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| - An endowment is, like baptism, a gospel requirement for salvation and exaltation—a sacred ordinance. Endowments take place in a dedicated House of the Lord, or temple. Temples were centers of religious worship anciently—places of covenant-making, sacrifice, and worship. Mormons build temples today, as the ancient ordinances of salvation have been restored to the earth under the direction of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
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| abstract
| - An endowment is, like baptism, a gospel requirement for salvation and exaltation—a sacred ordinance. Endowments take place in a dedicated House of the Lord, or temple. Temples were centers of religious worship anciently—places of covenant-making, sacrifice, and worship. Mormons build temples today, as the ancient ordinances of salvation have been restored to the earth under the direction of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. The dictionary defines an endowment as a gift given by a higher power. So it is with an endowment in the temple of God. An endowment is a gift of knowledge—a series of instructions and covenants—that enable participants to leave the House of the Lord and walk from day to day with God's Spirit and an increase in spiritual strength and direction. As the early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were looking for a safe place to gather, the Lord directed them to Ohio, where they were to erect a temple in which to receive this increased spiritual strength: "Wherefore, for this cause I gave unto you the commandment that ye should go to the Ohio; and there I will give unto you my law; and there you shall be endowed with power from on high;" (Doctrine and Covenants 38:32) Later, the Saints hurried to complete the Nauvoo Temple for the same reason. They knew they would soon be driven out of Nauvoo. They knew the grand building they were sacrificing so much to complete would be desecrated or destroyed. They worked fervently on the temple, so they could be endowed with the spiritual power necessary to make the hard journey west. More specifically, the endowment helps Mormons understand who they are, where they came from, and where they are going. (See Plan of Salvation) It helps members understand what they should do to prepare to meet God, and how Jesus Christ offers salvation to each of us. Information in the endowment is presented in a highly symbolic manner. The Mormon temple ceremony was introduced by the Prophet Joseph Smith in the 1840s. The Kirtland Temple, which was actually never referred to as a temple, but rather as a House of Prayer, was a preparatory temple. The Nauvoo Temple was the first Mormon Temple to have the full temple ceremonies (see History of Mormon Temples).
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