Big Love will be showing some of the iiner workings of Mormon Temple rituals this Sunday. It could freak a lot of people out. I wanted to write and tell how/why people would do something so wierd.
There have been several HUGE changes to the temple ceremony. They used to swear blood oaths against the government and the "murderers" of horny Joe. Those were taken out in the 1920's. Before 1990, there were other blood oaths(I got mine in 1985). We would use our thumbs as a symbolic knife and ritualistically/symbolically slit our throats and stomachs "rather than reveal"ing secret signs and tokens and handshakes in the Temple. There is another ceremony "washing and annointing". We used to get nekkid under a poncho. Some old guy (or girl for the women) would reach under the poncho and ceremonially wash and annoint various body parts with a finger tip of water/oil. I personally was never touched in the privates during this ceremony, but MANY exmo's have reported that they were touched on the privates.
Huge changes took place in 1990. They don't do blood oaths anymore. Many of the rising generation don't know about the blood oaths. You are not supposed to talk about sacred/secret things. The blood oaths were so freakish that people don't like talking about it, so the rising generation is clueless, unless they allow themselves to read on the web(then it's never reliable and probably just "anti"..
I don't know which version Big Love will do, or what they will show on Sunday. I do want you to understand the mindset-- why would people do something so freaky?
As you know, a cult tactic is "milk before meat". They don't want to hit converts with the really freaky stuff until they have been properly conditioned over time. part of that conditioning is cognitive dissonance. Cults HAVE to have irrational beliefs (the flood is a good example). It doesn't make sense, so the mind gets turned off, rather than exhausting itself trying to incorporate it into reality. They get people used to repeatedly turning their mind off. "We'll understand that in the hereafter"-- kinda thing. Another habit they want you EXERCISED in is blaming yourself. I wasn't healed because I didn't have enough faith. My magic garments didn't protect me- it must have been because I masturbated as a child - or whatever excuse - get people used to blaming themselves, and get them used to turning their minds off.
The temple experience is super freaky and super secret. Relatives will build this up as a mysterious, magical experience. You don't know if you are going there to see an angel or what. Faith promoting stories are very abundant, yet undocumented. This provides faith and deniability when confronted. This contributes to the Emporer with no clothes phenomenon. Everyone is in pretend mode that this was such a marvelous experience.
The first time through the Temple, they assign you an escort. An escort is usually a family member or close friend. They say the escort is there to help you through the many costume changes that take place. I firmly believe the escort is there to keep you from saying WTF and bolting for the door. The Temple is a very quiet place. You are afraid of making any noise, causing any disturbance, standing out. They divide men from the women. Several times they give you the opportunity to back out from making these "covenants", but the atmosphere is one where if you do stand up or say that you don't want to take these covenants, you will stand out like a sore thumb. It's almost like denying the prophet or admitting your unworthiness if you dare not take the covenants. So they condition you several times to not bolt for the door.
So you go through all the steps. You pantomine killing yourself if you dare reveal secret tokens/names/handshakes. You feel freaked out and disturbed, but it must be my fault because my family and everyone else is telling me what a wonderful spiritual experience it was. You end up blaming yourself. You go home. Everyone is pretending and assuring each other about what a wonderful experience it was. There is so much info in the ceremony. They give you many ways to find POSSIBLE ways to infer something spiritual to the experience, of learning something "new".
What a relief to get on exmo sites and have so many say how freaked out and disturbing the whole things was. How nice to be with other who aren't afraid to say the emporer has no clothes.