In order for adult members of the LDS Church to enjoy full benefits and status within the LDS Church, they must be endowed and hold current Temple Recommends. This status allows them to attend the temple and enjoy all normal temple attendance privileges, including participating in initiatory, endowment, and sealing ordinances. This also allows them to hold all callings in the church, as well as attend and participate in all church functions.

Members of the LDS Church are taught that if they receive all of the “Saving Ordinances,” to include temple ordinances, and remain as active, worthy, sustaining members of the church for the rest of their lives that they will receive salvation and exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom. In other words, if you continue to faithfully attend church, serve in callings, fulfill your church assignments, sustain all your church leaders, remain worthy of a temple recommend, pay a full tithing, and do everything that mainstream church members are expected to do, you are then guaranteed salvation in the Celestial Kingdom by the church leaders who have the keys and authority to make these promises.

By entering into the LDS order of temple worship, endowed members become duty bound to always sustain and follow all their church leaders, whether they agree with them or not. As endowed members, they are not permitted to in any way criticize or question church leaders; this is called “evil speaking of the Lord’s anointed,” which they covenant not to do as part of the temple endowment. They are duty bound, or shall we say “covenant bound,” to always pay tithing, or 10% of their income to the church. And they are taught that they must live the standards of the church as established in the church handbooks and enforced within the temple recommend interview.

Ultimately, endowed members of the church are covenant-bound to consecrate everything they have to the church, to always obey their church leaders, to never speak ill of their church leaders, and to think, speak, and do as they are told. If they do, they receive eternal life. If they don’t, they might not. In this way, endowed members of the LDS Church are tightly controlled and manipulated by church leaders under threat of damnation in hell forever and ever.

Contrast this with the pure Doctrine of Christ as taught within the Book of Mormon.

The Book of Mormon teaches that for us to receive forgiveness of sins and qualify for salvation and eternal life in the Kingdom of God, we must simply live the Doctrine of Christ. This doctrine stipulates that we learn of Christ, believe in Christ, have faith in Christ by always keeping his commandments, repent of our sins, receive a remission of sins, be baptized in the name of Christ, receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and “endure to the end.” That’s it.

The pure Doctrine of Christ teaches that those who do these things become members of the Church of Christ, they become disciples of Christ, and they become heirs of salvation as sons and daughters of Christ.

The pure Doctrine of Christ says nothing about requiring membership within a corporate church organization, or the requirement to pay tithing to a church, not even the true church, or to always follow, obey, or sustain church leaders. This doctrine also says nothing about required temple ordinances, temple worthiness, temple recommends, temple recommend questions, or the requirement that we never find fault with church leaders who seem to be departing from the path of truth and righteousness as clearly described within the established scriptures.

Indeed, instead of the emphasis being on faith in Christ, complete repentance, and always qualifying for the gift and power of the Holy Ghost by strict obedience to the commandments of God, the emphasis instead is on temple worthiness, being able and worthy to correctly answer temple worthiness questions, sustaining the brethren, and remaining a mainstream member of the church in good standing. ‘

In short, faith in Christ and repentance are replaced with following the prophet and going to the temple. This is not good.

When Jesus Christ visited the Nephites after his resurrection, he reiterated his doctrine and gave this stern warning when he said:

31  Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my doctrine.

32  And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me.

33  And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.

34  And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned.

35  Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost.

36  And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one.

37  And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these things.

38  And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.

39  Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.

40  And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them.

(3 Nephi 11:31 – 40)

Again, Jesus declared:

10  And when the Disciples had done this, Jesus said unto them: Blessed are ye for this thing which ye have done, for this is fulfilling my commandments, and this doth witness unto the Father that ye are willing to do that which I have commanded you.

11  And this shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized in my name; and ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood, which I have shed for you, that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember me.  And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you.

12  And I give unto you a commandment that ye shall do these things.  And if ye shall always do these things blessed are ye, for ye are built upon my rock.

13  But whoso among you shall do more or less than these are not built upon my rock, but are built upon a sandy foundation; and when the rain descends, and the floods come, and the winds blow, and beat upon them, they shall fall, and the gates of hell are ready open to receive them.

14  Therefore blessed are ye if ye shall keep my commandments, which the Father hath commanded me that I should give unto you.

15  Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always, lest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye be led away captive by him.

16  And as I have prayed among you even so shall ye pray in my church, among my people who do repent and are baptized in my name.  Behold I am the light; I have set an example for you.

(3 Nephi 18:10 – 16)

The LDS establishment of temple worship, to include institutionally defined temple worthiness, to include sustaining the brethren, paying tithing as a worthiness mandate, and obeying church leaders as essential qualifications for eternal life are add-ons to the doctrine of Christ. We have been warned against this.

My suggestion is that we remain loyal to the pure doctrine of Christ as taught in the Book of Mormon, without adding extra things to it.

Those who enter into the institution of LDS temple worship place themselves within the power of wicked men who have corrupted the pure doctrine of Christ, are guilty of priestcraft, and who will assuredly lead you down to hell as you defer to their teachings and instructions instead of following your conscience and instead of following the established word of God as contained in the Book of Mormon.