Mormon Ordinances

Ordinances are sacred religious rites performed through priesthood authority and are often viewed as necessary for entering into covenants with God, receiving spiritual blessings, or progressing toward salvation and exaltation. While many Christian traditions practice rituals such as baptism or communion, Mormonism developed a much larger and more structured ordinance system over time, especially during the later years of Joseph Smith’s ministry in Nauvoo.

Some ordinances are shared across nearly every Mormon denomination. Baptism and the sacrament, for example, remain widespread throughout the movement. Other ordinances, particularly those connected to temple worship, became major points of division after Joseph Smith’s death. Practices such as sealings, the endowment, initiatory rites, baptism for the dead, and the second anointing were preserved and expanded by some groups while rejected entirely by others.

Because Mormon denominations disagree about priesthood authority, apostasy, temple theology, revelation, and succession, they often disagree about which ordinances are valid, necessary, or even legitimate. Some churches emphasize simple New Testament-style ordinances centered on repentance and discipleship. Others developed highly structured temple systems involving ceremonial covenants, sacred clothing, ritual progression, and ordinances performed on behalf of the dead.

The differences surrounding Mormon ordinances reveal some of the deepest theological divisions within the movement itself. Questions about who can perform ordinances, where they can be performed, what authority is required, and what spiritual power they actually convey remain central to how different Mormon groups understand salvation, priesthood, and the Restoration.