. Wife no. 19, or, The story of a life in bondage : being a complete exposé of Mormonism, and revealing the sorrows, sacrifices and sufferings of women in polygamy . things. The morning came, however, and, with a heart filledwith hopeful anticipation, I took my way to the Endowment-House [carrying a lunch and my Temple-robes, which had 3S6 PREPARING FOR THE CEREMONY. to be specially prepared for this occasion], where, in theabsence of a regular Temple, the rites were performed. Iexpected something solemn and awful; something elevatingto the spirit, and ennobling to the mind. How I was disap-po
. Wife no. 19, or, The story of a life in bondage : being a complete exposé of Mormonism, and revealing the sorrows, sacrifices and sufferings of women in polygamy . things. The morning came, however, and, with a heart filledwith hopeful anticipation, I took my way to the Endowment-House [carrying a lunch and my Temple-robes, which had 3S6 PREPARING FOR THE CEREMONY. to be specially prepared for this occasion], where, in theabsence of a regular Temple, the rites were performed. Iexpected something solemn and awful; something elevatingto the spirit, and ennobling to the mind. How I was disap-pointed, everyone who has entered the Endowment-Housewith feelings similar to my own will understand. In placeof the awe which I expected to find the rites endowed with,they were ridiculous and farcical in the extreme. I have heard persons speak of the solemnity of their feel-ings on the occasion of taking their Endowments, but, withall respect to their truthfulness, I am always incredulous in. Ihl Endowment Huuse the extreme. I think either their imagination must havegot the better of their common sense, or they could havehad very little of the latter commodity to begin with, elsethey would have seen through the very thin tissue of ab-surdities which they are obliged to witness with unmovedfeatures, for to laugh in the Endowment-House would be themost fearful sacrilege. For my own part, I was in a mostuncomfortable frame of mind. I wanted to laugh; every-thing seemed so ridiculous; and yet all the while I wasconscience-stricken at my own levity. I thought it must bemy own wicked heart, and not the rites themselves, and I OFF WITH OUR SHOES ! 35^ was constantly upbraiding mjself for lack of spiritual grace ;and yet I could not alter my feelings in the least. The onlything that in any degree overcame my disposition to laugh,was the horror at the oaths which I was obliged to were fairly blood-curdling, they were so awful; andeven now a shudder runs through m} whole f
Size: 1800px × 1388px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury180, bookdecade1870, booksubjectpolygamy, bookyear1876
