The first thing that you should know about the endowment is that everything is not a literal, but a symbolic representation. The endowment is not a saving ordinance, but it is a symbolic depiction of a saving ordinance which should take place throughout your life as you come to Christ. I pray that as I present some of those symbols and what the Lord has taught me about them that you will see these representations, not as beliefs, but as ways of understanding the symbols. You can understand them on many levels, and there are many ways to interpret them. Use these ideas as suggestions that the Lord can show you the true principles behind them, that you may use them in your life.
We are forced to labor under very difficult circumstances. We are taught by fallible men. We have poorly translated and incomplete scriptures. We have to contend with the vagaries of our language. And, last of all, we are bound by false traditions promoted by false, apostate religions. And yet, the Lord tells us that we have sufficient to enable us to lay hold of the iron rod and walk the path back to Him. Given all this, why should we expect our temple ordinances to be pure and uncorrupted? It’s a measure of our faith that even when given insufficient information, we can still step forward and act boldly and valiantly. None of this is a barrier to the Lord. By His grace, He will compensate for our lack of pure knowledge by giving us pure revelation. The Endowment
John144 