Blood oath (Latter Day Saints)

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In Mormonism, the blood oaths (also known as Endowment penalties) were oaths of secrecy that were made by participants in the Endowment ordinance of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints until 1990. Some denominations in the Mormon fundamentalist movement still include the blood oaths as part of the Endowment ritual.

Contents

[edit] Original blood oaths

On May 4, 1842, Joseph Smith, Jr. instituted the Endowment ritual in Nauvoo, Illinois. At three different stages of the Endowment, participants were asked to take an oath of secrecy regarding the gestures of the ceremony. The participants promised that if they were ever to reveal the gestures of the ceremony, they would be subject to the following:

  • Stage 1 : "my throat ... be cut from ear to ear, and my tongue torn out by its roots;"
  • Stage 2 : "our breasts ... be torn open, our hearts and vitals torn out and given to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field;"
  • Stage 3 : "our body ... be cut asunder and all your bowels gush out."

Each of the penalties was accompanied by a gesture known as the "execution of the penalty" which simulated the cutting or tearing described in the oath. The oaths and their accompanying gestures resembled certain oaths performed in Freemasonry rituals.

  • Stage 1: The participant placed his or her right hand palm-down with the thumb extended and the tip of the thumb just under the left ear. The execution of the gesture was made by drawing the tip of the thumb swiftly across the throat until the thumb was just under the right ear, then dropping the hand and arm quickly to the side of the participant's body.
  • Stage 2: The participant placed his or her hand in a cup form over the left breast. The execution of the gesture was made by pulling the hand-cup swiftly across the breast, then quickly dropping the hand and arm to the side of the participant's body.
  • Stage 3: The participant placed his or her right hand palm-down with the thumb extended and the tip of the thumb on the left of the torso, just above the left hip. The execution of the gesture was made by drawing the thumb swiftly across the stomach until the thumb was just above the right hip, and the hand and arm were quickly dropped to the side of the participant's body.

[edit] Changes

Beginning in 1919, church president Heber J. Grant appointed a committee charged with revising the Endowment ceremony, which was done under the direction Apostle George F. Richards from 1921 to 1927. Among the changes that were instituted was a modification of the blood oaths. While the execution of the penalty gestures remained unchanged, the church replaced the verbal description of the penalty with the phrase, "rather than do so, I would suffer my life to be taken."

[edit] Elimination

In April 1990, the LDS Church eliminated the blood oaths and the execution of the penalty gestures from the Endowment. During the lifetime of the blood oaths, there was no documented instance in which a person was killed or committed suicide for having violated the oaths of secrecy of the Endowment.

[edit] Confusion with other doctrines

Because they were both removed from the Endowment in the twentieth century and both deal with blood doctrines, the blood oaths and the oath of vengeance are often confused as being related teachings. However, they were separate and distinct oaths; the oath of vengeance involved praying to God for justice in regard to the deaths of Mormon leaders. While the oath of vengeance was removed from the Endowment in 1927 as part of the LDS Church's "Good Neighbor" policy, the blood oaths were not completely removed until 1990. The blood oaths are also frequently confused with the concept of blood atonement, which was never incorporated into the Latter Day Saint temple ordinances.

[edit] Continuation by Mormon fundamentalists

Some groups within the Mormon fundamentalist movement continue to practice the Endowment without the LDS Church's 1927 and 1990 changes. Consequently, these groups still participate in the blood oaths when performing the Endowment. Some of the denominations which continue to perform the original Endowment include the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Apostolic United Brethren, and the True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • David John Buerger (2002, 2d ed.). The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books) ISBN 1560851767
  • Jerald and Sandra Tanner (2005, 2d ed.). Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony: 1842–1990 (Salt Lake City, Utah: Utah Lighthouse Ministry)