Changing the Ordinances

The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
(Old Testament Isaiah 24:5)

Brigham Young: Adam, Seth, Enoch, Noah, all the Patriarchs and Prophets, Jesus and the Apostles, and every man that has ever written the word of the Lord, have written the same doctrine upon the same subject; and you never can find that Prophets and Apostles clashed in their doctrines in ancient days: neither will they now, if all would at all times be led by the Spirit of salvation. (Brigham Young, October 7th, 1857, JD 5:329)

We understand by this logic that the doctrines of the Lord cannot contradict each other. If that happens then only one doctrine can be considered true and the other false, or they both could be false. Logic cannot concede that two conflicting statements are true.

Joseph Smith: "Ordinances instituted in the heavens before the foundation of the world, in the priesthood, for the salvation of men, are not to be altered or changed. All must be saved on the same principles." ('Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith', pg 308.)

"Now the purpose in Himself in the winding up scene of the last dispensation is that all things pertaining to that dispensation should be conducted precisely in accordance with the preceding dispensations.... He set the temple ordinances to be the same forever and ever and set Adam to watch over them, to reveal them from heaven to man, or to send angels to reveal them."- The Prophet Joseph Smith, History of the Church, vol.4, p. 208

The Priesthood is everlasting. The Savior, Moses, and Elias, gave the keys to Peter, James, and John, on the mount when they were transfigured before him. The Priesthood is everlasting--without beginning of days or end of years; without father, mother, etc. If there is no change of ordinances, there is no change of Priesthood. Wherever the ordinances of the Gospel are administered, there is the Priesthood. (TPJS 387)

If a man gets a fullness of the priesthood of God he has to get it in the same way that Jesus Christ obtained it, and that was by keeping all the commandments and obeying all the ordinances of the house of the Lord. Where there is no change of priesthood, there is no change of ordinances, says Paul. If God has not changed the ordinances and the priesthood, howl, ye sectarians! If he has when and where has He revealed it? Have ye turned revelators? Then why deny revelation? (TPJS p. 308)

Joseph Smith taught that if the temple ordinances were to change then the priesthood would change. If the priesthood would change would it be the priesthood of God or man?

If they are done half way or if they are done incorrectly then we cannot receive all the blessings and power that is available to be received.
All men who become heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ will have to receive the fullness of the ordinances of his kingdom; And those who will not receive all the ordinances will come short of the fullness of that glory, if they do not lose the whole. (DHC 5:423-427)

The power, glory and blessings of the Priesthood could not continue with those who received ordination only as their righteousness continued; for Cain also being authorized to offer sacrifice, but not offering it in righteousness was cursed. It signifies, then, that the ordinances must be kept in the very way God has appointed; otherwise their Priesthood will prove a cursing instead of a blessing. (DHC 4:207-212)

Joseph received this commandment to build a temple; "...build a house to my name, for the Most High to dwell therein. For there is not a place found on earth that he may come to and restore again that which was lost unto you, or which he hath taken away, even the fulness of the priesthood.... And verily I say unto you, let this house be built unto my name, that I may reveal mine ordinances therein... For I deign to reveal unto my church things which have been kept hid from before the foundation of the world, things that pertain to the dispensation of the fulness of times. And I will show unto my servant Joseph all things pertaining to this house, and the priesthood thereof, and the place whereon it shall be built." (Doctrine and Covenants 124:27-28, 40-42)

Through revelation Joseph received the temple ordinances which restored the fullness of the priesthood. Joseph considered the ordinance complete and unchangeable. The ordinances of the Temple as instituted by Joseph Smith have gone through many changes since Joseph’s death. Things have been added and things have been taken away. What changes have been made to the ceremony as revealed by Joseph Smith; and have these changes invalidated the ceremony itself? Joseph did not write down the original ceremony before his death. The only records we have of this ceremony are the ones given by those in attendance. After Brigham Young became the leader of the main body of the church the temple service was recorded. It is hard to say if this ceremony was the accurate one revealed by Joseph without having a detailed description from multiple sources.

Joseph died before temple ceremonies could be performed in the Nauvoo Temple, but he revealed the ordinances to brethren he trusted in the top of Newel K Whitney’s store. Brigham wrote of the experience "When we got our washings and anointings under the hands of the Prophet Joseph at Nauvoo, we had only one room to work in, with the exception of a little side room or office where we were washed and anointed, had our garment placed upon us and received our new name; and after he had performed these ceremonies, he gave the key-words, signs, tokens, and penalties. Then after, we went into the large room... Joseph Smith divided up the room the best that he could, hung up the veil, marked it, gave us our instructions as we passed along from one department to another, giving us signs, tokens, penalties, with the key-words pertaining to those signs." (Statement of Brigham Young, recorded in the diary of L. John Nuttall, Feb. 7, 1877, as cited in God, Man, And The Universe, by Hyrum L. Andrus, 1968, p. 334)

Apparently Joseph Smith was the only person to conduct the initial endowment. He gave instructions to the men as they passed from one room to another giving them the signs, tokens, penalties and key-words. There does not appear to be a specific creation drama involved with characters performing specific roles. Joseph may have told the brethren to present the endowment in a more elaborate way but we have no record of that. Brigham claims that Joseph told him to write the endowment down so that it would not be forgotten.

Brigham also taught "Your endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the House of the Lord... to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being enabled to give them the key words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the Holy Priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell." (Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, p. 31)

Through time the temple endowment was further modified by the removal of the penalties and the five points of fellowship. Also the practice of washing and anointing changed. I assume most of these changes took place because of members being uncomfortable with the ceremonies. The major concern the church should have is in the original commandment given by Joseph Smith to not alter or change the ceremonies in any way. The current Church's actions in changing the endowment provides evidence that they no longer find the commandment given by Joseph Smith as valid. In doing this they undercut their own authority by not respecting the authority that came before.

In a church meeting one of the members of the Bishopric gave a talk about church ceremonies. He said that the most important parts of the gospel were faith repentance baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. He also said that all the other ordinances are incidental to these and may not even be necessary. I spoke with this gentlemen in private about the changing ceremony of washing and anointing. He told me that he would be glad if they changed the temple endowment again making the ceremony long enough to only receive the signs and tokens and get rid of everything else. Is this were the church is going to be led?