History of Temple Recommends

Thanks for the shout out Ray. It seems like someone else asked me about the history of temple recommends, but I don’t have anything good off the top of my head. I did a post on the Development of Temple Worship, and found this interesting exchange, so this shows that recommends go back to at least 1890. See http://www.mormonheretic.org/2011/03/06/development-of-lds-temple-worship/

Since I’m curious about the time period relating to the Manifesto, I had to look for information around 1890. Some of these quotes are hard to understand without the footnotes. For example, here is the quote from a letter from President Wilford Woodruff to William H. Seegmiller, Sept 26, 1890 that left me scratching my head until I read the footnote.

Elder H. S. Palmer of Freemont [Utah] writes to us that you have refused to give him a recommend to the House of the Lord because at his late trial he promised to obey the law.

The footnote states,

Apparently Seegmiller thought LDS people should stand firm in violating the law against polygamy. Notice that President Woodruff doesn’t support Palmer’s decision to obey the law; rather he finds the sin of obedience in this case to be venial rather than fatal.

Continuing with the quote from the letter,

If this is the only reason you have for withholding his recommend, and if he is otherwise in good standing in the Church, and were it not for this action of his you could freely recommend him, we do not think it advisable for that reason alone to withhold from him the privileges of the temple.

Official Declaration 1 was released just 2 days before this letter. Wilford Woodruff had a vision on Sept 23, 1891. The following day, the press release was drafted and printed in our current edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.

On the other hand, non-members could enter the Kirtland Temple, and Joseph even charged admission to see the mummies he purchased (along with the Book of Abraham.) The mummies were on display in the Kirtland Temple, and there were dances in the Nauvoo Temple: See http://www.mormonheretic.org/2011/01/30/kirtland-temple-history-and-worship/

JL, “Now I think that one thing that’s really key about the temple is, and we sort of hinted at this, you know today in the Salt Lake branch of the church, after a temple is dedicated, it is sealed off to all but the most dedicated who have a temple recommend. That was never the case with Kirtland. Kirtland, as you mentioned, was always sort of an open house of worship and other function, right?”

Barbara Walden, “That’s right. It was intended to be the center of community life. As I mentioned, they had a high school that met up on the third floor. There are great accounts of them inviting ministers of other churches to use the pulpits to preach. On one account of a Unitarian minister, taking advantage of that and preaching from the pulpit. I think it was a hope for the Latter-day Saints that if we invite you into our house of worship to allow you to preach, perhaps you too would allow us into your house of worship to preach as well. It’s almost the beginning of some ecumenical work there in Kirtland.

They were also giving tours of the temple, I should point that out. Joseph Smith Sr, was a pretty good guide. Warren Parrish was another tour guide at the Kirtland Temple. So they’re recognizing that the building is kind of a curiosity if you will, and people were dying to get inside to take a look. So there is evidence that they were charging admission for the tours, and one of the highlights of the tours–for one man he paid to go back a second time–was to see the mummies that were on exhibit on the third floor.

John Larsen: “Later those were in somebody’s basement, but they were at the Kirtland Temple, right?

BW, “They were up on the third floor, yes. There were accounts of them on exhibit over at Joseph and Emma Smith’s house, and Frederick Granger’s house. It seems like they have their own tour of the Kirtland area as well.”

[chuckles]

JL, “I do know that in the Nauvoo Temple, Brigham liked to dance, so they would clear the floors and do dances. Were there any more secular activities like that in Kirtland?”

BW, “I can’t say that we ever had a dance in Kirtland in the 1830′s.”

John Hamer, “There’s later accounts of dances on the second floor.”

BW, “That’s true.”

hawkgrrrl and mormonheretic,

Thank you so much for your responses and links. When I have more time I will read them more carefully.

“Loved” might be a stretch. I wasn’t bothered by the open discussion of the temple. I read it over the Christmas holidays a few years ago and some parts were so interesting I kept reading them aloud while sitting in my in-laws’ living room. I kept thinking “why does no one else find this interesting? 12 year olds getting their endowment? That’s pretty interesting!”

There is also the story in Kirtland (the missionaries who run the site will tell it also) that when the men would come for the School of the Prophets that was held above the Whitney Store, Joseph would shake their hand and look deeply into their eyes to determine they were ready for the spiritual outpouring that would follow. In one session, it is reported that the saviour visited their class – they had a vision of him. To me, this is the origin of the temple recommend, the notion that the leader can discern your worthiness simply by looking intently at you.

I found an old thread called Evolution and history of the Temple Recommend Questions:

http://forum.staylds.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1878

I also came across this interesting blog post some months ago. These questions from 1857 are listed:

Questions

TO BE ASKED THE

LATTER DAY SAINTS.

Have you committed murder by shedding innocent blood, or consenting thereto?

Have you betrayed your brethren or sisters in anything?

Have you committed adultery, by having any connection with a woman that was not your wife, or a man that was not your husband?

Have you taken and made use of property not your own, without the consent of the owner?

Have you cut hay where you had no right to, or turned your animals into another person’s grain or field, without his knowledge and consent?

Have you lied about or maliciously misrepresented any person or thing?

Have you borrowed anything that you have not returned, or paid for?

Have you borne false witness against your neighbor?

Have you taken the name of Deity in vain?

Have you coveted anything not your own?

Have you been intoxicated with strong drink?

Have you found lost property and not returned it to the owner, or used all diligence to do so?

Have you branded an animal that you did not know to be your own?

Have you taken another’s horse or mule from the range and rode it, without the owner’s consent?

Have you fulfilled your promises in paying your debts, or run into debt without prospect of paying?

Have you taken water to irrigate with, when it belonged to another person at the time you used it?

Do you pay your tithing promptly?

Do you teach her family the gospel of salvation?

Do you speak against your brethren, or against any principle taught in the Bible, Book of Mormon, book of Doctrine and Covenants, revelations given to Joseph Smith the Prophet and the Presidency of the Church as now organized?

Do you pray in your family night and morning and attend to secret prayer?

Do you wash your body and have your family do so, as often as health and cleanliness require and circumstances will permit?

Do you labor six days and rest, or go to the house of worship, on the seventh?

Do you preside over your household as a servant of God, and is your family subject to you?

Have you labored diligently and earned faithfully the wages paid you by your employers?

Do you oppress the hireling in his wages?

Have you taken up and converted any stray animal to your own use, or in any manner appropriated one to your benefit, without accounting therefore to the proper authorities?

In answer to the above questions, let all men and women confess to the persons they have injured and make restitution, or satisfaction. And when catechizing the people, the Bishops, Teachers, Missionaries and other officers in the Church are not at liberty to pry into sins that are between a person and his or her God; but let each person confess to the proper authority, that the adversary may not have an opportunity to take advantage of human weaknesses, and thereby destroy souls.

Have you borrowed anything that you have not returned, or paid for?

Wow, I guess that would finally get me to return my library books on time.

The period of 1857 was known as “the Mormon Reformation”. Jedidiah Grant was in the First Presidency and led a personal crusade to improve the spirituality of all the Mormons in Utah. Grant died soon after, but he really tried to make Mormons more spiritual and was quite heavy handed in his zeal.