How does excommunication from the Mormon Church affect a person's temple ordinances and blessings?
Executive summary
Excommunication (also termed "withdrawal of membership" in recent church language) removes a person’s membership record and suspends temple access and many membership privileges; sources say ordinances and covenants are treated as void for someone who is no longer a member, and re‑entry requires repentance and reinstatement procedures [1] [2] [3]. The official General Handbook emphasizes temples as the place where living members make covenants and receive ordinances that prepare them for exaltation, implying loss of temple participation is a central practical consequence of losing membership [4].
1. What excommunication formally does to membership and temple access
Church discipline that results in someone’s removal from membership — historically called excommunication and in some recent handbook language described as “withdrawal of membership” or handled through “church membership councils” — ends that person’s formal status in the Church and therefore bars them from temple participation, leadership callings and other privileges that depend on membership, according to news summaries and explanatory sources [2] [3] [1]. Learn Religions explains plainly that when membership is revoked “all ordinances and covenants are canceled,” and popular explanatory sites and local reporting reiterate that excommunicated individuals cannot enter temples or hold temple recommends [1] [3] [2].
2. What “all ordinances and covenants are canceled” means in practice
Lay and explanatory sources state that cancellation of ordinances and covenants is the institutional consequence of losing membership: baptism, priesthood blessings or temple ordinances tied to membership standing are no longer effective in the eyes of the organization while membership is withdrawn [1] [2]. The General Handbook frames temple ordinances as binding covenants made in the house of the Lord that prepare members for returning to Heavenly Father, so losing the ability to participate severs the practical route by which the Church administers those covenants [4].
3. Paths back: repentance, re‑baptism and re‑ordination
Multiple sources describe a restoration process: excommunicated persons may, after a period and judged repentance, be re‑baptized, regain membership records and again receive ordinances and callings as determined by leaders [3] [1] [2]. These sources emphasize that reinstatement is contingent on interviews and leadership judgment; the Church’s published handbook and explanatory guides outline confidential, leader‑led processes for restoration [2] [1]. Specific procedural timelines and requirements can vary and are handled case‑by‑case, according to these accounts [3] [1].
4. Dead proxy ordinances and the living who are excommunicated
Sources note that temple work for the dead is a separate program performed by living, temple‑worthy members acting by proxy; the literature and historical summaries show the Church permits proxy ordinances for deceased persons through living officiants [5] [4]. Available reporting does not provide clear, authoritative statements in these sources about whether names of excommunicated living members remain in temple genealogy systems for proxy work; current reporting here is silent or not specific on that procedural detail—“not found in current reporting” on those exact mechanics in the provided sources.
5. Historical context and changes to temple policy
Temple practice and policy have changed over time, and a range of commentators track those adjustments, from ritual wording and initiatory format to who may be eligible for certain proxy ordinances in past eras [6] [5] [7]. Independent blogs and timelines document past restrictions and later reversals in unrelated policy areas; these materials underscore that temple administration is subject to periodic institutional change, but they do not replace the Church’s current handbook language about discipline and membership [8] [5] [7].
6. Competing perspectives and limitations of sources
Institutional sources (General Handbook excerpts reported in news summaries) and explanatory religious‑education sites concur that loss of membership removes temple privileges [4] [1]. Independent blogs and historical timelines add context about changing temple practices but sometimes include contested or editorial claims [8] [5]. Limitations: the provided sources do not include a single, direct, current Church Newsroom statement explicitly laying out step‑by‑step what happens to previously performed ordinances after withdrawal of membership; therefore, precise canonical language on whether certain proxy records remain or are administratively altered is “not found in current reporting” among these sources [4] [1] [2].
If you want, I can pull direct language from the Church’s current handbook or newsroom for the precise procedural wording on restoration and temple‑recommend restrictions, or compile first‑hand Q&A from Latter‑day Saint leaders on how ordinances are handled after reinstatement — using only sources you provide or that you ask me to fetch.