The sacred rituals of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints were once as secretive as the Skull and Bones. White-shirted missionaries knocked down doors across the Third World, Book of Mormon in hand, but the logistics of what came later were largely kept a mystery to outsiders.Closed-door “endowments” with hands appearing behind veils. Handshakes and “tokens.” Mysterious garments worn under everyday clothes. It all occurs in temples with their doors firmly locked to those who were not initiated into the enigmatic religion.On a recent trip to Salt Lake City, I learned first-hand that the era of secrecy is over. It ended partially by necessity and partially by choice. And while the doors still aren’t open, the church is cracking as many windows as possible.
The LDS church has accepted that in the age of the internet and the hidden camera, there is no way to be an organization that is both massive in membership and taciturn in its rites. If the world is prying into what we do, the church seems to think, we might as well set the record straight.In an image posted on Instagram by Dallin Oakes, the Latter-Day Saints president stands at the entrance to the newly renovated space in the Salt Lake City Tabernacle reserved for elite “Second Endowment” ceremonies. (Dallin oaks via instagram)
