Temple Prayer Roll

[2bizE]

Can someone explain to me how the names placed on a piece of paper (maybe even electronically today) can receive special blessings via a prayer?
If the names on a prayer roll works for prayers, why not just perform temple ordinance for all dead people in one big single ceremony?
For example, “I baptize you in the name of all people that are dead”….
Or, “I anoint your loins for all men that are dead.”

Get the dead taken care of and then focus on the living…

[Hagoth]

This is my argument exactly. If God can read the names in a zippered bag, he could read them just as easily for endowments as for prayers. For that matter, he could read them off a list or computer file. Even better, he knows exactly who needs their temple work done. Why wait for people to read their name off a headstone somewhere? Also, we are constantly taught there is missionary work in the spirit world, so why not get them all mass-baptized and anointed on earth and then have spirit teachers walk them through the endowment. If you're thinking it's because they need to physically receive the handshakes, recall that they have removed that from the temple now (or so I'm told). Now hey just show you the handshakes.

The answer, of course, is that it's really not about dead people. It's about keeping the living members invested in doing secret stuff and feeling like they're part of something essential and special that they can only access through the LDS church. Otherwise, not only wouldn't all of this temple activity be necessary, it certainly wouldn't be necessary to recycle the same names over and over again, passing them from temple to temple.

I recently read a post on another thread by someone who had discovered that their grandfather had been baptized in the temple 8 times, even though he was a life-long member who had been baptized when he was 8. I guess any old name will do. Maybe they should just have a computer generate names for temple work.

[Ghost]

The computer in heaven calculates the number of people participating in the prayer, divided by the number of names. This is also why people ask others to pray for them when they are going through a difficult time and why a congregation praying for someone is more effectual than the prayers of someone who is not as well-connected.

The faithful answer to all of this is, I think, that going through the motions is primarily for the benefit of the person praying, performing ordinances for the dead, paying tithing, etc. When I was a missionary, I was told a few times that a mission is more for the missionary than for the potential converts. This was communicated as a sort of special insider knowledge. It's the faithful version of the cynical formulation that Hagoth mentioned.

The prayer piece of this is the most difficult to square because divine intervention in general is difficult to reconcile with other beliefs when you observe the seemingly random results of prayer that suspiciously resemble a world in which prayer has no effect.

[wtfluff]

Back in pre-historic times when I was attending Polygamy Palaces, when they pulled out the "Prayer Roll" it looked like they had stuffed all the names into a fancy tissue box. Maybe it's the Fancy Tissue Box™ that holds all the Magick power to help all the people who's names are "on the roll" in the box? Or as Chief Hagoth mentioned: Maybe it's a Magick Pouch?


Also: Is the "Roll" actually a roll? Or is it a bunch of tiny slips of paper with names on them? Inquiring minds and all.


Also Also: I'm pretty sure my name has been on a "Prayer Roll" somewhere at some time for most of my life; Yet here I am, wallowing in the truth-crisis of LD$-Inc.

[Just This Guy]

Back in pre-historic times when I was attending Polygamy Palaces, when they pulled out the "Prayer Roll" it looked like they had stuffed all the names into a fancy tissue box. Maybe it's the Fancy Tissue Box™ that holds all the Magick power to help all the people who's names are "on the roll" in the box? Or as Chief Hagoth mentioned: Maybe it's a Magick Pouch?


Also: Is the "Roll" actually a roll? Or is it a bunch of tiny slips of paper with names on them? Inquiring minds and all.


Also Also: I'm pretty sure my name has been on a "Prayer Roll" somewhere at some time for most of my life; Yet here I am, wallowing in the truth-crisis of LD$-Inc.

I have a black leather bag from my mission that I keep my shoe polishing kit in. The temple name bags look just like my shoe polish bag, just in white "leather" instead of black.

[wtfluff]

I have a black leather bag from my mission that I keep my shoe polishing kit in. The temple name bags look just like my shoe polish bag, just in white "leather" instead of black.

HA!

J-T-G has a Magick Pouch™ that makes shoes shiny!

[Hagoth]

I recently read a post on another thread by someone who had discovered that their grandfather had been baptized in the temple 8 times, even though he was a life-long member who had been baptized when he was 8. I guess any old name will do. Maybe they should just have a computer generate names for temple work.

Ha! Just realized this was Cnsl1 on another thread.

[Gatorbait]

Have not been to a temple in quite some time, unless you count a Buddhist temple that I visited in Korea a few years back , so I don't know how they do it now, but I always thought writing names on pieces of paper and dropping them in a box so that people who you don't know, who don't know your name is on a "list" of people who they assume have special needs so they can lead the proverbial helping hand to those who cannot help themselves. A Things associated with this "list" are even more disturbing to me, such as:

Someone advises you, "I placed your name and your troubled child's name on the prayer roll at the temple." What's with that? Judging me, my child, acting like a holy savior, coming to the rescue, stubby pencil in hand on a piece of scratch paper (if that's how they do it now) because you are "temple worthy" and I am not, but I sure need them double special prayer circle V.I.P. blessings. Good grief.

What about a simple prayer from me, going to God direct myself, acting in faith? Don't see anywhere in the scriptures where is says to ask and you shall receive, provided you have the mind to do it with, reason to understand the situation and the wherewithal to do it- except if some bozo who is your self appointed temple worthy savior gets your name on a prayer roll in a temple. Good grief again.

Joseph Smith had all sorts of visions and prophecies long before he was a member of any church, let alone a card carrying temple worthy pray circle prayer. How'd he manage?