AboutCindy Beggs Expertise Although I am not a member of the LDS Church, I can answer most of your general questions re: the LDS faith. Please no LDS bashing. I have a love for the Church's history.
Experience Although I am not a member of the LDS faith, I have been facinated with the Church's history for over 30 years.
Organizations Mount St. Mary's Alumni
Publications Master's Thesis in Mount St. Mary's Library in Los Angeles, CA.
Education/Credentials Bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts. Minors: Religious Studies and psychology. Master's degree in the Humanities/Cultural Studies.
Question Why are the temple's activities kept so secret and how do we know what goes on inside? This is unrelated to the first question, but I've always wondered; if God was birthed via other gods, isn't Mormonism a polytheistic religion? Especially given the fact that God deifies good Mormons?
Thank you so much for your time.
Answer Great question Hannah.
I believe that the LDS membership teaches henotheism. Joseph Smith wrote, "In the beginning, the head of the gods called a council of the gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and (the) people in it." The Pearl of Great Price states in the Book of Abraham, "And they (the gods) said: let there be light and there was light. And they (the gods) comprehended the light, . . . and the gods called the light Day and the darkness they called Night. . . ." In these two chapters, the plural designation "gods" is used over fifty times. Although they believe that numerous gods exist, Mormons consider themselves to be monotheists because they focus their worship exclusively on the Godhead of this earth. With this being the case, a more accurate description of Mormon practice is henotheism, a form of polytheism that stresses a central deity. In Mormonism, the central deity is Elohim, whom Mormons call "God the Father." But henotheism also accepts other deities. In Mormonism the other deities accepted include Jesus, the Holy Ghost, and endless other gods who were once men and have now evolved into godhood.
To LDS members, the temple's activities are considered sacred and holy and the ceremonies that are conducted in there are for only a few select LDS members who are considered temple worthy. Only 25-30% of LDS members hold that distinction. Although the temple's activities are kept secret - a google check will produce many websites that give a detailed description of what goes on inside the temple. There is a website that has a multimedia collection which includes a tape of the LDS temple ceremony and that audio can be found at: concernedchristians.org.
