Prayer in LDS theology and practice
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For members of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...
(LDS Church),
prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified ...
is a means of communicating with God. Such communication is considered to be two-way, with the praying individual both expressing thoughts to God and receiving
revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
, or communication from God, in return. As such, individuals who pray privately often include time to listen and ponder, during or after a prayer is uttered. Communication from God is received through the
Holy Ghost For the majority of Christian denominations, the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is believed to be the third person of the Trinity, a Triune God manifested as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each entity itself being God.Gru ...
, which speaks to the mind and heart of an individual. Prayer is one of the central teachings of the church, and adherents believe that they are commanded to pray often. The LDS Church teaches that humankind has been commanded to pray since its first generation. There are no restrictions as to who can pray, and the LDS Church teaches that all should pray and that God hears and listens to all prayers. Members are taught to begin to pray from a young age, and young children are sometimes asked to offer public prayers. Individuals who are not members of the LDS Church are also encouraged to pray both publicly and privately.


Form

Partially because prayer is considered to be a conversation with God, personal prayers are not memorized, and "vain repetitions" are discouraged. Nonetheless, prayers do have a general form: they are addressed to God the Father and offered in the name of
Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
. Members believe that God, whom they believe is their Heavenly Father, desires to bless them, and that Jesus Christ, whom they believe to be the only begotten son of God in the flesh, advocates before God on their behalf. Prayers are not offered to anyone other than God the Father. Other than addressing God the Father and praying in the name of Jesus Christ, what is said during prayer depends on the individual's needs, wants, or desires. Prayers may be of any length in duration. Prayer is an opportunity to express gratitude for blessings received, to request additional blessings, to counsel with God, or to otherwise converse with God. It is tradition that prayers are concluded with the word "amen." Though frequently offered kneeling down with folded arms, Latter-day Saint prayers are not given facing in a particular direction and may be offered kneeling, sitting, or standing at any time of the day or night. Members are taught to pray with faith and with real intent, which means to pray believing to receive and with the intention to act in accordance with any direction received from God through prayer. Though blessings are requested through prayer, prayer is to be an opportunity to align the individual's will with God's, not to seek to change God's will. Thus, prayers are often filled with questions, and praying members frequently use prayer to seek to know what blessings God would have them request. Believing that God knows all and makes his will known to individuals, members use prayer to counsel with God about life decisions.


Use

Prayers are offered privately, in families, and in public. Private prayers can be expressed both vocally or silently through thoughts. Individuals are commanded to pray always, directing their thoughts to God, and personal prayers are frequently offered in the morning, before meals, and at night. Latter-day Saints are promised that if they pray righteously before activities, such activities will be for their benefit. Group prayers, whether in the family or in public, are offered vocally. One individual is selected as the voice of the prayer. There are no restrictions or traditions as to who should pray, and even small children are selected to pray in family and other group settings. The individual selected as voice offers the prayer on behalf of all present, and others in the group say "amen" at the conclusion of the prayer, which signifies "That is my prayer too." Families typically offer prayers together before family meals, in the morning, at night, and to start or end family events, such as family home evenings. Families are also encouraged to pray together to seek answers to questions or other divine counsel. In these scenarios, those participating in the prayer will each listen for an answer from God and then discuss with the rest of the family. Outside the family, public prayers are offered at the beginning and end of virtually all Church functions or gatherings of Church members. For example, prayers are offered at the beginning and/or end of sacrament meetings, leadership meetings, trainings, conferences, and Sunday School. Outside of official Church functions, prayers are frequently offered at barbecues, service activities, camp-outs, or any other event at which members gather.


Prayer in Latter-day Saint teachings

The LDS Church teaches that prayer is listened to and answered by God and that God commands that his children pray to him. It teaches prayer can provide inspiration, revelation, healing, wisdom and understanding, hope, charity, discernment, strength to resist temptation, forgiveness from sins, compassion, solace from grief, peace, and abilities beyond normal capacities. The
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
, the
Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude d ...
, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price all teach the importance of prayer and how to pray to God. The Book of Mormon encourages believers to "cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save .... Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them" and that "your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you." The Book of Mormon teaches that faithful prayer always includes living as one has prayed by serving and helping others, so that the prayer is not in vain or hypocritical. Alma also teaches, "Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; ... let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day."


Prayer circles

As part of the LDS Church's
temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
endowment ceremony, participants conduct a prayer circle, which
Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, ...
called the "true order of prayer". The ritual involves one person offering a prayer while surrounded by a circle of participants. The members of the circle repeat the words of the prayer. Until 1978, prayer circles were also performed outside of temples.


See also

*
First Vision The First Vision (also called the grove experience by members of the Community of Christ) refers to a theophany which Latter Day Saints believe Joseph Smith experienced in the early 1820s, in a wooded area in Manchester, New York, called the ...
*
Prayer circle (Mormonism) In Mormonism, a prayer circle, also known as the true order of prayer, is a ritual established by Joseph Smith that some Mormons believe is a more potent method of prayer that can lead to receiving greater blessings and revelation from God. The rit ...
* Revelation (Latter Day Saints)#Personal revelation


Notes


References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Prayer In Latter Day Saint Theology And Practice Latter Day Saint practices
Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of ...