Nathan Astel and Faculty Mentor: Michael Mackay, Church History and Doctrine

My research was initially aimed at researching the locations and implementation of the
temple endowment in Nauvoo. As I began my research concerning the temple
endowment, I realized that I was more interested in the theological implications of the
endowment and how the endowment ritual has been interpreted in the past. So, I
decided to modify my research in order to follow a more interesting and fruitful area of
research.
The methodology of my project largely consisted in reading and discussing scholarly
books on the topic of LDS temple worship. Through this process of study and
discussion, I was exposed to a wide array of ideas and interpretations of the history and
theology surrounding the endowment. The three books that were the most helpful to my
research were Joseph Smith’s Quorum of the Anointed 1842-1845 and The
Development of LDS Temple Worship 1846-2001 by Devery Anderson and The Words
of Joseph Smith by Andrew Ehat and Lyndon Cook. Studying these books helped me to
realize that the majority of members of the church today are unacquainted with many of
the theological ideas that surrounded the development of temple worship. They also
informed me of various changes in the endowment ceremony as well as church policies
concerning temple practice throughout church history. While many of these changes are
a matter of policy, some of them were theologically significant. In recognition of these
changes, my research led me to study how Latter-day Saints interpret ritual experience.
I discovered that currently many scholars favor a view liberal ritual interpretation in
which members of the church are mostly free to assign meaning to ritual experience,
especially temple rituals which are not explained in detail. In fact, many of the same
scholars propose that Mormonism is mostly free of any kind of orthodoxy (correct
belief), fostering an environment of undogmatic thought. Instead, they claim that
Mormonism is mainly focused on orthopraxy or correct ethical and ritual practice. In light
of this belief some have proposed that this resistance to any kind of orthodoxy was
fundamental in the theological thought of Joseph Smith. However, in my paper I
challenge that assertion and propose that Joseph Smith was actually very concerned
with a correct understanding of doctrine and ritual, while at the same time being
resistant to creeds and cultural tradition which he saw as blinding influences on the
saints. This is especially true of the contemporary Christian creeds and the traditional
ideas that the saints held from previous religious experience. I further propose that
temple ritual is not designed to have Latter-day Saints apply meaning to it. Instead,
temple ordinances act as a vehicle to revelation, instructing members of the church in
the correct manner in which they could “know how to ask and obtain” revelation; which
is most fully experienced in the personal manifestation of the Savior Himself.¹ Thus,
Latter-day Saints are taught to have correct ideas while engaging in temple ritual in
order to fully understand and apply ritual understanding. In this way Latter-day Saints
are brought together in what I call a revelatory orthodoxy, in which they are ultimately
taught through personal intimate revelation. Resistance to the idea of orthodoxy or
correct belief even within temple ritual is found in a kind of liberal Mormonism which,
like liberal Christianity favors freedom of thought rather than correctness of thought.
I understand that not all will agree with the conclusions of my research. I have generally
found throughout my research within the religious field that there are a wide array of
opinions and interpretations of religious as well as historical information. However, I feel
that as I have studied a wide array of historical as well as scholarly statements from
individuals inside and outside the church, I have portrayed LDS belief in a faithful and
reliable way. I look forward to presenting my conclusions at the BYU Religious
Education Student Symposium in which I will receive further feedback concerning my
conclusions.
Overall, the opportunity to participate in an ORCA research project has been an
immensely meaningful part of my education at Brigham Young University. I have grown
in my understanding of my religious faith as well as my ability to research, synthesize,
and produce scholarly work because of the ORCA grant.

¹ Ehat, Andrew, The Words of Joseph Smith: The Contemporary Accounts of the Nauvoo Discourses of Joseph Smith
(Provo, UT, Religious Studies Center, 1980) p. 64