mormonisms

[Truegrits]

I think it is natural, when you pray often, to hear/say the same phrases. After all, there are only so many ways you can be "thankful" for the food...and the hands that prepared it.

[Guest ceeboo]

You begin by calling on Heavenly Father, by the Priesthoo, give a name and then, as I see it, seek a blessing from The Father

Howdie Ben,

Please forgive my LDS ignorance but what exactly is a Priesthoo ??

Is it some kind of Priest that eats owls or am I way off ??

Sorry my friend, I am having one of those " crazy Catholic days ":):)

Peace,

Carl

[Jenamarie]

This is a point that was brought up to me as we prepared to bless one of our grandchildren. Is there are right or wrong and is something valid or invalid, I don't think so but think of what is proper and what is not.

In blessing a baby:

You begin by calling on Heavenly Father, by the Priesthoo, give a name and then, as I see it, seek a blessing from The Father, prayer should be continued to Father. You should not start a prayer to Heavenly Father and part way through the naming of the baby begin speaking to the baby to pronounce the blessing. Something along this line.

Father at this time we seek a blessing upon this child, Father we ask that she/he be blessed with ____ and ____ that she/he will be an example and ____. When all finished then end in the Christ's name. Amen.

Some if not many of the things we do we do out of habit. This one made a lot of sense to me as it was explained to me by my daughters father-in-law, the stake president.

Is there are right or wrong, no. Is there perhaps a more correct way of doing it, yes. At least I think so.

Ben Raines

This was how my Stake President explained it, and it makes me cringe every time a father starts talking to the baby during a Blessing, like "I bless you [baby] that you will be blessed with..." Uh, no. DAD isn't blessing the baby, it's Heavenly Father who is Blessing the baby through the dad. I made sure to remind my husband of this before each of our babies was blessed, and so far he's remembered to do it the "right" way. Even though we're the only ones in our ward who do it.

[BenRaines]

No Ceeboo. It is something we wear on our head. Priest hood. LOL

Ben Raines

[BenRaines]

On a more serious note. The Priesthood is the power by which the world was created, the authority of God to act in his name. The authority given to the Apostles and those called to serve in His church anciently and in modern times.

We believe that it was restored by Peter, James and John to the Prophet Joseph Smith and that it has been passed down since then. I can trace mine from those who gave it to me to Joseph Smith and Peter, James and John who received it from Christ.

Ben Raines

[Guest ceeboo]

On a more serious note. The Priesthood is the power by which the world was created, the authority of God to act in his name.

Ben Raines

Hello again Ben,

A much more serious reply :)

What do you mean by this " power by which the world was created ":confused:

Thanks and God bless,

Carl

Edited October 28, 2008 by ceeboo

[bytor2112]

Hello again Ben,

A much more serious reply :)

What do you mean by this " power by which the world was created ":confused:

Thanks and God bless,

Carl

Hello Ceeboo.....I am not Ben, hope that is ok. This is from a talk from a late Apostle, Bruce R. McConkie.....much of the comments are actually from Joseph Smith:

What, then, is the doctrine of the priesthood? What is this doctrine, framed in the courts above, which can distil upon faithful men as the dews from heaven? (See D&C 121:45.)

Priesthood is power like none other on earth or in heaven. It is the very power of God himself, the power by which the worlds were made, the power by which all things are regulated, upheld, and preserved.

It is the power of faith, the faith by which the Father creates and governs. God is God because he is the embodiment of all faith and all power and all priesthood. The life he lives is named eternal life.

And the extent to which we become like him is the extent to which we gain his faith, acquire his power, and exercise his priesthood. And when we have become like him in the full and true sense, then we also shall have eternal life.

Faith and priesthood go hand in hand. Faith is power and power is priesthood. After we gain faith, we receive the priesthood. Then, through the priesthood, we grow in faith until, having all power, we become like our Lord.

Our time here in mortality is set apart as a time of probation and of testing. It is our privilege while here to perfect our faith and to grow in priesthood power.

We received the priesthood first in the premortal existence and then again as mortals. Adam held the keys and used the priesthood when he participated in the creation of the earth. After his baptism he received the priesthood again, and he now stands as the presiding High Priest over all the earth.

All of us who have calls to minister in the holy priesthood were foreordained to be ministers of Christ, and to come here in our appointed days, and to labor on his errand.

The holy priesthood did more to perfect men in the days of Enoch than at any other time. Known then as the order of Enoch (see D&C 76:57), it was the power by which he and his people were translated. And they were translated because they had faith and exercised the power of the priesthood.

It was with Enoch that the Lord made an eternal covenant that all who received the priesthood would have power, through faith, to govern and control all things on earth, to put at defiance the armies of nations, and to stand in glory and exaltation before the Lord.

[BenRaines]

God's power to create, to move elements, move mountains, heal sick, cause sun to stop in it's course, etc.

The Priesthood is the power by which it is done. Walls of Jericho falling down, parting of the Red Sea. Those types of things.

Along with the material things that can be done with the Priesthood is also the ability to perform ordinances such as baptism, sealing of couples for time and all eternity in the temples, baptism for the dead in the temple, sealing of families for eternity, based on worthiness, etc.

The power to act in God's name.

Ben Raines

[Gwen]

ok wait a min.......... when praying in general yes you are speaking to heavenly father and it would be silly to address the congregation...... however when you are pronouncing a blessing/ordinance aren't you speaking to the person, blessing them for (in behalf of) heavenly father? so you would speak to the person......???

[Guest ceeboo]

Bytor and Ben,

Thank you both for those replys :):)

Ceeboo gets it now :):)

Bytor,BTW, Yes it is ok that your not Ben. You should try and be more confident in who YOU are and what you can offer :lol:

Thanks again, both of you kind fellows

[BenRaines]

If only pronouncing a blessing that is true, an ordinance like baptism and confirmation that is true too.

When giving a baby a name and a blessing who is addressed? Heavenly Father. I would not start a prayer to Heavenly Father and halfway through the prayer start talking to someone else, in this case the baby. I would continue the prayer to my Heavenly Father seeking a blessing for the child. But that is just me.

Ben Raines

[JohnBirchSociety]

No, it is not a requirement to say "...name to be known upon the records of this church..." in blessing a baby. I'm sure the blessings of your children are valid as long as the name was pronounced by the power of the Melchisidek Priesthood and in the name of Jesus Christ. It is funny how we get in the habit of standardizing things that just started somewhere, especially in words we use in public prayers and blessings.

I was under the impression that a Father always has the right, the patriarchal right to bless his children, regardless of priesthood?

The priesthood only comes into effect when performing the specific public ordinance at church, which I never did for any of my children. I just blessed them at birth, privately. It was profound and intimate.

[JohnBirchSociety]

Just an interesting note to me. I've been a convert for twenty years and I still remember the first have dozen health blessing that I performed. Being the newest I got to hear a lot of "older" brethren giving a health blessings. They had some long preambles to get the job done. It was a three minute process to anoint with the oil. Another three minute process to bless the anointing "before the blessing ever started". Where are these beautiful words came from I dont know. I ask the bishop about it once and he told me to follow the PH card that I carry in my pocket just in case something special comes up. The health blessing is simple but sometimes we get carried away and just add beautiful flowery words that just are not necessary. Its not Right or Wrong Just Different. The Lord knows our spirit and intent. If any of the priesthood ordinances had a specific exactness we would be instructed in the proper way. Just like the Baptism and Sacramental Prayers. We are all helpers of the Lord, perhaps not perfect helpers but helpers none the less. Thanks

This brought back a stickler of a lesson from Stake Conference that I nearly walked out on.

The Stake President here mandated that we use the "thee / thou" language in prayers, etc., or they weren't done right.

I kid you not!

[BenRaines]

JBS, so is there a record of your children being blessed and the date on the records or just a private event. No real official need to bless a baby, not a saving ordinance.

Ben Raines

[BenRaines]

There are several talks by General Authorities that using that type of language is the proper way in public prayer. Not something that the Stake President thought up on his own. Don't know if I would say "Not done right" without it but recommended usage.

Ben Raines

[JohnBirchSociety]

God's power to create, to move elements, move mountains, heal sick, cause sun to stop in it's course, etc.

The Priesthood is the power by which it is done. Walls of Jericho falling down, parting of the Red Sea. Those types of things.

Along with the material things that can be done with the Priesthood is also the ability to perform ordinances such as baptism, sealing of couples for time and all eternity in the temples, baptism for the dead in the temple, sealing of families for eternity, based on worthiness, etc.

The power to act in God's name.

Ben Raines

Are we saying God has the priesthood? That's an interesting concept. One that I would completely disagree with.

God created the priesthood. His power is in his nature as the Supreme Being / Creator of all that exists.

[JohnBirchSociety]

JBS, so is there a record of your children being blessed and the date on the records or just a private event. No real official need to bless a baby, not a saving ordinance.

Ben Raines

No, there is no such record for any of my children. It brings up some interesting discussions with records clerks and new bishoprics.

I've just always been uncomfortable with public blessing of children that have no clue what we are doing on their behalf.

Maybe it comes from a complete dislike of my Catholic heritage and the baptism of infants?

[BenRaines]

I would agree JBS, we have done two of the three grandchildren at home with only family members. Submitted a record of it afterwards and received a copy of a certificate for record keeping.

Ben Raines

[MarginOfError]

JBS, so is there a record of your children being blessed and the date on the records or just a private event. No real official need to bless a baby, not a saving ordinance.

Ben Raines

Just an FYI, not directed at anyone. But in case you're wondering what we're talking about

I'm not entirely clear on the finer points of the administrative details of this just yet, but I should be finding out in the next couple of weeks. Others with experience in this may add further insight if you wish.

Children born to members of the Church have the option of becoming "Children of Record," meaning a membership record is created for them even when they have not been baptized. This membership record is created when their blessing by an authorized Melchizedek Priesthood holder is recorded. If this ordinance is not performed--or if it is not recorded--then the child has no membership record. The child's name will still appear next to the parents' on Church rosters and reports.

I am uncertain if a child without a membership record will appear on Primary rosters. I'd have to look at some to find out.

When a Child of Record is baptized, his or her membership record is treated the same as any other membership record. However, if a Child of Record reaches age 18 without having been baptized, and expresses no desire to be baptized, the record is removed from the Church's database.

I can not currently say if a child who has not been blessed can be given a membership record before baptism. I'm actually facing some of these issues right now and should find out soon, although I do not expect that there is a way.

In the end, it doesn't really matter as it isn't a saving ordinance. But those are the administrative details of naming and blessing of children.

[BenRaines]

Also there is not age limit to blessing and giving a name. If a child it can be done any time before baptism.

Ben Raines

[MarginOfError]

No, there is no such record for any of my children. It brings up some interesting discussions with records clerks and new bishoprics.

I've just always been uncomfortable with public blessing of children that have no clue what we are doing on their behalf.

Maybe it comes from a complete dislike of my Catholic heritage and the baptism of infants?

I felt very much the same way. I felt like we were just doing something in place of infant baptism because it was socially expected. I didn't like it much at all. But alas, the wife said I was going to do it whether I wanted to or not :)

On the other hand, it does provide a convenient moment around which to bring in some family and close friends to celebrate the new arrival together. I just didn't feel comfortable asking my bishop if I could do it at home, especially since my biggest reason was, "I don't care enough about the members of this ward to share this with them." I didn't think that'd go over so well.

I do, however, wish that leaders would give more counsel and advice before the blessing. Especially to new fathers. That thing about addressing Heavenly Father throughout the whole blessing makes so much sense. I knew something about the way we do children's blessings was odd, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Probably because the addressing the child is how I've heard it done my entire life. With the next one I'll be sure to do it this way.

The thing that gets me, what is up with having twenty people in the circle. Is it really necessary to invite every sibling, cousin, brother-in-law, uncle, and high school friend to join in that ordinance? Is it really even necessary to have two for that ordinance?

The instructions say "Melchizedek Priesthood holders..." while in other ordinances it states one does this and two do that. I've always assumed that because it says 'holders' we should have at least two, but the lack of specificity leaves room for doubt in my mind.

[Guest ceeboo]

Maybe it comes from a complete dislike of my Catholic heritage and the baptism of infants?

Hi JohnBirchSociety, :)

Does it have to be a Complet dislike?

Can we entertain a slight dislike, or a partial dislike, or even simply a dislike ??:lol:

Ceeboo sad now :(

[Prodigal_Son]

On the other hand, it does provide a convenient moment around which to bring in some family and close friends to celebrate the new arrival together.

Not only that, but you are able to harness the collective power of multiple priesthood holders (though, this can be done at home, too).

That thing about addressing Heavenly Father throughout the whole blessing makes so much sense.

For me, be it right or wrong, I start off directing my words to Heavenly Father. But then, once that portion is complete, I actually turn my focus to my child and present HIM (I've had 4 boys) with a Father's Blessing.

The thing that gets me, what is up with having twenty people in the circle. Is it really necessary to invite every sibling, cousin, brother-in-law, uncle, and high school friend to join in that ordinance? Is it really even necessary to have two for that ordinance?

Again, collective Priesthood Power. But even moreso, trying to avoid offending kin.

[MarginOfError]

I'm not sure I can buy into the collective Priesthood Power idea. I'm pretty sure that one worthy priesthood holder wields just as much authority and access to power as a billion of them. So for me, this wouldn't be a matter for consideration. Offending kin, on the other hand......

[Jenamarie]

I thought the reason for so many men in the circle was so that you could safely bounce the baby.