Hosanna shout

In the Latter Day Saint movement, a hosanna shout is an organized ritual of a congregation of shouting hosanna. It was first performed as a ritual in the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, and was a part of the Kirtland endowment ceremony. It continues to be practiced by some Latter Day Saint denominations, most notably The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), which practices the ritual at the dedication of each of its temples.

When the ordinance of the washing of feet was introduced at Kirtland, shouts of hosanna were viewed as a sealing benediction on both private and quorum prayers and then on the dedicatory prayer. At prayer meetings in the Kirtland Temple, the Latter Day Saints sometimes used related phrases, such as, "Blessed is the name of the Most High God" and "Glory to God in the highest" (HC 2:386).

The hosanna shout is intended to be whole-souled and given to the full limit of one's strength. The congregation stands and in unison shouts three times the words, "Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to God and the Lamb," then concludes with "Amen, Amen, and Amen." This is done while waving white handkerchiefs with uplifted hands.[1][2] "The Lamb" refers to Jesus Christ.

In LDS Church teachings, the hosanna shout memorializes the pre-earthly Council in Heaven, as "when ... all the sons of God shouted for joy" (Job 38:7). It also recalls the hosannas and the waving of palm branches at Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and the hosannas that welcomed him as he appeared to the Nephites in the Book of Mormon. Lorenzo Snow, president of the LDS Church, taught that this shout will herald the Messiah when he comes in the glory of the Father (cf. 1 Thes. 4:16). The word "hosanna" means "save, rescue" or "save", which concisely summarizes the purpose of the temple in Latter-day Saint theology as a place where saving ordinances are performed for both the living and the dead.

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Notes

  1. ↑ "Sixty-Second Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Wilford Woodruff", Millennial Star, 4 July 1892, pp. 418.
  2. ↑ "Sixty-Second Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Apostle Lorenzo Snow", Millennial Star, 2 May 1892, pp. 281-82.
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