Question about Temple Recommends

[Anonymous]

Hi all sorry I have a general question and the forums I used to ask questions on most of the LDS dont participate anymore. I know this forum isnt really set up for general questions about the principles and policies of the Church.

My friend and I are planning a trip to Utah next year Very excited!! I obviously wont be able to enter the temple as wont have been attending the Church (even though I want to ) for a year and I am guessing this is a pre-requisite. However I suggested to my friend about her entering and she said that she couldnt enter as couldnt get a temple recommend and only could get one as a temporary stake thing for one day???

This made us slightly confused as my understanding of Temple Recommends is that as soon as you have been a worthy member for a year you can have an interview and the temple recommends last for one year?? Is this correct. I also believe them to be separate to endowment, although my friend though that maybe you have to be an endowed member in order to have the recommends that last for a year?? Otherwise its just a temporary thing when stakes/wards/youth visit as a group??

Could any of you clarify for me please??

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Are you going for baptisms, or are you endowed and want to do an endowment session or other higher ordinance? Have you taken out your own endowment?

If you already have your endowment, and have simply let your recommend lapse, then it’s the Bishop’s call whether or when to issue another one, and then you need a Stake Presidency issue. I was without one for 7 years at one point due to tithing. I paid my tithing for one month and the Bishop gave me a temple recommend. But if your problems are different than that, the Bishop will use his judgment.

If you’ve never been to the temple for an endowment, then there is still the two part interview — Bishop and then Stake President. There may be other requirements like the 1 year of activity; I don’t know. For example, I had to take the Temple Preparation class before I could go.

If you want a limited use temple recommend just to do baptisms for the dead, there will be an interview from your Bishop and he’ll have to make a judgment about when and whether to give you one. I’m not sure if the Stake Presidency is involved with those kinds of interviews — I open that up for more discussion since i no longer have a Church Handbook of Instructions.

[Anonymous]

1) Full temple recommends now last for two years from the time they are issued.

2) Unendowed members now can receive limited use recommends (basically for baptisms only) that last for a year – or they can receive one-time recommends for special trips.

3) There is not a hard and fast one-year wait time from baptism, although that is the general rule of thumb. Bishops can grant temple recommends prior to one full year of membership, especially for special circumstances. Normally, a Stake President will not override such a decision, unless worthiness issues arise between the two interviews.

4) There is no set minimum time to receive a recommend once a member has passed the one-year membership mark, and there is relatively little formal guidance for how long someone must adhere to the question standards prior to receiving a recommend. Bishops and Stake Presidents have a lot of leeway in this regard.

I hope you and/or your friend can attend while you are in Utah.

[Anonymous]

NotSure2008 wrote:

I know this forum isnt really set up for general questions about the principles and policies of the Church.

I actually think these are great questions to talk about. The only thing to keep in mind is that we have a much wider diversity of opinions and answers than one might get asking through formal, official channels (like going to ask your bishop, or something like that).

[Anonymous]

Temple recommends for baptisms for the dead are good for one year from the issue date, if you plan on going by yourself. I’m not sure when a stake or ward goes how the recommends work then, I didn’t know they had one time use recommends for that, but I do know that after you have been a member of the Church for a couple of months, you can get your own limited use recommend that will let you do baptisms and confirmations on your own, and they are good for one year from the time they are issued. That way you can go without a group of people if you feel like it.

[Anonymous]

OK Thanks for the information!!

I am breaking the news VERY GENTLY to my mother that I am actually still a member, so hopefully I will be able to attend Church and get a recommend for when I go.

[Author]

Posts