#80184 - endowment without mission/marriage

[Katya]

http://theboard.byu.edu/questions/80184/

Like the other writers have said, the Church has eased off on the tradition that women should be planning on marriage or a mission in order to get their endowments.

I'm not sure if Heidi Book doesn't know this or if she simply didn't phrase it clearly, but it was not a mere "tradition" that prevented women from going through temple in the absence of a mission or a (temple) marriage, it was a pretty strict policy that lasted I think until about the mid-90s. (E.g., growing up, we had a neighbor who was active along with her kids, but she wasn't endowed because her husband was inactive and they'd never been sealed.) Since that policy was changed, I've heard of a lot of variation between bishops and stakes as to how young a woman can be or the circumstances under which they'll allow it, although most seem to allow it for women who are at least 25 or older.

[Shrinky Dink]

I always heard 26 as the magic age to get endowed if you weren't married or serving a mission. I don't know why, but I just remember it being 26.

One of my friends is wanting to receive her endowment (she's 22) and her stake president is pretty against it at the moment. Interesting enough, my sister-in-law has been endowed for a bit (currently 23) even though she isn't married and hasn't served a mission. Even after the policy change, it varies a lot from stake to stake. It could be the worthiness of my friend and SIL, but from what I know, they're both worthy, active members with strong testimonies.

[Portia]

What about unmarried, non-missionary LDS men? Is it the proverbial "white, free, and twenty-one"?

[NovemberEast]

Sort of off topic, but mostly an example of an exception to the 25/26 rule:

Around 2003, there was a girl who stayed at my parents house for the summer while she was doing an unpaid internship. She was maybe 20 and had recently been endowed. We talked a lot during the summer and she revealed that the decision came after the death of one of her siblings. If I remember correctly, going to the temple was important to her as a comfort and a way to feel closer to God, her family, and the deceased loved one. A year or so later she went on a mission and then got married shortly after her return.

Unmarried, unendowed, non rm lds men are probably encouraged to strive for a mission until whatever the magic age is that they're too old. So I bet that's the main reason they would get endowed. After that, i'm sure it's the same as with women, based on worthyness and an interview.

[yayfulness]

My sister (age 20) got engaged shortly after I did, but my wedding was at the end of April and hers was in August. Her stake president would not let her receive her endowment until immediately before her wedding, meaning she wasn't allowed to attend mine. I'm still rather unhappy about that.

[Zedability]

My stake doesn't let missionaries go through the temple until less than one month before they leave on their mission. The neighbouring stake has missionaries get endowed as soon as they get their calls and serve as temple workers until they leave. Different philosophies of different stake presidents.

[Tally M.]

Yeah, I have a roommate who got endowed over the summer (age 20) without any mission or marriage in sight. It's a gradually changing policy.

[Zedability]

I also remember reading an article when the age change was lowered stating that many temple workers were initially worried about letting people so young make temple covenants. So I think at least at first, there were concenrs with letting even them get endowed young. Over time, it probably demonstrated that younger people were ready for it in general.

[Whistler]

I wonder if it was always that way, or if single women ever got their endowments at a young age earlier in church history.

[Zedability]

I wonder at what age both men AND women got their endowments before the "19 for guys, 21 for girls" mission ages were established. Like, back in the 1800s, presumably most people who got married young would take them out then, but when did single people take them out? That would be interesting to see if it was older or younger, and if there was a gender difference.

[Yarjka]

Well, there's one experience that is pretty well known:

At the age of fifteen, Smith was called to go on his first LDS mission to the Sandwich Islands (designated the Hawaiian Islands after acquisition as a territory of the United States) under the direction of apostle Parley P. Pratt. Smith was ordained an elder by George A. Smith on April 24, 1854 and received his endowment at the Endowment House the same day. (source)

[Marduk]

What about unmarried, non-missionary LDS men? Is it the proverbial "white, free, and twenty-one"?

Most bishops I've heard basically say that not wanting to go on a mission, when physically able, is a sign of unworthiness. Hence they'd probably wait until the man in question got married, went on a mission, or aged out of eligibility.

[vorpal blade]

http://theboard.byu.edu/questions/80184/

Like the other writers have said, the Church has eased off on the tradition that women should be planning on marriage or a mission in order to get their endowments.

I'm not sure if Heidi Book doesn't know this or if she simply didn't phrase it clearly, but it was not a mere "tradition" that prevented women from going through temple in the absence of a mission or a (temple) marriage, it was a pretty strict policy that lasted I think until about the mid-90s. (E.g., growing up, we had a neighbor who was active along with her kids, but she wasn't endowed because her husband was inactive and they'd never been sealed.) Since that policy was changed, I've heard of a lot of variation between bishops and stakes as to how young a woman can be or the circumstances under which they'll allow it, although most seem to allow it for women who are at least 25 or older.

As a single data point I have a female cousin who was endowed before she turned 24 in 1973. She wasn’t planning on going on a mission and she had no immediate prospects for getting married. She was living at home with her parents and just felt left out when they went to the temple all the time without her. So she talked to her bishop about it. It seemed a bit unusual to me at the time, and I wondered if other young women just didn’t ask, or weren’t really interested.

The policy has been for a long time (I’d say at least back to the 1960’s) that eligibility to receive an endowment should be determined by the bishop and stake president “individually for each person rather than using routine criteria such as reaching a certain age or leaving home for college or employment.”

There was a policy that “Bishops should not issue temple recommends to young, unendowed prospective missionaries until they have received a mission call from the President of the Church.”

The case of a member married to a non-endowed person used to be kind of a special one, Katya. “A worthy member who is married to an unendowed spouse, whether the spouse is a member or nonmember, may receive a recommend when (1) the bishop receives the written consent of the spouse and (2) the bishop and stake president are satisfied that the responsibility assumed with the endowment will not impair marital harmony.”

I don’t recall any of my ancestors from 1830 onward who were endowed without temple marriage or mission.