Mormon Temple Covenants

If you proceed and receive your full endowment, you will be required to take upon yourselves sacred obligations, the violation of which will bring upon you the judgment of God; for God will not be mocked. If any of you desire to withdraw rather than accept these obligations of your own free will and choice, you may now make it known by raising your hand.

It seems fair to give the patron the obligation to withdraw from the ceremony.  But there is a serious problem with how it is done: the patron does not know at this point in the ceremony exactly what the sacred obligations are that he or she will be required to take upon himself or herself.  It's as if they present you with a contract and say if you sign it you will be required to fulfill some specific obligations.  They then make you decide whether or not you will sign it before they allow you to read the contract and know specifically what you are agreeing to.

For numerous reasons, I don't believe the promises made in the temple are binding.  Nevertheless, the savvy investigator will want to know what specific commitments lay ahead of him or her on the road through the Mormon church.  That is the need I am attempting to fill here.

1. Garments:  (Garments are the underwear that Mormons receive in the Temple.  When you are placed in the garments, you are given the following commandment and promise, and are subsequently asked in interviews by your bishop if you wear your church-authorized garments both day and night) I place this Garment upon you, which you must wear throughout your life. It represents the Garment given to Adam when he was found naked in the Garden of Eden, and is called the Garment of the Holy Priesthood. Inasmuch as you do not defile it, but are true and faithful to your covenants, it will be a shield and a protection to you against the power of the destroyer until you have finished your work here on earth.
    
2. Law of Obedience (women): You and each of you solemnly covenant and promise before God, angels, and these witnesses at this altar that you will each observe and  keep the law of the Lord and hearken unto the counsel of your husband as he hearkens unto the counsel of the Father. Each of you bow your head and say "Yes."
   
   Law of Obedience (men):  You and each of you solemnly covenant and promise before God, angles, and these witnesses at this altar that you will obey the law of God, and keep his commandants. Each of you bow your head and say "yes".
    
3. Law of Sacrifice: The posterity of Adam down to Moses, and from Moses to Jesus Christ offered up the first fruits of the field, and the firstlings of the flock, which continued until the death of Jesus Christ, which ended sacrifice by the shedding of blood. And as Jesus Christ has laid down his life for the redemption of mankind, so we should covenant to sacrifice all that we possess, even our own lives if necessary, in sustaining and defending the Kingdom of God.
   
   You and each of you solemnly covenant and promise before God, angels, and these witnesses at this alter that you will observe and keep the Law of Sacrifice, as contained in the Holy Scriptures, as it has been explained to you. Each of you bow your head and say "yes."
    
4. Tokens, Names, and Signs:  (A token is a specific handshake, a name is a specific word or phrase, and a sign is a specific gesture with the hands and arms.  The temple endowment has 4 tokens, each with an associated name and sign.  When the tokens are given, you promise never to reveal it, nor the accompanying name and sign.  This is the introduction to the first token which, for the purposes of this page, will represent the promise of secrecy regarding all of the names, signs, and tokens of the temple)  We desire to impress upon your minds the sacred character of the First Token of the Aaronic Priesthood, with its accompanying name and sign, as well as that of all the other tokens of the Holy Priesthood, with their names, and signs, which you will receive in the temple this day. They are most sacred, and are guarded by solemn covenants and obligations made in the presence of God, Angels and these witnesses to hold them sacred and under no condition, even at the peril of your life, will you ever divulge them, except at a certain place in the temple that will be shown you hereafter. 
    
5. Law of the Gospel: We are required to give unto you the Law of the Gospel as contained in the Holy Scriptures; to give unto you also a charge to avoid all lightmindedness, loud laughter, evil speaking of the Lord's anointed, the taking of the name of God in vain, and every other unholy and impure practice, and to cause you to receive these by covenant.
   
   You and each of you covenant and promise before God, angels, and these witnesses at this altar, that you will observe and keep the Law of the Gospel and this charge as it has been explained to you. Each of you bow your head and say "yes."
    
6. Law of Chastity: We are instructed to give unto you the law of Chastity, which is that you shall have no sexual relations except with your husband or wife to whom you are legally and lawfully wedded.
   
   You and each of you covenant and promise before God, angels, and these witnesses that you will observe and keep the Law of Chastity, as it has been explained to you. Each of you bow your head and say "yes."
    
7. The Law of Consecration: You and each of you covenant and promise before God, angels, and these witnesses at this altar, that you do accept the Law of Consecration as contained in the Doctrine and Covenants, in that you do consecrate yourselves, your time, talents, and everything with which the Lord has blessed you, or with which he may bless you, to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for the building up of the Kingdom of God on the earth and for the establishment of Zion.

That is it--the covenants and promises that you should be prepared to make if and when you go to the temple. 

Some Additional Thoughts...

To me, the central theme of an advanced spiritual ritual should be love.  It should be about getting in touch with your own humanity and the way in which people are connected and interdependent.  It should make you more sensitive to the needs, feelings, and virtues of others.  It should teach you to be less judgmental of other people.

In contrast, the central theme of the covenants of the endowment isn't love, but rather  loyalty.  Obey the church, sacrifice all you have for the church, don't speak evil of the leaders of the church (without regard to whether or not that speech would be true), and give yourself, your time, and everything you own to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The most appealing part of the Endowment ceremony is Adam's noble quest for further light and knowledge.  I really like Adam's no-compromise attitude when it comes to his perceptions and his integrity. 

The least appealing part is the attitude of elitism it gives--it gives God's secret handshakes to God's chosen people wearing God's holy underwear on their journey to becoming gods, goddesses, kings, and queens.  It tries to motivate through pride and greed rather than charity and love..