I have always been interested in the Endowment, and as I have grown older I have come to appreciate ritual more in my life.
I have been compiling a collection of versions of the Endowment for a while. Most of us on here probably didn’t go through the LDS church’s Endowment before the big changes in 1990, but most probably know about the penalties. Part of these penalties was saying this:
I, John, covenant that I will never reveal the First Token of the Aaronic Priesthood, with its accompanying name, sign, and penalty. Rather than do so, I would suffer my life to be taken.
However, the further back you go in editions of the Endowment the more brutal this gets. Because of this, I wanted to recount the oaths as they are found in the Salt Lake Tribune’s expose of February 09, 1906:
First oath:
We, and each of us, solemnly bind ourselves that we will not reveal any of the secrets of the first token of the Aaronic priesthood, with its accompanying name, sign, or penalty. Should I do so, I agree that my throat may be cut from ear-to-ear, and my tongue torn out by its roots.
Second oath:
We, and each of us, do solemnly promise and bind ourselves never to reveal any of the secrets of this priesthood, with its accompanying name, sign, grip, or penalty. Should we do so, we agree that our breasts may be torn open, our hearts and vitals torn out, and given to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.
Third oath:
You, and each of you, do covenant and promise that you will never reveal any of the secrets of the priesthood, with its accompanying name, sign, and penalty. Should you do so, you agree that your body may be cut asunder and all your bowels gush out.