Mormons Summon Those Who Spoke to Media of Temple Rites

Most Mormon Church members quoted last month in news stories about revisions in the church’s confidential temple ceremony have been summoned for interviews by church officials, it was learned this week.

News of the revisions was made public after The Times and other news media learned through various sources that three elements in the secret rites had been eliminated: the woman’s vow to obey her husband, a scenario suggesting that non-Mormon clergy succumb to Satan’s wiles, and oath-taking gestures with violent overtones. It was believed that none of the church members quoted broke vows to keep the contents secret.

One man said he was “reprimanded” for talking to the press and another was asked to surrender his “temple recommend,” the annually renewed permission for members in good standing to participate in temple ceremonies.

But Robert Rees, a Mormon bishop in Los Angeles, said he had an “amicable conversation” with a regional church authority about his comments to The Times. “There was nothing heavy or ominous about it,” Rees said.

Lavina Fielding Anderson of Salt Lake City, editor-elect of the Journal of Mormon History, said she talked twice last month to her regional authority, the second time as a part of the interview to renew her temple recommend. Both talks were “positive,” without qualification, she said in a prepared statement.

“It seems to me that the temple modifications have been received among members with almost universal rejoicing as a manifestation of inspiration,” Anderson said. “The press, with a few exceptions, has reported them positively and respectfully.”

As a faithful church member, she said, “I appreciated the opportunity of affirming these changes . . . rather than having reporters collect commentary exclusively from known detractors.” Ex-Mormon critics had alerted the news media to the changes.

The public communications office of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints issued a statement Thursday, defending the questioning of members and reemphasizing the sacred confidentiality of the temples.

“When they leave the house of the Lord they are under obligation to be true to a sacred trust not to speak of that which is holy and sanctified,” the statement said. “Therefore, it is appropriate that church leaders visit with members when comments about the temple or other sacred matters are made public and are attributed to them in the news media.”

Ron Priddis, executive vice president of Signature Books in Salt Lake City, said he was reprimanded during his interview with a church authority. Priddis was quoted briefly by The Times in a story last month. He called the revisions “the most significant change in the church since blacks received the priesthood in 1978.” His only other published quote was: “In a church that is so patriarchal, that’s quite a step.”

Another man, who did not wish to be identified, was asked to relinquish his temple privileges, but that matter is still pending, he said.

But one church member who was quoted--Keith Norman of the Cleveland area--said Thursday he has not been called for an interview.

“I’ve had no feedback from church officials,” he said in a telephone interview. Norman was quoted as saying that in a talk he gave to a Mormon group this year he criticized the so-called penalty gestures (such as running a hand across one’s throat) as “outgrowing their usefulness.”