Dr. Tyler Griffin
Dr. Tyler Griffin’s career in education started with six years teaching seminary in Brigham City. He then spent seven years instructing at the Logan LDS Institute and helped launch the online seminary program. Currently, he’s a professor at BYU with over ten years of experience. Dr. Griffin co-founded the BYU Virtual Scriptures Group and holds degrees in Electrical Engineering, Instructional Technology (Master’s and PhD). He has authored and co-authored several religious books.
Fact Checked by Kevin Prince
There’s actually help given to us to “be good”. As described in Romans 13, verse 12: “The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Let us, therefore, cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light.” This is one of my favorite words in the Greek. This word “Enduo” is translated as “put on” in English. The “enduo” is to endow. And if you look up in Strong’s Concordance or in a Greek dictionary, you’re going to find that “enduo” means to sink into a sacred garment or to be encircled in a sacred clothing item. This sacred garment is commonly known as Mormon garments or Mormon temple garments. An endowment is a sacred clothing ordinance. We’ll talk more about that when we get to Ephesians as well.
But here, He first introduces it to us in our flow through these lessons with this idea of “put on the armor of light.” So you’re being endowed with power in the temple of our God. What are you putting on? What is the sacred garment? The sacred clothing that we’re dressing in? It’s armor. And it’s not just medieval metal armor. It’s actually armor of light, which is the biggest defense against the chains of darkness that the devil is waging his war with.
So we put on, notice in that verse, and I’ll spell it with the British spelling as it is in our King James Version, “the armour of light.” And he doesn’t end there. He says, “Let us walk honestly as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying, because that would be ‘ec duo,’ that would be taking off our armor. We want to stay clothed.” Verse 14: “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof.”
Did you notice this? Put on Christ. The “enduo,” the endowment of power, that entire ordinance in the temple is all rooted in and symbolized by the embodiment of Jesus Christ himself. That’s why I find it interesting that there are people in our world today who are encouraging people to remove their ‘Mormon garments’, to say they’re not fashionable, they’re oppressive. You don’t want to have to wear things that other people are telling you to wear. It’s taking away your freedom and your agency. We’re hearing these kinds of things today, and I just have to pause and scratch my head and say, “Wait a minute. You’re encouraging people to take off the armor of light. You’re encouraging them to take off this symbolic element of Christ that we get to put on every day. We get to be endowed every day in the garment, and people are encouraging you to take it off.
I marvel at the logic of, ‘You don’t want armor. You don’t want Christ.’ It reminds me of Hosea and Gomer. “Don’t wear his flax and his wool.” Don’t take the covering that Hosea or, in this context, Jesus Christ offers you. But go put on the clothing of your lovers, your former lovers, your former life. You lose power when you become unendowed in this armor of light in Christ that you have put on.’
The Connection Between Adam and Eve and Mormon Garments
So let’s tie this into the story of Adam and Eve. When they are found naked in the garden, they eventually get clothed, and it is being clothed by God. They get these garments, and these garments are meant to be symbols of God’s protecting power. The invitation for all of us is when we enter into covenant, it’s like putting on Christ. When you receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, it’s like an endowment in the sense that you have this presence to be with you at all times, to protect you and to guide you.
And isn’t it beautiful that that covering, that garment originally, even to Adam and Eve, was made out of a coat of skins, which means an animal had to die, an innocent animal had to die in order to cover their nakedness, in order to enduo them, to cover them. And what a privilege to be able to enter into that covenant and take upon us the name of Christ and put on his power.
By Dr. Tyler Griffin, Source Expert
Dr. Tyler Griffin embarked on his professional journey by teaching seminary courses for a period of six years in Brigham City, Utah. Following that, he dedicated the subsequent seven years to instructing at the Logan LDS Institute, located adjacent to Utah State University. Alongside his participation in the Seminary Preservice program, he spearheaded and supervised the implementation of the online seminary program. Dr. Griffin has been an educator at BYU for well over a decade and holds a co-founding position within the BYU Virtual Scriptures Group. His undergraduate degree is in Electrical Engineering, while both his master’s and doctorate degrees center around Instructional Technology. Dr. Griffin is the exclusive author of “When Heaven Appears Distant” co-author of “Come Unto Me: Illuminating the Savior’s Life, Mission, Parables, and Miracles” and co-editor of “Millions Shall Rediscover Brother Joseph.”
Fact Checked by Mr. Kevin Prince, Source Expert
Kevin Prince is a religious scholar and host of the Gospel Learning Youtube channel. His channel has garnered over 41,000 subscribers and accumulated over 4.5 million views. Mr. Prince also created the Gospel Learning App, a reliable platform where individuals seeking truth can access trustworthy answers to religious questions from top educators worldwide.
About Mormonism Explained
Mormonism Explained is a resource that was designed to provide objective and factual information about Mormonism, its history, doctrines, and policies. Our team of researchers consults experts and primary sources to present factual information on a variety of topics relevant to the Mormon Church.
Tags