Lent 2026 Day 2 – The Temple
I went to the temple today. I'm trying to go at least once a week during lent. In the LDS faith, the temple is a separate experience from Sunday meetings at your local church building. It was peaceful and reverent, but I didn't get any answers or have any profound experiences.
It was familiar. But it was uncomfortable. Because I was asking myself: could I really walk away from all of this? From the faith that has always been a part of my identity and shaped every aspect of my life to this point? From the community and culture? It's scary to think about.
I don't know for sure yet if God wants me to go in a different direction. All I know is I still have an insatiable desire to learn more about Catholicism, and the more I learn, the more I feel drawn to it.
And the more I learn about the history of the LDS church, the more questions I have and the more uncomfortable I feel about it.
Like the discovery I made earlier today.
For some reason, I found myself reading about Emma Smith – the first wife of Joseph Smith – on Wikipedia. And I went down a rabbit hole, as one does, exploring various related topics and links on Wikipedia. Somehow, I found myself reading the Wikipedia article about the “Second Anointing”.
The “Second Anointing” is an ordinance that is still performed in LDS temples today and dates back to Joseph Smith.
And I had never heard of it before today.
I have been an active, faithful member of the church my entire life. I served as a full-time LDS missionary in Brazil for two years. I have served in various callings, including the lay clergy (two bishoprics and stake high council). And today I found out there is a secret temple ordinance my own church has never taught me about.
The only reference to “second anointing” that you can find on the church website is from a teacher manual telling the teachers to never discuss or answer questions about it.
And this is only the latest of several discoveries I've made about LDS church history that have left me reeling.
Yes, “reeling” is an apt word to describe how I'm feeling right now.
#100DaysToOffload (No. 132) #faith #Lent #Christianity