Big Love Goes Inside the Temple

[madhatter85]

I appreciate the response. What did you think of the Big Love episode showing a portion of the endowment ceremony? I thought they did it respectfully and without mocking.

Honestly you can't even begin to understand the purpose or beaty of the endowment unless you have experienced it yourself.

We invite everyone in the world to come partake of the blessings our heavenly father has in store for us, none excluded. It is up to you to take the steps toward them.

 

[Truid]

Honestly you can't even begin to understand the purpose or beaty of the endowment unless you have experienced it yourself.

We invite everyone in the world to come partake of the blessings our heavenly father has in store for us, none excluded. It is up to you to take the steps toward them.

I respectfully disagree. I can appreciate art and beauty without having to go through some ritual. A good example would be attending a wedding. One doesn't have to be the bride or groom to appreciate the beauty and sanctity of marriage and the wedding ceremony.

 

[misanthropic_clown]

I respectfully disagree. I can appreciate art and beauty without having to go through some ritual. A good example would be attending a wedding. One doesn't have to be the bride or groom to appreciate the beauty and sanctity of marriage and the wedding ceremony.

Arguably (though I shouldn't use that term in DIR) the preparation for going into the endownments would be like getting a new pair of glasses with which to visit the art gallery. I'm sure you can appreciate art if your vision isn't all that good (speaking from experience), but with glasses there is a whole new level of detail.

 

[Truid]

Arguably (though I shouldn't use that term in DIR) the preparation for going into the endownments would be like getting a new pair of glasses with which to visit the art gallery. I'm sure you can appreciate art if your vision isn't all that good (speaking from experience), but with glasses there is a whole new level of detail.

Here, you can have my glasses, I had lasik eye surgery and now I have 20/20 vision.

 

[Katzpur]

I respectfully disagree.

Not on the LDS DIR forum, you don't.

 

[Truid]

Not on the LDS DIR forum, you don't.

Really? :sorry1:

 

[Katzpur]

Really? :sorry1:

That's right.

"The DIR forums are for the express use for discussion by that specific group. They are not to be used for debate by anyone. People of other groups or faiths may post respectful questions to increase their understanding. Questions of a rhetorical or argumentative nature or that counter the beliefs of that DIR are not permitted. Only posts that comply with the tenets or spirit of that Dir are permitted."

"Respectfully disagreeing" is voicing an opinion "counter to the beliefs" of the religion being discussed. On the other hand, I guess "respectfully disagreeing" is better than "disrespectfully disagreeing." :yes:

 

[Truid]

That's right.

"The DIR forums are for the express use for discussion by that specific group. They are not to be used for debate by anyone. People of other groups or faiths may post respectful questions to increase their understanding. Questions of a rhetorical or argumentative nature or that counter the beliefs of that DIR are not permitted. Only posts that comply with the tenets or spirit of that Dir are permitted."

"Respectfully disagreeing" is voicing an opinion "counter to the beliefs" of the religion being discussed. On the other hand, I guess "respectfully disagreeing" is better than "disrespectfully disagreeing." :yes:

Thanks for the instruction. I gladly accept it. I'll take my leave of this particular forum for now. Bye. :run:

 

[DeepShadow]

Im trying to understand.If its depeicted accurately..what is so offensive about it?

This is, I believe, the heart of the problem: accuracy must include context. In the case of a spiritual event such as the temple ceremony, there's chronological context--what happens before and after--and doctrinal context--the underlying role of the temple in Mormon beliefs--and spiritual context--the linking up of new revelation with prior revelation.

The first two are hard to provide. The last is impossible. Consider this: If I tell a joke about Mormons to you, how much of that joke do you stand to lose if you have no knowledge or experience of Mormons? I might be perfectly, flawlessly accurate in my retelling, but you still stand to lose some or all of it.

The temple ceremony is carefully crafted metaphor intended to transcend mankind's limited language. In that sense, it's like poetry, or jokes, or art, all of which also requires a contextual framework in order to understand it properly. This is why we require new members to wait a year after baptism before they visit the temple: they need to accumulate a whole new set of spiritual experiences so that the ceremonies will make sense.

This would be reason alone to not show this on HBO, but it gets worse: by putting this as part of the Big Love series, the creators are not just showing it out of context, but are giving it a different context within the storyline of the show. This then further distorts the ceremony's original meanings and purposes, no matter how accurately it is portrayed.

 

[DeepShadow]

I can appreciate art and beauty without having to go through some ritual.

You don't need a ritual to appreciate art, but you need context to appreciate either. For example, you'd have to know that a wedding was about forming a new family, and about making a commitment to each other. If you didn't understand something about the intent of a wedding, it would be a boring bunch of nonsense.

 

[Katzpur]

This is, I believe, the heart of the problem: accuracy must include context. In the case of a spiritual event such as the temple ceremony, there's chronological context--what happens before and after--and doctrinal context--the underlying role of the temple in Mormon beliefs--and spiritual context--the linking up of new revelation with prior revelation.

The first two are hard to provide. The last is impossible. Consider this: If I tell a joke about Mormons to you, how much of that joke do you stand to lose if you have no knowledge or experience of Mormons? I might be perfectly, flawlessly accurate in my retelling, but you still stand to lose some or all of it.

The temple ceremony is carefully crafted metaphor intended to transcend mankind's limited language. In that sense, it's like poetry, or jokes, or art, all of which also requires a contextual framework in order to understand it properly. This is why we require new members to wait a year after baptism before they visit the temple: they need to accumulate a whole new set of spiritual experiences so that the ceremonies will make sense.

This would be reason alone to not show this on HBO, but it gets worse: by putting this as part of the Big Love series, the creators are not just showing it out of context, but are giving it a different context within the storyline of the show. This then further distorts the ceremony's original meanings and purposes, no matter how accurately it is portrayed.

Where the heck have you been????

 

[DeepShadow]

Missed me that much?