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  • Lent

    Lent started today.

    It may have been addressed on other boards, but I've always found the tradition of lent to be interesting...particularly as it pertains to the fact that the LDS church doesn't practice it. I did some sleuthing on a very reliable site (Wikipedia) and here are some of the more interesting facts I found:

    Lent in the Christian tradition, is the period of the liturgical year leading up to Easter. Lent is a time of sacrifice for Jesus. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer — through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial — for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events linked to the Passion of Christ and culminates in Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

    Conventionally, it is described as being forty days long, though different denominations calculate the forty days differently. The forty days represent the time that, according to the Bible, Jesus spent in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry, where he endured temptation by Satan.
    Most followers of Western Christianity observe Lent beginning on Ash Wednesday and concluding on Holy Saturday. The six Sundays in this period are not counted because each one represents a "mini-Easter," a celebration of Jesus' victory over sin and death. One notable exception is the Archdiocese of Milan which follows the Ambrosian Rite and observes Lent starting on the Sunday, 6 weeks before Easter.
    There are traditionally forty days in Lent which are marked by fasting, both from foods and festivities, and by other acts of penance. The three traditional practices to be taken up with renewed vigor during Lent are prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and almsgiving (justice towards neighbor). Today, some people give up a vice of theirs, add something that will bring them closer to God, and often give the time or money spent doing that to charitable purposes or organizations.
    Traditionally, on Easter Sunday, Roman Catholics may cease their fasting and start again whatever they gave up for Lent, after they attend Mass on Easter Sunday. Orthodox Christians break their fast after the Paschal Vigil (a service which starts around 11:00 pm on Holy Saturday), which includes the Paschal celebration of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. At the end of the service, the priest will bless eggs, cheese, flesh meats and other items that the faithful have been abstaining from for the duration of Great Lent.

    Lenten practices (as well as various other liturgical practices) are more common in Protestant circles than they once were. Many modern Protestants consider the observation of Lent to be a choice, rather than an obligation. They may decide to give up a favorite food or drink (e.g. chocolate, alcohol) or activity (e.g., going to the movies, playing video games, etc.) for Lent, or they may instead take on a Lenten discipline such as devotions, volunteering for charity work, and so on.

    So, one thing jumped out at me that I didn't know. The first was that the 6 Sundays leading up to Easter are mini Easters. Now, I'm not sure if that means that whatever people are giving up for Lent is allowed or not, it doesn't make that clear, but I thought that was interesting nonetheless.

    I'm interested to hear some of our historians on the board discuss a little about why it is that the LDS church does not practice Lent. I know that some of the same methods or motivations are a part of our fast-Sunday practices, but certainly not all. I would really prefer this not to be an "air your grievances" thread. I'm genuinely interested in how this has evolved over the years outside of the LDS church, and why it was never included as part of our practices.

    TIA!
    "They're good. They've always been good" - David Shaw.

    Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

  • #2
    Originally posted by DrumNFeather View Post
    Lent started today.

    It may have been addressed on other boards, but I've always found the tradition of lent to be interesting...particularly as it pertains to the fact that the LDS church doesn't practice it. I did some sleuthing on a very reliable site (Wikipedia) and here are some of the more interesting facts I found:

    So, one thing jumped out at me that I didn't know. The first was that the 6 Sundays leading up to Easter are mini Easters. Now, I'm not sure if that means that whatever people are giving up for Lent is allowed or not, it doesn't make that clear, but I thought that was interesting nonetheless.

    I'm interested to hear some of our historians on the board discuss a little about why it is that the LDS church does not practice Lent. I know that some of the same methods or motivations are a part of our fast-Sunday practices, but certainly not all. I would really prefer this not to be an "air your grievances" thread. I'm genuinely interested in how this has evolved over the years outside of the LDS church, and why it was never included as part of our practices.

    TIA!
    It's the same reason the LDS Chruch eschews wine. Lent is in the tradition of the GAAC/older or original part or trunk of Christianity. It's old world vestigial Christianity.

    There were three major Christian schisms: Roman/Orthodox Christianity, Roman/Protestant Reformation, Mainline/Evangelical (American frontier). Mormonism is in the last dissident group. It is far as far removed from lent on this tree as humans are from tails.
    Last edited by SeattleUte; 03-09-2011, 03:53 PM.
    When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him.

    --Jonathan Swift

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    • #3
      The 40 day period is silly. In an earlier forum post, we discussed how "forty days and forty nights" was a poetic term for "a long time."

      It's like if Moses said a certain offering was to cost "an arm and a leg" and so modern adherents cut off their limbs to pay the fee.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Katy Lied View Post
        The 40 day period is silly. In an earlier forum post, we discussed how "forty days and forty nights" was a poetic term for "a long time."

        It's like if Moses said a certain offering was to cost "an arm and a leg" and so modern adherents cut off their limbs to pay the fee.
        40 is a symbol for rebirth, not just a long time. There's a lot of symbolism in the liturgical calendar that those who reject it miss out on. I like Lent and celebrate it in my own way. Were I on campus today I'd go to mass and get my ashes with the students.
        Dio perdona tante cose per un’opera di misericordia
        God forgives many things for an act of mercy
        Alessandro Manzoni

        Knock it off. This board has enough problems without a dose of middle-age lechery.

        pelagius

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        • #5
          Originally posted by pellegrino View Post
          40 is a symbol for rebirth, not just a long time. There's a lot of symbolism in the liturgical calendar that those who reject it miss out on. I like Lent and celebrate it in my own way. Were I on campus today I'd go to mass and get my ashes with the students.
          Having grown up in SLC, the practices associated with Lent were completely foreign to me. Even spending 2 years in predominantly Catholic Quebec did not clue me in. My first year in Philadelphia I'm walking down the hall in the hospital and see one of my co-residents. He has a huge black mark on his forehead. It looked to me like he had accidently smeared ink across his forehead. I was about to stop him and advise him of his appearance when I saw one of the priests at the hospital with the same mark on his forehead. It took me a minute to finally figure out what was going on.
          "You interns are like swallows. You shit all over my patients for six weeks and then fly off."

          "Don't be sorry, it's not your fault. It's my fault for overestimating your competence."

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          • #6
            Lent for me means the return of Filet o Fish Fridays. $1.29 this friday and the tradition will continue till next year.

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            • #7
              my college age daughter and her room mates decided to celebrate lent this year by giving up meat, i don't think they will be upping their consumption of fish. I asked her why and she said it seemed like the thing to do. (both giving up meat - she doesn't eat it that much anyway and celebrating lent)

              I may be small, but I'm slow.

              A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."

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              • #8
                I was at the foodcourt and realized it was Ash Wednesday. Not a usual sight in SLC.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by DrumNFeather View Post
                  Lent started today.

                  It may have been addressed on other boards, but I've always found the tradition of lent to be interesting...particularly as it pertains to the fact that the LDS church doesn't practice it. I did some sleuthing on a very reliable site (Wikipedia) and here are some of the more interesting facts I found:
                  I'm probably wrong here but isn't Lent just a really long fast? It seems that the purpose is the same between Catholics and Mormons even if the process is a bit different.

                  I also almost emailed a good Catholic friend to go to lunch today but then realized he'd be at mass and would be wearing the ash on his forehead the rest of the day. I think we'll hit up lunch tomorrow.
                  "Discipleship is not a spectator sport. We cannot expect to experience the blessing of faith by standing inactive on the sidelines any more than we can experience the benefits of health by sitting on a sofa watching sporting events on television and giving advice to the athletes. And yet for some, “spectator discipleship” is a preferred if not primary way of worshipping." -Pres. Uchtdorf

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    An interesting and timely post on bcc. http://bycommonconsent.com/2011/03/08/ash-wednesday/
                    Awesomeness now has a name. Let me introduce myself.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by SeattleUte View Post
                      It is far as far removed from lent on this tree as humans are from tails.
                      If you google "people born with tails" you come up with some interesting images.
                      There's no such thing as luck, only drunken invincibility. Make it happen.

                      Tila Tequila and Juggalos, America’s saddest punchline since the South.

                      Yesterday was Thursday, Thursday
                      Today is Friday, Friday (Partyin’)

                      Tomorrow is Saturday
                      And Sunday comes afterwards

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Katy Lied View Post
                        The 40 day period is silly. In an earlier forum post, we discussed how "forty days and forty nights" was a poetic term for "a long time."

                        It's like if Moses said a certain offering was to cost "an arm and a leg" and so modern adherents cut off their limbs to pay the fee.
                        Right. It's just like when LDS General Authorities like Jeff Holland talk about Adam and Even like they were real people in discussing the law of chastity.
                        Last edited by SeattleUte; 03-09-2011, 03:54 PM.
                        When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him.

                        --Jonathan Swift

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by landpoke View Post
                          If you google "people born with tails" you come up with some interesting images.
                          DO I even want to knoiw why you know this?
                          PLesa excuse the tpyos.

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                          • #14
                            I didn't see a soul with ashes on their foreheads here in the most catholic country in the world.

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                            • #15
                              Interestingly enough, ESPN put both Digger Phelps and Tony Reali (among others I'm sure) with Ashes on their foreheads. I don't think I've ever seen that on TV on ash wednesday.
                              "They're good. They've always been good" - David Shaw.

                              Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

                              Comment

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