I'm not sure why there is such a fascination with "secrets" in the temple. As you know - stuff is out on the internet. So it's not secret - it is sacred to us. 
 
As we see in the Old Testament - there were physical symbols taught to the Children of Israel to teach them about the coming of the Messiah (Jesus Christ). Likewise much of the symbolism in the temple is for teaching us about our relationship with Our Heavenly Father. God will judge us by the thoughts and intents of our hearts. The temple is there to help us learn about God, to help guide us in our paths on earth and to prepare us for after we die. Just as baptism is a symbol or token of a covenant we make with God - the ordinances in the temple are symbols for additional covenants we make with God. 
 
But let me say that for someone looking from the outside of the LDS church and seeing what they consider weird or curious things - likewise someone unfamiliar with Judaism or New Testamant time Christianity would think the same thing. Much of it is perspective. For us who are members of the Church and understand the basic beliefs and doctrines of the gospel - the other things that are weird to others make sense to us because of the foundational context that we know about and believe sincerely in. 
 
One thing you might find interesting is the following: In the general population as people become more educated the less believing they are in their Church. With the LDS church - it is exactly the opposite. The higher education a mormon has - the stronger their beliefs and the more firm they become in their practice of them. We believe that the whole truth has been restored and that many of the things that have been lost through the centuries during the Great Apostacy have been restored. Hence - that is one of the reasons we need the Book of Mormon and living Prophets so that we can have the fulness of the Gospel and the ability to receive Heavenly Father's counsel and words for us today. There must be something to our church - otherwise it wouldn't keep growing and wouldn't have the ability to transform people's lives through the Grace and goodness of Jesus Christ. 
 
If someone has more in-depth questions about this kind of stuff there is a great resource with lots of great documentation on questions like this. It is at FairLDS.org

In the forth paragraph, you said, "In the general population as people become more educated the less believing they are in their Church". This statement is SOOOO NOT TRUE. I'm not sure where you got your information. Almost everyone I know who has attended a Bible Study with me has gotten even closer to the Lord and Church. The church is our place to worship our Lord, and getting closer to Him means getting closer and more involved in our Church. I'm not making comments about your religion, you shouldn't do it of others. I believe there is one way to Heaven and that is through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as stated in the Bible over and over again. I believe in God's word, no other.

Patti, 
 
Sorry. I didn't mean to offend. I had seen the references to studies about the inverse correlation between "believing" and education. I was not trying to demean other churches nor it's members. I was just trying to point out a difference from the average church-goer that has been documented by some research.  
 
Here is a link to a study done by some LDS educators at BYU who was disputing the findings done elsewhere: Link.  
 
Here is another article giving greater explanation and additional references:Link

Patti, 
 
What Jett meant to say, and what the research indicates, is the more education a person obtains about the world we live in, the less likely they are to remain in their church. Thus, secular education, not biblical education. For example, scientists are always trying to carbon date things or trying to find out how the universe began. the conclusions that they come up with continually do not support the scriptures or faith in general.  
Fo me the opposite is true when I continue to learn about science. As a Latter-Day Saint, having received knowledge through the spirit and personal revelation, I can see how science supports God in all things....not the other way around. 
Jett and I are not saying that one must be a Mormon to understand this....just be in tune with the spirit of God. Sounds like you are on that track already.