Do Mormons receive the Eucharist?

Question

I'm doing a play with Mormons and need to familiarize myself with them.

1) What are Mormon Church practices similar to Catholics'? Do Latter Day Saint Mormons recieve the Eucharist?

2) Do they drink coffee and alcohol?

3) Do Mormons have pastors who can marry?

4) Do Mormons use Christian prayers such as: "Bless us O Lord, and these thy gifts, Which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, Through Chirst, Our Lord. Amen?" Are there other more popular meal prayers that they use?

5) What do Mormon Church pastors wear for Christmas Mass? Do they have mass on Christmas Eve?

6) Do Mormons do the sign of the cross?

7) Are there Mormon communities or churches in NYC and New Jersey?
Thanks!

Answer 1

Mormonism is an extension of Protestantism so to answer your question no they do not celebrate a valid Eucharist as they do not have a valid Christian priesthood.

No Mormons do not make the sign of the cross like early Christians.

Not sure about formal prayers but basically all Christian communities have formal prayers even if they don't want to admit it. Some groups which claim to be "open churches" attempt to deny formality and memorised prayers but there are only so many words in the English language and no matter how they try to use the language they usually always follow a similar form or pattern, so much for their false claims of no repetitious prayer.

Yes Mormons have pastors that marry.

Yes I'm sure you can find Mormons in NYC.

Edit: I have to correct the other posters , the sign of the cross is a sign of the risen Christ hence a sign of our redemption. The crucifix is a symbol of our Lord's passion. Both together tell the entire story of our Savior's greatest miracle. When someone claims they don't make the sign of the cross or have a crucifix as a visual guide because either is not a focus of the risen Christ they really imply those who do are not focused on Christ which is far from the the truth.

It is my greatest hope that these persons will adapt their subtle suggestions to be more honest and less misleading.

Answer 2

1. I don't know what Eucharist is but if it is the wafer and wine, then yes, mormons have something similar. They use water and bread becuase while on the way to Utah, they ran out of water. That and the big families are the only similarities.
2.No, no coffee, tea, alcohol or cigerettes. However choocalate has more caffiene than any of those and chocolate is ok.
3. Mormons don't have pastors. Speakers take turns speaking in church. Leaders are called Bishops and they do marry. They also don't go to a seminary and learn to lead the way most churches do or even get elected.
4. They don't have prayers they write down and recite. It comes from the top of their head.
5. Same thing they have on regular sundays. Three peice suits. Unless christmas falls on Sunday, there is no special service.
6.No crosses. They put more emphasis on the birth and resurrection. Don't know how you can have one without the other but o.k.
7. Utah is the biggest community. Colorado is the biggest reorganized community (the one that is the poligumist group) but every state has a few churches somewhere

Answer 3

1. I'm not sure there is much simularity between Catholicism and Mormonism. They both have churches. They both use the Bible as a basis for their beliefs. Beyond that, not much is the same.

At Sacrament Meeting, Mormons partake of bread and water. In general, the bread is broken up into small pieces on trays and they are passed around by young men. Likewise, water is put in small cups on trays and passed around. A separate prayer is said over each, before they are passed around (see 4)

2. Good Mormons don't drink coffee or alcohol. That violates the Word of Wisdom, which is part of the Church's beliefs.

3. Mormons have lay people. That is, there is no payment for being a leader in the church. At the Ward level (i.e., community church), you would have a bishop with 2 counselors. These men are likely to be married, since most people in the US are.

4. In most cases, there is no set prayer that Mormons use. There are the 2 set prayers that are used word-for-word for the Sacrament. There are other prayers that are used at baptisms, etc. Prayers at the start and end of meetings and prayers at meals are just made up at the time of the prayer.

5. There is no such thing as Christmas Mass for Mormons. They don't have mass, for that matter. There is usually a Christmas Party, such as on a Friday night a few weeks before Christmas.

6. Mormons don't do the sign of the cross. As near as I can tell, that's only a Catholic kind of thing.

7. Mormonism started in Northern New York, at Palmyra. And I am sure there are a variety of Mormon churches throughout both states. Heck, there is even a Mormon temple in New York City.

Answer 4

To answer your first question, we take the Sacrament, which is very similar to the Eucharist. We bless bread and water, and we use this as our "communion".

To answer your second question, we do not drink alcohol, coffee, tea, nor do we use tobacco or harmful drugs.

To answer your third question, the pastor of the our Church is different from the traditional pastor. We have Bishops which are over wards, and they are called by those with authority over them. They are not paid in any manner. Most Bishops serve for 5-8 years and then are released from their calling, and another is called. These Bishops are almost always married before they receive their call.

For the blessing of food, we do not use set prayers; we pray from our heart and pray the words the Spirit directs us.

We do not have a special Christmas service on Christmas Day. That service is typically the Sunday before. For these services, our Bishops wear the same style of attire as every other Sunday, a suit.

No, we do not do the sign of a cross. We believe in the Living Christ, for He rose again on the third day. The cross is a symbol of His death. We remember His sacrifice through the bread and the water of the Sacrament, and by looking ahead and striving to follow Him. If Christ were to have died by a knife, would everyone wear a knife around their necks?

There are Mormon communities all over the world. There are now more Latter Day Saints outside the US than in it. There are plenty in New York City and New Jersey. The Restoration actually began in upstate New York, in Palmyra.

Answer 5

1) What are Mormon Church practices similar to Catholics'? Do Latter Day Saint Mormons receive the Eucharist? the body of Christ is the bread we take called sacrament but we don't transubstantiation we use it as a token to remember him so the holy ghost can dwell with us . We take the bread and water each week to renew our promises with Jesus and Heavenly father

2) Do they drink coffee and alcohol? NO!

3) Do Mormons have pastors who can marry? No we have bishops or any Melchizedek priesthood can marry people Most marry in the temple by temple sealers

4) prayers that they use? "Oh God, the Eternal Father, we ask the in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son and witness unto thee, oh God ,the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them. That they my have his spirit to be with them."
Water for bread part. The only two wrote prayers we have.
Also a baptism prayer.


5) What do Mormon Church pastors wear for Christmas Mass? Do they have mass on Christmas Eve? NO and they the bishop wears a suit like any other bussiness man unless your in Hawaii then you would wear a Lava Lava we have a lay minstery I have spoken several times as well as my husband in my chuch.

6) Do Mormons do the sign of the cross? NO !
7) New York temple Here is the site for the mormon temple in your area
http://www.lds.org/temples/main/0,11204,1912-1-31-0,00.html
Hope this helped
Diane LDS Convert

Answer 6

1) They both believe in Jesus. They both claim authority from God to officiate His church on the earth. For more on specific beliefs, see the church website: www.lds.org

2) No, there is a code of health in LDS doctrine known as the "Word of Wisdom" that prohibits coffee and alcohol.

3) LDS clergy can marry. There is no vow of celibacy similar to in the Catholic church.

4) LDS members pray over their food and in other situations, but do not use memorized prayers. They do pray in the name of Jesus Christ.

5) The LDS church does not have "mass", but they have their worship services each Sunday. If Christmas falls on a Sunday then they would have worship services on that day. Otherwise, they do not have a special worship service on Christmas or Christmas Eve. (They do, however, have plenty of musical presentations and non-worship-service get-togethers around the holidays to celebrate the birth of the Savior.)

6) No, the LDS church does not use the cross as a symbol of its faith. They focus on the resurrected Lord, rather than on the instrument of His death.

7) Yes, there are many LDS churches in NYC and New Jersey. Look them up in the Yellow Pages under "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" or look up some local wards on their website at www.lds.org

Hope that answered some of your questions.... :-)

Answer 7

There are already several good answers here, so I'll just comment on number 4. Although we don't have any set prayers on food, sometimes it is easier to teach little children a specific way to say the prayer on the food. This is the one I grew up with, and which I taught to a beginning English class:
Heavenly Father (or Father in Heaven),
We thank Thee for this food.
Please bless it to our use (or for our use).
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

There are many variations of that, such as saying "Please bless the food that it may nourish and strengthen our bodies," but we pray to Heavenly Father and then end in the name of Jesus Christ, as He is our Advocate with the Father. Some Mormons will say prayers in restaurants, some won't. I am more likely to bow my head for a moment and say a prayer to myself, so as not to be conspicuous. If I'm just snacking in front of the TV or a movie, I don't say a prayer. Sit-down dinners are the most common time to pray.
Oh, by the way, I assume there are many Mormons in New York City, since my father was a missionary there in the early 1960s. Have a happy day.

Answer 8

I am a mormon and so I will tell you.

1)Mormons are not like Catholics. We believe in the bible, like catholics, but also the book of mormon, which we believe is another testiment of Jesus Christ.

2)We do not drink coffee and alcohol, and If you know one that does, or is, they are breaking the Word of Wisdom.

3)Mormons do not have pastors. We have a prophet, and stake presidents, and then bishops. Yes, we marry. A bishop is called to a calling. He has to be married. And any worthy male member of our church could be called to be a bishop. A bishop holds this calling for 4 years, before he is released from his calling and a new bishop is called. There is a bishop for each ward.

4)Mormons have set prayers for their sacrament, and their sacred covenants, like temple marriage and baptism. We are told how to start our prayers, with 'Heavenly Father' and then we say what is needed for the occasion, and we end our prayers with, 'in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.'

5)We do not have mass. The men dress in a white shirt and tie if they will be performing and priesthood duties, otherwise any colour shirt and tie, and the women dress in a dress or a modest shirt and skirt.

6)Mormons do not do the sign of the cross. Be dont display the cross on our churches or temples, because we focus on the ressurection of Christ, rather than the death.

7)yes, the mormon church is spread around the world. You can go to lds.org to find an indiviual church in your neighborhood. There are 3 temples also in New York. the Palmyra NewYork Temple, the Harrison New York Temple, and the Manhattan New York Temple. You can also ask to attend a Sacrament Meeting if you want to see for yourself. Ask any of the mormons you know and they will be happy to take you or to give you the times of our meetings. everyone is welcome!

Here are the Articles of Faith. These are published statements that outline our basic beliefs.

THE ARTICLES OF FAITH
OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
History of the Church, Vol. 4, pp. 535—541
1 We abelieve in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
2 We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.
3 We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
4 We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the hgift of the Holy Ghost.
5 We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
6 We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
7 We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
8 We believe the Bible to be the bword of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
9 We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
10 We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
12 We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
13 We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
Joseph Smith

Answer 9

Get yourself a copy of World Religions Made Easy and Run like Hell.....they have their own "bible and drink water in place of wine for communion