#temple recommend

If you have any words of wisdom, they’d be much appreciated. But if not that’s fine! Im really just here to say that your blog (as well as some other LGBTQ+ LDS blogs) has really helped me and I appreciate you so much. Whenever I feel doubt or fear I come here and I can feel the love and acceptance.❤️

Oh my! I am so touched that you find anything in my blog helpful (/hug). That really means a lot to me tbh! (and sorry this is so long, but the most important part is at the end!)

Thank you for bringing up temple recommend interviews. The key interview question in your ask may be this one: “Do you support or promote any teachings, practices, or doctrine contrary to those of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?”.

Short answer: You are free to support marriage equality on social media and still qualify for a temple recommend.

Longer answer: (And Please Note: This question used to be “Do you support, affiliate with, or agree with any group or individual whose teachings or practices are contrary to or oppose those accepted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?” - This change in the question is itself a change in practice)

I can’t personally answer this question for you in an interview, but I’m happy to talk about my Thoughts on the subject. First off, let me say that I am wholeheartedly committed to the two great commandments identified by Jesus in Matthew 22:36-40:

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

That’s a pretty good start for me when it comes to ‘doctrine’.Sometimes church members use the word ‘doctrine’ when they mean ‘my interpretation of something someone said about a scripture passage’, but I think it’s helpful to look at doctrine more narrowly as ‘an eternal truth that does not change’ - and there are few of those that have been revealed. More on that in another post.

The ‘teachings and practices’ of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints change frequently. I do not believe sustaining church leaders means agreeing with them on everything. I love something I saw indicating Bruce R McConkie and Brigham Young might deny each other temple recommends if it came down to agreement on some issues. The church has reversed major policies (‘practices’) on queer issues in just the last few years, and is drastically different in its teachings regarding queer issues vs 20+ years ago.

To me, this question is still a lot about ‘Are you trying to harm the flock?’. I don't believe I am. To rephrase: I support ongoing, internal debate on Issues, but do not support anything I consider to be contrary to the doctrines of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And disagreeing with selected church teachings and practices may be an indication you are on the right side of history. Example: Should women hold and exercise the priesthood? In my opinion, ‘Yes’ (start with women officiating priesthood ordinances in the temple, glance over to the prophetesses in scripture, and then work through DC 76:95, before visiting some historical notes in the early church re Eliza R. Snow and joseph’s thoughts on the Relief Society, etc.). In this lens, my position is not terribly inconsistent with the teachings, practices and doctrines of the church. Am I encouraging people to stop paying their tithing, or stop attending church, praying or reading the scriptures while we await further light and revelation on this issue? Nope.

I recently had a temple recommend interview with a member of the stake presidency. His daughter is gay (they like her girlfriend), and we had a discussion on support of LGBTQ+ issues (I am not out btw). He was fine with giving me a temple recommend despite my disagreements. Different church leaders may disagree on application of the question, but I suspect anyone trying to deny you a temple recommend over your social media support is in the minority with regard to current church ‘practice’. :)

I’m not sure what to say on patriarchal blessings. I have never heard of anyone being outed in a patriarchal blessing. In fact, it seems more likely that the patriarch will misgender you in the eternal sense, may misgender your future spouse, and so on. There’s been some great discussion in our Queerward Discord server on that. If you aren’t a member, I’d encourage you to ask for an invite.

And the last bit. About being nonbinary and not feeling ‘worthy’ to enter the temple. I can empathize with this feeling, and have felt it before, but I haven’t felt that way in a long time. Through prayer and scripture study and earnest seeking, I have come to the witness that God loves me and knows me individually, that my being trans is part of my life story, and that our Heavenly Parents invite me into Their House as I seek to become more like Them. I know They love you too. I hope you’re able to gain that witness, even if it can take a while to get there. If you ever feel down about yourself when coming to the temple, just remember you are loved as a Child of Heavenly Parents, and Jesus very much wants you to be a part of His flock.

I'm a Mormon (a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Mormons have temples. I have never in my adult life been in an LDS temple. I'd like to change that.

For those that may not understand the connotations and implications of this, let me explain. A core precept of the LDS (Mormon) religion is that soul-saving work can be done in temples, both to save one's own soul and to open the door to salvation for those who were unable to do these things in their own lives. Mormons are big on genealogy in part to study who has and who has not received these soul-saving ordinaces. Many Mormons submit the names of their non-Mormon ancestors (strictly enforced policy dictates that names MUST be relatives, not submitted by strangers) for this saving work to be done, and the LDS Church keeps meticulous records of it all.

In order to enter an LDS temple, one must not only be LDS yourself but also be a member in good moral standing. If you are addicted to drugs, dishonest in your business or family affairs, participating in infidelity, or otherwise doing some bad things in your life, you may be deemed unworthy to enter the temple. A casual meeting is conducted called a Bishop's Interview wherein an LDS Bishop (head of a congregation) asks you questions about these kinds of things. If you answer, "yes," to all the "Are you worthy?" questions, you are issued a Temple Recommend that is kind of a permission slip to enter the temple.

One of my lovely friends on tumblr had a question about temple recs so I thought I'd post about it for anyone else who doesn't know.

There are two types of temple recommends.