participated in a hosanna shout during one of the tokyo temple dedications. 21 years old, and mystified that i knew nothing about the church i grew up in.
My husband and I participated in one of these back in the mid-70s for the re-dedication of the Mesa Temple (after some extensive refurbishing work). We had gotten tickets to go through the temple along with many other looky-lous from the metro Phoenix area. I went through mainly out of curiosity to see if there was anything within that would grab and fill me with a burning desire to be sealed therein. I hadn't any ideas of leaving Mormondom but was really having trouble feeling the spirit and hoped this might ignite it.
Well, we then had the opportunity to attend the Re-dedication services since we were members of a Mesa ward. Co-incidentally , we weren't full-tithe payers by any means. We got all gussied up on the appointed day and presented ourselves at the assigned over-flow building. At the door we were each handed a white hanky and told we would need it during the service. Hence my one and only intro (quite unexpectedly and with no prior info) to the Hosanna Shout. Thought it was both creepy and comical. I kept trying to visualize the ancient Israelites performing the same rite.
How did it afffect us you might ask? My husband and I were never sealed. I resigned my membership in the latter 80s and was among the first limited group allowed to do so. Thank you, Norman and Muriel Hancock!!
I had forgotten about that. I was 13 and that dedication was my first indication that Mormonism might be a cult. We brought our own handkerchiefs for the "Hosannah shout," so my parents explained what it was. I said, "You've got to be kidding."
I would love to know if they collect the handkerchiefs afterwards--they would be that cheap. Make the Young Women launder and iron them all.
I went to the dedication of the Dallas Temple and vaguely remember the shout. Strange folks the TBMs. Boy I am so glad not to be among them any longer.
We went to one of those televised temple dedications right before we left for good. My kids, who were 10 and 12 at the time were really creeped out by the Hosanna Shout too. They told me later they wanted to ask if they were in a cult.
There's a reason they don't allow converts to attend a temple dedication or broadcast, as they realize that would be the last time they see them. I'm saying that because I was dunked a couple of weeks before some temple was dedicated, and had I gone to the stake center, I would have realized a lot sooner that I had joined a cult.
Nothing spells cult like repeating "hosanna, hosanna, hosanna, to god and the lamb" in a drab monotones while shaking a handkerchief not quite high enough for other people to see, in a white room full of people four times your age wearing dress clothes and white slippers.
Look at monson in the youtube video. He looks less that thrilled. he looks like he's trying to swat a fly with the hanky. My DH's mother brought me back a white hanky in plastic from a hanky dance at Nauvoo, I think. I could not believe what it was supposed to be used for. I appreciated the thought, and I still have the plastic wrapped hanky, but I thought WTF???? and I was TBM at the time.
One time, I was doing the HS in my stake center. Everyone was really solemn as we peered at the big screen in front of the Chapel. The Navou temple was being dedicated. I accidentally dropped my white hanky on the floor. The retired stake president next to me, tapped me on the shoulder and said in an oh so sacred of a voice, "you have dropped you hanky, you really should be more careful with this sacred ceremony in not letting you hankerchief touch the ground." His expression was so solemn and sacred. I said thank, blew my nose, and stuffed it in my pocket and walked out.
That video is insane, it should be published onto peoples facebook sites in response to the Book Of Mojo promotion they are trying to flush the world with.
The temple dedication I went to was rather weird. Instead of going to the new temple, we went to the stake center which we were told was extension of the temple for the ceremony. We had to show our temple id to go into the building. All the doors to the outside were locked except one. Everyone was given a little piece of really cheap white cloth to wave. After the service was over, the stake had boxes to collect the white cloths in. The white cloths were going to be used at the next temple.
I was a stake clerk at the time and we beamed the service that was at the temple to the stake center. The SP insisted that when it was 10 minutes to start time, that I was to lock the doors and not let anyone into the building during the meeting. If anyone left, they could not return.
I remember yelling to people in the parking lot they had to hurry into the large and spacious building. Some hurried and others ignored me and continued to talk to their friends. You cannot imagine how pissed some members were when they presented themselves at the door after we had locked it. A once in a lifetime event and they were on Mormon standard time for it.
They used to do the hosannah shout for other stuff in Mormonism. It goes way back. There's that story about two guys leaving on their missions, one with a wife who was seriously ill in bed. He left with a heavy heart, and after some distance away decided to do the hosannah shout and supposedly his sick wife appeared at the door and waved.