The Endowment
A gift of power and a set of covenants, given in the temple to prepare the Saints to return to God.
What the Endowment Is
The endowment is a sacred temple ordinance for prepared adult members of the Church. The word itself carries the meaning: to endow is to give a gift and to clothe. In the endowment a person is given knowledge and power from God and enters into a series of covenants with Him. It is not a lecture or a class; it is an ordinance, received once for oneself and afterward performed in behalf of the dead.
The pattern is ancient. The Savior told His apostles to wait in Jerusalem until they were clothed with power before beginning their ministry.
“Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”
That same word — endued, or endowed — is what the Lord used for the latter-day temple. He commanded the Saints to build a house where He could give them what He had promised the ancient apostles.
“For they shall be endowed with power from on high … for behold, I have prepared a great endowment and blessing to be poured out upon them.”
What Is Taught and Covenanted
The endowment teaches the plan of salvation in order — the Creation, the Fall, the mortal probation, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and the way back into the presence of God. It is the whole plan, presented so that a person can see their own life within it.
Within the ordinance, members make five covenants with God: to keep the law of obedience, the law of sacrifice, the law of the gospel, the law of chastity, and the law of consecration. Each is a commitment to live as a disciple of Christ, and each carries a promised blessing. The specific words and forms of the ordinance are sacred and are not discussed outside the temple — not because they are secret, but because they are holy, and holy things are protected by reverence.
This is the consistent scriptural pattern: God gives sacred things in sacred places, on sacred terms. The reticence is not concealment. It is respect.
Power and Protection
The endowment gives two things at once. It provides power and protection for daily life in mortality — strength against temptation and the trials of a fallen world — and it provides the ordinances required to return to God and receive eternal life. It qualifies a person, with the sealing that follows it, for exaltation.
This is why members return to the temple again and again to receive the endowment for the dead. Everyone who has ever lived needs these same covenants and this same power, and the living can extend them to those who died without the opportunity.
Key References
- Luke 24:49 — Endued with power from on high
- D&C 105:11–12 — The Lord's promised endowment
- D&C 109:22 — The Saints armed with power out of the temple
- The Family: A Proclamation to the World — Temple covenants and eternal families
Preparing to Receive It
The endowment is received when a person is spiritually prepared — usually before serving a mission or being married in the temple, and after meeting the standards of worthiness confirmed in an interview with priesthood leaders. It is not a hurdle to clear but a gift to grow into; members spend a lifetime understanding more of what they received.
What the endowment finally offers is a way home. It clothes a person with power for the journey of mortality and gives them the covenants and ordinances that open the door back into the presence of the Father.