The Biblical Issue With Secret Mormon Temple Rituals

Mormon Temples are a significant part of the LDS faith. The rituals and ceremonies that Latter-day Saints perform in these Temples are considered so sacred that members of the Church are prohibited from ever speaking in detail about them.

Members of the LDS Church are quick to say that these ceremonies aren’t “secret”, but are exceedingly precious and sacred. So sacred, in fact, that to speak of them to the outside world would be defiling.

But what does the Bible say about sacred Temple rituals in the New Covenant?

Temple Ceremonies and Rituals were not kept secret under the Old Covenant

The books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy include incredibly specific instructions concerning the building and ceremonies of the Tabernacle (a kind of mobile Temple). This “tent of meeting” would later be permanently established in Jerusalem as the Temple of God.

The ceremonies and rituals of this Temple in Jerusalem were to strictly follow the specific instructions set forth in the Law of Moses. But in contrast to modern LDS Temples, because no secret ceremonies were included in the Law of Moses, no secret temple ceremonies were to be performed in the Temple of God.

Everything that God expected His people to do in the Temple was clearly and plainly laid out in His Word.  The most sacred & holy place on earth was in the heart of the Temple: in the Holy of Holies, the very dwelling place of God.

Yet despite it being the most sacred place on the planet, we are given specific details about everything that should happen in that room (Leviticus 16, Hebrews 9:6-14).

There was nothing SECRET about the most SACRED part of God’s Temple!

In our age, The Old Testament Temple has been completely fulfilled in Jesus. We no longer need a veil that separates us from the presence of God, from the Holy of Holies (Hebrews 10:20), nor do we need the continuous atoning sacrifices any longer (Hebrews 10:1-4). 

Both of these have been completely fulfilled in Jesus! The veil separating us from God was torn at Jesus’ death (Matthew 27:51). And, Jesus was our once-for-all atoning sacrifice on the cross (Hebrews 10:10-12). New Covenant believers have absolutely NO Temple ceremonies or rituals they should be performing!

But let’s just say (hypothetically) that there were to be a New Covenant Temple, and let say that Christians SHOULD still perform certain Temple ceremonies. If that were the case, then we should expect the Bible to clearly lay out everything about these New Covenant rituals and ceremonies, just like the Old Testament did!

But this isn’t what we find. There is NOTHING in the Bible that tells us we should have New Covenant Temples and Temple rituals so sacred that we should keep their details a “secret”… in fact—the Bible tells us the exact opposite.

Jesus commanded us to proclaim from the rooftops all that we’ve heard in secret

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, He commanded people to keep his works and miracles a secret for the time being (Mark 3:12, Matthew 8:4, Luke 4:41). But Jesus taught that after His resurrection, there would be no more secrets in the Christian faith. All of Jesus’ teachings were to be boldly proclaimed!

Jesus said

“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.” (Matthew 10:26-27).

Jesus commands that everything should be proclaimed from the rooftops! There are no secrets that Christians should keep! Jesus even explains elsewhere why there should be no secrets in Christianity 

“[Jesus] said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light.” (Mark 4:21-22) 

The most glorious parts of the Gospel are to not be kept secret, but are to be made known to the whole world so that men everywhere may see, hear, and believe the fullness of the Gospel! We don’t hide the best parts of the Gospel from people, we make them widely known to everyone!

Jesus is the world’s most sacred mystery fully revealed

Jesus was the Old Testament’s greatest mystery, the greatest secret — the promised Messiah would, in-fact, be God Incarnate; God in the flesh (John 1:1-4, John 1:14, Colossians 2:9)! Though there were veiled references to the nature of the Messiah, it was not made clear until Jesus was revealed (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:22-23). 

Colossians refers to

“the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints” (Colossians 1:26).

This great mystery hidden for ages and generations was Jesus, now in the New Covenant age widely revealed to all God’s people (Ephesians 3:9)!

Jesus is the most holy, most sacred thing ever revealed! If the Most Holy Jesus is not a secret on account of his “sacredness”, then nothing else in all creation qualifies for being too sacred to speak of!

There are no secret Temple rituals or ceremonies that are pleasing to the Lord. Christians are commanded to preach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), not hide the most precious elements of the Gospel from the World! The fullness of the everlasting Gospel has been fully and publicly revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-2).