Reform institutionalized temple worship & especially temple preparation
Reform Action #12 of 20 (see overview page)
Reform over-institutionalized aspects of temple worship (especially reforming temple weddings to accord with the doctrine of sealing’s.) In my view, going along with the solid principles taught in the Gospel of the Holy Twelve & Oahspe, sealings and endowments should not be performed until an initiate is ready to graduate from the lower preparatory law of carnal commandments (administered by the Aaronic/Ward Priesthood) to the higher and freer law of Christ & love later in life (administered by the Melchezidek/Stake priesthood). See reform ‘#Teach The Higher Law’ for details. The current “assembly line” system of essentially making LDS temple’s into wedding Chapels for ‘members only’ by pressuring young adults into temple initiation, covenant making & endowment all at young ages before marriage without even knowing beforehand the full idea of what covenants they will be making, can be highly detrimental and should be somehow reformed a bit to avoid the issues heard of so often from ex-members who had horrible experiences caused by being socially pressured into something they weren’t really wanting or ready for. (I think Temple sealing’s should happen at minimum one year AFTER a civil ceremony.)
18 The power and authority of the higher, or Melchizedek Priesthood, is to hold the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the church—
19 To have the privilege of receiving the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, to have the heavens opened unto them, to commune with the general assembly and church of the Firstborn, and to enjoy the communion and presence of God the Father, and Jesus the mediator of the new covenant.
20 The power and authority of the lesser, or Aaronic Priesthood, is to hold the keys of the ministering of angels, and to administer in outward ordinances, the letter of the gospel, the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, agreeable to the covenants and commandments. (D&C 107:18–20)
Reasoning:
Simply put, the LDS temple rites often come across to many unprepared members as a cult-like assembly-line ritual. Take a number, and “next“….
I believe the temples will soon be the location where the church communes with the “general assembly of the first born” or heavenly church. This will and cannot happen until we adequately reform our hearts, our doctrines, and our church in general. The first step (which we are successfully doing right now) is preparing the hearts of the initiates/members to only desire righteous (selfless) thing to assure that when we commune with heaven/the spirit world we only channel/commune with righteous sprits & angels. The second step is tweaking/reforming the Prayer Circle with the principle of heaven.
The temple is meant to be highly esoteric and mystical. Shortly after the coming harvest, “tribulation of Israel” in Mathew 24, restoration of the Jewish Temple (70+ years from now) and accompanying changes in the earth’s magnetic field the temple will be a place where visible communion with spirit emissaries of the Heavenly Church occurs regularly within the Prayer Circle. (Which should actually be formed in the shape of a horseshoe magnet — NOT a circle — in order to provide the needed materialization energy for the visiting Spirits to be visible to all those in the room.)
The Book Oahspe explains in detail how this has worked in past dispensations, with the prayer circle being in the shape of a horse-shoe magnet instead of a simple circle—to accord with physics principles where the spirits of the individuals can have a compounding effect with the spirit of the righteous dead, and the officiator is chosen among those with the gift (usually women, not men) who are then able to channel the righteous teachings of the angels according the the righteous desires of the group.
Spiritual initiation literally leads a person through the symbolic and literal veils, so they can commune with the spirit world. The key in this process is desire. The candidate must desire initiation or no change in consciousness can occur. The current system places social pressure for people to go through the temple to be married & “initiated” when, in many cases, they couldn’t care less about the outcome. And in my opinion does not do a good enough job of truly allowing only those who truly ‘desire to receive it’, and who have reached a satisfactory level of selflessness so they don’t pollute themselves and the ceremony with their selfish or carnal/sexual desires and thoughts.
I believe initiation should not be done assembly-line style at 14 or 19 before a mission, but instead it should be a completely a personal matter which happens in small steps over the years. Like a Buddhist system of apprentice/pupil and master/guide, an applicant should desire these spiritual rituals and seek them out without social pressure. They should be assigned a permanent escort who has proven they “see” the truth behind the symbolism. The apprentice should interview with parents (according to the patriarchal order) as well as with Bishops (for the first two step of baptism & initiation in the first two levels of the temple), and then Stake Presidents (for the last two step of endowment & sealing in the upper two levels). Each applicant or apprentice should have specific “masters” and these adepts should be the temple escorts who guide them through the initiation process. There should not be set “interview” questions but an open discussion where each applicant’s understanding & readiness (not so much “worthiness”—as we are all unworthy) is assessed. If they grasp through word & deed the spiritual meaning behind each ordinance, they are ready to receive the spiritual ordinance. Once an adult is a high priest there should be no “readiness” discussion at all. If members are “unworthy” let them be accused according to the system given in D&C 102.
[NOTE: at the same time its important temple’s don’t become ‘just for an elite class of members, as the Law of One warns occurred so many times in past dispensations, including the Jewish Temple & Egyptian Pyramids.]Once initiation has taken place, candidates can enter a school of the prophets in the instruction rooms of the temple. Here they learn to hone spiritual gifts such as the gift of prophecy, gift of revelation, gift of healing, power of group consciousness/true order of prayer, mediumship, this includes communion with the righteous dead through the veil.
Used properly, the temple ceremony is meant to teach mature members the true order of the priesthood (patriarchal order), the true order of prayer (group consciousness), and the true order of organized religion (as a lower man-made law pointing to the higher natural law). Practiced effectively, it will keep mature spiritualists from apostatizing, withdrawing or going inactive from church participation. It is meant to be a personal experience where those who “see”, lead those who are blind.
A few excerpts from Oahspe concerning the circle and its use for communing with angels:
39/9.17. Moreover a child who is raised up without learning angel communion, is only half raised. 39/9.18. By the actual presence of angels, and by children seeing them and conversing with them, the proximity of heaven to earth becomes firmly established in the child’s mind, and it perceives the fitness of one world to the other. 39/9.19. For this education the infants shall, at an early age, be made familiar with the unseen world, by training in the crescent. 39/9.20. And their teachers shall try them to discover su’is and sar’gis in them; and, finding these talents, shall cultivate them in righteousness and wisdom for the glory of the Father. 39/9.21. And it shall come to pass that many of these infants shall not only see without their corporeal eyes, and hear without their corporeal ears, but they will attain to adeptism. 39/9.22. And the angels of heaven shall descend among us, appearing so as to be seen, and talking with us so as to be heard. 39/9.23. And, because of such exceedingly great light among us, no one shall practice deception; for the minds and souls of all shall become like an open book. 39/9.24. These are the promises Jehovah has given us; by the signs of the times they are proven probable. Through faith in Him we shall make these things true. (Oahspe Chap. 9 Jehovah’s Kingdom)
19/2.7. The Lord said: Come, now, into murdhan (sacred spirit communion), and I will deliver you. So the people sat in crescent, and the Lord came between the horns, saying: Behold, you are Tau, but I am the S’ri (Spirit). My word shall stand against the entire world. 19/2.10. So the Lord taught orally in the temple, face to face with the people, and they learned the words and their meaning. 19/2.11. And those who learned the best, the Lord named Ritvij, because he made them teachers over others.
21/22.4. Melchizedek made a wheel, and hung it slanting, to face the sun at high noon. Then I’hua’Mazda explained to the people, saying: This is a symbol of the name of the Creator, Ormazd, the All Light Master! Put it in the place between the horns of the crescent, for it is sacred; it is the Sign of the Altar; it is called the Altar. Let the Believers (Faithists) go with me, and I will explain. 21/22.5. They carried it to the meeting‑place and faced it in the same direction. And when the people stood in a circle around it, I’hua’Mazda said: The name of this place shall be Harel [Mtn of the Lord], and the name of the wheel shall be Altar. Behold, you have already sworn an oath under the thigh, in the custom of your forefathers, but you shall now renew your oath on the Altar of Ormazd, and His Holy Book. 21/22.6. I’hua’Mazda then administered the oath to many, in which they covenanted to turn from evil and strive to do good. (Oahspe Chap. 9 Jehovah’s Kingdom)
38/1.20. In similar manner the vortex of the earth constantly charges the earth with its vortexya [electromagnetic field] in the east and west [i.e., latitudinally –ed.], and it manifests [longitudinally,] in the northern pole of the vortex in flames of fire, which are called [Arora] Borealis. But it sometimes happens, over high iron mountains, that the light is manifested in other directions. A su’is can see vortexya [electromagnetic fields/auoras], which is proven by placing a horseshoe magnet before him in the dark, and he will describe the escaping polar light, even though he is not previously informed. 38/7.10. As previously shown, there are positive and negative forces continually going to and escaping from the earth. Without these no creature could live on the earth. The negative imparts to man his corporeal growth, as well as his corporeal desires, passions, and so on. 38/7.11. According to the quantity and quality of the corpor solutions in the firmament and their precipitations to the earth, so will man be affected and inclined to manifest. These influences are easily discernible by some persons. One is depressed by a dull day; another inclined to drunkenness and fighting. A bright day inspires man with energy. 38/7.12. A su’is is so susceptible to vortexian currents, he can realize the qualities of a medicine while it is yet in a glass bottle, by merely holding it in his hand; or know the character of the writer of a letter by holding the letter in his hand. Yet all this is accomplished by the vortexian current of the article in question. 38/7.13. These revelations however are not in reference to individuals, but to nations and peoples, in periods of time embracing hundreds of years, and thousands of years.
