Ex: You MUST TAKE Sac. WITH YOUR RIGHT HAND!

Never Mind WHY!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2017 03:08PM by GNPE.

Don't let your temple clothes touch the floor. Don't soil them either, so no accidents. Wear adult diapers like the apostles.

Simon Says this and Simon Says that. The things Simon made us do, and all the time Simon wasn't shit.

So much for Simple Simon. There should be a church for simpletons. Oh wait, there is.

NEVER let your used temple clothes mix with regular dirty clothes, or drop them on the floor.

So I had a special, white pillowcase which I kept on top of my laundry basket. ONLY used temple clothes were placed in there. I secured them with a baggie tie, and washed them separately.

Oh, my, I was SUCH a little goodie-two-shoes Mormon in those days!

But garmies were SPESHUL, so it only made sense to treat them that way. . .

Of course there are reasons for it. I'm not saying they're GOOD reasons, but when are Mormon reasons ever good?


Daniel H. Wells, August 18, 1867, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 12, pp. 134-35:

"…I have seen brethren and sisters partake of the sacrament with their gloves on, and in a very careless attitude, stretching out the left hand. You should always put forth the right hand when taking either the bread or the cup; and you should take off your hats if you have them on, and partake of the consecrated emblems with reverence…"


George Albert Smith, Conference Report, April 1908, p. 36:

"…Our people have been taught to take the sacrament with the right hand; we believe that is appropriate, and proper, and acceptable to our Father. The sacrament should not be accepted with a gloved hand…"


Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 3, pp. 107-08:

"USE OF RIGHT HAND IN ORDINANCES. The custom, evidently by divine direction, from the very earliest time, has been to associate the right hand with the taking of oaths, and in witnessing or acknowledging obligations. The right hand has been used, in preference to the left hand, in officiating in sacred ordinances where only one hand is used.

"The earliest reference we have to the superiority of the right hand over the left, in blessing, is found in the blessing of Jacob to his two grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh, when he placed his hand 'wittingly' upon the heads of the boys.

"Earlier, when Abraham sent his servant to Abraham's own kindred to find a wife for Isaac, he had the servant place his hand under his (Abraham's) thigh, and swear to him that he would accomplish his mission. Evidently, this was the servant's right hand…

"It is the custom to extend the right hand in token of fellowship. The right hand is called the dexter, and the left, the sinister; dexter means right and sinister means left. Dexter, or right, means favorable or propitious. Sinister is associated with evil, rather than good. Sinister means perverse.

"We take the sacrament with the right hand. We sustain the authorities with the right hand. We make acknowledgment with the right hand raised."


Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, Vol. 1, pp. 156, 159:

"The showing favor to the right hand or side is not something invented by man but was revealed from the heavens in the beginning…

"The right hand or side is called the dexter and the left the sinister. Dexter connotes something favorable; sinister, something unfavorable or unfortunate. It is a well-established practice in the Church to partake of the sacrament with the right hand and also to anoint with the right hand, according to the custom which the scriptures indicate is, and always was, approved by divine injunction."


Sinister? Perverse? As a natural-born and proud left-hander: go fuck yourself, Joseph Fielding Smith, you lying POS bastard.

:)!

Weasel:

Your Post was awesome and very funny. It just shows how silly many traditions are - many of which you can't find an explanation for.

Both are derivations of Latin, which was the primary official language of the Romans who occupied most of Europe for a time.

I have seen parents slap the hand of a toddler who reached for the sacramental breadcrumb with the left hand. In astonishment, the toddler brought up both hands flat under the tray, sending bread cumblies all over the congregation in the area. The parents were mortified.

The kids in the area, eager for diversion, slid out of their seats and picked up every errant crumb. This more or less restored to normal, the service proceeded on schedule, With a hiccup or to from the slapped toddler, who was trying not to cry.

Not your everyday boring Sacrament.

What you are referring to is "legalism." Jesus was against legalisms. For example, in the healing of a blind man, the Gospel narrative says he picked up mud and kneaded it to put it on the man's eyes. Kneading was forbidden on the Sabbath. Jesus also railed against ritualistic hand washing when the soul was in need of cleansing.

There's no problem, IMO, with people observing a Sabbath, engaging in ritualistic cleansing, avoiding certain foods, etc. these are personal choices and often reflect a cultural norm.

What I DO have a prayer with is thinking that a legalism somehow makes one better than that one's neighbor. My very devout Orthodox Jewish friends never have made me feel like a lessor person because I don't keep kosher. When together, we share their food and traditions. I do the same with my Muslim friends.

Unfortunately, both Mormon doctrine and culture promote legalism.

"The right hand or side is called the dexter and the left the sinister. Dexter connotes something favorable; sinister, something unfavorable or unfortunate."

In some cultures, you wash your ass with a bucket of water and your left hand. You only touch people with your right hand. It works pretty well if soap hasn't been invented yet.

Ignorance translated that into left equals bad luck.

I use my left hand for sanitary purposes, and my right hand for beating off. Et tu, BabS?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2017 03:59PM by BYU Boner.

I use the same hand! What could it mean?

Some people celebrate Easter with pulled pork. Others with pulled sausage.

I really enjoy your Posts. What is your Mo background, assuming that is not too personal.

^^^^^^ :) ^^^^^^ !

Years spent wandering in the wilderness, 40. Tithes spent on a pack of lies, $50k. Getting out, priceless.

That's what I was thinking. Joe probably wiped with his left hand, so he took the sacrament with his right. Others later came up with explanations that have nothing to do with the real reason.

This got me thinking...most people are right handed, most probably wipe with their right hand, and many don't wash their hands very well. Those sacrament trays are NEVER washed! Just how nasty do you think they are?

My dad gave my left hand a red mark more than once for using it to reach for the sacrament.

I see him now, as he's nearing the end of his life, and it makes me sad to watch him twist himself up with guilt over every little thing he may have done to disappoint his god. He is so truly afraid that his own humanity will damn him, that he has spent his life in near constant anxiety.

When I was a kid back in the sixties my father was very upset I was left handed. He didn't make a huge issue of it. But later in life after he passed my mother told me he had confide in her he was afraid I'd turn out to be a bum and be cursed because I was left handed.

Now that I'm retired I can certainly say without a doubt I am now a bum. And the only curse I can think of was being born into that evil, horrible LDS cult.

I always took the sac. left handed, must of freaked out a few hardcore TBM's I bet.

I can identify with that (as a never-Mo). I was brought up in the 50s (which I think gets a lot of unfair bad press), but there was an emphasis on conformity.

I was born left-eyed, so I should be left-handed, but I was forcibly retrained right: never allowed to pick up or throw a ball with my left, hand smacked if I kept using the left for writing, holding the fork, etc. The odd thing is that I'm surprisingly ambidextrous, but I don't think either left or right ever achieved full potential solo. Except...well, Boner has already touched (pun intended) on that...

Obedience has always been the issue with me. I get a lifelong "F" in that course. Organized religion seems to exist for the sole purpose of making stupid rules, punishing those that break those rules and fleecing the faithful of their hard earned money. No kneading on Sunday?? WTF??

Feel free to knead away with whichever hand suits you, Bro! Da Bone

Indeed! Sage advise, bro!

? Coincidence that the rabid TBMs who are ultra-uber conservative Right Wingnuts who protest clean air & water, taxes & other regulations are the same ilk as the Pray-Pay-Obey folks?

No, that's no surprise to me...

Now that's a fact backed up by evidence. GNPE

That was an opinion; opinions don't call for evidence.

Giving up some tax revenue is a small price to pay for obedient robots. It's a win win.

I had a friend who held up his left hand and said I have a wife and then held up his right hand and said I have a girlfriend. Sex with the wife is less often than with the girlfriend and not as good.

A BIG THANKS to JFS for enlightening us regarding 'Dexter' & 'Sinister'! I'm left wondering Why ... in 40 yrs LDShood, didn't I ever hear this from the pulpit?
I guess those rumors about the loss / dilution of 'the plain & precious parts of the gospel' are Accurate!

/sarcasm

I wore an arm brace for awhile and I found it easier to use my left hand for the partaking of sacrament. I was told that I was bringing damnation to my soul for using the left hand in a ppi. I challenged the dweeb to read it verbatim from any scripture. He could not find one. Now I finally have learned that this came from obscure JoD and other conference talks in the early 20th Century.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/18/2017 10:39PM by messygoop.

I enjoyed reading this topic so much! All you guys and gals are such a hoot! Its'been nice having something to laugh about after an ass kicking day at work!