Can anyone tell me what exactly happens when someone's name is placed on a "Prayer Roll" at the temple? How exactly are they prayed over? When would this be done? Is there a special prayer?Are the names spoken out loud while praying? I'm only familiar with endowments, sealings and BFTD. Someone asked me about it today and I've never thought about it before. Now I'm curious.

35 years ago all they said was something along the line of "bless the people whose names are on this roll" while holding a bag of requests up in the air.

I doubt that part has changed little.

I think you could use the internet to put names on the roll, but then people started adding names like "Peter Nibble" and stuff, so now you can't do it.

It is placed in a bag with several other names and placed on an alter during the weird circle prayer. It happens during the endowment session towards the end.

I guess this means god is not all-knowing.

Dave the Atheist Wrote:
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> I guess this means god is not all-knowing.

Yep. 'Cause god doesn't know you need his help unless somebody writes your name on a piece of paper that is put in a pouch that people make funny gestures over.

> > I guess this means god is not all-knowing.
>
> Yep. 'Cause god doesn't know you need his help


Or it could mean that an all-loving God refuses to act on your behalf until "somebody writes your name on a piece of paper that is put in a pouch that people make funny gestures over."

Perhaps God won't respond to only the individual's prayer or won't respond whole heartedly; it takes a whole ceremony in the temple to cause God to take your request for a blessing seriously.

The more these practices are examined, the more absurd and bizarre they appear.

Doesn't seem that strange; in the Episcopal church the priest will read off names (as well as things like victims of disasters or war) and after that, allows congregants to name others not on the list. Sometimes the classic "crazy cat lady" will say something odd, but it's a frikkin' church, where everyone is allowed.

Ok, so long story short, I left the mormon church in 2000, but in 2004 I was in an endowment session in the Portland, Oregon temple. Afterwards, I was in the changing room, saw the prayer roll slips, wrote "Mickey Mouse" on one and "Donald Duck" on another and put them in. I was glad that I did it there and not at the entrance where anybody could add one. This way, if the guy was reading them, he would know that a heathen was as far in as the changing room.

Funny you mention Mickey Mouse, Levi. Crazy, and funny story. As I was reading your post - and watching Antiques Roadshow - some artwork prints were being appraised and the appraiser said "Mickey Mouse", at the exact moment I read Mickey Mouse in your post.

When I was LDS, the names were in a bag, placed on the alter, during the prayer circle towards the end of the endowment session

The white leather packet that contained the names looked about 6" long, 3" wide, and about 4" thick. The thick part always got to me--how many hundreds of thousands of names could be in that stack.

Of course, this was an obvious attempt to make it look like whole countries called in names. Just another attempt to inflate numbers.

The first time I saw that pouch on the magic sky daddy alter it just hit me how impersonal it all was. Everything about TSCC is just so meaningless and empty.

Thanks, everyone, for your responses. Impersonal, indeed. I wonder if the slips are even read at all. Hope Mickey and Donald made it.

I doubt they're ever read. They're just collected from the boxes and shoved in a bag.

It always struck me as odd when TBM's would say they called multiple temples to add names to the rolls. A family member is sick, you're praying for them, they've received blessings, but it's going to take a bunch of people in silly costumes that you don't know mumbling a meaningless prayer in the temples for God to help out? What kind of an asshole God are you worshipping?

This "rite" of the true order of prayer bothered me the most about the temple ceremony. I know many were upset by the penalties or the washing and anointing; but you go to the temple and find out that real way to pray isn't by kneeling down in humility and closing your eyes or going out to the wilderness to pray in earnest....

...NO!!! The true order of prayer is a ritualistic circle around an altar that can only be heard by the opening lines of "Pay Lay Ale" and hands raised and lowered three times. Why??? Does that mean that all of those personal prayers done at the bedside or done in Family Home Evening are of naught??? Not even weak imitations of what Elohim demands to connect to him? What about Sacrament Prayers? Blessings and anointing of the sick? Patriarchal blessings? These weren't done on altars with signs and tokens given? Do they not have the same oomph?

and let's not forget, that during the true order of prayer, "the sisters in the room will please veil their faces."

That part bothered me from the first time I went through.

Me too. I think it bothered me even more than pantomiming our own violent demise. At that time the country was in the throes of trying to pass the ERA and the money to fight it was coming from the church. I was bothered by that, but assured that the church holds women in the highest esteem. Then I go through the temple and hear, "the women in the room will veil their faces. I just remember feeling like, "Oh God, make it stop."

the grammar of that sentence always stood out to me--it's an order with "please" added in.

What if you simply replied "No thank you" and remained unveiled?

the last few times I went to the temple, I was tempted to leave my face unveiled, with no pleasantries.

Can you post names by Internet or phone? That would be sweet. I'd add Peter Nibbler, Dirk Diggler, and others to the list.

For the longest time I though there was a bread roll in that bag.

WHITE bread, of course.

I remember once trying to get some family member's names on the prayer roll. They wouldn't let me call them in. I only had a limited use recommend. They wouldn't take the names from the baptistery, so I had to walk around to the other door (lovely adult, couldn't even take a walk of a few mins through their precious temple because I wasn't old enough to be worthy at 22, anyway). You could literally see where you submitted the names from the recommend check desk. I had a freaking limited use recommend. I mad it clear I only wanted to go the 10 feet to put names on the prayer roll. They wouldn't even put the names in for me. Finally, they decided I could go in myself if I had an escort.

That's not even the time I was most treated like a child at the temple, but that's a story for another day. It's when I stopped lying to myself about believing in the church. It came at a very inconvenient time. But again, story for another day.

I've long since wanted to own a restaurant or pub when I retire, and recently went clear across the states to see about taking one over from a guy (a no-go). I wanted to call it "The Sign and Token," or "The Signs and Tokens." The logo would incorporate two clasped hands in the patriarchal grip. Waiters/waitresses would be in white pants/skirts and shirts with a green apron. The "Prayer Roll" was to be one of the menu sandwich items.

(If it doesn't exist already, I'd get a micro-brewery create some Pay Lay Ale on tap, and would also carry beers like Provo Girl and Polygamy Porter.)

(Hey, it could still happen. So if you have any good menu ideas...)

green Jell-O shooters

Mike T. Wrote:
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>
> (If it doesn't exist already, I'd get a micro-brewery create some Pay Lay Ale on tap, and would also carry beers like Provo Girl and Polygamy Porter.)
>

Oops, it already exists. In Park City a few years ago I tried a Polygamy Porter. I thought if it was good, I'd have another (you can't have just one). It wasn't, so I tried a few others. I can't remember their names but they were better.

Maybe other names would be possibe. Good thoughts though.

The subject came up yesterday. Talking with my TBMother yesterday concerning aweful pain and suffering I'm going through, she said she put my name in the temple, on the prayer rolls.

I asked how it was done. She said the name (individually?) is put into a cloth-type envelope and played over, for two weeks.

Does anyone know if this is true?

yes, it's true. In the changing room, where the lockers are, there is a small counter top with little strips of paper and pencils. You write the name on the paper and put it in a wooden box with an opening like a piggy bank. Later, they gather up the papers and put them in a cloth bag. During the endowment ceremony, when a prayer is said at the end, the cloth bag is put on the alter, and the officiator includes it in the prayer.

The prayer roll is brought out at the cultiest part of the ceremony. The most devoted stand in a circle.with the weirdest hand shake. I am mad whenever my family puts my or my daughters' "name in the temple"

The prayer roll and the prayer circle are both just big frickin' jokes. Although the prayer chanted at the altar is not set, the officiator rips through the same check list of prayer items every time, such as blessing the president of the temple, the missionaries, and the youth of the church.

The people in the prayer circle and the officiator don't give a damn about the names on the roll since nobody sees the lists or knows whose names are on it. The names on the prayer roll are just one more itme on the check list. Since the true order of prayer is "taught" at the end of the endowment, the officiator rushes through the prayer as quickly as possible in order to end the session so he can head down to the cafeteria for lunch or dinner with the other temple workers.

The whole thing is a shallow, frivilous ritual that lacks any true meaning or substance.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/16/2016 07:34PM by merryprankster123.

local temple on the way home from work.

I worked in a call center, where we never dealt in-person with clients, so there was no dress code. If you wanted (and I did) to wear jeans to work every day, nobody cared.

Our Stake president's wife and my aunt were both suffering from cancer. Since I was very fond of both of them, I figured that putting their names into the temple prayer roll couldn't hurt. I didn't have time to get home from work and change clothes before the temple closed, so I dashed in with my short list.

Wouldn't you know, the SP himself was at the front desk? He is very austere-looking and can intimidate the daylights out of just about anyone. However, during my friendship with his wife, I had gotten to know him better, and found him (behind the stern veneer) to be a brilliant thinker, very well-read, and quite likeable.

I saw his face start to form into a thundercloud-expression when I dashed in, wearing my jeans and sweatshirt. I handed him my unfolded paper, and said, "Could you add these to the prayer roll, please?"

When he saw that his wife's name was one of the two on the list, his expression changed entirely. As he took the paper from me, he closed both of his hands around mine, and in a husky voice, he said, "Thank you, Sister catnip." He placed the paper in what I remember as a large ceramic vase on a sideboard near the front desk.

Just for the record, temple roll prayers don't seem to have any better batting average than regular ones. Both the SP's wife and my aunt died of their cancer.

Despite my having left the church many years ago, the SP (now the Stake Patriarch) and I have remained friends. We are both great readers and run into each other once in a while at the local library. We share opinions on current best-sellers or current community goings-on, and we always compare notes on our grandchildren. Behind the severe façade, he is a genuinely decent guy.

And I deeply respect the fact that he never remarried after his wife died. That seems relatively rare among Mormon males, especially ones with high status.

Acting in a caring, loving, decent way never goes out of style. I'm sure that the SP appreciated your concern and your efforts to help.

The last time I went to the temple was in 2014 but I always try to dodge the prayer circle because I felt claustrophobic with the veil over my face and one hand in the air.

Anyway the names in the packet are put on the altar and we are all asked if we have unkind feelings towards others in the circle could we please withdraw. So if prayers don't work then it's probably the fault of the people in the circle.

After I left it struck me how many get out clauses that God has in the Church.

If he never answers a single prayer it is always all your fault.

and it is so manipulative to always ask if people want to withdraw after they are already up there and ready, same with the covenants. They say if you aren't ready to make the commitments then you can leave, but they don't say what the commitments are. Of course, after the first time you know what they are. No one wants to walk away in front of everyone.

and youre also not allowed to talk about the temple outside of the temple. So you cant discuss the committments with anyone if you doo disagree after you learn what they are until you go through the whole thing again and agree a second time.

I know there's nothing I can do about it but I wish there were.

I use to say the prayer over the prayer roll when I played #6 or James as an ordinance worker. What a joke. People actually believe that writing names down and praying over them actually work. My mom puts my name in each week as she wastes 2 hours of her time. I can't believe I actually believed this crap.

.Levi questioned, "What kind of an asshole God are you worshipping?"
Polly: IMO, tain't God that's the problem.
---

Also, "qualms not logged in ( )" wrote: "I use to say the prayer over the prayer roll---what a joke. People actually believe that writing names down and praying over them actually work. My mom puts my name in each week as she wastes 2 hours of her time. I can't believe I actually believed this crap."

And "hinehahbeam ( )" added: "I doubt they're ever read. They're just collected from the boxes and shoved in a bag...it's not going to take a bunch of people in silly costumes that you don't know mumbling a meaningless prayer 'in the temples for God'".
---

Polly: When I was "active", one of my jobs was to sit in a little corner of the basement of the L.A. temple and write down the names people--including from non-LDS--called in, to have put on the prayer roll.
While we asked them to submit only a few names, this request was frequently ignored, and virtually someone's whole congregation would be named. (Interestingly, in a similar practice, some Catholic nuns feel called to spend all their time praying rote prayers for others.)

Even so, IMO, I believe sincere, faithful prayers said for others can be effectual. Indeed, many persons can testify to the seeming reality of helpful prayer having been offered in their behalf for this practice it to be flatly dismissed as being useless.

This is not to say that those prayed for received what we wanted for them just because we prayed for them--and thank goodness for that (because we don't know the outcome of what would happen if we did get our wish, while God does).

pollythinks Wrote:
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> Even so, IMO, I believe sincere, faithful prayers
> said for others can be effectual. Indeed, many
> persons can testify to the seeming reality of
> helpful prayer having been offered in their behalf
> for this practice it to be flatly dismissed as
> being useless.

Many persons will testify to the seeming truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, too. Which should illustrate the value of people testifying...:)

When put to objective testing, intercessionary prayer shows no effect of being helpful. Of some "use" may be that the people who do it feel better about themselves, but what "use" that is I'll leave up to each individual to decide.

I'd rather have a spring roll

I had one yesterday. It was great!

Apparently, the Mormon god can deal with countless prayers in one packet with a single prayer but he can't do the same with pages full of names needing baptism and other rituals. They have to be done one at a time.

Submitting me to a temple list is an insult.

Me too.Rather than changing-helping the situation, they feel this is doing something. -Kentfish: temple RICHuals... totally!

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/04/2017 03:20PM by steve benson.

steve benson Wrote:
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> n/t

I used to park a ten speed there, unlocked, for over 12 hours a day. I was generally relieved, if that's the word, at the end of the day, when it was still there. On day four, heading up the hill, at 3:30 am, I turned around, never to do it again.

When they pray for the people "whose names lay on the altar", are those people getting a free pass to god's answers of any kind of preference? - I find that quite unjust, considering that very few people in need would get that chance to have their names in the "rolls". It is also quite disturbing how they first pray for the prophets and church leaders, as if they are needy people.
And finally, this happen during the "true order of prayer" does that mean all other kinds of praying are not true? - what a complicated god!

Sacramento CA and Medford OR temple take call-in names, which was good. After Mr. Peabody was stolen, I called his name in for years up until I quit believing. No one asked if he was a dog, and I didn't tell them.

Kathleen, I'd bet real money yours wasn't the first dog on the prayer roll...after all, they pray for Joseph Smith all the time! :)

:D

So basically god is off the hook for blessing everyone, when he only has to pay attention to only the names in the white bags. Such a loving father. Of course he really only sends blessings to those who don't need them, and even then I am pretty sure he just says whatever.

If he's God (and hence omniscient) wouldn't he know someone is in need of divine assistance already, without the need for prayers to alert him to the fact?

Though the trappings of three temple are bothersome, I fields don't feel it's a big deal having names placed on the prayer roll. There's many studies that have shown that people's faith alone can bring about change in all reality. We're getting in to settle quantum theory but none the less people's intent does interact with the universe for good or bad. If someone put my name in The Prayer roll it doesn't bother me. What can it hurt. If through their faith it helps create that change through that intent then fantastic.

from LDS.ARGH!

Submit a Name to the Prayer Roll
Please call the nearest temple or call the Salt Lake Temple Prayer Roll. Names stay on the prayer roll for two weeks. Submitting names to multiple temples is discouraged. (Names cannot be submitted online.)

Salt Lake Temple Prayer Roll: 801-240-2685
Toll Free: 1-800-453-3860 ext. 22685

When I informed our dear friends (he married us 43 years ago and is now a patriarch) of Merna's cancer, they asked if it would be OK if her name were added to the prayer roll at the Cardston temple. The fact they asked, as Merna is Catholic, speaks to the class they both possess and their love for us. And then Mrs. D said this: "heavenly father doesn't care what church you attend, or don't, what color your skin is, or what language you speak".
Not what a lot of TBM's would say I submit. Love Mr. and Mrs. D like another father and mother.

RB

You ever notice how Mormons' temples, and the 'feelings' they invoke/ provoke consist of the same as, say, Disney World/ Land/ fairy tales/ fiction, EXCEPT, one everybody LOVES to talk about and the other they HATE to/ "can't" talk about.

One is to love and the other to hate.

One imaginable and the other unimaginable, unbelievable, uncredible.

Anything weird here? Yep! Something is rather fishy when something "beautiful", "incredible" or "unbelievable" can't be discussed. Why? Because it is so stupid, fishy, ridiculous and unbelievable (not to mention unimaginable).

You go to the LDStemple (not for the people) to be scared... AND PRAY you never have to return!

My name was put in there a little while back. Anybody want to help me take it out? I've got protection. Like we'll need it. Hahhaha. I'll bye you dinner! We can have a few drinks, maybe desert, go for a drive.

I pray I'll never see another moron temptle. My prayers come true. I'll realistic!

M@t

P.S.- spellfetch!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/30/2017 06:34PM by moremany.

It is interesting to see how some people can only take time to denigrate others' beliefs. Peoplehave praye dfor others for centuries, even millenia. And others poke fun. If it makes you feel better, go at it. Prayer rolls are for those who attend the temple to pray for other people. If some individual chooses to enter a temple "4 years after they left the Mormon church" and put in names like Mickey Mouse, that person is also not telling the truth, because they cannot enter the temple without a current recommend, which they would have to obtain from their local church authority. So, one may laugh at others' beliefs, but there is peace for those that believe in praying for those that need help.

I was at a TBM couple's house recently. They are close friends that accept my lack of beliefs while also holding out hope of my return some day. I don't remember the context, but the woman said something about keeping my name in the temple (hoping people praying for me would bring my testimony back). I immediately shot back telling her that I keep writing to Santa Claus for her.