A former Mormon couple has revealed a lesser-known “sacred” and secret ritual that takes place in the church only for a select circle – the so-called second anointing.
Alyssa Grenfell, 31, grew up in an extremely strict household but fled Utah for New York in 2017 – and has since focused on building her new life with her family.
In a video recently posted on YouTube, the ex-Mormon was accompanied by her husband Jackson, with whom she was married for nine years. The couple talked about the various religious rituals in the church and revealed insider knowledge about the “king ritual”: the second anointing.
“There are ordinances and rituals that take place outside of Mormon temples and rituals that take place inside Mormon temples,” Jason explained.
He said that after being baptized, someone goes to a Mormon temple to undergo what is known as the endowment treatment, which is the washing and anointing of a person.
Alyssa Grenfell and her husband Jackson grew up in an extremely strict household, but fled from Utah to New York in 2017
While most Mormons are familiar with the first anointing—the part of the endowment ceremony in which a person is anointed as a king and priest or queen and priestess of God—few know of the second anointing, as it occurs much less frequently.
The couple acknowledged that there are many different rituals within the church. They described their first prayer circle in the temple and both freely admitted that it was “the moment when you realize that maybe you grew up in a cult.”
“If you were raised as a Mormon like we were, practically everyone you know and trust has participated in this ceremony (the prayer circle), so it’s kind of a gravity that pulls you forward,” explained the mother of two.
“You’re about to go on a mission, you’re about to get married – everyone you know who is in a leadership position or an adult who has gone before you has performed the ceremony, so it’s very hard to opt out of that,” she explained.
However, the craziest part of these rituals, according to Alyssa and Jackson, is the second anointing.
“As I said, most Mormons have no idea they exist, even at the highest levels of Mormonism,” Alyssa said.
“Most of these people have had neither the opportunity nor the privilege to attend the ceremony, and yet they are essentially the crème de la crème.”
Jackson said he first learned about the second anointing when he left the church and that it is only offered to “elite” members.
The couple admitted that there are many different rituals within the church. They described the first time they were in a prayer circle at church. Both freely admitted that this was “the moment when you realise that you may have been raised in a cult”.
Alyssa Grenfell, 31, grew up in an extremely strict household but fled Utah for New York in 2017 – and has since focused on building her new life with her family.
“I spent my life in the church in Utah, in the belly of the beast, and had never heard of it,” he recalled.
“You realize that even those of us who got married in the temple have gone through so many levels that we still haven’t made it past the final level of the Mormon game show where we try to become a god,” Alyssa joked.
The duo explained that a second anointing was a guarantee of entry into the highest degrees of heaven.
“When we received the gift, we were promised that we would become kings and queens in the afterlife, depending on our faithfulness. So basically it says we will get there, but we have to be extremely faithful and then God and Jesus will decide at the Last Judgement,” Alyssa explained.
The second anointing, she explained, is that the last part is taken away which says ‘depending on your faithfulness’ – basically it is as if the second judgment takes place here on earth before you die.’
They added that the person who performs the second anointing occupies a much higher position than the person who performs the first anointing.
Another unusual part of the ceremony is that the woman often blesses her husband – something Alyssa says she has never seen before.
Jackson said that people in the Church were selected for a second anointing by “stake presidents,” who were tasked with identifying people in their community to be considered as candidates for the second anointing.
“To my knowledge, the recommendation now actually has to come directly from an apostle, and so I think it’s much more limited to people who are in the sphere of influence,” Alyssa explained.
In the past, the former follower revealed her shocking theory about why there are so many Mormon influencers.
She explained that she believes the church, also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “sponsors influencers through travel and meals” – adding that the organization “directs money around the term Mormon.”
Alyssa has previously spoken about her blossoming after leaving the church and the truth about the “Mormon face.”