FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Question: What is the "second anointing"?
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Important note: Members of FAIR take their temple covenants seriously. We consider the temple teachings to be sacred, and will not discuss their specifics in a public forum.
This page is based on an answer to a question submitted to the FAIR web site, or a frequently asked question.
Contents
Questions
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FAIR often receives questions about a temple ordinance called "the second anointing." The questions usually revolve around the following issues:
- "What is the second anointing?"
- "Is this account of the second anointing that I've seen accurate?"
Detailed Analysis
The second anointing is an ordinance performed in the temple. It is not regarded as an essential ordinance which one must receive in this life for exaltation. In the early Utah period, this ordinance was performed more widely than it is today.
Those who receive the second anointing would not discuss the specifics in any public forum, in or out of the Church. Written accounts that purport to describe the second anointing should be viewed with extreme caution and skepticism, since by the nature of the subject they cannot be confirmed. Even those aware of problems with such accounts would not correct such inaccuracies.
FAIR is confident that no faithful Latter-day Saint would want to learn about such a sacred matter from unauthorized sources. Furthermore, no Latter-day Saint would wisely seek such information prematurely, any more than a parent would want a child to read an unauthorized transcript of the temple endowment prior to attending the temple for the first time.
Adequate, reliable, circumspect information can be found in recent Church publications on the subjects of "calling and election made sure," "fullness of the priesthood," and "sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise." For an excellent example, see Bruce R. McConkie's article in the June 1978 New Era, a publication sanctioned by the Brethren, entitled "Celestial Marriage":
- "In order to get a proper marriage one must do this: first, search for and seek out celestial marriage—find the right ordinance; second, look for a legal administrator, someone who holds the sealing power—and that power is exercised only in the temples that the Lord has had built by the tithing and sacrifice of his people in our day; and third, so live in righteousness, uprightness, integrity, virtue, and morality that he is entitled to have the Holy Spirit of God ratify and seal and justify and approve, and in that event his marriage is sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise and is binding in time and in eternity."
It is worthwhile to study what Joseph Smith and the apostles taught on these subjects while temple ordinances were being restored in Nauvoo. Wilford Woodruff summarized one of Brigham Young's addresses in his journal which is cited in History of the Church (Vol. 5 p. 527):
- "He also remarked that if any in the Church had the fullness of the Melchisedec Priesthood, he did not know it. For any person to have the fullness of that priesthood, he must be a king and priest. A person may have a portion of that priesthood, the same as governors or judges of England have power from the king to transact business; but that does not make them kings of England. A person may be anointed king and priest long before he receives his kingdom."
We recommend reading respected Mormon historians Ronald K. Esplin's "Joseph, Brigham, and the Twelve: A succession of continuity" in BYU Studies 21:3 and Richard L. Bushman's Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling for further exposition and context for this teaching.
FAIR will provide no further details on this topic.