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In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and a few other sects of Mormonism, the temple garment (formally the Garment of the Holy Priesthood or informally, the garment or garments) is a set of sacred underclothing worn by male and female Latter-day Saints who have taken part in the washing and anointing ceremony in Latter-day Saint temples.
The garment symbolizes the "coats of skins" which Jehovah (Yahweh) made for Adam and Eve before casting them out of the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:21). Latter-day Saints who have been washed and anointed are expected to wear the garment both day and night throughout their life, and they are very commonly buried in them upon death. It is thought to be a spiritual "shield and protection" against the powers of evil. Some Latter-day Saints ascribe to it powers of supernatural physical protection, as well.
Construction of the temple garment
In the 19th century, the temple garment was a long, single-piece article of clothing resembling a union suit, with special markings over the breasts, navel, and right knee. Originally, garments were made in a number of colors, but in 1893, the LDS Church expressed an official preference for the color white. Subsequently, the garment has undergone style changes, to reflect changes in lifestyle and modesty. In 1923, the Church offered a garment design that was shortened to the knees and shoulders. In 1979, the Church offered a two-piece garment. While normally white, the garment is currently made in the color green for regulation military use.
Sold online, in temples, and various outlets called "Beehive Clothing", the garment is available in several fabrics and styles; however, new styles must be approved by the Church leadership. It is also possible to make one's own garments based upon one of a small number of "authorized patterns".
The garment contains four special symbolic marks: one on each breast, one at the navel, and one over the right knee. The reverse-L-shaped symbol on the right breast is the "mark of the square" (similar to the Masonic sign of the square). According to an interpretation by David O. McKay that was added to the instructional portion of the Endowment in the 1930s, the mark represents "exactness and honor" in keeping the commandments and covenants of God. The V-shaped symbol on the left breast is the "mark of the compass" (similar to the Masonic sign of the compass). This mark, according to McKay, symbolizes "an undeviating course leading to eternal life; a constant reminder that desires, appetites, and passions are to be kept within the bounds the Lord has set; and that all truth may be circumscribed into one great whole.". The garment also contains horizontal lines at the navel and at the knee. The "navel mark", according to McKay, represents "the need of constant nourishment to body and spirit", and the "knee mark" suggests "that every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is the Christ".
Receiving the garment
The temple garment is given during the washing and anointing ceremony in Latter-day Saint temples. This ceremony is a prelude to the Endowment ceremony, and in it, the person being washed and anointed is ceremonially given the garment. The person is told that it "represents the garment given to Adam when he was found naked in the garden of Eden."
The garment as a shield
When a person is given the garment, he or she is told that the garment "will be a shield and a protection to you against the power of the destroyer until you have finished your work here on earth." In general, Latter-day Saints view the garment as a symbolic and spiritual shield against the powers of evil.
Some Latter-day Saints, moreover, believe that the garment provides the wearer with supernatural powers of physical protection. For example, in an April 1996 interview with Mike Wallace on the show 60 Minutes, Bill Marriott, the prominent Latter-day Saint owner of Marriott International, Inc., stated that he believed that his garments protected him from being burned during a boating accident.
Unauthorized sale and use
Church leaders have publicly discussed the above principles and beliefs since the mid-1840s, however, because of the secrecy surrounding temple rites and the garment, some outspoken critics of the Latter-day Saints have utilized it as a source of humor and parody. Due to the considerable number of temple garments in existence, several atheist, pagan, and ex-Mormon individuals have distributed photographs of models wearing temple garments in an irreverent fashion.
For example, a model wearing a temple garment was published in a popular adult magazine during the 1940s and in another adult periodical in the 1960s. Garments are featured in a book about undergarments published in the 1990s, and also in various anti-Mormon books during the 1980s. In 2004, photos of people engaged in sexual acts wearing garments were showcased in a Salt Lake area art display, which incited its violent removal by a college student.
With the advent of the Internet, there are additional sites that publish photographs of garments for educational, parody or other use. A more recent controversy surrounds the open sales of temple garments on the eBay auction web site multiple times since 2000. Typically the garments are removed for a violation of eBay policy unrelated to its religious context.
During the October 2003 General Conference of the Church, some anti-Mormon demonstrators wore garments around their necks and defaced them in ways that were extraordinarily offensive to those in attendance. In light of the violence that resulted during the 2003 Conference, the municipality of Salt Lake City is planning stronger enforcement of fighting words and hate speech laws for the April 2004 Conference in Salt Lake City with new protest buffer zones.
The sacred nature of the garment
To members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the temple garment represents the sacred and presonal aspects of their relationship with God. For this reason, Church members do not discuss the garment in a casual or disrespectful manner.
In a Church publication entitled Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple the story is told of a church leader who answered questions from a group of US Navy Chaplains representing various faiths. The chaplains asked about distinctive practices of the LDS Church. One chaplain asked about the special underwear that LDS sailors wear. The church leader responded by asking the chaplain if he wore clerical clothing as he performed his duties as an ordained minister. The chaplain responded that he did. The church leader surmised that this action probably held some significance, as it set the priest apart from the unordained members of the congregation. The following paragraphs are quoted from that work:
"He then told them: 'You should be able to understand at least one of our reasons why Latter-day Saints have a deep spiritual commitment concerning the garment. A major difference between your churches and ours is that we do not have a professional clergy, as you do. The congregations are all presided over by local leaders. They are men called from all walks of life. Yet they are ordained to the priesthood. They hold offices in the priesthood. They are set apart to presiding positions as presidents, counselors, and leaders in various categories. The women, too, share in that responsibility and in those obligations. The man who heads our congregation on Sunday as the bishop may go to work on Monday as a postal clerk, as an office worker, a farmer, a doctor; or he may be an air force pilot or a naval officer. By our standard he is as much an ordained minister as you are by your standard. He is recognized as such by most governments. We draw something of the same benefits from this special clothing as you would draw from your clerical vestments. The difference is that we wear ours under our clothing instead of outside, for we are employed in various occupations in addition to our service in the Church. These sacred things we do not wish to parade before the world.'
"He then explained that there are some deeper spiritual meanings as well, connecting the practice of wearing this garment with covenants that are made in the temple. We wouldnt find it necessary to discuss thesenot that they are secret, he repeated, but because they are sacred."
[Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple (http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Curriculum/optional%20courses.htm/preparing%20to%20enter%20the%20holy%20temple.htm?fn=document-frameset.htm$f=templates$3.0#LPTOC6|)]
Church magazine articles about the temple garment
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