The lowdown on us Mormons... (Logan: tax return, shops, eat)

[kaytidid]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

Midnight Mass at Christmas, maybe!

Awesome! I will even trek to SL for The Cathedral of the Madeleine!

[osugirl2]

Originally Posted by kaytidid

Awesome! I will even trek to SL for The Cathedral of the Madeleine!

I would love to go to that!

[tdna]

Katzpur, and others, thank you so much for your honest, insightful, and patient answers.

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by osugirl2

I would love to go to that!

Well, we ought to see if we can make it a threesome then. Anybody else?

[Hengist]

Me again! First off thanks for your earlier replies concerning missionaries.

I'm currently reading a privately published book tracing the name of my family back to 11th century England, and various later branches in Yorkshire. The introduction acknowledges a computerised index of English parishes in Salt Lake City which helped his investigation.

I guess my question is, why go to all the effort of collating such information from a foreign country? No doubt many Mormons and other American religious denominations originate from England.

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by Hengist

Me again! First off thanks for your earlier replies concerning missionaries.

No problemo!

I'm currently reading a privately published book tracing the name of my family back to 11th century England, and various later branches in Yorkshire. The introduction acknowledges a computerised index of English parishes in Salt Lake City which helped his investigation.

Hey, maybe we're related. My dad's ancestors were from Yorkshire -- Bradford, in particular.

I guess my question is, why go to all the effort of collating such information from a foreign country? No doubt many Mormons and other American religious denominations originate from England.

We do genealogical work in order to identify our ancestors so that we can stand as proxy for them to receive certain ordinances such as baptism, confirmation and marriage. We believe that a person's spirit continues to exist as a cognizant entity after he dies and will ultimately be reunited with his resurrected, immortal body. During the time between death and resurrection (which could conceivably be hundreds of years), the spirit goes on learning new things and never ceases to be capable of chosing to accept previously unknown beliefs. For instance, many people are aware that the Latter-day Saints perform "baptisms for the dead." We believe that when we are baptized on behalf of one of our deceased ancestors, that person may either accept or reject that baptism. If he rejects it, it's as if it had never been done. If he accepts it, it is as if he had received the baptism himself while on earth. It is necessary, according to our belief, for a person to receive all of these ordinances in order to receive the greatest of God's blessings in the hereafter, which is to be united as a family throughout eternity.

I hope that helps answer your question. I also ask that if anyone wishes to debate the ethics of LDS proxy baptisms, he do so on the Religion and Philosophy subforum of City Data so that this thread doesn't end up getting shut down again.

[kaytidid]

Katz- I have a question. My daughter's boyfriend told her that he was considering getting a Patriarch Blessing..what is that? Thanks!!

[Hengist]

Thanks for that. I certainly learned something new today. My ancestors come from a remote North Yorkshire village called Fearby, before spreading around the wilder parts of East Yorkshire. We are probably not related, but perhaps our ancestors shared a love of bleak lonely places, which SLC must have looked like to those who first arrived there.

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by kaytidid

Katz- I have a question. My daughter's boyfriend told her that he was considering getting a Patriarch Blessing..what is that? Thanks!!

A Patriarchal Blessing is a blessing typically given to a member of the Church sometime between the ages of 12 and 18, although it certainly could be given to someone older than that. It is a one-time blessing given by the laying on of hands by a person who has been called to be a Patriarch. The patriarch generally fasts and prays for some time prior to pronouncing a patriarchal blessing.

Its purpose is two-fold: First, an essential part of a patriarchal blessing is to declare the lineage through which the recipient is said to be tied to Abraham. God covenanted with Abraham that, through his posterity, all families of the earth would be blessed. We believe that every worthy member of the Church belongs to Abraham's family, either by blood or by adoption. It's through Abraham's lineage that the blessings of the Gospel are conferred. So, when a person receives his patriarchal blessing, he learns to which of the tribes of Israel he belongs. For instance, when I received my patriarchal blessing, I was told that I am of the tribe of Ephraim. My husband is of the tribe of Manasseh.

The second part of the patriarchal blessing is to receive personalized guidance for one's life. The patriarch will generally be inspired to mention some of the strengths the person receiving the blessing has, and sometimes his weaknesses as well. The blessing may include counsel about some of the challenges the person may expect to experience during his life. It's sort of a roadmap for life. I once heard it explained that if you were to lay out every verse of scripture out in front of you and then were to ask God to hand-pick the ones that applied most to you, and put them together in a couple of pages, you'd have a patriarchal blessing.

[kaytidid]

Thank you, Katz! There is something very comforting and peaceful about that for me...