Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Walt Disney World - Planning Our First Family Vacation

This November we will be traveling to Walt Disney World! I have never been, and obviously neither have the girls. RJ has been a number of times but it has been years since his last visit. We are so excited we cannot contain ourselves. I thought I would share a bit about our trip and the amount of planning a trip to Disney requires.

Disney does A LOT online these days. It’s really cool. The app and website are all integrated. There is now something called “magic bands”. Magic bands are electronic bracelets, they can be linked to your tickets, photopasses, fast passes, dining plans, and hotel room keys (if staying on Disney property) etc. They can be personalized, and special edition bands are available at special events, it’s really cool!

Rose about six months old receiving her first stuffed Mickey.
We chose to stay at a Airbnb instead of a Disney resort for a few reasons. Space, and cost being the biggest. Our Airbnb is a three bedroom condo about a 15 minute drive to Disney. It is only costing us 79 dollars a night. A three bedroom suite at disney would cost upward of 500 dollars a night. Going to Disney as a family we will probably never stay onsite. We like our space, but we do not enjoy paying an arm and a leg for it. There is something about being able to go back to a house like place with space to relax and wind down, rather than being cramped into a hotel room (especially with two toddlers).  

We are bringing our babysitter with us. We wanted an extra set of hands. We met her through Care.com but at this point she is a really good family friend. She watched Rose part of the time when I gave birth to Heather. She babysits for us regularly and Rose loves her. Heather is still warming up. Heather doesn’t like to be left with anyone at this point, but I’m sure after an entire week with us, Heather will love our sitter too. RJ and I can get a small vacation from the kids thanks to our sitter. We have a nice dinner reserved, and purchased late night party tickets for the two of us. We are really excited. Not to mention we will be able to ride big rides together and not have to ride alone while one of us sits with the children.

We are long time Hertz members and I had a ton of points. We are renting a minivan for two full weeks for a fraction of the price and I only used half my points. I recommend always renting a car. The money spent  will be worth the money you save avoiding extra wear and tear on your personal vehicle. Also, if it breaks down someone will find you a replacement vehicle. You will not have to worry about being ripped off by a dodgy mechanic because you have out of state plates. Trust me, rent a car.

I have learned a few little tidbits about Disney as we have been planing. You can bring outside food into the park. You do NOT have to buy expensive park food. We plan on packing lots of snacks and maybe even lunches on a few days. We bought a small/medium soft sided cooler that we plan on stowing under the stroller. You can get a cup of water anywhere that serves food/drinks at Disney for free.

At guest services you can get special pins. We will be there on Rose’s birthday so we will be getting her a pin that day. It also happens to be Mickey’s birthday so we are hoping it’s extra special.

Heather snuggling with Minnie, watching Toy Story 3
We already have a Disney addict!
After doing a ton of math we decided to buy one of us an annual pass. Annual pass holders get free parking, and free photopass services. That alone is 300 dollars. You get discounts on event/party tickets, food, and merchandise at the parks, as well as a number of other discounts. We will very quickly save the extra money we spent on an annual pass, and more. Only one person in your party needs to have an annual pass to get most the discounts.

Buy tickets for as many days as you will be there. We will be in Florida for 7-8ish days. I’m not really counting the day we check in because after a 8 hour drive including stops, we will not want to go to the parks that evening. However we are going to go to Disney springs to pick up magic bands, and activate our tickets. We will be in Florida for the next 7 days. After reading lots of blogs and planning we debated how many days of tickets we should buy, 5,6, or 7. A few bloggers mentioned if planning a week at Disney you should plan rest days. Not go to the parks at all one or two days. With two little ones this sounded like a really good idea, but the longer we looked at ticket prices the thought of not buying 7 days of tickets was getting more and more silly. One adult 5 day park hopper ticket costs (on average) $409. One adult 7 day park hopper ticket costs $439. That’s right only 30 dollars for an extra TWO days at Disney. Even if we do stay home one or two days, or if we have a few half days, I will not feel like we wasted any money. Buy tickets for every day you can.  

It’s impossible to do everything at Disney unless you have unlimited time. I know this will not be the last time we go. We will not be disappointed if we miss something. Taking it easy and planning a few things but not having our schedule jam packed will be much more fun and less stressful. We will do what we can and ride Roses favorite ride 10 times in a row if that’s what she wants to do. The goal is to enjoy ourselves and our vacation, not plan ourselves to death.

We cannot contain our excitement! This will be our first official family vacation and I am soaked. Thanks for reading! I cannot wait to share about our trip in a month or so.


Sunday, October 23, 2016

The Endowment - What Happens Inside The Mormon Temple - Part 2

I have gotten a lot of complaints for posting about the “sacred” things that happen in The Mormon Temple. They are actually just secret things, and you need to be living a “perfect” life to see and do all these things, so people have been a bit butt hurt that I’m sharing them. I wanted to warn everyone this time. This is probably the most secretive and important thing that happens in The Mormon Temple. I’m not going to share every detail, mostly my feelings and a few tidbits here and there. If you want a play by play, a script of exactly what is said, or see a video, there are many out there. (My favorite place for all temple videos Newnamenoah's Youtube)


The biggest, most secret and time consuming thing that happens inside The Mormon Temple is something called “The Endowment”.


To go through the endowment you must be baptized, get a temple recommend (read my post on how to get one), you must also have already done washing and anointings and received garments or mormon underwear (all described in part 1).


Before the endowment session starts you are given a “new name”. The new name you receive is the name you will be called in heaven (this sounded so normal when I was attending the temple, it sounds so silly now). My name was Ruth. You’re told to never tell anyone your new name but I’m pretty sure I won’t get struck by lightning. Plus the name is the same for every woman who goes through the temple that day, it’s nothing special. There is a different name for men. The name is changed daily.


You also need temple clothes. Women wear a completely white dress with long sleeves, a white slip, white knee high stockings, white slippers, as well as your white garments. Men wear a white shirt, white pants, a white tie, a white jacket (optional), white socks, white shoes, and their garments. I always felt hot in all the layers.

You also need an “envelope” (white fabric shaped like an envelope), it will be full of additional clothing items for the endowment. Inside the envelope is, a green apron (a square piece of green fabric with leaves sewn on it, secured at the waist with ribbons), a white sash, a veil for women, a hat for men (the men’s hat looks like a really silly baker's hat), and a robe (which is a pleated rectangular piece of fabric that drapes over one shoulder, then secured at the waist). These will all be put on during the endowment at different times.  


Before the endowment starts you are told if you are not ready to make the promises you are about to make you can get up and leave now. They do NOT tell you what promises they are going to ask you to make! I do not know anyone who has walked out when they heard what some of the promises were, but I’m a little surprised.


During the endowment you will learn the sayings, and secret handshakes to get into heaven. You watch a video about “The Plan of Salvation”, which is basically a plan the Mormons believe God and Jesus came up with to save mankind. Supposedly we used to live as spirits with God in Heaven, but we wanted bodies so we had to come to earth. The story of how Mormons claim God created the earth is told. During the creation of the earth part of the movie, the word “shrubbery” is used twice. If you’re a big fan of Monty Python like my husband you may not be able to contain your laughter. If you can disguise it as coughing fit well enough, you might be handed a small bottle of water.


The story of “Adam and Eve” is also told. After Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit Satan points out their nakedness he tells them to cover themselves with fig leaves. The movie is paused and you are instructed to put on your green leafy apron.


Then Adam and Eve are cast out of The Garden of Eden and need clothes. God found a “coat of skins to cover their nakedness”. Mormon garments represent the same “coat of skins” Adam and Eve were given.


The video continues in parts, with things happening in between, like promises, and putting on the temple clothing. One promise in particular always left a bad taste in my mouth. Women are told to “Harken to the counsel of her husband as your husband harkens to the counsel of the Lord (God)”. (Pre 1990 it only said “Obey your husband”) The women are told to stand raise their right arm, bow their heads and say, “yes” if they promise to “harken to the counsel of your husband”. This is a promise no one tells you will be expected to make, I also don’t know how you would avoid it this far into the endowment.


Men then promise to “Harken to the counsel of the Lord”. They also stand, raise their right arm, bow their heads, and say, “yes”.


Raising your arm, bowing your head, and saying, “yes” with everyone in unison always felt really weird to me. It felt cultish, and kind of robotic. I didn’t and still don’t understand why we need to “obey” like that. The Mormon religion talks a lot about “free agency” and the “right” to choose but really you’re told you can either choose to follow all these rules or you can go to hell. This is what they tell children. I think this is why I grew up with a lot of fear about doing something wrong. As a child you are told from day one, follow the church or you will go to hell.   


Next everyone promises to obey “The Law of Sacrifice.” Adam was supposed to sacrifice the first of his flock in the name of Christ. Once Jesus came and “suffered for our sins” the law of sacrifice was no longer necessary. But you still promise to obey the law like Adam did during the endowment. I was always confused by that. Why did I need to promise to do something that I didn’t need to do? To promise this, you raise your right arm, bow your head and say, “yes” all in unison.


Next you will begin to learn the secret handshakes you need to get into heaven. These would take way too long to explain and get quite confusing. There are plenty of videos and blogs out there that explain the handshakes very well. I will do a quick explanation though.


This photo and the other were taken after
stake temple day, hours before we
conceived Rosalie.
Each handshake is called a “token” they all have accompanying “names, signs, and covenants” A covenant is a promise between you and God. Before 1990 there wasn’t a “covenant” it was a “penalty”. The penalties were death by slicing of the throat, cutting your chest open, and disembowelment, if you ever told anyone.   


Before you learn the second hand shake, you take off your green apron and put on the rest of the clothes in your envelope on, as well as removing your shoes and putting them back on. Then you are taught the second handshake.


Next you remove an article of clothing (the robe) and flip it around for the third handshake. The first time you put it on it was draped over your left shoulder, you move it to your right shoulder.


But first you are asked to “obey The Law of Chastity” which means you will only have “sexual relations” with someone who you are married to. You all raise your right arm, bow your head, and say, “yes”. The Mormon Church talks a lot about sex, but doesn’t explain sex leads to children, or explain the risks of STD’s. You would think they would want to scare you into not having sex but they don’t use any good scare tactics. They teach you if you have sex before marriage your “virtue” is gone, as one of my friends put it, “You’re a piece of chewed spat out gum.” Teens will be teens. They will explore their own bodies and each others. I plan on teaching my children how to safely have sex, because they will get curious, there is NOTHING you can do to stop it.


Next you’re given the third handshake.


Then you promise to “obey The Law of Consecration”. This means you are supposed to give the church ALL your time, talents, “everything with which the Lord has blessed you, or with which he may bless you.” All your money, all your things, all your everything. Again you are asked to bow your head, raise your right arm, and say, “yes”.


As children we were taught the law of consecration was a celestial/holy law. We do not live it today because “we are not worthy enough”. This “law” was lived when the church was very small/young from about 1831-1834. Eventually the church stopped practicing this because not everyone was leaving it fully. (stealing things, keeping more than they should etc). Again why are you asked to promise to do something but then not do it?


Then you’re given the fourth and final handshake.


Next is “The prayer circle”, or “The order of prayer”. A number of couples stand and form a circle around the altar. Alternating male, female, male, female. Someone says, if you have any negative feelings about anyone else in the circle you’re supposed to step out so, “the Spirit of the Lord may be unrestrained.” I always had visions of someone decking someone else mid prayer, I mean they wouldn’t say it unless something had happened before, right? The women cover their faces with their vail. The men in the circle are instructed to hold the right hand of the woman on their left (using one of the silly handshakes I mentioned earlier). Then you raise your left arm and rest it on the shoulder of the person to your left. A bag “filled” with the names of those who are sick or struggling is placed on the altar, and they are mentioned during the prayer. A temple worker kneels at the altar and says a prayer. He pauses between each sentence, and everyone in the room repeats the prayer sentence by sentence. Again another part of the temple that felt very cultish. Once the very lengthy prayer is over the women unveil their faces and everyone sits down.


The entire purpose of the endowment is to learn how to get back into heaven. The next part, or the end of the endowment you are coached how to do this. There is a veil (tall white curtains with special holes in it). The holes in the veil correspond with markings in your garments to help you “remember the covenants you made in the temple”. You do the different handshakes through the different holes in the veil. The person on the other side of the veil pretends to be the Lord. There are also a lot of answers you need to remember all associated with the handshakes. It gets quite complicated and a temple worker stands next to you and helps you with all the answers (I went so many times, when briefly reminded, I can still recite all the answers. If Mormon heaven exists this heathen is getting in!). After you have done all the handshakes and repeated the appropriate sayings you are “allowed to enter the Lord’s presence.” You are pulled through the veil lead around the corner to the Celestial room.


The Celestial room is a almost completely white and has comfy couches it’s very quiet and peaceful. The feelings inside the celestial room are wonderful, but they are not special. You get the same feelings in spaces that have the four pillars of luxury (light, space, silence, and comfort). I wrote a post all about why The Mormon Temple is not special.


Going through the temple did not strengthen my faith. I went again and again hoping it would. I went to fit in. I went because it was what I “should do” to be a “good” mormon. I didn’t want to do anything “wrong” and I thought going to the temple a lot would help. It didn’t. Rose was conceived the evening after we had done three endowment sessions at stake temple day.


I hope you enjoyed this post. I really enjoyed writing it. Thanks for reading!

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Don't Wait Till they are Teens to Teach them about Sex

There are a lot of opinions about when parents should teach their children about sex. Ideas range from, as soon as they can understand (5-7) to, not till they reach puberty which is 12-14, or even 15 for some. RJ and I talked about this quite a bit and we have decided to teach our children as soon as they can understand.


RJ has a daughter from a previous marriage and she was taught about sex around 6 or 7. When she was asked if she knew where babies come from she would say, “Yes”. When someone asked her to explain she would say, “Ew, no that’s gross!” If you tell children at the right early age, and catch it before they are too curious about sex, you can curb the curiosity until they are old enough to understand the consequences.  
 When I was about seven, I had a friend tell me what sex was. She didn’t seem to know too much about it. I remember feeling awkward as she explained how a man puts his parts inside a woman, and then bounced a lot. My parents had not told me anything about sex or where babies come from. A couple weeks later I was talking to my older sister and she was shocked I knew what sex was and tattled on me. My mom asked me to explain to her what I thought sex was, I told her, “A man puts his parts inside a woman”. My mom said, “Yep that’s right.” and that was it. No further explanation, no reassurance to check I actually knew what sex was, nothing. I wasn’t allowed to hang out with that girl again, and things were awkward between her, me, and my parents for while.


My parents were very shy about teaching us about sex. One of my sisters who was at least 13 at the time, overheard boys talking about sex, blow jobs, and other sexual terms on the bus. She was too shy to ask my parents, so she started googling things. My dad found a long history of porn on the family laptop. She had been taking it up to her bedroom and searching words she didn’t understand. One night my parents called us all into their bedroom to confront us about who had been searching sexual topics. None of us fessed up but apparently the one who did it came back to my parents later that night and explained why she had started searching things.  


The mystery of sex to children is like Santa or The Tooth Fairy. Once little kids learn the secret they cannot keep it to themselves. I want to teach my children about sex as soon as possible. I want them to understand it’s a “adult thing” just like there are adult words and drinks. It’s not something our children need to talk about with their little friends. It’s a very important thing to know.


I do not want my children to be taught about sex by other children. I do not want my children to google sexual terms they don’t understand. I do not want to undo confusion caused by other children, or need to undo confusion caused by clicking on the wrong tab on the laptop, or purposely searching things.


We try to always use scientific terms with our children. Rose can already say vagina and penis. The other morning after RJ got out of the shower she was very curious about his penis. We just told her, “That’s daddy’s penis, boys have penises and girls have vaginas”. She understood, and hasn’t asked about it since. I think she was initially so curious because daddy looked different than her.


Children are very easy to teach. If you teach them, “this is how it is, this is normal”, they just understand and do not feel the need to question. The older children get, the more they question, the more explaining they need. It’s easy to explain sex is for adults.


We plan on using all scientific terms to teach our children about sex. Mommies have eggs, daddies have sperm. When a daddy puts his penis inside a mommy’s vagina he puts his sperm inside. The sperm and the egg together make a baby. The baby grows inside the mommy’s tummy for a long time, then the baby comes out of the mommy’s vagina. Sex is for making babies and to have fun, but it’s only for adults only.


I was extremely curious about boys when I was a teen. I think this was because I was never taught about sex as a child or even properly taught as a teen. I had my first boyfriend when I was 12, and was exploring more than kissing with boys by 14. I remember searching porn around 14 when I got my first iPod touch. I had internet access, but it was private, and history was erasable. I do not want my children to seek out porn for answers, porn is not bad, and is fine in moderation, but it is as close to real sex as James Bond movies are to real spies.


Some people who do not think children should be taught about sex till their later years think teaching their children about sex is taking away their innocence, or will force them to act older than they are. Teaching children about how their bodies work is very important. Educating children about sex will not make them grow up the second you tell them. Kids will be kids, they will be curious, don’t let them try and figure it out on their own or let other children confuse them.


This blog post was inspired by a small debate I got into with a friend about this. To hear her opinion (which is polar opposite of mine) please check out her blog post! "Frolicinflorida: I will not be teaching birds and bees"

Thanks for reading!


Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Why I am Attracted to Older Men

I like older men, and by like I mean love, attracted to physically, sexually, in every way possible. My husband and I have a 24 year age gap, I am 22 and he is 46. The easiest quickest reason I can give you to why I am attracted to older men is, I just am. It’s biological. I always found myself more attracted to older boys, sometimes even teachers in school, and friend’s dads. I like older men the same way some people like skinny people, curvy people, blondes, or brunettes. That’s the simplest answer I can give but want to get into the specifics a little more.


I’ve liked older boys/men for as long as I can remember. My second boyfriend was nearly two years older than me, I think I was 14 at the time. I know it sounds like nothing, but as a teen we were in separate grades and it felt like a big deal. I remember friends asking me if it was weird, but it wasn’t. It felt normal and natural.  


I have always been mature for my age. Everyone my age has always seemed young and immature. I was typically a floater in school, I knew most people, and had a few close friends, but wasn’t popular by any means. I always got along better with people older than me. It wasn’t something I thought about much till later in life. As I grew up, it felt like the boys my age didn’t grow up at the same rate. They just got more stupid as they got more independent, instead of smarter and more responsible. The guys who had finally figured out what they wanted to do with their lives are/were attractive to me.


I like men who actually look like men, not boys. There are a lot of guys my age who still look like babies, facially and physically. That doesn’t turn me on. I am turned on by strong angular faces, set jawlines, good facial hair, a bit of body hair (too much hair is gross, it don’t want to comb it). Younger guys do not have these things. Sorry guys, but for some women if you don’t look manly you’re not attractive (don’t get mad, you boys say similar things whether you admit it or not).


Physical attraction aside, most older men know what they are doing with their lives. Everyone at every point of their lives has to figure things out. Older people usually have a direction and are well on their way. Even though RJ’s life was a little messy when we met, and he has much more baggage than someone my age, he has an established career and income. He already figured out what he wanted to do with his life/career, and was all the way there when we met. Younger guys do not have their stuff put together. For example, I know someone who told his fiancee he was going to become a doctor. She thought she was marrying someone who knew what they wanted, and had a direction. It’s been over 5 years. So far they have lived in both their parent’s basements, and neither of them have attended a day in college, or had any children. All they’ve done is go to the beach and a few other small road trips. I don’t know about you but personally I would be furious if I married someone who had hooked me in with the doctor line, and 5 years later he is not on his way to becoming a doctor. He is not on his way to becoming everything.


This is why I like older men.


I see some of my friends who have married younger men, and see them struggle with money. It’s not easy. I’m glad it’s one of the many things I don’t have to worry about being married to an older man.


Yes older men have baggage, they also have experience… in everything… RJ’s life experience is incredibly valuable. For example, a while back, we got a huge bill that wasn’t right. I was seriously stressing about it. RJ knew how to dispute it. He knew our rights, and they could not even prove the bill was ours by the end. I’m sure things would have gone down differently if RJ did not have the experience and knowledge about what to do.


RJ is great in bed. I know I have mentioned this before, but the majority of the time experience is good, and sex is definitely one of them! RJ is wonderful, not only does he have a lot of experience but he takes instruction well too. If he had not had other sexual partners before me our sex would have probably gotten boring by now. Four and a half nearly five years later our sex is still developing, changing, and staying exciting. I love it!


Along with experience comes a lot of baggage. I am RJ’s fourth wife. People tried to convince me that was a bad thing (some still do). There are not a lot of statistics when it comes to fourth marriages. The few very small and limited studies show negative outcomes, however, statistics for age gap relationships tend show them to be very very successful when children and family are the focus of the relationship. RJ and I love kids, although Rose was not planned, and came at the worst time possible, she was exactly what we needed.


Getting here has not been easy, and a lot of people still do not approve of our relationship. RJ makes me very happy, if I had not met and fallen in love with him when I did, I have no idea where I would be in life. Chances are I would have gone to college and slept with my professors. I am attracted to older men and there is nothing I can do about it.

Thanks for reading!

Monday, October 3, 2016

What Happens Inside The Mormon Temple - Part 1

I have continued to get some negative responses for posting about The Mormon Church, and my ideas in general. The church was a really big part of my life, and writing about it helps me move on. If you don’t like what I’m writing about, read something else.

Today I’m going to write about what happens inside The Mormon Temple. I will not share every single detail, but if you are curious after reading this, you can watch videos of what goes on inside the temple, thanks to NewNameNoah. He has a Youtube channel where he has published secretly recorded videos of the things that go on in the temple. They are one hundred percent accurate and really interesting to watch, especially if you have never been to The Mormon Temple before.  

A few different things happen inside the temple. The first thing I want to explain is “work for the dead”. Mormons believe everyone will have the opportunity to become mormon when you die. Unless of course you are like me, and many other exmormons, you don’t get a second chance if you do not repent before you die. After you die in order to get to heaven you need to be baptized, get special underwear, and learn the secret handshakes, but you need a body to do all these things (yes, secret passwords and handshakes, I’m not joking), you also have to be married in the temple. Someone down here on earth with a body will do it for you by proxy (so you can still get to heaven). Growing up this sounded completely normal but now It just sounds like a whole lot of crazy.

Once you have done all the things that happen in the temple for yourself, every time after that you are doing it for some dead person. You can do it for dead family members at least one year after they have died, most the time people use random names the temple has (which they recycle).     

The first, is baptisms for the dead. Anyone who has been baptized, and is older than 12 can participate. It is something the “youth” (church members 12-17) do on a regular basis. Baptisms for the dead can only be done in the temple (your personal baptism can be held anywhere and you must be at least 8). It’s very repetitive and boring and involves being dunked in the baptismal font multiple times in a row. It goes something like this, you’re given a white jumpsuit and underthings then lead to the baptismal font where a “worthy priesthood holder” will baptize you for five to twenty dead people. It’s very repetitive, boring, and pointless. Watch this video of baptisms for the dead filmed with a hidden camera NewNameNoah's YouTube.   

When I was a teen we went on a regular basis. I was so into it that a group of my friends and I would wake up early and go do baptisms before school (I know I was a total molly mormon). I thought the more I went, maybe I would feel those amazing feelings I had felt before in non religious settings, but I never did. That planted the seeds of doubt in me. I didn’t realize I never wanted to be a part of The Mormon Church again, until I realized how much happier I was without it (not including all the research I did about church history, which definitely nailed the lid on the coffin for me).             

The next thing that happens in the temple, is washing and anointings, or initiatories. To be able to do initiatories you need to either have a mission call, be engaged with a temple wedding planned soon, or be older than 18 and your local church leaders have determined you are ready. This is when you get your mormon underwear/garments. Up until 2005 this was done almost naked. You were instructed to take all your clothes, and underwear off and put a “shield” on. The shield was basically a rectangular piece of fabric with a hole for your head. You’re blessed with water, and anointed with oil (which involved naked touching). At the end someone would put your garments on for you. After you have done it for yourself you are “supposed” to do it for the dead by proxy. I know many people who did it once for themselves and never went back until the rules changed.

After 2005 you were told to put your garments on then put the shield on top. The shield was altered, sewn closed on the sides, and a zipper was installed, so it was more like a poncho. When I did my washings and anointings this is how I did it. It was still so weird. Just recently they changed the rules again. Now you wear your temple clothes (a completely white outfit) with your garments underneath, but don’t wear a shield. It confuses me so much as a kid that the rules in The Mormon Church are continually changing. The rules throughout the entire Mormon religion are always changing, not just about the temple either.

Washing and anointings were super boring and I do not remember any details. All I remember is lots of prayers/blessings. You go between four phone booth sized rooms, with doorways connecting eachother covered by curtains. One part of the ceremony happens in each room. When you are doing them for the dead and I remember getting dizzy, because you go around and around. For details about washing and anointings, NewNameNoah has a really good video of them. Washing and anointings are the one thing in the whole Mormon Church where women are allowed to perform anything that requires the priesthood (although it’s not acknowledged, The Mormon Church is very misogynistic).

The next thing is “The Endowment”. The endowment is where you earn the secret handshakes, and sayings to get into heaven. I will be writing a separate post about the endowment because it is so involved.

The last thing that happens in the temple, is marriages. They are called sealings. Mormons believe you have to be married in the temple and sealed, to be able to with your spouse forever. This is also a crucial part of your salvation, if you are not sealed you do not make it to the best part of heaven (mormons believe there are 3 different heavens and in the highest heaven 3 more levels of that heaven, they also believe in hell (but mormons call it outer darkness). That’s where I would be going if I believed in such craziness). Sealings are the ONLY thing in the temple you can do for a dead person if you have not done it for yourself. I never went to a sealing but from what I hear they are pretty boring, and there are more misogynistic promises. NewNameNoah has a video of a sealing.  

Huge thanks to NewNameNoah for secretly filming every inch of the temple, watching his videos was a great refresher for writing this and my next post.

I’m excited to share about “The Endowment” next. I went many times. I am not going to hold back and plan on giving all the details. Thanks for reading!