Mormon Temple Secrecy Concern
Why All the Secrecy About the Mormon Temple? Didn’t Jesus Tell His
Disciples to Preach All His Teachings Openly?
Critics of Mormonism and of Mormon temples in particular like to claim that Mormons have secret teachings that they do not share with new members or others investigating the Mormon Church. They claim that Mormons have secret, unchristian temple rituals. All of these attacks are unfounded. Mormons believe that temple ceremonies are sacred, and just as God commanded the ancient Israelites in the Bible to build a temple for special ceremonies and rituals, so today God has commanded His people to build temples. However, no doctrine is taught in the temple which is not taught publicly, only some of the ordinances and covenants of the temple are kept private to guard their sacred nature.
There were times when Jesus commanded his disciples to keep certain things to themselves. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John saw Jesus transfigured before them. They heard the voice of God and saw Moses and Elias appear in vision. Jesus told his disciples, to “tell the vision to no man, until the Son of Man be risen again from the dead” (Matthew 17:9). Jesus Christ requently commanded his disciples to tell “no man that he was Jesus the Christ” (Matthew 16:20). He also commanded those whom He healed to keep the healing a secret (see Matthew 8:2-4, Mark 5:43, Mark 7:36, etc.).
In 2 Corinthians, Paul says he saw things that were “not lawful for a man to utter” (2 Corinthians 12:4), meaning that some things about God have been hid from general knowledge, because they are too sacred. The Book of Mormon mentions several times that if people are more righteous and faithful, God will reveal more things to them, but that until that time, they are withheld.
Bruce R. McConkie, a late apostle of the Mormon Church taught:
“Ordinances performed in the Lord’s sanctuaries, though not secret, are of such a sacred nature as to be reserved for the eyes and ears and hearts of those only whose attained spiritual maturity prepares them to receive the mysteries of the kingdom. Temple ordinances, whether ancient or modern, are not published to the world; their sacred nature witnesses that they should not be bandied about by brutish persons; that which is spiritual and sacred must not be held up to mockery or be made the object of raillery by carnal men. We can, however, speak in general terms of what is done in temples; we can name the ordinances and tell their purpose and intent; and we can quote from the scriptures such passages as speak in guarded and reserved terms of those things which are reserved for the faithful only.” (The Mortal Messiah, Vol.1, p.104 – p.105)
Another reason some people accuse Mormons of concealing teachings is that Mormons know that sometimes you must begin with the basics before a person can learn more substantial things. Paul told the Corinthians, “I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able” (1 Corinthians 3:2). Isaiah taught that man learns “precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little” (Isaiah 28:10). First a person must learn about God and Jesus Christ and the Plan of Salvation He has for us. He must study faith, repentance, baptism, and enduring in faith. Only when a person has learned these things can he begin to appreciate the temple and its teachings, which bring together all the gospel teachings and show man his true relationship before God, preparing him to reach his full potential both in this life and in the life to come.
