Temple garment

thumb|267px|Post-1979 two-piece temple garments end just above the knee for both sexes. Women's garments have [[sleeve#Types of sleeves|cap sleeves with either a rounded or sweetheart neckline. Male tops are available in T-shirt styles.]]

A temple garment, also referred to as garments, the garment of the holy priesthood, or Mormon underwear, The undergarments are viewed as a symbolic reminder of the covenants made in temple ceremonies and are seen as a symbolic and/or literal source of protection.

The garment is given as part of the washing and anointing portion of the endowment, and is worn under the temple robes during the endowment and sealing (i.e. LDS marriage) ceremonies. The temple garment is worn primarily by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and by members of some Mormon fundamentalist churches.

Purpose

According to the LDS Church, the temple garments serve a number of purposes. First, the garment provides the member "a constant reminder" of the covenants they made in the temple. Second, the garment "when properly worn ... provides protection against temptation and evil." Wearing the garment is also "an outward expression of an inward commitment" to follow Jesus Christ. General authority Carlos E. Asay adds that the garment "strengthens the wearer to resist temptation, fend off evil influences, and stand firmly for the right."

The nature of the protection believed to be afforded by temple garments is ambiguous and varies between adherents.

Sanctity among members

To members of the LDS Church, the temple garment represents the sacred and personal aspects of their relationship with God. Church president Joseph F. Smith taught that the garment was to be held as "the most sacred of all things in the world, next to their own virtue, next to their own purity of life." Some church leaders have compared the garment to the clerical vestments worn by clergy of other churches. Church leaders have publicly discussed the above principles and beliefs in general terms since the mid-1840s. Many Latter-day Saints view the garment associated with the temple rites as sacred. Some church members have criticized the sale of garments on online auction sites. Members are instructed not to dispose of old or torn garments by throwing them in the trash, but rather to cut them to pieces with scissors, or burn them instead.

Garment origins and evolution

thumb|right|Temple garment circa 1879

The garment as first described in the 1840s was a one-piece undergarment extending to the ankles and the wrists, resembling a union suit, with an open crotch and a collar. It was made of unbleached cotton and was held together with ties in a double knot. Most garments were home-made.

Garment markings

The original garment had four marks that were snipped into the cloth as part of the original Nauvoo endowment ceremony. These marks were a reverse-L-shaped symbol on the right breast, a V-shaped symbol on the left breast, and horizontal marks at the navel and over the right knee. These cuts were later replaced by embroidered or screen-printed symbols.

The marks in the garments are sacred symbols.

The V-shaped symbol on the left breast was referred to as "The compass", while the reverse-L-shaped symbol on the right breast was referred to by early church leaders as "The Square". which has since become the standard color, with the exception of military garments. Members of the military can submit regulation military T-shirts of any color to the church for custom addition of the symbolic markings. While sand-colored or "coyote tan" garments were once available, the church's preferred supplier no longer manufactures them.

Design

thumb|Pre-1923, union-suit style temple garment in a 1904 newspaper photograph.

For several decades after its introduction in the 1840s, the original 19th-century union-suit style was accepted within Mormon doctrine as being unalterable. In 1906, church president Joseph F. Smith characterized as a "grievous sin" any attempt, in the name of changing fashion trends, to modify the 1840s garment pattern, which he characterized as "sacred, unchanged, and unaltered from the very pattern in which God gave them." However, while the original pattern of the garment is still in use by some Mormon fundamentalists, the LDS Church has updated the original pattern, which the fundamentalists denounce.

In 1923, a letter from church president Heber J. Grant to stake and temple presidents, stated that after careful and prayerful consideration the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church had unanimously decided that specific modifications would be permitted to the garments: sleeves could end at the elbow; legs could be shortened to just below the knee; and buttons could be used instead of strings. The collar was eliminated and the open crotch closed. and members generally accepted the change. To purchase garments online, they must provide their membership record number. Endowed members can find their membership record number on their temple recommend or by obtaining a copy of their Individual Ordinance Summary. As of 2010, the official documentation of church institutional policies known as Handbook 2: Administering the Church states that, of both garments and temple clothing in general, only temple aprons may be hand made, and only then using "the approved apron embroidery and sewing kit that is available through Church Distribution Services."

In the 21st century, the church has further updated and made changes to the temple garments for men and women. This has included basic changes in manufacturing to make the garments more wearable and changes to fabric, such as incorporating spandex for a tighter fit. In 2021, the lace at the hem of the women's garment was removed. In 2024, a large change was announced to the cut of both men's and women's garment, which included the removal of the sleeves for certain hot climates. This change has been celebrated by women in the church in the hope that it makes the garments more suitable to modern needs and less restrictive, but some still see it as an attempt to control what women are allowed to wear.

LDS Church teachings

In the church's General Handbook, leaders are instructed to tell members they should wear garments throughout their lives, and that they should not alter them. In the temple recommend interview, members are asked if they wear the garment as instructed in the temple. Members are told that they should not partially or completely remove any portion of the garment to participate in activities that can "reasonably be done with the garment worn properly beneath the clothing".

Garment wearers are also instructed that they should not adjust garments or wear them in a way that would accommodate the wearing certain styles of clothing. This includes uncovering areas of the body that would normally be covered by the garment, such as the shoulders and lower thighs. Prior to the disposal of old garments, members are instructed to cut out the markings on them.

Additionally, the temple garment has been compared to the modern tallit katan, a sacred undershirt of Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Judaism. Both the temple garment and the tallit katan are meant to be worn all day under regular clothing as a constant reminder of the covenants, promises, and obligations the wearer is under.

Use in protests

Some church opponents have used public occasions, like the biannual church conferences, to publicly mock and parody the wearing of temple garments. During the October 2003 LDS Church General Conference, some anti-Mormon demonstrators outside the LDS Conference Center reportedly spat and stomped on garments in view of those attending the conference. A scuffle broke out between a protester and two members of the church who attempted to take the garments from him.

Notes

References

External links

"Garments", Official LDS website on topic
Sacred Temple Clothing Official LDS video YouTube on topic (2014)