Welcome.

Ever wondered why the head veil?

Worn by women in the temple?

What’s the purpose?

Better yet, the symbolism?

How does it point us to Christ?

I have.

All of those questions.

Though not comprehensive, here are some fun and insightful answers from some of our finest scholars.

“Coverings on the head represent power (A good example of this is crowns. A crown, whether worn by a man or a woman, represents the power that they have been endowed with to rule and command). Today, many people see a veil as an indicator of oppression and control, but that is because for every righteous symbol, Satan has a counterfeit that he uses to confuse and deceive. Satan has turned the symbol of the veil into a negative one, which can make understanding it difficult. A study of the scriptures will show that veils are used to cover things that are holy and have great spiritual power – like the veil that covered the entrance into the Holy of Holies. As a spiritual symbol, veils (particularly a veiled face) have three meanings: chastity and virtue, submission and obedience, and divinely recognized authority possessed by the veiled person…Perhaps women were to veil or cover during “ordinances” because it was a literal symbol to God of their virtue, power, and authority, and a sign that they were submissive to the ordinances of the priesthood and entitled to speak and participate with power in God’s work.” (Farrell, Heather, Walking With the Women of the New Testament, pgs 241-42)

“Joseph Smith stated that Paul was aware of all the ordinances and blessings of the church, including the privilege of coming into the physical presence of ‘an innumerable company of angels, hav[ing] communion with [them] and receiv[ing] instructions from them’…Paul in his comments, explained that women wore their veil ‘because of the angels’ and this seems to be key to understanding the veil’s general symbolism…According to Joseph Smith, all the ordinances of the gospel constitute signs to God and his angels, and unless they are properly carried out in the divinely prescribed manner, mortals cannot receive the blessings that are attached to them. The veil, therefore, may have been a sign to unseen angels that a woman honored and maintained the order of creation that was established by God, and she was therefore entitled to heavenly blessings…” (Brown, The Gate of Heaven, 158)

“The Apostle Paul…directed that when women prayed and prophesied, they were to have their heads covered. The JST of this epistle brings verse 10 into line with the rest of the passage by changing power to covering – ‘For this cause ought woman to have a covering on her head because of the angels.’ It should be noted that the word translated in verses 5 and 13 as ‘uncovered’ is akatakaluptos and means ‘unveiled’ and the word translated in verse 6 as ‘covered’ is katakalupto which means ‘to cover wholly, [or] veil.’ The word power in verse 10 may have also been mistranslated because the fact that in Aramaic the roots of the word power and veil are spelled the same. (Brown, Matthew, The Gate of Heaven: Insights into the Doctrines and Symbols of the Temple (American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, 1999), 158.

Unto all the world: I love the beauty of the veil we women wear. What a privilege to be thus adorned!