The Origins of the Temple Endowment

What Latter-day Saints today call the temple endowment was first given by the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1842, two years prior to his death, to a small group of nine of his trusted associates in Nauvoo, Illinois. It was a key piece of the larger, vibrant temple liturgy then developing in Nauvoo. But where did this temple endowment come from? What was its relationship to the Prophet’s previous revelations? And what, if anything, was its relationship to Masonry, which Joseph Smith had joined only two months before administering that first endowment to his nine friends, who, by the way, were all Masons as well. In this episode of Church History Matters, Casey and Scott dig into the details of what we know, or think we know, about the origins of the temple endowment ritual. We’ll discuss several of what we believe are primary source materials the Prophet Joseph drew from as he formulated this important ordinance under inspiration. And we’ll offer a Nauvoo angle to the meaning of the word restoration.

This is the fourth episode of our 10-part podcast series on Temple Worship. For a full transcript of this episode, as well as show notes and additional resources, visit our website at https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.o...

You can also subscribe to our podcast via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and other platforms, and follow us on popular social media platforms. Visit https://linktr.ee/churchhistorymatters to connect with us.

Originally published April 2, 2024

DISCLAIMER: While we try very hard to be historically and doctrinally accurate in what we say on this podcast, please remember that all views expressed in this and every episode are our views alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Scripture Central or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.