#hearLDSwomen: My Bishop Did Not Let Me Receive My Endowment

[image error]Despite my worthiness (and even my husband’s willingness), my bishop would not let me receive my endowment right before I married my non-member husband as he wanted me to wait for my husband to join the church.

– Alison A.

I received my endowment just before I got married. I wanted to go through the temple before my dad (who is not LDS) got to town so that it wouldn’t be yet another part of my wedding he was there for but couldn’t go to. I was graduating college three weeks before the wedding and had a day picked out that would work, but my bishop said that the endowment couldn’t be more than two weeks before the wedding, so I couldn’t do it. My friend, whose dad was in a stake presidency, got to go through the temple four months before her wedding since her dad said it was fine. I felt like since I didn’t have a priesthood leader to advocate for me that my opinion didn’t matter.

– Julia

I wanted so badly to be endowed at 19 when all my male friends (who were usually spiritually less mature) were. I eventually received a beautiful answer to prayer that I should wait. Then, at almost 23, I felt again that I wanted to go. I brushed it off at first thinking I’d already been through this, but then my dad asked me if I’d thought about it and encouraged me to ask my bishop. A week later, I had a recommend and date set. I ended up going to the temple the day before I moved apartments within Provo. I quickly learned that my new stake had a “don’t even ask” policy in place for women wanting to go to the temple. I felt like I’d been in my last ward (where I only lived for one semester) just to be endowed when I was ready.

– Anonymous

Pro Tip: Trust women’s revelation. Do not place needless restrictions on women.

Click here to read all of the stories in our #hearLDSwomen series. Has anything like this happened to you? Please share in the comments or submit your experience(s) to participate in the series.

“If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.” (Mark 4:23)