Prayer circle (Mormonism)
In
Mormon prayer circles were once organized by local congregations on a monthly schedule, but in the late 1970s were restricted only to temples.
Origin of Mormon prayer circles
Prayer circles were common in the Protestant revivals of the Second Great Awakening that Smith or other early LDS leaders likely witnessed or engaged in.[1] Ritual circles were also practiced in Freemasonry,[2] to which Smith had been initiated in 1842 by Abraham Jonas.[3] Early Mormons may have practiced Protestant-type prayer circles at least as early as 1833 during the early phase of School of the Prophets, according to Zebedee Coltrin's recollection.[1]
On May 4, 1842, Smith met with nine other men and performed the first endowment ceremony. It is not clear whether this ceremony included a prayer circle. However, prayer circles became the main purpose of meetings of the Anointed Quorum beginning on May 26, 1843. Women were first included in the ceremony on September 28, 1843.[1]
Within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
After
LDS prayer circles were described in Sunstone magazine:
- Dressed in
Within Mormon fundamentalism
Amongst some Mormon fundamentalists, such as the Apostolic United Brethren, prayer circles within temples, endowment houses, and homes are still common.
See also
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Notes
- ^ a b c d Michael, Quinn, D. (Fall 1978), Tate, Charles D Jr. (ed.), Latter-day Saint Prayer Circles (pdf), vol. 19, Provo, Utah: BYU Studies, pp. 84 & 105, retrieved May 3, 2011
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ George S. Tate, “The Prayer Circle,” at http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Prayer_Circle. See also, Albert G. Mackey’s, “An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, 2 vols, rev. ed, [NY: The Masonic History Co., 1920) 2:577].
- ^ Smith, Joseph. "Journal, December 1841–December 1842, Page 91". www.josephsmithpapers.org. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
- ^ Sunstone Magazine, p. 6, retrieved May 3, 2011
References
- Buerger, David John (1987), "The Development of the Mormon Temple Endowment Ceremony", JSTOR 45228107, archived from the originalon 2011-06-13.
- Buerger, David John (2002), The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship (2nd ed.), Salt Lake City: Signature Books, ISBN 1-56085-176-7: Excerpts.
- Nibley, Hugh (Fall 1978), Tate, Charles D Jr. (ed.), The Early Christian Prayer Circle (PDF), vol. 19, Provo, Utah: BYU Studies, pp. 41–78, retrieved May 3, 2011[permanent dead link].
- Tate, George S. (1992), "Prayer Circle", in OCLC 24502140.
External links
- ldsendowment.org (a detailed, but respectful, source of information about the Endowment ceremony).