We can't say exactly what happens, but the question of why is one I don't have any problem discussing, actually. :)
The temple rituals have several different parts. One is actually quite open, it's called proxy baptism. You get baptized on behalf of somebody who died without baptism. We believe the scriptures that say things like "Except a man be born of water ... he cannot enter the kingdom of God" are literally true, you have to be baptized, but we also believe that God is merciful and that people who never got a chance in life will get a chance in the afterlife. (Some people get upset about that, saying that we're presuming to "convert" everybody who's died to our faith, but we also hold that people can choose to accept or reject the baptism, you still have free will in the afterlife too.)
Anyhow! We also perform weddings in the temple. They're in many ways a lot like any wedding, but they don't use the "till death do us part" phrase, because we believe that a temple wedding is eternal, you'll be together after death too. I happen to have a regular civil marriage right now, it's for this life only. I hope to "upgrade" it someday if my husband converts to Mormonism, but if he doesn't that's okay too. A whole lifetime together is not a bad thing.
Then there's the endowment. That's the bit that can't be discussed, at least not in any detail. Honestly even if I could tell you what's done, it would still be hard to explain. It's all about symbols, (very much the way taking sacramental bread and wine are about symbols) so it's all quite deep and complex and many-layered. But essentially it's a ceremony where you solemnly make promises to God. They're not particularly weird promises, even, they center around fidelity, chastity, and holding things sacred. But part of what you promise is to hold what you did and said sacred as well, and not share it around.
If you really want to know, there are people who have broken those promises, and you can find the details on the internet, but I've never gone looking. I'd find seeing somebody break their solemn word to God like that pretty depressing, and I don't want to see it.
Anyhow, the "why" behind it all is (putting it simply) that our church really believes in ceremonies and promises. Baptism is a ceremony and a promise, (you promise to accept Christ as your savior and take His name by becoming Christian) taking the sacrament at church is a ceremony and a promise, (you promise to remember Christ's sacrifice of his body and blood for you) and attending the temple is a ceremony and a promise. They're all steps on the road to our eventual goal of returning to God. There are lots of other steps, including ones we share with nearly all religions, steps like "be decent to your fellow human beings," but the ceremonial steps are important to us.
no subject
The temple rituals have several different parts. One is actually quite open, it's called proxy baptism. You get baptized on behalf of somebody who died without baptism. We believe the scriptures that say things like "Except a man be born of water ... he cannot enter the kingdom of God" are literally true, you have to be baptized, but we also believe that God is merciful and that people who never got a chance in life will get a chance in the afterlife. (Some people get upset about that, saying that we're presuming to "convert" everybody who's died to our faith, but we also hold that people can choose to accept or reject the baptism, you still have free will in the afterlife too.)
Anyhow! We also perform weddings in the temple. They're in many ways a lot like any wedding, but they don't use the "till death do us part" phrase, because we believe that a temple wedding is eternal, you'll be together after death too. I happen to have a regular civil marriage right now, it's for this life only. I hope to "upgrade" it someday if my husband converts to Mormonism, but if he doesn't that's okay too. A whole lifetime together is not a bad thing.
Then there's the endowment. That's the bit that can't be discussed, at least not in any detail. Honestly even if I could tell you what's done, it would still be hard to explain. It's all about symbols, (very much the way taking sacramental bread and wine are about symbols) so it's all quite deep and complex and many-layered. But essentially it's a ceremony where you solemnly make promises to God. They're not particularly weird promises, even, they center around fidelity, chastity, and holding things sacred. But part of what you promise is to hold what you did and said sacred as well, and not share it around.
If you really want to know, there are people who have broken those promises, and you can find the details on the internet, but I've never gone looking. I'd find seeing somebody break their solemn word to God like that pretty depressing, and I don't want to see it.
Anyhow, the "why" behind it all is (putting it simply) that our church really believes in ceremonies and promises. Baptism is a ceremony and a promise, (you promise to accept Christ as your savior and take His name by becoming Christian) taking the sacrament at church is a ceremony and a promise, (you promise to remember Christ's sacrifice of his body and blood for you) and attending the temple is a ceremony and a promise. They're all steps on the road to our eventual goal of returning to God. There are lots of other steps, including ones we share with nearly all religions, steps like "be decent to your fellow human beings," but the ceremonial steps are important to us.
Hopefully all that makes sense. :)