Mormons: Why is word for word required?

Question

Isn't God capable of seeing the hearts of the people observing this ordinance? So what if the wording is a bit off, as long as the meaning is in tact?

"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee 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,
O 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 hath given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen."
"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine [water]
to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed
for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may
have his Spirit to be with them. Amen."

Dionysus:
All you said is because God said it has to be this way..Where did he say that. He told the Christ to take the emblems of His body and blood when we come together as a memorial. He didn't command the exact words to pray over them.. Not to us anyway.. Jim

Most of you have been very nice.Thank you all. I didn't think my question was anti in any way. I just asked why and telling me to "just deal with it" is at best short , I would call it down right hateful.. Is that how you want to come across to people who ask questions about your faith?

Thank you Wilfredo E. Stevens, and jimi4950 for your good words You two make it hard to pick a best answer. Many of your answers brought up a new question for me. Why would the Book of Mormon have the word for word (almost) copy of Matthew? Even the other three Gospels don't use the same wording for the same events. The BofM was said to be written hundreds of years before Matthew yet The compiler of the book Moroni used about 98% of the same words. But I'll get to that later.. But to all thank you for all the good input.. I'll try to award the points to the one who at least tried to give an answer a question that
really hasn't a good answer... Jim

Answer 1

God is capable of seeing the hearts of people. I've attended a mentally disabled ward to help push wheel chairs and most of the members there cannot speak coherently. There was one member in particular that loves to bless the sacrament and does so almost every week. He cannnot speak clearly, but they allow him to do it because Heavenly Father still knows what he intends to say regardless if the rest of us understand him. You just must say it to the best of your ability. If someone is capable of saying it correctly, they should.

Answer 2

I am not well-acquainted with the LDS doctrine, for one. I had a rather short, interrupted conversation with a pair of them in the past. But I once leafed through The Book of Mormon. It had the appearance of Scripture, but I had come across some questionable issues. I cannot say or elaborate much, except that LDS people treat The Book of Mormon as equal (if not above) and as authoritative as the Holy Bible. I strongly disagree. All I can quote is this: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for very good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
While this may not be sufficient "defense" to the sufficiency of the bible to some, I could care less.

Another area of their doctrine that I find questionable (which I ONLY HEARD, mind you, not verified), is their teaching that one (a LDS believer) can eventually become a god. WOW!

I am not an advocate of the WORD FOR WORD or VERBATIM issue. I have scanned (if that's the right term) a few different versions of the bible and they really differed a lot; in words, phrases, sentences, commas, periods, quotations, etc., but these things don't really bother me. Why? Because inspite of their seeming differences, THEY ALL AGREE. THERE IS UNITY IN THEIR TRAIN OF THOUGHT. You may think, how can that be possible?
We'll, it's yours for the discovering. Study the bible. Or bibles.

Satan, our adversary has a way with words. He can deceive. He can convince. He is very good with Scripture too. But watch out, he can bring in confusion too.
Lastly I doubt if LDS believes in the deity of Jesus. I think they don't and that gives me enough reason to say that they are in error. The bible clearly testifies that Jesus is God. And if their bible and Moroni say otherwise, then they are just pieces of literature and not inspired by God.

Answer 3

God is capable, no doubt about it. However it is required because it is Holy. The sacramental prayers are specific prayers set apart for a sacred purpose. When some thing is considered Holy, it is important that that thing be done with exactness, because it is representative of what God would do. We believe God doesn't make errors, therefore if we are doing something that is sacred and Holy and that God would do - or in this case, say, then we must do it (say it) perfectly. There are some things that can not be done perfectly by people, but they are not sacred, they have not been set apart for a sacred purpose, therefore it's fine to mess up the wording of them. We don't have very many things that have to be done in a specific way, or using specific words, but this is one of them. This is something that those who bless the sacrament can do perfectly, not only with their words, but with their hearts, and in their purpose. There aren't many things I know of that I can do or witness being done perfectly in the sight of God, this is one and it is an honor and a blessing to me to witness it every Sunday.

Answer 4

God is quite capable.

LDS believe that the sacrament is one of the most sacred ordinances in which Church members can participate. While the ordinance itself is rather simple, its significance for those who participate—both as recipients and as officiators—is essential. The renewal each week of covenants made earlier, at the time of baptism, enables those who partake to recommit themselves to live in accordance with the example of Jesus Christ.

Since the LDS church views the sacramental prayers as actually scripture (Moro. 4:3; Moro. 5:2; D&C 20:77, 79), the Lord has given specific instructions as to the manner of asking blessings upon the bread and the water. The worthy and reverent offering of these prayers can make a great difference in whether the ordinance of the sacrament is highly spiritual or merely perfunctory.

It is recommended that officiators study to understand the sacramental prayers - in all things, preparation and practice.

Answer 5

*My own opinion*

I'm just thinking as I'm writing this so please bear with my ramblings. It seems that the saying the sacrament prayers word-for-word isn't important to God, but it is important to us. There is a strong symbolism is requiring exactness when performing ordinances. It helps us remember to strive to be exact in following the commandments. I don't know if you've been to an LDS sacrament service where the priest had to say the prayer again because of a mistake. To me it shows me that I can correct my own mistakes that I make in life.

Most of the commandments that we are given aren't for God's benefit, but for our own. Tithing is an example that comes to my mind. God doesn't need our money. But we need to learn to give back to the Lord, help those in need, and budget our finances.

Answer 6

When you pray you should use your own words and not some ones else, when Jesus disciples asked him how to pray he gave them a model prayer, not to to repeat it word by word, it must come by you. so you are right in what you are saying. It is always from the heart, get a load of this scripture to show you we don't know what to say at some times,Romans 8:26 says that the spirit makes intercession for us with groaning which can not be uttered.

Answer 7

God once said to Joseph smith, about other churches, "They draw close to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me."

People say they love God, but when they don't know what God said, then they can't love Him truely.

The Mormons read the KJV because it is the closest to the original, I can't think of the words to put it in. Like the oldest translation that is acceptable or something. I dunno

Anyway, they also have the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. These books are the word of God, and they are still the exact wording as Joseph Smith and the others transcribed from the golden tablets....

I am not Mormon, but I know alot about them....

p.s. not sure if the Pearl of Great Price is something God said, I haven't read it yet, so I may be wrong....

Answer 8

You are automatically lumped into the ever-growing group of "Anti's-"* simply by prefacing your question with the word "Why?" in the same sentence with "mormon'. This is according to the teachings of nearly every sunday school instructor.

This is a trick they learned that everyone will feel sympathy for them and convert (and later wonder "why").

As a member, you understand there are certain things, mindless things and stupid things done in this one true church that you aren't supposed to know why. The term is "There's no reason - it's just policy.."

Answer 9

It's the way God asked us to do it.

Many ordinances, like the Sacrament, have prescribed verbiage.

Baptism and Sacrament (done with Aaronic priesthood authority) have exact verbiage

Giving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and Healing the sick (done with Melchizedek priesthood authority) have a form and order but the actual words are to be done as the Spirit dictates.


Futilely Added:

You just quoted it: http://scriptures.lds.org/en/moro/4
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/moro/5

And we have modern revelation so, just deal with it OK. I t needs to be Verbatim


Added:

I want to appear short, curt, annoyed, but not hateful.

Most people of my faith would not want to be associated with unkindness, but I am not most Mormons -- the others are kinder and have more friends. Deal with it!

you have a nice day

Answer 10

Why is word for word required for WHAT? Mormons don't believe in transubstantiation, last time I looked, and Catholics aren't all that hung up on verbatim formulae. (We *have* a lot of 'em, but verbatim isn't a big deal.)