What The Heck Just Happened?

[changed]

I love this one because I've always wondered why it's completely appropriate to refer to Joseph Smith by just his first name ...

Perhaps because Joseph was just so young? "Elder" seems like something you call old people, and I don't think Joseph ever had any grey hair.... perhaps those who came after him took up the same titles just as tradition for a bit?

Edited February 17, 2013 by changed

[Scott Lloyd]

OTOH, I frequently hear the University of Utah referred to as "the U." I wonder if "the Y" is a juxtaposition of the reference to its rival ("Are you planning to go to the U or the Y?"). I have heard "the Y" used in conversation (though not "the BYU").

Thanks,

-Smac

Now, "the Y" is quite a separate matter from "the BYU." That expression ("the Y") is still very much with us and, I suspect, will be for a long time to come.

Incidentally, I think people outside our culture attach the expression "the Y" to the YMCA. Or they used to, anyway.

[bcuzbcuz]

Now, "the Y" is quite a separate matter from "the BYU." That expression ("the Y") is still very much with us and, I suspect, will be for a long time to come.

Incidentally, I think people outside our culture attach the expression "the Y" to the YMCA. Or they used to, anyway.

"The Y" for me, means the YMCA.

[Stargazer]

Now, "the Y" is quite a separate matter from "the BYU." That expression ("the Y") is still very much with us and, I suspect, will be for a long time to come.

Incidentally, I think people outside our culture attach the expression "the Y" to the YMCA. Or they used to, anyway.

That's what my Dad, a nonmember, thought I meant! I thought it quite funny at the time, but he was truly perplexed wondering why I wanted to go to the YMCA after I got home from my mission.

[Gillebre]

I was watching the Bible Videos created by the Church and when the Savior was atoning for our sins in the garden of Gethsemane, He clasped His hands. Once I saw that, I now no longer fold my arms during prayers, ever, but rather clasp my hands as He did in that video representation.

[Hamba Tuhan]

1. Why do men take their hats off when we pray? At Scout camp or Father and Son outings, when it's prayer time, someone always says, "Hats, hats!"

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Paul as the reason: 'Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head' (1 Cor. 11:4-5). For some reason, however, we seem to have clung to first piece of cultural advice and mostly forgot the second, though when I worked in the Caribbean, we had an elderly sister in our branch, a recent convert, who always came to church with a piece of lace covering her head.

2. Why do we take the sacrament with our right hands?

Because we're susceptible to false traditions of the fathers. From Joseph Fielding Smith:

It is a very interesting study to discover how ordinances and doctrines became changed in the first centuries of the Christian era. These changes date back even to the days of the apostles. Paul frequently had to rebuke, warn and counsel with the members in the several branches which he was instrumental in organizing when on his missionary journeys. He severely rebuked the saints at Corinth for desecrating the holy ordinance of the Sacrament and turning it into a feast where the Spirit of the Lord could not be present.

The first changes that came, evidently came innocently because some enterprising bishop or other officer endeavored to introduce into his meetings, or among his congregation something new—just a little different, in advancement of that which was practiced elsewhere. This tendency is very apparent in the wards and stakes of the Church today.

For example, let us consider the ordinance of the Sacrament. It became the custom in many wards throughout the church to have the young men who passed the Sacrament all dressed alike with dark coats, white shirts and uniform ties. This could in time lead to the established custom of dressing them in uniform, such as we see done in some sectarian and other churches. Then again as they passed the Sacrament they had to stand with their left hand plastered on their backs in a most awkward manner. The priests or elders who administered these holy emblems had to stand in a certain way as the one officiating in the prayer knelt at the table. In some instances the Bishop stood in the pulpit with raised hands in an attitude of benediction. Other customs among the quorums and in the services of the wards were introduced. Members of the Church were instructed that they must not touch the trays containing the bread and the water with their left hand, but must take it in their right hand after partaking as their neighbor held the tray in his or her right hand. In the Priesthood in the wards, we now have "supervisors" directing the activities of the deacons and the priests. How long will it take before these supervisors are considered as a regular part of the Priesthood and it will be necessary to set them apart or ordain them to this office? So we see that we, if we are not careful, will find ourselves traveling the road that brought the Church of Jesus Christ in the first centuries into disrepute and paved the way for the apostasy.

4. Why do some people walk to the front of the chapel during church to give the tithing envelope to the bishop?

People do this during church???

7. Why do so many people say they were blessed for growing up on a farm and doing chores, but now they are professors, doctors, and lawyers?

I grew up on a farm, and we worked hard. Like non-stop hard. As a consequence, I'm still a hard worker, which is very much a blessing. At the same time, I hated farm work. With a passion. My parents told me that, if I didn't want to do it for the rest of my life, I should study hard at school, so I did, and now I have a PhD -- which also required non-stop hard work. And next week I go back on 60-hour weeks for the next four months. Hard work doesn't have to include milking, feeding, or castrating animals.

10. Why do deacons still "gather fast offerings" on Fast Sunday when virtually everyone uses the donation envelopes?

Here, most of our members pay tithing and other offerings electronically, though we still have some decidedly low-tech types who use envelopes and create unnecessary work for me and the other counsellor in the bishopric. Our deacons collect fast offerings every month, however. They target their visits to less-active members and a small handful of active members who weren't otherwise contributing fast offerings. We have people who haven't darkened the doorway of a chapel in a couple of years who are faithful fast offering contributors when visited by the deacons. In one case, the member husband is seldom home, so the non-member wife just makes the contribution.

Edited February 17, 2013 by Hamba Tuhan

[Bernard Gui]

We send our tithing and contributions electronically directly to the church thru e=pay. If interested, I'll give you the details.

Haven't heard of this. How does the ward get the record of your donations?

[Bernard Gui]

http://magazine.byu....act=view&a=2957

At work, here in Flarida, People hassle me because in my world the followihg words sound exactly like each other in their grouping.

• Whale, well, wail
  
• Cell, sell, sail, sale
  
• Dale, Dell
  
• Hale, hell, hail
  

They also poke fun at me when I say "purdy."

And well they should!

How do you pronounce those words you listed?

[Bernard Gui]

I love this one because I've always wondered why it's completely appropriate to refer to Joseph Smith by just his first name or "the prophet Joseph", then from prophets Brigham Young to Lorenzo Snow we refer to them by their first and last names. All of remaining prophets we use first and last names along with the middle initial. Just try saying "Thomas Monson" without the "F"... it almost sounds disrespectful.

Well, I think there may be some advantage in having a name that includes an initial as the first name, such as S. Dilworth Johnson. As a missionary, I served as the mission financial clerk for a while and sent my communications to SLC signed

Elder B. Heber Gui. (my middle name is Heber). I thought for sure I would be called as a general authority. Fortunately for

the Church, that didn't work. I am puzzled by the use of initials, too.

[blackstrap]

Then there are the ones that still kept the childhood name ie, Marky Peterson.

[ERayR]

Then there are the ones that still kept the childhood name ie, Marky Peterson.

That would be Mark Edward Petersen, Mark E, Peterson not Marky.

[blackstrap]

I have GOT to remember to put emoticons on my posts.

[webbles]

People do this during church???

We send our kids (they have our envelope) up right after Sacrament since that is the easiest time for us to find him and the kids like getting a handshake from him. I really don't see anything wrong with giving it to him during church.

[Hamba Tuhan]

We send our kids (they have our envelope) up right after Sacrament since that is the easiest time for us to find him and the kids like getting a handshake from him. I really don't see anything wrong with giving it to him during church.

After the ordinance of the sacrament or after the end of sacrament meeting? I wouldn't consider the latter to be 'during church'.

[Stargazer]

We send our tithing and contributions electronically directly to the church thru e=pay. If interested, I'll give you the details.

Yes, please.

[webbles]

After the ordinance of the sacrament or after the end of sacrament meeting? I wouldn't consider the latter to be 'during church'.

After the end of sacrament meeting when every one is going to Sunday School.

[Hamba Tuhan]

After the end of sacrament meeting when every one is going to Sunday School.

I am often handed envelopes then as well, and not only do I not consider it 'during church' but I don't see why people wouldn't do that. I'm pretty hard to find from that point forward.

[Bernard Gui]

Yes, please.

I'm the ward clerk and when we do the tithe/donation submission we open the envelopes from people who have paid electronically and then we have to fill out a donation slip for them. This takes extra time. Is this what you are talking about?

[Scott Lloyd]

Haven't heard of this. How does the ward get the record of your donations?

I did this for a couple of years, but it has been quite a while ago.

I don't think the ward does get a record of your donations. After the end of the year, you get a statement directly from Church headquarters that you can use for preparing your income tax return itemization.

At tithing settlement, you just report to the bishop that you've been paying the tithing directly to Church headquarters.

One drawback is that your fast offerings go directly to the Church and are not available for use by your bishop for local needs. For that reason, I took to paying my fast offerings to the ward even while still paying tithing to headquarters.

[Scott Lloyd]

I'm the ward clerk and when we do the tithe/donation submission we open the envelopes from people who have paid electronically and then we have to fill out a donation slip for them. This takes extra time. Is this what you are talking about?

No, I think he's talking about authorizing a direct withdrawal from his checking account by the financial people at Church headquarters. It was my understanding the process completely circumvents the local bishopric and ward clerk. Maybe I'm wrong.

These days, I pay my tithing via online bill pay through my credit union. I do this, because I had a chronic problem in the past of forgetting to give the envelope to a member of the bishopric while at Church or not being able to find a bishopric member when I did remember it. It was an inconvenience for me; not a major one, but an inconvenience nonetheless. Often I ended up carrying the tithing around in my coat pocket for weeks. Sometimes, in desperation, I would put a postage stamp on the tithing envelope and send it through the mail just to be done with the task.

And I don't like writing checks.

Are you telling me now that I create extra work for the clerk by paying my tithing through online bill pay?

Why does a donation slip need to be filled out if you know it's for tithing? I thought the purpose of the donation slip was merely to communicate to the clerk how much of the donation is to go for tithing, how much for fast offering, how much for missionary fund, etc.

Edited February 19, 2013 by Scott Lloyd

[sheilauk]

How about why do people close their eyes during prayer?

I don't always close my eyes when praying, especially during my daily prayers but during formal prayers in Church and at Church meetings, I usually do. I have no idea why others do or whether there is a reason but I close my eyes simply to be able to concentrate on the prayer, whether listening to another or silently on my own. (makes it interesting during the passing of the Sacrament - I either have to keep opening my eyes or be nudged by a neighbour and then I worry that I might seem like I want people to know how 'devout' I am or that I'm asleep! Oh the dilemmas! ) Anyhow, I find that if I can see what's going on, I get easily distracted by what I can see or by other thoughts intruding. I ask the children and young people that I teach to close their eyes for the same reason, little ones in particular, I've found, are distracted by their toys when they can see them! Of course, then I generally have my own eyes open to keep watch on them! I know I was taught when little to always close my eyes, maybe my teachers had the same feelings!

[Nofear]

Are you telling me now that I create extra work for the clerk by paying my tithing through online bill pay?

Not sure as to the specifics, but the Church apparently doesn't have the internal processes in place for this practice to be commonplace: see tech.lds.org How to Pay Tithing Online

[Scott Lloyd]

Not sure as to the specifics, but the Church apparently doesn't have the internal processes in place for this practice to be commonplace: see tech.lds.org How to Pay Tithing Online

I still don't understand why a donation slip would need to be filled out for the tithing that I pay through my credit union's on-line bill pay service. I always include a memo designating that the entire amount is for tithing, and I always give my membership record number in the memo.

[sheilauk]

I've been thinking how we acquired some of the things we do in church.

Anybody have some explanations? Anyone have any other questions?

2. Why do we take the sacrament with our right hands?

When I first joined, a member mentioned to me that this used to be the practice - pass with the left, take the bread or water with the right - and that increasingly it wasn't observed. For a while, I thought it was the rule! Then I learnt more, in particular from reading the Handbook and realised that it was just a tradition! Probably to do with the old views on the left hand being the Devil's hand. Being right handed, I still generally take the Sacrament with my right and use my left to pass the tray along, but that's because its more natural to do so and thus makes it easier and quicker!

3. Why do we fold our arms when we pray in church?

Again, I've no idea if there is a reason, other than being taught to do it that way in Primary, but I generally fold my arms because it feels more comfortable and I feel like I have to do something with my hands/arms! Before I joined the LDS, I would clasp my hands, as that is how I was taught and how those around me did it, but it was never comfortable or natural (which may be the point) so I'm happy LDS tend to fold arms! It may be tradition, it may be because its different from everyone else, it may be to ensure hands don't stray and do things they shouldn't or there could be another reason!

5. Why does just about everyone say "bless this food that it will strengthen and nourish our bodies" in prayers before eating?

I have a standard wording I use for blessing food, similar to above and basically learned from hearing the blessings said by others! It is easier, though probably lazier - to say a similar thing every time and what blessing are we asking for other than strength and nourishment?

Little things like these are learnt and passed on generation by generation as habits. I guess the thing is to ensure that we don't get hung up on them and that we allow that others may feel comfortable doing something a bit differently - eg using their left hand or clasping hands - so long as the reverence of the event is maintained as much as possible.

[Nofear]

I still don't understand why a donation slip would need to be filled out for the tithing that I pay through my credit union's on-line bill pay service. I always include a memo designating that the entire amount is for tithing, and I always give my membership record number in the memo.

I don't know about any of the specifics, or if a slip is required. There are actually a few threads about it in tech.lds.org. Bottom line though is that it currently isn't intended for use by the general membership yet. Kind of a bummer though as I would use it.