"A revelation given in 1830, the year the Church was organized, directs that the elder or priest who administers the sacrament 'shall kneel . . . and call upon the Father in solemn prayer, saying:" 'O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ.' (D&C 20:76–77, 79.)"The prayer offered at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple in 1836 is another model that illustrates the language of prayer used by the Prophet Joseph Smith:" 'And now, Holy Father, we ask thee to assist us, thy people, with thy grace, in calling our solemn assembly, . . ." 'That thy glory may rest down upon thy people and upon this thy house, which we now dedicate to thee, that it may be sanctified and consecrated to be holy, and that thy holy presence may be continually in this house.' (D&C 109:10, 12.)"This prophetic model of the language of prayer has been faithfully followed in all of the sacred petitions by which the prophets have dedicated temples to the Lord. Exactly one hundred years ago this week, at a spot not far from where I stand, President Wilford Woodruff began the dedicatory prayer of the Salt Lake Temple with these words:" 'Our Father in heaven, thou who hast created the heavens and the earth, and all things that are therein; thou most glorious One, . . . we, thy children, come this day before thee, and in this house which we have built to thy most holy name, humbly plead the atoning blood of thine Only Begotten Son, that our sins may be remembered no more against us forever, but that our prayers may ascend unto thee and have free access to thy throne, that we may be heard in thy holy habitation.' (As quoted by Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, Mar. 1993, p. 2.)"
Dallin H. Oaks, "The Language of Prayer," Ensign, May 1993, 16–17
Topics: Prayer
