Meaning and Symbolism
The "first anointing" refers to the washing and anointing part of the Endowment ceremony, in which a person is anointed to become a king and priest or a queen and priestess unto God. In the second anointing, on the other hand, participants are anointed as a king and priest, or queen and priestess. When the anointing is given, according to Brigham Young, the participant "will then have received the fulness of the Priesthood, all that can be given on earth."
Thus, the second anointing differs from the "first anointing" (part of the Endowment ceremony) in that, the first anointing promises blessings in the afterlife contingent on the patron's faithfulness, the Second Anointing actually bestows those blessings. According to prominent 20th-century Latter-day Saint Apostle Bruce R. McConkie, those who have their calling and election made sure "receive the more sure word of prophecy, which means that the Lord seals their exaltation upon them while they are yet in this life. ... heir exaltation is assured."
The second anointing may have been intended to symbolize or to literally fulfill scriptural references to the fulness of the priesthood such as in the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 124:28, a revelation by Joseph Smith, Jr. commanding the building of a temple in Nauvoo, Illinois, in part, because "there is not a place found on earth that he may come to and restore again that which was lost unto you, or which he hath taken away, even the fulness of the priesthood." (emphasis added). LDS Church leaders often connect this ordinance with a statement by Peter in his second Epistle. In 2 Peter 1:10, he talks about making one's "calling and election sure," and further remarks, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy" (2 Peter 1:19). Joseph Smith, Jr. referenced this process in saying, "When the Lord has thoroughly proved, and finds that the is determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the will find his calling and election made sure".
The second anointing is given only to married couples. A few writers have argued that because of this women who receive the second anointing, in which they are anointed queens and priestesses, are ordained to the "fulness of the priesthood" the same as their husbands. These scholars feel that Joseph Smith may have considered these women to have, in fact, received the power of the priesthood (though not necessarily a specific priesthood office).
Read more about this topic: Second Anointing
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