• This is the second of a series of things that we hear at church on a regular basis that I wish people would stop saying. They are not big, honkin’, scary things, just little expressions that you hear frequently that just don’t quite work. (Grammatically or doctrinally)
Of all the feedback I got on this topic, this was the hands-down winner for most mentioned. Some folks were surprisingly irritated – but please calm down, I doubt that this will impact anyone’s shot at exaltation. (I don’t want anybody refusing to speak in church because of this post.)
Here it is:
When you finish a testimony or talk, don’t close “in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, Amen.” I hear it almost every week. It is not a big deal, but apparently many saints don’t quite understand the usage. Perhaps even you are scratching your head this very instant saying “I just don’t see it.”
Thy. That is the word that doesn’t belong at the end of talks, testimonies, blessings, etc. It does belong at the end of prayers, It is all about who you are speaking to at the time.
When we pray, we are speaking with our Heavenly Father, in the name of His Son, Jesus. When we are giving a talk, or bearing a testimony, we are speaking to fellow saints – saints who do not have sons named Jesus.
So, when addressing mere mortals, simply close “in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”
When addressing the Father, it is nice, but not necessary, to refer to His Son.
When addressing the Father, it is nice, but not necessary, to refer to His Son.
A little more detail: If you are giving a blessing, or performing an ordinance, you are addressing the person – so no “thy”.
Exception: If you are blessing a baby, you are addressing Heavenly Father, so “thy” is OK.
Now, to push it just a little too far…
I have figured out a hypothetical scenario where this doesn’t apply. If you were in a Latin culture where many people name their sons Jesus, you could theoretically find a man with the surname Cristo, AND a son named Jesus. Then, (stay with me) if you were given power of attorney to speak on behalf of that boy, you could theoretically say something to his father, and close with the expression “te digo estas cosas en el nombre de tu hijo, Jesus Cristo.” Ta-da!
(Yeah, I should have stopped sooner.)
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I agree with all of the above and would add one more – “we would like to thank the priesthood for passing the Sacrament” — the priesthood did not pass the Sacrament, and why not just say thank you instead of “we would like to thank”?
Speaking of prayer annoyances, one of my pet peeves regarding prayers is kind of the opposite complaint. Instead of “please stop saying that…,” it’s “please start saying that…” I refer to the dropping of direct objects in prayers. We seem to have a whole generation (or two) of members who have picked up the habit of praying, “Heavenly Father, please bless that…” leaving out the object of the verb “bless.” “Bless” is a transitive verb and usually requires an object to make sense. Who or what are we asking God to bless? Me? Us? Bro. Jones? The Bishop? The baby? The weather? Unfortunately, we are usually left to infer who the intended recipient of the blessing is based on the context of what follows.
New to the blog … great topic MMM, you’re humming my tune, even back in 2011. I have pondered under what lesson or talk context I can create a chance to try to improve some of those practices. Bravo, Nice post.
Old English or scriptural pronouns like “thee”, “thy”, or “ye” are often disconnected to their modern counterparts of “you” and “your”. Grateful for exposure to Spanish pronoun variety giving me the chance to connect them.
Funny story: Once heard a confirmation by a fellow who was trying to be well spoken in the public setting of sacrament meeting and happened to say “Receive Ye …”
I’m sure it was just fine and would hopefully not make an inappropriate example in the moment if I were in the position to witness or guide the ordinance, but I’ll admit I giggled and elbowed my wife after, “Hey, we just got the Holy Ghost”.
Have since come to realize that specific phrase is a priesthood mandate defining an ongoing process and not a point in time .. so as it turns out was actually a good reminder. Still the introduction of any pronoun where there isn’t one, let alone “Ye”, was kind of funny.
Jim B. thanks for the reminder of the importance of specifically using the intended object. We should petition as specifically as we can. You reminded me of another practice I am trying to improve that was pointed out to me by another (Spanish translation helps this one too): saying “Bless ..” or even “Please bless .. ” actually constitutes the command form of the verb. While petitioning Our Father in Heaven, its probably not our intention to command him to act on our behalf but rather to ask with humility. “we ask that you bless .. ”
I know I do it too, especially in some moments of feeling most desperate and dependent. Hopefully there is a “pleading” conjugation of verbs that still maintain my reverence towards a benevolent Father.
I appreciated the thought, thanks for letting me share ..
right on point , and to add (this is my pet peeve) when those who are speaking are so GLAD to have made it out alive from giving that talk that they run everything together in one really fast “inthenameofjesuschirstamen” the last syllable barely audible as they run off.
Makes me wonder if they are thinking what they are saying, or is it just rote memorization.
So my small contribution is to be sure I say this slowly, clearly and not move till after the last word is
out.
I found your blog today via Pinterest, and I am hooked!!! Thanks for putting into words so many of the things that I feel! You do it in a way that is to the point, but humorous. And thanks for using the picture above from one of my favorite movies, What’s Up Doc! It was the icing on the cake!
It drives me nuts when people end talks and testimonies with the “thy” in there. Sometimes my husband and I are tempted to count how many people are not paying attention to what they’re saying and slip it in there!
But baby blessings: you go from addressing Heavenly Father to addressing the baby, then just end “In the name of Jesus Christ..” is correct, but “thy Son,” would be a strange thing to say to an infant, don’t you think?
How did I miss this post? I completely agree with you. This drives me nuts and I’m shocked at how many people do it, even the seasoned chruch memebers who you assume would know better.
I’d like your take on another topic too. I’ve been to some wards where all the deacons pass the sacrament with their left arms behind their backs like the invisible man has them in a submission hold. Is this doctrinal?
Lol! Yea you should have stopped sooner.
I have a talk that I wrote when I was primary age and at the end I wrote “amen Jesus Christ, Amen”. People had been saying “in the name of” a little too quickly for me to catch what they were saying I guess 🙂
Hallelujah! That one does grate on my sensibilities just a bit.
Bien dicho, hombre, bien dicho.
Amen Brother !!!
I concur!
I was with ya right up to the end…I think…
Thanks for posting that bunch of etiquette rules for those of us who are small-town hicks. Shore ‘preciate it!
Sandy