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Catholic Prayer and Mormon Prayer

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Book cover

There is a great article over at LDS Views by Dr. Alonzo Gaskill in which he discusses the differences and similarities between Catholic prayer and Mormon prayer.  It is quite interesting the comparisons he makes, particularly those with prayer in the temple.  I believe this article is from his latest book Know Your Religions, Vol. 1 – Mormonism and Catholicism.

The focus of the article is on Catholic prayer, and that when Catholics petition saints on their behalf it does not mean that they are praying to them.  Gaskill explains that praying to anyone else besides God is against Catholic theology.  What they are really doing is asking those saints, those faithful followers of Christ, to pray for them, to combine their faith in petitioning God for blessings.

In this way, Catholic prayer is similar to LDS prayer in the temple, where faithful members of the Church combine their prayers of faith with each other to make it more effectual in reaching God’s throne.

While I have personally witnessed many Catholics seemingly worshiping saints other than God, such a practice does not accord with Catholic teaching.  In this case, a benefit of a doubt might be granted, since Latter-day Saints also have practices which don’t accord with our teachings too.  My wife once worked for the library at BYU cataloging Mormon folklore, and she could give you a laundry list of interesting practices or beliefs among the Saints.

Read the article at LDS Views here.

Seven Parts of Every Covenant – Victor Ludlow

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Dr. Victor Ludlow, Professor of Ancient Scripture at BYU

Dr. Victor Ludlow, Professor of Ancient Scripture at BYU

Yesterday Dr. Victor Ludlow presented an address about covenants at BYU Education Week.  It was reported on by Sean Walker at BYU NewsNet, from which I reference the elements below.

In his presentation Dr. Ludlow explained what a covenant is and how it has been used throughout history in making promises between man and God, and also between man and man; in addition to religious covenants, these types of agreements are also used to seal secular and political deals.

Dr. Ludlow listed seven elements that are part of every covenant-making process (not necessarily in chronological order):

  1. Begins with a preface to explain the covenant and those involved.
  2. Historical context of covenant is explained.
  3. Stipulations are given, or what each party agrees to do.
  4. Ritual act, or some symbolic occurrence that shows that each party has entered into the covenant.
  5. Rewards and punishments, or blessings and cursings, for obeying or breaking the covenant.
  6. Witnesses must be present.
  7. The covenant continues for a determined length of time. Covenants with God that can be for “even eternity.”

When studying any covenant, whether secular or spiritual, it would be good to break it down into these seven elements in order to better understand it, particularly if you are the one entering into the promises.

Blowing out Birthday Candles

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As most people know, it is a tradition in many parts of the world to bake up a birthday cake for a friend or family member celebrating a birthday.  Typically this cake is decorated nicely and topped with birthday candles, one for every year of the celebrant’s life.  When the time comes to eat the cake, there is a tradition that the candles are lit and the birthday boy or girl makes a silent wish and then blows out the candles.  If they are successful in their comedic (and sometimes spittled) extinguishing, it is said that the wish that they made will come true within the year.

Well, as with most things, there is more here than meets the eye. [Read more…]

Which is Greater – The Temple or Service to the Poor?

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Mormon Helping Hands is a priesthood-directed Church program for providing community service and disaster relief to those in need.A member of another faith asked me the following question:

In the [LDS] service that I attended, the speaker said that service to the Temple is the most important service that we can provide.  Is this opinion common across members of the LDS church?  Why is service to the Temple held in higher regard than, say, service to the poor?

This is how I replied:  [Read more…]

Palm up/Palm down in Middle Ages & Renaissance Christian Art

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Last Judgment by Giotto in Scrovegni Chapel, Italy (click for larger view)In response to a comment by Rick on my post “Consecrate = ‘A Filled Hand’ in Hebrew” I did some searching to see if I could find any commentary or studies of palm up/palm down symbolism in scholarship or art. What I found was interesting.  The palm up/palm down posture has a significant place in Christian art throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, particularly in the figure of Christ.  They have been called the “judging gestures.” ((Jane C. Long, “Salvation through Meditation: The Tomb Frescoes in the Holy Confessors Chapel at Santa Croce in Florence,” Gesta, Vol. 34, No. 1 (1995), pp. 79.))

I first happened upon a depiction of The Last Judgment by Giotto in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Veneto, Italy. This artwork was completed about in about 1305. The scene is a typical judgment, with Christ in the center, the saved on his right, and the damned on his left. One commenter adds some interesting insight into his posture:

The seven virtues and seven vices are sometimes shown in opposition. In the Scrovegni chapel, the Last Judgement shows God with his right hand palm up towards the saved, and along the right wall are the seven virtues. His left hand is palm down towards the damned, and along the left wall are the seven vices, each opposite its corresponding virtue. ((Number Symbolism in the Middle Ages.))

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