To expound on Dave’s post last week on Secret Menus, let’s discuss the “why” there are secrets. Even Christ himself told some of his followers to keep secrets. After he healed a leper, he told the man:
See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
Mark 1:44
He did the same when he raised the daughter of Jaures from the dead (Mark 5:43) and when he healed the def and mute man (7: 36) One explanation on why Jesus did this is he didn’t want these miracles to overshadow the words he was teaching.
Let’s review some of the reasons we keep secrets today.
The first, and the one I’m most familiar with is keeping state secrets that could damage the security of a country if exposed. Over the course of my career working for the US Defense Department, I’ve had to sign multiple non disclosure agreements (NDAs) These prohibit me from sharing certain information with anybody unless the person has the proper clearance, and a need to know. These are lifelong commitments, and in fact I even have to submit any writings I do that touches on the subject matter I worked in for review, even a work of fiction. If I violate these I not only lose my job, but most likely my freedom (unless I’m a former Secretary of State or President)
The next reason is business secrets, trade secrets, and the like. Things that if known could hurt your business. Think the recipe for Coke. Lots of people sign NDAs if they are privy to the inner working of a business.
The last reason are the secrets that are held because the information in embarrassing. This is not allowed in my line of work. In my training on when to classify (make secret) information, we are prohibited from classifying information just because it would be embarrassing if it was disclosed.
I have a family friend that once worked for a very famous actress/singer as a personal assistant. They had to sign an NDA on what they heard and saw during their employment. This is very common with people at this level of popularity. They don’t want the public to know details of their life that could distract from their “brand”, which could in turn reduce their earning potential.
What are the reasons that the Mormon Church keeps secrets? Does it fall mostly in this 3rd category (embarrassment)?
Why is the temple endowment secret? The Church’s answer is the “pearl before swine” explanation, or sacred not secret. But I think it has a lot to do with embarrassment. How many new converts would the Church get if every investigator watched the whole endowment ceremony on the internet before baptism. The Second Anointing is secret again because it is embarrassing to the leaders that only they, their family and friends get this ordinance.
The hiding of the money is another secret that is easy to find out why. Again, embarrassment of wealth. Roger Clarke, who leads Ensign Peak, has said that part of the reason the Church sought to conceal its wealth was to ensure continued tithing by believers.
Why is the Church so secretive with the attendance numbers of its members? Would it be embarrassing that only 30% or the members are active? What about temple attendance numbers?
Are there other reasons I missed on the above on why the Church keeps these things secret?
What are some other reasons you’ve seen for keeping secrets?
Wheat & Tares 
Life has so many hidden secrets, either so humans search and apply their minds, or to keep ones working and giving hope in the to-come events or future. I think it is for the good but some secrets have to be exposed for the good too.
Milk before meat.
Arithmetic before higher math.
Music fundamentals before theory and counterpoint.
The gospel of repentance before the mysteries of the Kingdom.
The thought that is going through my mind is confidential versus secret. I don’t have an issue with some things being confidential. Things like how much an individual paid in tithing, which individuals or families are receiving financial assistance, who is going through a repentance process, and the like. I do have an issue with secrets.
I don’t agree with Jack regarding “mysteries of the kingdom”. The church hasn’t been keeping the mysteries of the kingdom secret. They don’t even know the mysteries of the kingdom, but that’s another story. No, they keep many truths masked and hidden because they’ve lied and deceived and don’t want to be exposed. Again with Jack – I don’t have an issue with milk before meat, meaning (to me) new converts learn the basics and progress. No, when a member has been in the church for over 50 years, studied and taught, then discovers that basic tenets of the faith have been lied about and kept secret from the membership, that’s a problem. As a member, one should know what the church actually believes because you’re supposedly a representative of that church.
I think you’re being kind when you describe one reason the church keeps secrets as embarrassment. To be less kind, they keep secrets to keep their fraud hidden as well as to give illusions of reality that are not true. Keeping attendance statistics secret is an attempt to not let members know if they were steady, gaining, or dropping. Let’s be real, if they were gaining that intel would be shared. The church does share humanitarian contributions, but keeps the fact that they now include member fast offerings/distribution as part of that total quiet. That fuels the illusion that the church is giving all this aid away, when in fact a large percentage is not coming from the fat church coffers.
A lot of secrets were shared in Dave’s previous post, so in addition to fraud as a motivation for secrecy, I think another reason for the secrets is for retention. For many of us, as we learn these secrets we feel betrayed, lose trust, and don’t want to be associated with a fraudulent organization: we don’t want to be a representive any longer.
A simple reason for secrecy in the church in my opinion is what I call the “All is well in Zion” facade.
How many times during a Bishopric/PEC meeting did someone disclose something, that was supposed to remain private. “I should not say this, but so you are all aware that such and such family…..”
NDA’s should be required for SP/Bishops hearing confessions, RS/Primary/YW Presidency members and all other gabby gossip types.
Since they know no boundaries and share this information with no apologies, it is better to keep them in the dark and not share your private life, life’s challenges, or deeds with them. In the temple there is a covenant about no evil speaking of the Lord’s Anointed. This is not only for the decision-makers; every one that went through the temple was anointed. When the decision-makers, speak out of line and disclose private information, they are now speaking evil of the Lord’s Anointed and breaking their own temple covenant. How the tables are turned !
Two reasons I can think of that the church keeps secrets. 1) Joseph Smith promoted himself as a prophet and as such billed himself as privy to mysterious knowledge. 2) Smith was influenced by Masonry.
By not putting the history of polygamy in the lessons that get translated, the church effectively keeps polygamy secret from new converts who do not speak English. My son went to Brazil on his mission. While there one of the bishops of a ward came to him VERY distressed. As he associated with the American missionaries, over his 20 years as a member, he was picking up quite a bit of English. His English got good enough that he was trying to learn to read in English too. So, he was sending away for Amazon books about the church. And of course he found polygamy. At first he was sure that he was translating the word wrong, then he was horrified. So, he came to a missionary out of Utah who he trusted to tell him the truth. The bishop felt so lied to, because 20+ years and he had never heard that Mormons were infamous in the US for polygamy. None of the many many missionaries from the US had ever bothered to tell him.
I think in not discussing the ugly parts of our history, we do more damage. Brazil, for example. The converts are not highly educated, they live in cardboard, scrap wood, and cinderblock houses, with old rugs as doors. They trust the missionaries with a very childlike trust, and not sharing such a BIG ugly thing in our history violates that trust.
Could we have the seer stone and hat on the pulpit at General Conference? One never knows when a revelation might be unleashed…
The church provides everything necessary to get us onto the high road that leads to eternal life. There’s nothing to stop us from getting on that road except our own unbelief. And in turn–there’s nothing to stop us from learning the mysteries of the Kingdom once we’ve gotten on that road and strive to move forward.
So what does it matter if the church protects information having to do with its earnings? That’s a trivial concern compared to the blessings that the church offers to those who seek them. The church possesses the keys that empower us to literally ascend and inherit the universe. So let’s not get bogged down by not knowing how every dime is spent by the church.
And I’d say the same thing regarding anything else that may give us pause. How does it measure against the blessings that are promised to the faithful? I don’t know of anything in the church’s present or past–however negatively it may be viewed by some–that even comes close to out-weighing the blessings that await the faithful.
Jack, that’s lazy thinking. Things could be better. Your thinking is an excuse to propagate bad behavior.
Oh, no, @Jack
This is the same logic that religious terrorists use for flying passenger airliners into skyscrapers full of innocent people. Their supporters may cringe a bit at the deaths, but what are the deaths of a few thousand mortals when compared with obtaining the eternal glory of God (plus the 72 virgins)?
I think many would agree that any mortal suffering or wrongdoing is nothing compared to eternal happiness, yet that doesn’t mean that any religion, including the supposedly “Only True and Living Church” should just get a free pass whenever the humans running them do something wrong. If we take your reasoning to its logical conclusion, the Church could commit literally any atrocity imaginable, and you would just look the other way so you wouldn’t lose your chance at “exaltation”. I seriously hope that that is not really what you believe.
Can you give an example of something that if the Church did it (even if you believe there is no way the Church would ever do it) would “even come close to out-weighing the blessings that await the faithful”?
“How does it measure against the blessings that are promised to the faithful?“
That sounds exactly like so what if he beats me sometimes at least I have a roof over my head and food on the table.
I’m sorry you’re not strong enough or honest enough to address that, Jack, but I hope you never try to gaslight someone else from taking an honest evaluation of the relationship.
I think there should be NDAs in church. The ward council has already been mentioned. So many members are vilified and gossiped about there. Of course, it is done lovingly. Nothing like getting a pat and knife in the back simultaneously from local church leaders. I’ve been there.
But I also think parents should have NDAs regarding their children. Don’t talk about your teen’s rebelliousness or issues at church. Ever.
Jack, it is about trust, honesty, and you know, virtues that Jesus would DEMAND his prophets have. If they cannot even be honest, how can I trust them to “speak for God”? I can’t. They are not prophets, they are lying con men.
I like the distinction between secret and confidential, brought up by familywomen. Personal matters should remain confidential. I’ve had a couple of bad experiences with things that I said in confidence to ward leaders being reported publicly. Horrible result. Don’t do that.
Secrets for the sake of preserving an entity’s reputation is wrong and will always backfire sooner or later. Then the Church has to deal not only with the secret, but with the cover-up.
As a lawyer, I’m bound by ethical rules to keep a lot of things confidential. Some of it is really interesting and I’m tempted to say stuff that I shouldn’t. What stops me is accepting that it isn’t my information to share. I learned the information in order to advise a business about what it should do. The information isn’t mine. I have to “give it back” by never bringing it up to anyone else.
The Church acts like it owns its history and finances. However, the Church gets its finances from us, the tithe-paying (and former tithe-paying) members. No, it shouldn’t have secrets about the way it’s using members’ money. History too. I’ve got pioneer ancestry. I married another pioneer descendant. I’ve read all the personal pioneer histories written by both sides. When the Church whitewashes its history, it’s ignoring my family’s personal history, and my XH’s personal history. There were some crappy Church members and pretending everyone was just a little bit imperfect is wrong. That’s my history too. When the Church lies about its history, it’s lying about my history too.
I don’t usually respond twice, but Jack is pushing my buttons for some reason today. Regarding the comment ” How does it measure against the blessings that are promised to the faithful?” The church can promise anything it wants and anything you want to hear because there is absolutely no way to verify if those promises are true. You hope they are, and some people spend their lives jumping through elaborate hoops to qualify, but hope doesn’t equate fact.The fact is, we actually don’t know what eternity really holds, though we have our ideas and hopes.
Someone took my handle:
“Jack, that’s lazy thinking. Things could be better. Your thinking is an excuse to propagate bad behavior.”
Maybe. But thing is–I don’t consider what the church is doing with its finances–or anything else for that matter–to be bad behavior. Of course there’s always room for improvement–but my hope is that when we consider what the Lord offers us by means of the church–warts and all–that it might cause us to take a step back and reevaluate whatever doubts we may have about the organization. My sense is that if we try to view those doubts within the greater light of the Lord’s overall purposes for his Kingdom they will either dissipate completely or become so trivial as to be of little concern.
mountainclimber479:
“This is the same logic that religious terrorists use for flying passenger airliners into skyscrapers full of innocent people.”
That’s what they (the terrorists) think. But I think that both you and I know that though there may be a strain of similar logic their actions are a product of taking a virtue to an horrific extreme.
“If we take your reasoning to its logical conclusion, the Church could commit literally any atrocity imaginable, and you would just look the other way so you wouldn’t lose your chance at “exaltation”.”
I suppose a case could be made for the possibility of that kind of logical end. But I’m confident that the virtue of the living word will steer the Lord’s prophets away from that end. Plus, I think we need to remember that if the church were actually to sink into that kind of depravity it would be bereft of the spirit–thereby losing its primary purpose and function of preparing people to ascend and then aiding them along the way. In short–the church would no longer be the church. And then-yes-we’d have cause for legitimate concerns. 😀
“Can you give an example of something that if the Church did it (even if you believe there is no way the Church would ever do it) would “even come close to out-weighing the blessings that await the faithful”?”
This is kinda of a logical conundrum for me–because in my estimation depravity seems to bottom-out at the point of its own destruction whereas eternal life never ceases to prosper in all things that are good, beautiful, and true. So on the one hand I can’t give an example of an evil that would outweigh the blessings that promised to the faithful. But on the other hand–and this is similar to what I’ve said in response to your previous statement–if the church were to sink into such depravity it would lose its connection with the upper world and therefore no longer be in the position to offer a way for people to access to those blessings. And that would be a terrible loss to the world, IMO.
Anna:
“Jack, it is about trust, honesty, and you know, virtues that Jesus would DEMAND his prophets have. If they cannot even be honest, how can I trust them to “speak for God”?”
I suppose that each one of us has to come to terms with the workings of the Kingdom. For my own part–the fact that the Holy Spirit is present in the church is a clear sign that the right things are happening. Of course that’s not to say that everything is perfect–the Lord is very patient with his children. Even so, if something were terribly amiss in the Kingdom the Lord would leave his house desolate.
familywomen,
“The church can promise anything it wants and anything you want to hear because there is absolutely no way to verify if those promises are true.”
I know by the workings of the spirit that those promises are true. I’m not yet perfect in Christ–but I have a hope in Christ. I don’t fear death–and I have full confidence in the Savior’s power to exalt his people. Though my life has been difficult in some ways I live with the constant assurance that “should I die before my journey’s through, all is well” for both me and my household.
Jack, “protecting information” and “knowingly lying and breaking the law about something, including requiring people to sign government documents without seeing the contents of the documents to which they are attesting and then firing them when they refuse” are not the same thing.
Jack – “For my own part–the fact that the Holy Spirit is present in the church is a clear sign that the right things are happening.”
I’m interested in this statement you made about the “Holy spirit” being present in the church. Our LDS use of “the spirit” is ambiguous and needlessly tethered to “form”. How are you using it here and what is the evidence of its presence? (other than your personal feelings).
Here’s an interesting category of church secrets: unannounced forthcoming changes. This can be regarding changes in callings or ward boundary changes and the like. On my mission it was upcoming transfers. It’s a particularly curious category because there’s really not any doctrinal or privacy related reason for it. I do understand why it happens, though. Much like forthcoming organizational changes in a company or any other organization, those changes can sometimes have a lot of planning behind them that can be undermined by gossip and rumor, and Mormons do love their rumors. Because of that I don’t really object to it, but I think sometimes the secrecy is taken more seriously than it needs to be. It’s not some kind of covenant or sacred duty, it’s just helping out the leaders in their planning. There’s room for some flexibility. The last time we had boundary changes I knew nothing until they were announced. I think stake leaders could at least be more public about their intentions to make such changes without undermining the process. Or maybe if they do they spend too much time hearing unsolicited opinions. If that’s what’s going on, I suppose I could be sympathetic to the desire to keep it all under wraps.
Just to back up what several people have already said about the Church hiding statistical data if it’s bad, here’s a little blog post I wrote where I looked at how much used to be reported and how little is reported now. (The post is a decade old, but I don’t think the statistical report has changed much during that time.) You can see a pattern with how a reported number goes bad and then stops being reported.
And of course now the Church has taken the step of moving the whole statistical report out of Conference entirely to avoid calling too much attention to it. The most important number they want members to focus on is number of new temples announced. That’s nice and controllable. Everything else might possibly look bad.
https://zelophehadsdaughters.com/2014/09/16/the-incredible-shrinking-statistical-report/
Another reason for secrecy is power – having it, projecting it, and retaining it. If I know something important (or that’s just perceived as important) that you don’t, it gives me more power. This works at every level from bottom to top.
If you mentally set aside the “one true church” aspect that allows many members to give the church an ethical pass on some questionable behavior, then all of its secrets start to make a lot more logical sense. Whether you think they’re good or bad is up to you, but they still are logical.
The endowment
It’s a rite of passage. They exist all throughout history and societies. The whole point is to level up your commitment to the group by doing something that takes real effort and might feel uncomfortable. Rites of passage produce genuine psychological and social effects and increase group cohesion and affiliation. It being a “secret” or “sacred” is what makes it powerful, regardless of what it actually entails – there is social power in saying “I know what’s in that rite of passage and you don’t (so you should do it too).”
Second anointing
Exactly the same thing as the endowment – an exclusive rite of passage. Whether it’s truly inspired by God or not, it just makes logical sense to keep your rich and powerful members loyal by admitting them to a more exclusive tier of membership.
Membership activity
The church doesn’t appear to lie about it’s stats, but they have no obligation to be completely transparent either. Like it or not, the church gains little by telling the world that it’s shrinking. Lucky for them the stats they’ve published for decades help avoid that image, and the full data exists for those who need to know. Being strategically opaque and telling their own story helps project an image of growth and power both inside and outside the church. Those with power get to write the narrative they want.
Finances
Money is a key source of power, and the church is really good at collecting money. The church did what it could to (1) bring in as much money as possible from multiple sources, (2) control the narrative as long as possible so people keep paying, (3) avoid giving up that money so it can be used for the organization’s own benefit. This is how virtually every large corporation operates…even if it’s the financial arm of the one true church. It wasn’t until they got caught and held accountable by a more powerful organization that the story was forced to changed. Even still, many members will still give the church an ethical pass on objectively fraudulent behavior and call it bad ideas for a good cause.
Ziff – thanks for linking that post. It was really interesting.
The endowment is secret because polygamy was secret.
What was once a poor man’s Masonic lodge meant to create a close circle of trust around Joseph (a.k.a. a hunting ground for sexual liaisons) has ballooned like many other aspects of the corporate superorganism that is the church into a self-sustaining automaton nearly collapsing under its own weight, beyond its managers’ ability to control. Its only mission is to endlessly perpetuate itself and it offers nothing more in return than a nebulous promise of Importance, of Protection, of being Chosen.
I used to ponder and wonder what the temple mysteries meant and I finally feel satisfied in the answer: To be endowed is the promise of the prophet being able to marry my hypothetical daughters and my being rewarded with other hypothetical brides for my loyalty, all couched in jumbled Biblical symbolism. Speak nothing of this lest you be destroyed. Well done, now you are one of us.
“The endowment is secret because polygamy was secret.”
The performance of the endowment was kept within the temple after polygamy began to be practiced in the open–even though the surrounding society was purely sectarian.
Somehow the lds church
has secured the narrative that
your family won’t be eternal if you marry outside the Church (capital C church).
How many women and men have desired earthly, intimate companionship, but led their lives being single, because they follow the menu?
With more of our new adults choosing careers, choosing their own fashions, choosing to love family & friends who are lgbtq+, etc., I have much hope that they will also feel free to choose love on the secret menu.
An upside to Sister Camille Johnson’s example is that it can allow others allow themselves to make decisions that are best for themselves and their families.
@BishopBill If you haven’t had a chance to read Ryan Burge’s long-form piece in the Deseret News about the closing of his church (“My church is closing, and I don’t know what comes next — for me, or America”), I highly recommend it. It is a raw, insightful read about the decline of religious participation that he witnessed first-hand. I really enjoy following him on social media and his data-driven substack on the ever-evolving US religious landscape.
I wanted to comment the secrecy around the actual attendance numbers of members of The Church for Sunday worship services and temple attendance. Devin Pope, University of Chicago professor, had a paper that was just published in NBER entitled “Religious Worship Attendance in America: Evidence from Cellphone Data.” The entire paper is fascinating. But the major take-away in the abstract is that 22% of Americans report weekly church attendance, but this appears to be highly overexagerated, perhaps due to social desirability bias (people in surveys wanting to self-report they attend church more than they actually do). Using cell phone geolocation data, the actual attendance rate of Americans at a worship service is closer to 5%.
If I were to guess, I suspect that US/Canada weekly attenders for latter-day saints is closer to 10% of those who have been baptized.