What happens inside a Latter-day Saint temple?

13. And that all people who shall enter upon the threshold of the Lord's house may feel thy power, and feel constrained to acknowledge that thou hast sanctified it, and that it is thy house, a place of thy holiness. 14. And do thou grant, Holy Father, that all those who shall worship in this house may be taught words of wisdom out of the best books, and that they may seek learning even by study, and also by faith, as thou hast said; 15. And that they may grow up in thee, and receive a fulness of the Holy Ghost, and be organized according to thy laws, and be prepared to obtain every needful thing; 16. And that this house may be a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of glory and of God, even thy house;

Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest.

4. And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water. 5. And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod: 6. And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre. 7. Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. 8. And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them. 9. And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.

32. Wherefore, for this cause I gave unto you the commandment that ye should go to the Ohio; and there I will give unto you my law; and there you shall be endowed with power from on high; 33. And from thence, whosoever I will shall go forth among all nations, and it shall be told them what they shall do; for I have a great work laid up in store, for Israel shall be saved, and I will lead them whithersoever I will, and no power shall stay my hand. 34. And now, I give unto the church in these parts a commandment, that certain men among them shall be appointed, and they shall be appointed by the voice of the church; 35. And they shall look to the poor and the needy, and administer to their relief that they shall not suffer; and send them forth to the place which I have commanded them; 36. And this shall be their work, to govern the affairs of the property of this church. 37. And they that have farms that cannot be sold, let them be left or rented as seemeth them good. 38. See that all things are preserved; and when men are endowed with power from on high and sent forth, all these things shall be gathered unto the bosom of the church.

And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

19. And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them—Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths—then shall it be written in the Lamb's Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever. 20. Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.

7. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; 8. And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. 9. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

And now, my dearly beloved brethren and sisters, let me assure you that these are principles in relation to the dead and the living that cannot be lightly passed over, as pertaining to our salvation. For their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation, as Paul says concerning the fathers—that they without us cannot be made perfect—neither can we without our dead be made perfect.

22. And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them; 23. And from this place they may bear exceedingly great and glorious tidings, in truth, unto the ends of the earth, that they may know that this is thy work, and that thou hast put forth thy hand, to fulfil that which thou hast spoken by the mouths of the prophets, concerning the last days.

See that all things are preserved; and when men are endowed with power from on high and sent forth, all these things shall be gathered unto the bosom of the church.

"Whenever the Lord has had a people on the earth who will obey his word, they have been commanded to build temples. Scriptures document patterns of temple worship from the times of Adam and Eve, Moses, Solomon, Nephi [a Book of Mormon prophet], and others,” the statement said. “With the restoration of the gospel in these latter days, temple worship has also been restored to bless the lives of people across the world and on the other side of the veil as well.” The First Presidency, led by church President Russell M. Nelson, reminded members of the sacred nature of the rituals. “A dedicated temple is the most holy of any place of worship on the earth,” the leaders said. “Its ordinances are sacred and are not discussed outside a holy temple." Richard Ostler was at the Jordan River Temple in South Jordan early Wednesday. “I felt a wonderful spirit as I observed the changes,” Ostler said. “I thought of my dear women friends — some of whom have been uncomfortable with parts of the content — and how this will significantly improve the overall temple experience for them.” Ostler “applauds” the church leaders “for listening to our women and working closely with them.” The revised text changed no doctrine, Ostler said, just “made the temple ceremony an enhanced experience for our female members.” This move could have a big impact on younger Latter-day Saint women, said writer-researcher Jana Riess. In many interviews, said Riess, author of the forthcoming “The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church,” it became clear that “the temple was a place they wanted to love.” It was supposed to be “the pinnacle spiritual experience of their lives,” Riess said, “yet often was alienating or disappointing.” Mormonism taught them they have direct access to deity, yet, in the temple, she said, everything went through “a male mediator.” Giving women “direct access to God in the temple,” Riess said, “helps them have a more consistent spiritual experience in every arena of their lives.” Latter-day Saint temple rituals include an ordinance called the “endowment,” which depicts the creation, Adam and Eve’s fall and humankind’s mortal journey and ultimate return to God’s presence. During the ceremony, LDS templegoers make promises to the Almighty to act, speak and think according to heaven’s commands. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has posted a video and photos explaining these "robes of the holy priesthood," worn by faithful members inside the faith's temples. The church recently released a series of short YouTube videos about its temple ceremonies and the underwear devout members wear. “The endowment is full of symbolism,” the narrator states in one video. “Like all temple ceremonies, everyone is dressed in white temple clothing, which represents purity and equality before God.”

Since ancient times, whenever a faithful people has been on the earth, God has blessed them with temple ordinances and covenants. He has sometimes allowed His holy ordinances to be administered outside of temples when there was no dedicated temple (see Genesis 28:12–22; Exodus 24; Exodus 25:8–9; Ether 3). But whenever the Lord has established His Church, He has commanded His people to build a house “unto [His] name.” There He reveals His ordinances and the glories of His kingdom and teaches the way of salvation. (See 2 Chronicles 3–5; 2 Nephi 5:16; Doctrine and Covenants 97:10–16; 124:29–39.) The temple is the house of the Lord. It points us to our Savior, Jesus Christ. In temples, we participate in sacred ordinances and make covenants with Heavenly Father that bind us to Him and to our Savior. These ordinances and covenants prepare us to return to Heavenly Father’s presence and to be sealed together as families for eternity. In the temple, great blessings are also made available to God’s faithful children in this life. In temple ordinances and covenants, “the power of godliness is manifest” (Doctrine and Covenants 84:20). The temple is a holy place where members can worship, learn, and receive guidance and comfort (see Doctrine and Covenants 109:13–16). Those who attend the temple can have access to God’s power to help accomplish His work (see Doctrine and Covenants 109:22–23; see also 3.5 in this handbook). Temple ordinances and covenants are sacred. The symbols associated with temple covenants should not be discussed outside the temple. Nor should we discuss the holy information we covenant in the temple not to reveal. However, we may discuss the basic purposes and doctrine of temple ordinances and covenants and the spiritual feelings we have in the temple. Ward and stake leaders discuss the information in this chapter with members who are preparing to receive the endowment or sealing ordinances.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints perform several sacred ordinances or ceremonies for individuals that they believe are necessary for individual exaltation. A few of these ceremonies are performed in temples: holy places dedicated to serving God.