The prayer circle...

Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith, Nauvoo, Illinois

 By Chadwick LaVerl Hyde

Of all the blessings we enjoy in this our mortal sojourn, the greatest of blessings is our communion with our Heavenly Father and his son, Jesus Christ.  It holds all our hopes and aspirations.  It galvanizes and eternalizes our families.  It creates the conditions we call salvation and provides a way for exaltation—which is just a word that means LIVING LIKE OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN AND DOING WHAT HE DOES...

The question becomes; is there a way in which we can communicate with our Heavenly Father, Michael-Adam and his begotten son Jesus Christ (whom he begat only after he resurrected himself through the oath and covenant of the priesthood?—thus Christ is his ‘only begotten son’ of his resurrected body on this earth)?  Yes, there is a way, prayer circles or the true order of prayer in our homes, among our righteous families.

What is required of this prayer circle?  A consecrated room, an altar, a priesthood “mouth”, or person praying, temple-endowed wives and family in their appropriate proximity to each other.  And these bound by the tokens of their covenants to which they faithfully adhere.

Now lastly, we must provide our Heavenly Father a place in our hearts and homes sufficient to bring him to us, and instruct us, or he will send ministers to provide us his will concerning us.  What does this mean?  What are our hopes and requests?  Is it money, mammon and provender—such things do become necessary, but are they reasons for divinity to visit us?  Is it marriages, family and society of saints and their administration?  As utterly important as these things are?  Or rather it is to become acquainted with him that our faith may be upon him in this world and throughout eternity—that we may know HIM the only true and living god with which we have to do and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent?  YES!

For that is life eternal.  That is the entirety of our faith.  Put another way—a family prayer circle that does not have an angel, a holy spirit of a just man made holy in the Lord, or even our god almighty, Adam-Kadmon, (Michael-Adam) is merely practice.  We may feel the influence of heaven in our prayer circles, but this can only be a guide to our highest hopes of a just and true witness of him.

I may tell you that I have seen angelic ministering priesthood spirits encircling the altars of our temples, but as poignant and endearing as that is, can it replace having physical divinity standing above the altar speaking his loving will unto the mouthpiece in the form of prayer that all may be instructed?—for this is the purpose and the fulness of our hope for our prayer circles.  This is the celestial kingdom in our terrestrial homes on this ofttimes telestial world.

Brothers and sisters, our duty and our calling, nay our blessing, is to see the face of the Lord our god and live—truly living celestial lives here on this earth.  This is the purpose of our true order of prayer.  This is why it is taught before entering the celestial room in the temples.

May our hearts and houses be filled with this hope and aspiration.  May our prayers be ever closer to heaven and may Michael our great Heavenly Father come to us even with his son, and whisper the hope of salvation to our hearts and our ears, solidifying us in our exaltative duty and lifestyle is my hope and prayer for all the faithful.  In the name of his holy redeeming son Jesus Christ, Amen.

You can reach me at fundamentalistmag@gmail.com.