How They Used To Do It
Praying:
With Raised Hands
Praying:
With Raised Hands
Q: Is it true that Mormons used to bless the sacrament with their hands raised in the air?
A: It's certainly a lesser-known piece of Mormon history, but yes. The sacrament was often blessed with both hands raised to the square (e.g. reminiscent of the True Order of Prayer which was commonly performed in local church buildings and even in members' homes up until 1978). (Cont'd)
This practice evolved into blessing the sacrament with just one arm to the square, usually the right, but sometimes the left. In those days, Bishops would often say the sacrament prayers. Opening and closing prayers were often performed the same way, with arms uplifted into the air, sometimes far above the head.
In the picture above, you'll notice Brother Peter Isaacson, an immigrant from Denmark, blessing the sacrament in the now demolished Ephraim Tabernacle. To the lower right of the photo is an enhanced image of brother Isaacson, with both hands raised. This picture is from ~1900.
In fact, praying with hands uplifted during the first century of Mormonism wasn't at all uncommon.
We can trace the 'raising' of the hands during prayer to the School of the Prophets. Joseph Smith taught the brethren to pray with their hands raised. Zebedee Coltrin gives us an intriguing glimpse from his time in the School of the Prophets with Joseph Smith:
. . . when we were all together, Joseph having given instructions, and while engaged in silent prayer, kneeling, with our hands uplifted each one praying in silence . . . (School of the Prophets Minutes, October 3, 1883)
Mormons from that era also took the scriptures literally when they talked about praying with hands raised in the air:
That your incomings may be in the name of the Lord; that your outgoings may be in the name of the Lord; that all your salutations may be in the name of the Lord, with uplifted hands unto the Most High. (D&C 88:120)
This commandment is repeated later in Section 109 in the identical, wording:
That your incomings may be in the name of the Lord, that your outgoings may be in the name of the Lord, that all your salutations may be in the name of the Lord, with uplifted hands unto the Most High- (D&C 109:9)
This is repeated with only slight variation just a few verses later in Section 109, the Kirtland Temple dedicatory prayer:
And that all their salutations may be in the name of the Lord, with holy hands, uplifted to the Most High; (D&C 109:19)
In Section 88 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord prescribes the salutation and response which is to be performed in the School of the Prophets. In the salutation and response, the teacher and the students both have 'uplifted hands to heaven' as they begin the school session:
132 And when any shall come in after him, let the teacher arise, and, with uplifted hands to heaven, yea, even directly, salute his brother or brethren with these words:
135 And he that cometh in and is faithful before me, and is a brother, or if they be brethren, they shall salute the president or teacher with uplifted hands to heaven, with this same prayer and covenant, or by saying Amen, in token of the same. (D&C 88:132,135)
By the year 1898, the raising of the hands during opening and closing prayers, and during the sacrament prayers, was becoming a stiff and almost military style salute - an almost public spectacle that drew more attention to the individual saying the prayer rather than the prayer itself.
That's when Francis Marion Lyman, an apostle for the LDS church admonished the LDS sheeplings to relax their stance. To raise their hands if they want, but to keep it pleasant and humble. His actual words were:
I have noticed the Priests kneeling on one knee; I have noticed them kneeling on both knees; I have noticed them holding up one hand, sometimes the right hand, sometimes the left, sometimes both hands, and getting into all kinds of shapes, till, if you should open your eyes, it would certainly cause merriment. I have advised for the sake of uniformity, that it is not always necessary to raise the hands to bless the bread or water. I have also advised that it is not always necessary that the hands should be raised in opening or closing a meeting. If we do raise our hands, it should be done pleasantly, nicely and not grotesquely or in a way that would provoke merriment or criticism by strangers that may come among us or by ourselves. We do not raise our hands in family prayers or in blessing the food. Many prayers are thus offered; there is nothing wrong in it that I know of. ("The Administration of the Sacrament in the Sunday School" [address at the Assembly Hall, 29 Nov. 1898], in Proceedings of the First Sunday School Convention of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [Salt Lake City: Deseret Sunday School Union, 1899], 77)
From this quote, it seems as though Apostle Lyman was pitching the sale for praying without hands raised, saying that there was nothing wrong with offering prayers without hands being raised, as that's how they prayed in family prayers and blessing the food. And thus began the new trend. It would still be several decades before the practice of raising the hands during opening and closing prayers, and during the sacrament prayer, was a thing of the past.
The practice was still being referenced as late as the 1940's by Joseph Fielding Smith when referencing Bishops saying the sacrament prayer;
In some instances the Bishop stood in the pulpit with raised hands in an attitude of benediction. (Joseph Fielding Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation, 4 vols. [Salt Lake City: The Church, 1946-1949], 1:103)
Today, this practice is all but forgotten. The younger generations won't hear about it. But it's a fascinating part of LDS history that makes you wonder, if Joseph Smith established the practice as part of the restored gospel, why don't they do it today?
