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Purpose

According to the LDS Church, the temple garments serve a number of purposes. First, the garment provides the member "a constant reminder" of the covenants they made in the temple. Second, the garment "when properly worn...provides protection against temptation and evil". Wearing the garment is also "an outward expression of an inward commitment" to follow Jesus Christ.[26] General authority Carlos E. Asay adds that the garment "strengthens the wearer to resist temptation, fend off evil influences, and stand firmly for the right."[28]
The nature of the protection believed to be afforded by temple garments is ambiguous and varies between adherents.[29] Researchers who interviewed a sample of Latter-day Saints who wear the temple garment reported that virtually all wearers expressed a belief that wearing the garment provided "spiritual protection" and encouraged them to keep their covenants.[29] Some of those interviewed "asserted that the garment also provided physical protection, while others seemed less certain of any physical aspect to protection."[29] In Mormon folklore, tales are told of Latter-day Saints who credit their temple garments with helping them survive car wrecks, fires, and natural disasters.[1]
[edit]Latter-day Saint views as to sacredness

To members of the LDS Church, the temple garment represents the sacred and personal aspects of their relationship with God. Church President Joseph F. Smith taught that the garment was to be held as "the most sacred of all things in the world, next to their own virtue, next to their own purity of life."[18] For this reason, most Church members feel uncomfortable discussing the garment in a casual or disrespectful manner.[30] Some church leaders have compared the garment to the clerical vestments worn by clergy of other churches.[28][31] Church leaders have publicly discussed the above principles and beliefs in general terms since the mid-1840s. However, because of the sacredness surrounding temple rites for many Latter-day Saints, some church opponents have mocked and parodied the wearing of temple garments,[1] including using a garment to blow their nose. Some church members have criticized the sale of garments on internet auction sites.[32]
During the October 2003 LDS Church General Conference, some anti-Mormon demonstrators outside the LDS Conference Center reportedly spat and stomped on garments in view of those attending the conference. One protestor blew his nose into a garment he wore around his neck.[33] A scuffle broke out between a protester and two members of the church who attempted to take the garments from him.[34] To avoid a repeat of the conflict, the municipality of Salt Lake City planned stronger enforcement of fighting words and hate speech laws for the April 2004 Conference in Salt Lake City with new protest buffer zones.[35]