Item Detail
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28505
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1
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0
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English
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Having Problems with Prayer Language?
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Religious Educator
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2009
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10
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1
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Provo, UT
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Religious Studies Center, BYU
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131-136
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Have you ever been called on to pray in a class or a meeting and found yourself stumbling over archaic pronouns or verb conjugations no longer used in everyday English? Is it “Thy approval” or “Thine approval”? Is it okay to say “Thou might”? When do I say “Thou dost,” and when do I say “Thou doest”?
Most languages do not present this problem. German speakers, for instance, address Heavenly Father as they would address a family member or close friend. Interestingly, because English is a Germanic language, many of the familiar forms in German are very similar to the archaic English forms we use in prayer. But in German these forms are still used every day in conversation, whereas in English they have almost completely vanished from common usage.
As Latter-day Saints, we often receive reminders from our leaders to use “prayer language.”1 Most members desire to follow this counsel, but they struggle. Why? Because in spite of all the reminders to use prayer language, no one teaches them how. Actually, it’s not that difficult, and a few shortcuts even make it possible to avoid the most common stumbling block: tricky verb conjugations. Let’s take a brief look at some of the forms we use in prayer.