Tag Archives: Sacrament

Mormon history

Refining the Sacrament

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William A. Hyde, president of the Pocatello (Idaho) Stake, published a lengthy paper in 1911 on “The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.” He explored the history of the ordinance, examined the prayers, discussed the symbolism, all in a very thoughtful and devotional manner. (I make a point of saying that lest you think that he was concerned only with outward trivialities, as you might assume if the following extract were all he had written.) [UPDATE: Per reader request, the full text of the article can be found here.]

We’ve discussed before many of the points he makes here, but he makes those points again so colorfully and in such wonderful detail that I can’t resist another discussion, especially since – by decrying certain behaviors associated with the sacrament – he also shows us what Mormon life was once like in details so casual that they may never have been written down elsewhere.

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Mormon history

I Have a Question, 1899

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More doctrinal and procedural questions answered by George Q. Cannon through the pages of the Juvenile Instructor. Topics include the perennially discussed passing of the Sacrament and blessing of children  — I wonder why the most familiar rituals raise so many questions? — along with some novelties.

We have received an inquiry as to whether it would be better to pass the Sacrament to those coming into the meeting late – many entertaining the view that a more punctual and prompt attendance might be secured if those who come late were denied the privilege of receiving these emblems.

A question came up before the Sunday School Union Board respecting the practice which had obtained in some places of closing the doors of a meeting house while the Sacrament was being passed, and thus keeping outside, until the Sacrament had been administered, those who were not punctual. The reasons that were assigned for this custom were those mentioned by our correspondent above …

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Mormon history

I Have a Question, 1896

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As usual, the answers to these questions found in the Juvenile Instructor are presumed to have been provided by the magazine’s editor, George Q. Cannon:

Is it necessary in blessing an infant for the elder to speak the entire name, as, John James Smith? Or would the child be properly named if the Elder gave it the name of John James, when the father’s name is Smith, and in reality the child’s name is John James Smith?

The mention of the given name or names is all that is essential to the correct blessing of a child, as its name at birth is the same as that of its parents, and therefore it is not necessary to again confer upon it this name. Sometimes in blessing children, however, the original as well as the Christian name is mentioned, which is, of course, not in the least improper.

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Mormon history

They Had Questions, Too – 1939

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In 1939, the Millennial Star featured a regular “Gospel Queries” column; many of the questions appear to have been submitted by non-members. Answers were provided by missionary David Sjodahl King (1917- ), son of Senator William H. King (D-Utah), and himself elected a congressman from Utah 1959-63. He served as ambassador to Madagascar 1967-69; LDS mission president to Haiti 1986-89; president of the Washington, D.C. temple 1990-93; and now as stake patriarch.

Q: How many missionaries are there in the British Isles?

A: At the present time there are 148, eleven of them lady missionaries.

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Mormon history

I Have a Question, 1891

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These questions and answers are from the Juvenile Instructor of 1891. Some of them appear in columns headed “Editorial Thoughts,” some of which are explicitly signed The Editor, marking them as the work of George Q. Cannon.

One of our correspondents informs us that an Elder, preaching to the people in the place where he lived, stated that the cause of so much sickness and death among the little ones of that settlement last fall and spring was the non-observance by the people of the Word of Wisdom. Our correspondent states that he had been called upon to part with three of his children, and he asks if the doctrine which the elder taught is correct, as it causes him to feel very badly, because he has not been a strict observer, he admits, of the Word of Wisdom.

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Mormon history

I Have a Question, 1897

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Here’s another sampling of the questions church members asked George Q. Cannon to answer through the pages of the Juvenile Instructor in 1897. Some of them are still relevant and I can imagine their being asked today … but my favorites are of course the ones steeped in the social conditions of the time they were asked:

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Mormon history

The Repetition of Sacred Ordinances

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There appears to be, among some of our people, an inadequate conception of the sanctity attending certain of the ordinances of the Holy Priesthood. True, the ministrations of those in authority amongst us are not attended with the pomp and worldly ceremony that characterize the procedure in other so-called churches, but the fact that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is in possession of the Priesthood is sufficient to make any and every ordinance administered by due authority within the Church an event of supreme importance.

In performing any such ordinance, the one who officiates speaks and acts, not of himself and of his personal authority, but by virtue of his ordination and appointment as a representative of the powers of heaven. We do not set apart bishops and other officers in the Church, with the show and ceremony of a gala day, as do certain sectarians, nor do we make the ordinance of baptism a spectacular display; but the simplicity of the order established in the Church of Christ ought rather to add to than take from the sacred character of the several ordinances. Continue reading The Repetition of Sacred Ordinances →

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Chaplain B.H. Roberts Eulogizes the Dead

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This post is a sort of prequel to previous posts about B.H. Roberts’s experiences as an LDS chaplain during World War I, here and here. It’s long; you can safely skip lightly through the multiple eulogies – I include them all here for the sake of history and to emphasize what must have seemed to be an endless experience to the men involved.

It was 90 years ago that the men of the 145 Field Artillery began to settle into their training routine at Camp De Souge, France (near Bordeaux). So far, the men seemed to be enjoying their experience in a new land, far from the battlefront. Sgt. William H. Latimer, a Latter-day Saint, wrote to his parents: Continue reading Chaplain B.H. Roberts Eulogizes the Dead →

Mormon history

New Leadership for the Washington, D.C., Branch – 1929

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Today, a branch organized without local priesthood leadership – with children organized into Primary and women into Relief Society, but with no functioning priesthood quorum, no assignments or leadership roles for the men who attended church regularly – would be remarkable, if it existed at all. Yet outside the western Mormon region, that was the norm until surprisingly far into the 20th century: Men in branches in the Midwest, or the eastern states, or in the South, or along the Pacific coast, or outside of the U.S., might serve as local missionaries or teach Sunday School or be MIA officers, but there were noorganized quorums and no responsibility for local administration.

The first elders’ quorum organized outside the intermountain west was that of Chicago, sometime in the late 1920s; I have not yet found enough about that quorum to write about it. The second such quorum, however, in Washington, D.C., leaves enough mark on history to see how those men conceived of their quorum duties. Continue reading New Leadership for the Washington, D.C., Branch – 1929 →