LDS garments and "protection"

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I’ve often seen and heard references to them offering protection of some sort to those who wear them,but have never received an answer to the question of; from what are they supposed to protect a person who wears them?
 
jane_doe said:
Protection as in to stop bullets? No.
Protection as in helping us remember Him and be His disciples, and all the protection that brings? Yes.
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According to the guy in the second video, they are miraculously flame retardant too. I had always assumed they were primarily for modesty purposes. This is the first I’ve heard about protection, either from physical dangers or spiritual.
 
Allegra said:
According to the guy in the second video, they are miraculously flame retardant too. I had always assumed they were primarily for modesty purposes. This is the first I’ve heard about protection, either from physical dangers or spiritual.
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I did not watch the second video, but no they are not for literal fire protection.
 
So, in other words, its kind of the same thing as a catholic scapular?
 
AnneElizabeth said:
So, in other words, its kind of the same thing as a catholic scapular?
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In someways they are, yes. They are to remind those who have been thru the temple and made covenants, to remember those covenants.

Mormons who have been thru the temple are required to wear then 24/7 (minus things like sporting activities, going to the doctors, etc). It’s one of the questions a temple endowed Mormon is asked in a temple recommend interview for worthiness. Do they wear the regulation garment at all times.
 
Allegra said:
According to the guy in the second video, they are miraculously flame retardant too. I had always assumed they were primarily for modesty purposes. This is the first I’ve heard about protection, either from physical dangers or spiritual.
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Just like there are some Catholics who wear scapulars and blessed medals with superstitious ideas, there are some Mormons (more fanatical) who also have a superstitious view of physical protection about the garment.

But such ideas are not taught, nor encourage to be believed by the LDS church itself.

There is nothing magical about the garment, any more than there is something magical about scapulars or blessed medals etc.
 
Completely underwhelmed by both videos. What is the history of the wearing of garments? If, as stated in the first video, the garments are likened to distinctive clothing worn by other faiths such as habits worn by female religious, or the vestments worn by priests and so on, then why wear something intended to be hidden from view?
 
When Mormons are given their garments they are (unless it has changed) told the garments are “a shield, and a protection.” That is also found in the Missionary Handbook. I knew some Mormons who told me that the protection was a protection from temptation. I don’t know how that was supposed to work. But they said the devil more easily succeeds in his efforts to sway ungarmented people. The official Church Handbook of Instructions said the temple garment “provides protection against temptation and evil.” If it protects against “evil” then it either prevents the wearer from committing evil or it prevents evil from affecting the wearer. “If respected and honored, the garment protects us from temptations and unrighteous influences.” (Kent F. Richards, Executive Director of the Temple Department, July 2015)

Past prophet Spencer Kimball said that there "undoubtedly have been many cases where there has been, through faith, an actual physical protection, so we must not minimize that possibility.” When Joseph Smith was killed, one man who survived credited his temple garments for his physical survival. For some reason Smith and others had removed their garments, but I have no idea why they would have done that.

Historically, Mormons (some at least) believed Satan was almost at their side waiting to take control of them if they dared remove their “garments.” Those people would only remove part of their garment at a time, for example, leaving one arm in, while they bated, and then after putting the garment back on, removing the sleeve and washing that arm. They put on new garments the same way, removing part of one, putting on the corresponding part of the other, and so on, till they had exchanged their garments without ever having been complete out of either one.

Moonies also have had protective items. Originally a photo of their leader Sun Myung Moon, at one time it was a photo of his deceased son, but I haven’t heard of anything other than those for quite a while even though I have a acquaintances among them.
 
A little off topic but has anyone noticed that there have been a lot of threads about Mormons lately? Even I made one. Lol
 
jane_doe said:
Protection as in to stop bullets? No.
Protection as in helping us remember Him and be His disciples, and all the protection that brings? Yes.
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Are you sure about this? I mean, the entire truth, history and all - not the modern spin.

Why not simply have crosses on your Stakes and Temples then, or cross necklaces?
 
A description of the ''garments" they are like Union suits with some differences. Those are embroidered marks that will happen to LDS who reveal what terrible conseqeunces will reveal n the secrets shared to people who get their endowments in a temple.
 
andrewstx said:
A description of the ''garments" they are like Union suits with some differences. Those are embroidered marks that will happen to LDS who reveal what terrible conseqeunces will reveal n the secrets shared to people who get their endowments in a temple.
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Yes, there are 4 markings, 2 that are Masonic. One over each breast, at the navel and the knee.

They serve as reminders of the 4 names, signs, tokens(handshakes) and penalties (though the penalties are not really stressed anymore) that members make when they go thru the temple and make their convenience (things like chastity, obedience, consecration of everything to the building up of the kingdom etc)

Joseph Smith was Mason, and he introduced the temple endowment, if my memory serves me right, not too long after (a few months) he became a Master Mason. The temple endowment is Masonic in nature, if one knows about both.
 
hs_hopeful said:
I’ve often seen and heard references to them offering protection of some sort to those who wear them,but have never received an answer to the question of; from what are they supposed to protect a person who wears them?
Click to expand...
The way I saw it when I was growing up, is at 8 years old I became fair game for unseen evil forces and it would be advantageous to grow up and wear temple garments in order to be protected from this onslaught. But I had a vivid imagination as a child and couldn’t get over losing an automatic protection at 8 years old.

Also, stories when I was a kid of temple garments physically protecting people, such as from fire and other physical injury. But the main teaching is, protecting the wearer in a spiritual sense such as calling to mind oathes that have been made, and morals that are to be upheld, and providing spiritual fortitude to keep those oaths and maintain moral behavior.
 
Tarquin said:
Past prophet Spencer Kimball said that there "undoubtedly have been many cases where there has been, through faith, an actual physical protection, so we must not minimize that possibility.” When Joseph Smith was killed, one man who survived credited his temple garments for his physical survival. For some reason Smith and others had removed their garments, but I have no idea why they would have done that.
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Oliver Huntington who was rooming in Joseph’s house at the time he left for Carthage said:
Joseph pulled off his priesthood garments just before starting to Carthage to be slain and he advised Hyrum and John Taylor to do the same, which they did… Joseph said before taking them off, that he was going to be killed… and he did not want his garments to be exposed to the sneers and jeers of his enemies. (see Mormon Enigma, Emma Hale Smith, p. 189)
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Another account by Julia Bowen Dalton who also resided at the Mansion at the time, said, “that it was to be that he should lay down his life as a martyr to the testimony he bore but that his enemies could not take his life while he was wearing his garments” (ibid). Both sources state that he knew he was to be killed although they differ somewhat on the reason. Interestingly, Willard Richards who weighed over 300 lbs did wear his garments and was not hit by a bullet when the mob rained down bullets in the jail.

I for one believe that the most important purpose of the garment is to remind me of sacred promises I have made. In as much as I honor those promises the Lord he will protect me spiritually and temporally according to his will. However, the garment itself is a piece of cloth and is not of itself a protection against harm.
 
Janderich said:
Oliver Huntington who was rooming in Joseph’s house at the time he left for Carthage said:

Another account by Julia Bowen Dalton who also resided at the Mansion at the time, said, “that it was to be that he should lay down his life as a martyr to the testimony he bore but that his enemies could not take his life while he was wearing his garments” (ibid). Both sources state that he knew he was to be killed although they differ somewhat on the reason. Interestingly, Willard Richards who weighed over 300 lbs did wear his garments and was not hit by a bullet when the mob rained down bullets in the jail.

I for one believe that the most important purpose of the garment is to remind me of sacred promises I have made. In as much as I honor those promises the Lord he will protect me spiritually and temporally according to his will. However, the garment itself is a piece of cloth and is not of itself a protection against harm.
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The temple garments of Smith’s time we’re just long underwear of the cut and fashion that every man wore. (And Mormon women wore too.) And you say that they are just a piece of cloth. Why would Smith worry about anyone seeing his underwear and making fun of it?
 
RebeccaJ said:
The temple garments of Smith’s time we’re just long underwear of the cut and fashion that every man wore. (And Mormon women wore too.) And you say that they are just a piece of cloth. Why would Smith worry about anyone seeing his underwear and making fun of it?
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They were not just “long underwear” that everyone wore. An account regarding Elizabeth Warren Allred, relates the first garment she cut for Joseph:
It was while they were living in Nauvoo that the Prophet came to my mother, who was a seamstress by trade, and told her that he had seen the Angel Moroni with the garments on, and asked her to assist him in cutting out the garments. They spread unbleached muslin out on the table and he told her how to cut it out. She had to cut the third pair, however, before he said it was satisfactory.
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Clearly the garment represented much more to Joseph than long underwear that everyone wore.

Joseph was worried about people making fun of the sacred. Certainly you have encountered this? Do not people make fun of priestly vestments? However, a piece of cloth alone is not sacred (same with a piece of bread a bit of water, etc). What they represent is sacred.
 
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