decafdarcy Posted February 16, 2018 Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 Hi, i am writing a short film currently which will be about mormonism and a young girl growing up in a mormon household. I am aware that people of this faith do not recite specific prayers, but instead come up with them on your own? Would anyone be able to provide me with a template of a prayer you might say when you wake up, or before you go to sleep, if thats something you do? Thankyou. I am very curious to learn more about this religion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LiterateParakeet Posted February 16, 2018 Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 When we trach new members or children to pray we use a simple format. "Heavenly Father, We thank thee.... (fill in what you're grateful for) We ask thee .... (fill in what you want to ask God for) In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen It's the same morning, evening, meals etc. As one grows in their relationship with God, it is reasonable to move away from the formula a bit. Simply address Heavenly Father, talk to Him as you would any earthly parent or someone you respect. Close in Christ's name. When I say close in Christ's name, I mean you could use the phrase I shared above or say, "In Jesus' name. Amen." Or "In the name of Thy Son, Jesus Christ. Amen" Hope that helps. You should try it out yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zil Posted February 16, 2018 Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 Welcome, @decafdarcy! The following may be information you already know / things you have already considered, but I have no idea what those things are, so here's some basic advice starting from zero... If you're going to write about Mormons without being one, I strongly recommend you attend church meetings at least a few times. Visitors are welcome. Be open and honest about why you're there to avoid any misunderstanding. They might think you're a member from another ward just visiting that Sunday, so seek someone out (if they don't seek you out) and ask for someone to sit with and help you learn. You should ask if you can attend Primary one+ week (to see what your character would have experienced) and Young Women's (if your character is 12+, or to see what she's expecting in her future) another+ week (you can't attend both in the same week as they meet at the same time (the 3rd hour, anyway)). As you sit in the meetings, you can observe the children and imagine how they experience 3 hours of church (yes, 3 hours). To avoid standing out, wear a skirt/dress that comes at least to your knees, that has some sort of sleeve, and doesn't show cleavage (pictures of modern women on LDS.org might give you some ideas). Primary children (under 12) and Young Women (12-18) also (may) attend Church activities during the week. For a better story, you should ask if you can attend these too, since your character would. anatess2, Jane_Doe and Just_A_Guy 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zil Posted February 16, 2018 Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 34 minutes ago, zil said: attend church meetings Look here for more info / to find a location: https://www.mormon.org/worship Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grunt Posted February 16, 2018 Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 Here's the prayer my seven year old typically delivers before meals: Dear Heavenly Father, We thank you for this day. We thank you for this great meal mommy prepared for us. We thank you for <insert something that happened to him today>. We ask that you let us have a good night. We ask that you let us find one person, or two, that we can help tomorrow. We ask that you help us behave. We ask that you make <whoever> not distract me during <whatever> so that I don't lose minutes at recess. We ask that you help <whoever> with <whatever issue they're having like health, trouble with math, missing the bus>. We pray this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen Oh yeah, and we hope that we get to do <whatever> tomorrow and that my brother doesn't ruin it. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen NeuroTypical, person0, Maureen and 4 others 3 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
person0 Posted February 16, 2018 Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 23 minutes ago, Grunt said: Here's the prayer my seven year old typically delivers before meals: Dear Heavenly Father, We thank you for this day. We thank you for this great meal mommy prepared for us. We thank you for <insert something that happened to him today>. We ask that you let us have a good night. We ask that you let us find one person, or two, that we can help tomorrow. We ask that you help us behave. We ask that you make <whoever> not distract me during <whatever> so that I don't lose minutes at recess. We ask that you help <whoever> with <whatever issue they're having like health, trouble with math, missing the bus>. We pray this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen Oh yeah, and we hope that we get to do <whatever> tomorrow and that my brother doesn't ruin it. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen Wow! That's great! I wish I could easily get my seven and eight year old children to put that much thought into their prayers. Sometimes we have to remind them to think about a lot of things that they could pray about before they start. Otherwise we might get, "Dear Heavenly Father, please bless this food, in the name of Jesus Christ Amen." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just_A_Guy Posted February 16, 2018 Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 One tip that is included in @LiterateParakeet‘s post, but that she doesn’t explicitly point out, is that for a long time Mormons were counseled to use the archaic second-person (“thee”, “thou” and its appropriate verbal conjugations like “hast”, “art”, “lovest”, and so on) when addressing deity; in order to maintain a more reverential tone. This tradition isn’t as strong as it used to be (as @Grunt‘s post shows); but as an author, if you’re trying to convincingly write a character who was born and raised Mormon, it’s something to consider. zil and NeuroTypical 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrShorty Posted February 16, 2018 Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 An interesting question. I appreciate the desire to make your character(s) authentic. In addition to what others have said, I will offer the following considerations: 1) Assuming an English language story, we have been taught for years to use the old English pronouns thou, thee, thy, etc. in our prayers. It has been a few years since I last saw it emphasized, and not everyone does it. Will your character(s) pray using these old pronouns? If they do use them will they use them correctly? Will they mix them up ("We thank Thee that You...")? So many possibilities. 2) Even though, as others have explained, we don't have rote prayers, there are certain phrases that have become -- shall we say -- common. Like "Bless this food to nourish and strengthen our bodies" -- even when the food in question is donuts and root beer floats. One of many humorous looks at some of these phrases: https://mormonhub.com/blog/life/humor/top-10-weird-things-mormon-prayers/ Getting a handle on these kinds of phrases -- and decide how best to use them (or not use them) -- will help with yoiur authenticity. 3) I will also recommend that you find some Mormon kids (and their parents, because I assume you will want the parents to be authentic as well) to interview. There's only so much a middle aged man in an internet forum post can tell you about the subtleties of Mormon life and culture. I also might suggest that you seek out some of the movies that others have made that depict Mormons. I'm thinking of some of those Halestorm movies (The RM, The Singles Ward, etc.) or something like "The Other Side of Heaven" by Disney (I'm sure other members here can suggest other specific titles). Not all depictions are accurate -- especially in some of the comedies where caricatures of stereotypes are commonly used -- but it may give you some ideas of how to put your characters out there to get the effects that you want. Just_A_Guy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vort Posted February 16, 2018 Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 10 hours ago, decafdarcy said: Hi, i am writing a short film currently which will be about mormonism and a young girl growing up in a mormon household. I am aware that people of this faith do not recite specific prayers, but instead come up with them on your own? Would anyone be able to provide me with a template of a prayer you might say when you wake up, or before you go to sleep, if thats something you do? Thankyou. I am very curious to learn more about this religion. It falls to me to play the old grump, since no one else has seen fit to take on the role. To a Latter-day Saint, prayers are sacred. We rarely portray full prayers in dramatic or fictional works, and I would say never portray covenant ordinances in such a way. (Almost never -- I'm sure someone somewhere has done so.) I appreciate your striving for authenticity, but my sincere suggestion would be that you not attempt to portray such a sacred and private interaction. I also wonder what the story will portray in a larger sense. Is this a story of a heroic young women escaping from the oppressive shackles of the rigid Mormon patriarchy? If so, few here will be interested in helping out your effort. Can you maybe give some context for what you want to do with this information? zil, MrShorty, Just_A_Guy and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 16, 2018 Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 10 hours ago, decafdarcy said: Hi, i am writing a short film currently which will be about mormonism and a young girl growing up in a mormon household. I am aware that people of this faith do not recite specific prayers, but instead come up with them on your own? Would anyone be able to provide me with a template of a prayer you might say when you wake up, or before you go to sleep, if thats something you do? Thankyou. I am very curious to learn more about this religion. I doubt that a short film will really be able to "talk about Mormonism" in any meaningfully different way than any typically conservative household (about 70% of Mormons lean conservative). And growing up in a Mormon household would also be difficult to portray in any specifically Mormon way in a short. The only way to really show it as any different would be to charicaturize it or just keep mentioning it a lot or focusing on it. The fact is that in everyday life, you wouldn't really notice much in the way of differences in a short timeframe unless you happen to cover those instances where the difference come up. But I'd believe we are different from the Average American in that we are much more conservative in our social tendencies. We have fewer incidence of sex/pregnancies outside of wedlock. We don't drink, smoke, do drugs, drink coffee or tea. That has come up in my adult life. But it never really came up in my teen life or younger because my non-Mormon friends simply didn't invite me to parties with drinking and drugs. They respected me and my religion enough to not try to take me from those standards. We (for the most part) don't watch rated R movies. We don't use strong language (again, for the most part). Basically, if you just take an average conservative, really nice and polite person, who tries to do the right thing, then you're describing a Mormon. If you're a fan of Supergirl (the WB series) here's a line that pretty much describes it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zil Posted February 16, 2018 Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 15 minutes ago, Vort said: I also wonder what the story will portray in a larger sense. Is this a story of a heroic young women escaping from the oppressive shackles of the rigid Mormon patriarchy? If so, few here will be interested in helping out your effort. Can you maybe give some context for what you want to do with this information? And, if this is the sort of story, it's probable the character wasn't terribly devout in the first place, which changes everything... Sunday21 and Vort 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane_Doe Posted February 16, 2018 Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 11 hours ago, decafdarcy said: Hi, i am writing a short film currently which will be about mormonism and a young girl growing up in a mormon household. I am aware that people of this faith do not recite specific prayers, but instead come up with them on your own? Would anyone be able to provide me with a template of a prayer you might say when you wake up, or before you go to sleep, if thats something you do? Thankyou. I am very curious to learn more about this religion. A useful resource for you (if you just want to see Mormons as people), is the film "Meet the Mormons". It's on Netflix, YouTube, etc (I can give you a link if you'd like). It just shows Mormons as people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grunt Posted February 16, 2018 Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 4 hours ago, Carborendum said: I doubt that a short film will really be able to "talk about Mormonism" in any meaningfully different way than any typically conservative household (about 70% of Mormons lean conservative). And growing up in a Mormon household would also be difficult to portray in any specifically Mormon way in a short. The only way to really show it as any different would be to charicaturize it or just keep mentioning it a lot or focusing on it. The fact is that in everyday life, you wouldn't really notice much in the way of differences in a short timeframe unless you happen to cover those instances where the difference come up. But I'd believe we are different from the Average American in that we are much more conservative in our social tendencies. We have fewer incidence of sex/pregnancies outside of wedlock. We don't drink, smoke, do drugs, drink coffee or tea. That has come up in my adult life. But it never really came up in my teen life or younger because my non-Mormon friends simply didn't invite me to parties with drinking and drugs. They respected me and my religion enough to not try to take me from those standards. We (for the most part) don't watch rated R movies. We don't use strong language (again, for the most part). Basically, if you just take an average conservative, really nice and polite person, who tries to do the right thing, then you're describing a Mormon. If you're a fan of Supergirl (the WB series) here's a line that pretty much describes it. I had The Expanse on in the background, not really paying attention. I looked up to see a HUGE Trumpeting Moroni flash across the screen. Turns out they were launching the L.D.S.S. Nauvoo into space. Wish I'd paid more attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnsonJones Posted February 17, 2018 Report Share Posted February 17, 2018 18 hours ago, decafdarcy said: Hi, i am writing a short film currently which will be about mormonism and a young girl growing up in a mormon household. I am aware that people of this faith do not recite specific prayers, but instead come up with them on your own? Would anyone be able to provide me with a template of a prayer you might say when you wake up, or before you go to sleep, if thats something you do? Thankyou. I am very curious to learn more about this religion. It's basically as @LiterateParakeet posted. Good Luck with your film. If you have any other questions about LDS culture, please feel free to ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
person0 Posted February 17, 2018 Report Share Posted February 17, 2018 18 hours ago, decafdarcy said: I am very curious to learn more about this religion. How curious? This scale may be a useful reference: Anddenex and zil 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grunt Posted February 17, 2018 Report Share Posted February 17, 2018 15 minutes ago, person0 said: How curious? This scale may be a useful reference: I was about a 4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
person0 Posted February 17, 2018 Report Share Posted February 17, 2018 6 minutes ago, Grunt said: I was about a 4. Given she has not yet responded a single time beyond the initial post, I wonder if she is on the scale at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironhold Posted February 17, 2018 Report Share Posted February 17, 2018 Also... Newspaper movie critic here. Just saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 17, 2018 Report Share Posted February 17, 2018 18 hours ago, Grunt said: I had The Expanse on in the background, not really paying attention. I looked up to see a HUGE Trumpeting Moroni flash across the screen. Turns out they were launching the L.D.S.S. Nauvoo into space. Wish I'd paid more attention. Both the books and the series have a plotline about Mormons. The idea was that FTL travel has not yet been invented. So, all the space travel was within the solar system or nearby. So, the idea of traveling to another habitable planet would take a generational space ship taking a large group of people to a distant planet. The authors realized that the government wouldn't build it because it would cause all your votes to go to another planet. So, no politician is going to champion that. Corporations would likewise not benefit. So, you'd have to have a group of people who were wealthy enough to get something like that done while having a more altruistic motive. But who are you going to find with that kind of "radical optimism"? They had heard of the Trek West and realized that this would simply be the futuristic sci-fi version of it. So, it seemed to fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bytebear Posted February 18, 2018 Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 (edited) So, the big Moroni is just the futuristic version of the Nauvoo bell? Edited February 18, 2018 by bytebear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mordorbund Posted February 18, 2018 Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 15 hours ago, Carborendum said: Both the books and the series have a plotline about Mormons. The idea was that FTL travel has not yet been invented. So, all the space travel was within the solar system or nearby. So, the idea of traveling to another habitable planet would take a generational space ship taking a large group of people to a distant planet. The authors realized that the government wouldn't build it because it would cause all your votes to go to another planet. So, no politician is going to champion that. Corporations would likewise not benefit. So, you'd have to have a group of people who were wealthy enough to get something like that done while having a more altruistic motive. But who are you going to find with that kind of "radical optimism"? They had heard of the Trek West and realized that this would simply be the futuristic sci-fi version of it. So, it seemed to fit. I'm pretty sure I don't want to travel in that Moroni, after @NeuroTypical shared the layering process with us. NeuroTypical 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Karma Posted February 18, 2018 Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 On 2/15/2018 at 10:21 PM, decafdarcy said: Hi, i am writing a short film currently which will be about mormonism and a young girl growing up in a mormon household. I am aware that people of this faith do not recite specific prayers, but instead come up with them on your own? Would anyone be able to provide me with a template of a prayer you might say when you wake up, or before you go to sleep, if thats something you do? Thankyou. I am very curious to learn more about this religion. You lost me at "Mormonism". It's a word that I find distasteful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vort Posted February 19, 2018 Report Share Posted February 19, 2018 On 2/18/2018 at 10:10 AM, Bad Karma said: You lost me at "Mormonism". It's a word that I find distasteful. Thou didst lose me at "you". It's a cheat word used by those too lazy to specify whether they're talking singular or plural. lonetree, Bad Karma and zil 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroTypical Posted February 19, 2018 Report Share Posted February 19, 2018 (edited) It's why I prefer "y'all" and "alls y'alls". Seriously though, although the word has fallen out of use these decades, it used to be pretty commonly used by folks inside and outside the church. Joseph Smith used "Mormonism" all the time, like in this letter from Liberty Jail. Edited February 19, 2018 by NeuroTypical zil and pwrfrk 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zil Posted February 19, 2018 Report Share Posted February 19, 2018 On 2/18/2018 at 11:10 AM, Bad Karma said: You lost me at "Mormonism". It's a word that I find distasteful. I don't like it much either, but.... 14 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said: Seriously though, although the word has fallen out of use these decades, it used to be pretty commonly used by folks inside and outside the church. Joseph Smith used "Mormonism" all the time, like in this letter from Liberty Jail. It is extremely difficult to figure out how to turn our religion into an "-ism" - "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints-ism" sounds a tiny bit awkward. "Latter-day Saint-ism" sounds even worse. Christianity is too vague. "The religion practiced by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" sounds sort of redundant. And we all know "the Mormon religion" is wrong (even if it's basically the same as Mormon's religion). "The Latter-day Saint religion" may be technically correct, but doesn't sound that correct. "LDS-ism" sounds too much like certain drug users. Really, out of all the various ismified1 variations of our name, Mormonism might not be the worst... It's almost as if the Lord wanted it to be difficult for people to talk about us... 1I think this is my new favorite word: ismify. Vort 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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