Church have the experience of noticing and understanding different things each time they read the scriptures, and in a similar way, the Endowment provides understanding at various levels and encourages a person to return more and more so as to develop that understanding and to draw ever closer to the Lord. The meaning that someone derives from a symbol today is often different than the meaning previously derived. Both meanings are valuable in filling out the cumulative comprehension of the individual.
Symbols used in the Endowment and the meanings of those symbols are sacred to Mormons. They view the meaning of the symbols as knowledge (an endowment) from God. For this reason, the only acceptable place for Mormons to discuss the symbols or their meaning is within the walls of a temple. Faithful Mormons do not divulge specific details of what goes on in the temple, not because they are secret, but because they are sacred.

The first time a Mormon goes through an Endowment session, it is for his or her own benefit. This usually occurs before a Mormon male leaves on a two-year mission at age 19 to preach about the restored Church of Jesus Christ; Mormon women usually receive their Endowment before marriage, or if and when they leave on an 18-month mission at the age of 21.

During all subsequent sessions, which hopefully are frequent, Mormons receive the Endowment not for themselves but on behalf of deceased individuals, enabling the dead to accept or reject the ordinances and covenants according to their own free will. The living Mormon feels it an honor and a duty to thus act as proxy for others, and besides gaining a cumulative understanding through repeated visits, the Mormon also gets a vivid reminder of the grand scheme of things, remembering anew what this world and this life are really all about.

Source: Mormon

Here is an audio recording of the LDS Temple endowment made by Larry Cozad, jr in 1984
Audio