A temple garment, also referred to as garments, the garment of the holy priesthood, or Mormon underwear, is a type of underwear worn by adherents of the Latter Day Saint movement after they have taken part in the endowment ceremony. Garments are required for any individual who previously participated in the endowment ceremony to enter a temple. The undergarments are viewed as a symbolic reminder of the covenants made in temple ceremonies and are seen as a symbolic and/or literal source of protection from the evils of the world.
The garment is given as part of the washing and anointing portion of the endowment. Today, the temple garment is worn primarily by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and by members of some Mormon fundamentalist churches. Adherents consider them to be sacred and not suitable for public display. Anti-Mormon activists have occasionally publicly displayed or defaced temple garments to express their opposition to the LDS Church.
Temple garments are sometimes derided as "magic underwear" by non-Mormons, but Mormons view this terminology to be both misleading and offensive.
Purpose
According to the LDS Church, the temple garments serve a number of purposes. First, the garment provides the member "a constant reminder" of the covenants they made in the temple. Second, the garment "when properly worn ... provides protection against temptation and evil." Wearing the garment is also "an outward expression of an inward commitment" to follow Jesus Christ. General authority Carlos E. Asay adds that the garment "strengthens the wearer to resist temptation, fend off evil influences, and stand firmly for the right."
The nature of the protection believed to be afforded by temple garments is ambiguous and varies between adherents. Researchers who interviewed a sample of Latter-day Saints who wear the temple garment reported that virtually all wearers expressed a belief that wearing the garment provided "spiritual protection" and encouraged them to keep their covenants. Some of those interviewed "asserted that the garment also provided physical protection, while others seemed less certain of any physical aspect to protection." In Mormon folklore, tales are told of Latter-day Saints who credit their temple garments with helping them survive car wrecks, fires, and natural disasters.
In 2015, the LDS Church released an explanatory video online that showed photographs of both temple garments and the outer clothing used in temple worship. The video states that there "is nothing magical or mystical about temple garments."
Sanctity among members
To members of the LDS Church, the temple garment represents the sacred and personal aspects of their relationship with God. Church president Joseph F. Smith taught that the garment was to be held as "the most sacred of all things in the world, next to their own virtue, next to their own purity of life." For this reason, most church members feel uncomfortable discussing the garment in a casual or disrespectful manner. Some church leaders have compared the garment to the clerical vestments worn by clergy of other churches. Church leaders have publicly discussed the above principles and beliefs in general terms since the mid-1840s. Many Latter-day Saints view the garment associated with the temple rites as sacred. Some church members have criticized the sale of garments on online auction sites.
Garment origins and evolution
The garment as first described in the 1840s was a one-piece undergarment extending to the ankles and the wrists, resembling a union suit, with an open crotch and a collar. It was made of unbleached cotton and was held together with ties in a double knot. Most garments were home-made.
Garment markings
The original garment had four marks that were snipped into the cloth as part of the original Nauvoo endowment ceremony. These marks were a reverse-L-shaped symbol on the right breast, a V-shaped symbol on the left breast, and horizontal marks at the navel and over the right knee. These cuts were later replaced by embroidered or screen-printed symbols.
The marks in the garments are sacred symbols. Thus, the V-shaped symbol on the left breast was referred to as "The Compasses", while the reverse-L-shaped symbol on the right breast was referred to by early church leaders as "The Square".