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Let's get a bit more of a look at Bobbie's and Karel's attitudes and beliefs
about things that are important to them.
"Hi! You're early today." Melissa greeted them. "On purpose?"
The three of them laughed, and Karel said, "Well, yeah."
"Thanks. The last couple of weeks, I've been able to get past the 'When are you going to get baptized?' question with my husband."
"That's good to hear."
"But since he's never been to the temple himself, he can't tell me much about it. His bishop gave us a little book with lots of pictures. They look nice, but it really doesn't help me much."
Karel said, "It's a little hard to explain unless you've gone through it."
Bobbie added, a little dryly, "And it may be even harder to explain afterwards."
"Well, that's more than a little frustrating. How am I supposed to be confident about joining you guys if I don't know where I'm headed?"
Karel and Bobbie both thought for a bun or so.
Then Bobbie said, "I can think of some scriptures to read, but I think it comes down to trust. You get used to, well, I got used to the Holy Spirit teaching me things, and I got used to the peace and the impressions that tell me things that are true. And the Holy Spirit just tells me the temple is good, and right."
"I know something about that kind of thing from my experiences with the church I'm going to now. Can't you tell me anything about what happens in the temple?"
Karel said, "Well, after we go in, we change clothes."
"Huh?"
Bobbie quickly added, "The guys have their changing room and we women have ours. We have individual lockers, too, so we change in private. Are you sure this is okay, Karel?"
"Why not?"
"Why do you change clothes?" Melissa asked.
"It helps us remember to leave the world outside," Bobbie said. "I guess we can explain this much."
Karel added, "Since we all wear simple white clothing, it also helps us remember that we are all on equal standing before God. Oh, and, white reminds us that we are trying to be pure before God."
"Doesn't sound too unreasonable, but I'll have to think about it. Then what?"
"Usually, we wait for a few bunmu in a chapel room. Sometimes someone is available to play hymns, so we can listen quietly while we think and pray."
"Thinking and praying and listening to hymns is not bad."
"For the endowment, we go to a room where we watch a sort of play."
Bobbie added, "It's kind of like a dramatic reading of parts of Genesis and some other scriptures."
Genesis? Well, that's about the best translation for the name of that chapter that I can think of. As I have noted, they had scripture. This chapter of their scripture contained their creation story, in a mix of symbolism and record of real events. And calling their scripture the "Holy Book" ("Bible") is also a reasonable translation.
And the names of their (genetically perfect) first man and first woman translate reasonably to "Adam" ("Man", or "First Man") and "Eve" ("Mother", or "Recursive Mother").
"Parts of Genesis? I've heard rumors that you 'do the Adam and Eve thing' or something."
"Yes, part of the presentation is about Adam and Eve," Bobbie said, "but no nudity or sex, if that's what you've heard."
Melissa was still doubtful. "I was told by someone that it was all implied."
Karel asked, "What was all implied?"
Melissa thought for a moment. "Good question. Even the Holy Book comes right out and says they were, uhm, didn't have any clothes on in the Garden. But you say there isn't any of that?"
Karel nodded. "Having the people taking Adam and Eve's parts literally without any clothes on would be too distracting, and not instructive at all. That's not the purpose of the temple."
"What about eating the apple?"
Bobbie said, "Do you mean, eating the fruit as a metaphor for sexual intercourse?"
Melissa looked a little shocked. "You came right out and said that."
"Sorry," Bobbie apologized. "I guess it's because I'm a nurse. But, no, that's not a good metaphor. At least, I don't see it that way, about the fruit."
Karel said, "People argue about it. They shouldn't. Neither the scriptures nor the temple ceremonies say anything that requires one to believe it that way. If people insist on believing that, they have to have other reasons, and I think the meaning is much broader, myself."
"My husband wasn't sure, but he said if there was anything like that in the temple, it wouldn't be pornographic or worshiping sex."
"Well, he's sure right about that. There isn't any."
"He says that his dad told him once that the temple teaches that the wife has to always do what the husband says."
Bobbie said, decisively, "No."
Karel shook his head. "That's not right at all. There is a part, where, if a person's attention slips, he or she might miss the part where one or the other spouse is instructed about their own responsibilities. But both are given pretty much equal responsibility for the family. It's mutual. Both are supposed to follow God."
Bobbie added, "The husband is given a certain responsibility, but, as I understand the instruction, the point is that the husband and wife shouldn't be fighting each other over who is in control. God should be in control, and they should not be trying to control each other."
"My understanding, exactly," said Karel.
"Uhm," Melissa hesitated, "can I ask a personal question?"
Karel and Bobbie looked at each other and exchanged wry smiles.
"Oh, never mind that. But you're both single, right?"
It was probably Bobbie who said, "Uh, huh."
"You know pretty much everything that goes on in the temple?"
Karel answered. "Not everything. Temple workers help the people attending, for instance, and I haven't been asked to do that. How about you, Bobbie?"
"No, not yet. It would be interesting."
"But you aren't worried about the secrets?"
"No." was Karel's response.
Bobbie said, "No secrets. If you believe in a God who loves all of His children, there are no secrets. It's all there in the scriptures, and it's all laid out in the temple. The temple is a place where you can go and treat sacred things sacredly, and get your understanding through the Holy Spirit of God."
"Bobbie, can we talk about this, just us girls, sometime?"
"Oh, well, I'm supposed to be meeting Professor White right about now," Karel said and stood up.
"Tell Professor MacVittie I'll be along in a little bit, okay?"
"Sure." Karel said with a grin as he left the room.
They watched him leave, then Bobbie turned to Melissa and asked, "So, ..."
"You and Karel are dating, aren't you?"
Bobbie blinked, and she let out a quiet laugh. "Well, yes and no. My roommate and I and his football buddy and he seem to spend a lot of time together. Just the four of us, sometimes, sometimes with other friends, too. It's very comfortable to be with each other."
"Oh. I was kind of hoping that you'd tell me that I could get that kind of relationship with Winn if I got baptized."
"Wow." Bobbie had to look down.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."
"No. It's okay. It's just that it has been so easy, this last couple of months. But I know that if I start seriously dating either one of those guys, it's going to quit being easy like that. But that's not what you're asking. No. Being a member isn't magic. Relationships still take work."
"Oh. Are all the Ehyephoot men supposed to be like him?"
"I think Ehyephoot men are, on the average, more considerate than the average, whatever that is. But none of them are perfect. I mean, if they had to be perfect, we women would have to be perfect, too, right?"
Melissa laughed. "I see."
And they talked a little more about men and relationships and church and such, and then Bobbie went to her appointment with Professor MacVittie.
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You can find the original first draft of the chapter this chapter was
extracted from, and various approaches I have tried with it here:
https://free-is-not-free.blogspot.com/2016/05/economics-101-novel-ch05-first-semester.html.
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Keep it on topic, please.