LDS Sacred Garments, or 'Magic Underwear'

Members of the LDS Church have several stages to their membership. Baptism is just the first, then Confirmation. For males, there is then the striving to become Priesthood holders (which is in two variants, the Aaronic and the Melchizedek Priesthood), and then there’s Initiatory and Endowment.

Part of the Endowment, is the beginning of wearing sacred garments. Members who have completed their Endowment, will wear these garments as part of a covenant they made in the Temple. It is no different from people of other faiths who wear turbans, or kippah/yarmulke as symbols of their particular beliefs. The only difference is that Mormons wear their sacred garments underneath their clothes.

We see them as sacred as they are an outward and physical symbol of an inward and spiritual commitment. Just as a Sikh wears their turban as an outward sign of an inward commitment, LDS garments are no different. We choose to wear these garments to both remind ourselves of our commitments and covenants we have made, and also to motivate us to continue to keep those covenants.

They are often mocked by people of other faiths or no particular faith as ‘magic underwear’, but this is merely a childish attempt at humiliation. They’re not magic, nor are they claimed to be so. They’re also accused of being ugly and uncomfortable by people who are again, not members of the LDS church. Again, this is nothing more than a tendency to make fun of what someone doesn’t understand. The only way someone WOULD understand what these garments mean to the wearer, would be to undertake their own Endowment, something which can take years to reach.

I am not about to describe the ordinances, the covenants, or the activities that take place in the Temple, but rest assured, that there is nothing sinister in the wearing of these garments.

Let’s face it, if the media and the anti-Mormon brigade didn’t bring them to the public’s attention for the sake of mockery, then you would never know that someone was wearing them, and that’s the way it’s supposed to be. The choices and covenants that we have made are between the LDS member and God. They should not affect anyone else’s lives in any way, and so these garments are not for displaying, or for showing off. They are to be kept under the clothes, and respected by the wearer. They’re not a symbol of pride, nor of standing in the Church. They’re simply for the benefit of the wearer.

Despite this, there will always be those who wish to point and laugh at committed, faithful members of the LDS Church. Even in Lehi’s dream, he was jeered by others. Steadfastly holding to the Iron Rod, will always bring with it a certain amount of criticism and mockery. It is how you deal with such mockery that will be your making.

Word Of Wisdom

‘The Word Of Wisdom’ is what LDS members call their beliefs about addictive substances.

Mormons believe that the Lord has given us the ability to make our own choices, for good or bad. This is called ‘agency’. Obviously, those who make choices that hurt others, upset people, and make choices towards evil, rather than good, will be dealt with accordingly by God. This mortal life that we are living in, is simply a chance for us to prove that we are good souls, and given the unbiased choice, would naturally choose the option to help others, and to do good things, rather than evil.

The addictive substances take away that agency, as an addiction is something that isn’t a choice, but something you are compelled to do. Therefore Latter-Day Saints believe they should not:

·         Drink alcohol

·         Smoke tobacco or partake of any other nicotine substances

·         Partake of any narcotics of any kind

·         Partake of caffeine-based products (tea, coffee, etc) 

This can be difficult for members to keep rigid. Not only because those who were converted to the LDS Church may already have a taste for such products, and so giving them up is difficult, but that caffeine and alcohol are often ingredients and components to seemingly innocuous foods. Desserts often have liquors in them, and many foods are cooked with wine. Caffeine-free drinks are usually the order of the day at parties and gatherings, and the LDS Church must keep Schloer in business! Many denominations of Christianity will take their sacrament with wine, whilst Mormons take theirs with water to adhere to the Word Of Wisdom. 

However, what’s interesting is that all these things are known to be addictive, and also very harmful to the human body if consumed in addictive quantites. Nicotine, narcotics and alcohol are well known addictive substances, and all will kill you if you are addicted to them for any length of time, as your body is damaged by such items. 

The other intriguing part of this, is that Mormons have been following these practices for nearly 200 years (revelation was received in 1833), and yet up until the 1940’s and 50’s, it was assumed that smoking was good for you. Despite this, LDS members chose not to smoke. A quick look around Dublin shows advertising everywhere saying “Guinness is good for you!”, and yet again, LDS members chose not to drink alcohol. 

As for caffeine, it is considered that hot drinks with caffeine are far more harmful/addictive than cold drinks, and therefore cola and other carbonated drinks are not considered a violation of the Word Of Wisdom. However, many members choose to steer clear of these anyway, just to be sure! 

Many people find it odd that members of the LDS Church prohibit these things, but to me, it makes a lot of logical sense. Alcohol is addictive, and too much will kill you. Nicotine is addictive, and smoking kills you. Narcotics are addictive, and will kill you. It’s not rocket science to see that it would be wise to avoid these things.

Baptisms for the dead

Although it is common knowledge that Mormons baptise people who have long since died, using existing members as proxies, there’s not a lot of knowledge of why. Usually, there’s just outrage that it’s happening and therefore anger tends to cloud any further reasoning.

Do Mormons baptise dead people by proxy? So long as the person has been dead 100 years or more, or the closest living relative gives permission, then yes (there are further exceptions).

Does this make the dead person a registered Mormon? No.

Don’t think this means all your ancestors are now Mormon. It is taught in the LDS Church that when people die, if they have not been taught the Book Of Mormon, or of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ, then they have a chance to do so in the afterlife. Mormons believe that there are different levels of the Heavenly Kingdom, and those who were never taught the Gospel, are not bad people by default. Therefore they are in a Heaven where they are resurrected and they exist, but do not enjoy the many blessings that those who have been taught the gospel, and followed the commandments, repented of their sins etc., will enjoy. If the dead person was a bad person, and committed crimes of which they had no remorse, hurt others and did not repent, and generally did evil things, then they tend to go downstairs where they have an appointment with a large pointy trident.

This doesn’t mean the non-educated miss out though. When Mormons baptise the dead, they are offering those dead people the opportunity to be taught the Word of Christ. Imagine it like when someone dies, they have never even heard of the Book Of Mormon. They were a good, honest person and as such are in Heaven. When Mormons then baptise this dead person via proxy, it’s the equivalent of having the missionaries come visit the dead person to teach them the Gospel. The dead person, still has a choice to decide if they wish to accept the teachings or not. They can very easily decide they’re happy where they are and choose not to accept these teachings.

Mormons believe that families are forever, and are reunited in the afterlife so long as they were born into Mormon families (born into the covenant) or have performed an ordination called a ‘sealing’. Families who have been sealed together will be together in the afterlife, and so this ordination is also performed for the dead.

So if you find out that a long-dead ancestor was baptised posthumously by Mormons in their Temple, this means that in the afterlife, your ancestor was taught the Word of Christ. They were taught the righteous teachings of Jesus. It’s up to them whether they accept this teachings and become part of the wonderful blessings of the Lord’s most glorious kingdom. If they choose to accept these teachings, then good for them. If they choose not to accept them, then that’s their decision.

There are certain exceptions. If the person died within the last 100 years, then the closest living relative has to give permission for these baptisms and other work to go ahead. Certain faiths have requested that Mormons do not baptise members of their faiths (the Jewish authorities have asked that the LDS church does not baptise any Holocaust victims, for example). Also, there is not (as recently described in a newspaper) a mad rush to baptise famous people as soon as their heart stops beating (it’s actually not advised to baptise famous people). Equally the current membership of the LDS Church are in no position to judge who was a good or a bad person, and as such, despite if someone did evil during their mortal lives, they will be baptised anyway and then will be judged by the Lord, who tends to take a dim view of evil, but it’s simply that the members of the LDS Church have no authority to judge who is deserving of Heaven and who is not.

So are your ancestors forced to be baptised as Mormons against their will? No, they have the same choice as you and I. Mormons just simply give them the opportunity to learn and the choice to accept or reject the Teachings of Christ.

Do Mormons practice polygamy?

Short answer: No.

Longer and more informative answer: Any members of the LDS church that are practicing polygamy are instantly excommunicated for violating both Church law and civil law. Hollywood and the anti-mormon brigade enjoy pedalling this myth as it holds a bigger shock value. Unfortunately, it’s not at all true, but of course, that doesn’t make a good story. It's better to rehash lies or bring up older doctrine that's no longer taught, and get more readers, right?

President Gordon B Hinckley stated in 1990:

“This Church has nothing whatever to do with those practicing polygamy. They are not members of this Church.... If any of our members are found to be practicing plural marriage, they are excommunicated, the most serious penalty the Church can impose. Not only are those so involved in direct violation of the civil law, they are in violation of the law of this Church.”

The thing that surprises me most as to why people keep recycling this myth, is that it is actually written in the Book Of Mormon, the book which LDS members keep most sacred, that polygamy is wrong.

Jacob 2:27-30

27 Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none;

28 For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts.

At various times, the Lord has commanded His people to practice plural marriage. For example, He gave this command to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and Solomon in the Old Testaments, yet other denominations and religious faiths that believe in this book are not mocked and criticised in the same way. Why is that?

The answer lies in the beginning of the LDS church. We believe that the Prophet Joseph Smith was given the same instruction, as were a couple of other early saints. They, therefore, believed what they were doing was correct and required of God. In 1890, President Wilford Woodruff received a revelation that the leaders of the Church should cease teaching the practice of plural marriage.

But despite the practice being banned in the Church for over 120 years, STILL some people insist on wheeling out this issue as a basis for mockery. We do still suffer from this on a regular basis though. Partially because there are still people out there who DO practice plural marriage, and then they associate themselves with churches that use similar wording to the LDS church, or that are splinter groups of the LDS church.

One of these call themselves ‘The Fundamentalist Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints’. Many people at a glance would ignore the prefix, and simply see ‘Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints’, and decide that means that all Mormons are into polygamy.

Do Mormons practice polygamy? No, and the Book Of Mormon makes that very clear.