RELIGION

Mormon church addresses mystery surrounding undergarments in latest effort to explain faith

Associated Press
Published | Updated

This photo taken from a video provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints shows the "temple garment", a white, two-piece cotton clothing worn by church members. The Mormon church is peeling back the mystery that has long surrounded undergarments worn by devout Latter-day Saints with a new video that explains the practice in depth. The four-minute video posted recently on the church's website compares the “temple garments” to holy vestments worn in other religious faiths such as a Catholic nun’s habit or a Muslim skullcap. (AP Photo/The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) (The Associated Press)

This photo taken from a video provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds a package containing the "temple garment", a white, two-piece cotton clothing worn by church members. The Mormon church is peeling back the mystery that has long surrounded undergarments worn by it's devout members with a new video that explains the practice in depth. (AP Photo/The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) (The Associated Press)

This photo taken from a video provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints shows the "temple garment", a white, two-piece cotton clothing worn by church members. The Mormon church is peeling back the mystery that has long surrounded undergarments worn by devout Latter-day Saints with a new video that explains the practice in depth. The four-minute video posted recently on the church's website compares the “temple garments” to holy vestments worn in other religious faiths such as a Catholic nun’s habit or a Muslim skullcap. (AP Photo/The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) (The Associated Press)

The Mormon church is peeling back the mystery that has long surrounded undergarments worn by the faithful with a new video explaining the practice in depth while admonishing ridicule from outsiders about what it considers a symbol of Latter-day Saints' devotion to God.

The four-minute video posted recently on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' website compares the clothing known as temple garments to holy vestments worn in other religious faiths, such as a Catholic nun's habit or a Muslim skullcap.

It dispels the notion that Latter-day Saints believe the garments are magical, a stereotype perpetuated on the Internet and in popular culture.

The video is the latest illustration of the Salt Lake City-based religion's effort to explain, expand or clarify some of the more sensitive issues within the faith.