Religious gathering

“ To be sure, the gatherings of God’s people for worship and instruction are indispensable to the life of the church, but unless we translate our worship and instruction into action, our religious observances will be idolatrous and sinful, and will separate men from each other and from God. ”

“ What a joyful duty it is to preach to such a people! The “Week of Prayer” came, and with a deep feeling of dependence upon God we gathered for our first special meeting. Night after night the attendance increased. Christians yielded themselves to the spirit of the meetings; the flame of religious fervor burned more brightly; and when, in sympathy with the Christian world, we had considered the topics assigned by the Evangelical Alliance, we felt ready to enter upon the holy work of winning souls, and of directing all our thoughts and energies to this object. ”

“ Identifying itself with the common events of life, such as birth, marriage, and death, the church has not only given a religious meaning to these occasions but has also sanctioned and even encouraged the festivities that accompany them. ”

“ The celebration to-day is one worthy of a Christian people, commemorating a work wrought in God's name and for His honor, and fruitful of untold religious blessings to a devout congregation. The Church in the United States can, with justice and without a blush, hold up to the gaze of the world the record of her first days, humble and insignificant though they be ”

“ It is a common thing, in that great religious communion of Western and Southern Europe which is so strongly animated by this idea, to see people in the churches ceremoniously kneeling in the act of prayer, while all the time they are busy, with eager eyes, to follow every movement in the crowd around them. ”

“ Revival meetings, however they may be laughed at by the more refined and fastidious of church people, have had the effect in late years of attracting a great many thousands of people toward religious life. ”

“ No doubt the starry vault of heaven is a sublime dome; but no worship exists which is celebrated in the open air. A special place of meeting is required for collective adoration, because our religious sociability urges us to gather together for prayer, as it were to make a common stock of our joys and griefs. ”

“ The people come from miles around, crossing the fields by a little path which they themselves have beaten down, to kneel before this tiny altar; and on the last Sunday in May, the annual fête, the priests, leading a religious procession which starts from the church, say Mass there. ”

“ I have often wished I might introduce some of our American friends into our teachers' meetings on a Sabbath afternoon, or to the Sabbath-school at the intermission of public worship, where nearly the whole congregation remains, exhibiting a zeal and aptness in the discussion of religious truths scarcely surpassed in the most favored churches in New England. The weekly woman's prayer-meeting is sometimes left entirely in the hands of the native sisters, and any one of half a dozen is always ready without embarrassment to take the lead, discoursing very appropriately from her Turkish Testament. ”

“ There is a considerable amount of excitement kept up by the religious bodies in the shape of public re-unions, congregational soirées, and the like, producing a species of religious dissipation, very unfavourable, I should suppose, to the growth of true piety. ”

“ In these edifices the people regularly assemble on the Sabbath day, which, by all classes, is sacredly set apart for rest from secular employment and for religious meditation and worship, to listen to the reading of the Holy Scriptures, and discourses from pious ministers of the several denominations. ”

“ Worship and Church Attendance.—The church exists in the city because it has certain specific functions to perform. To maintain public worship, to persuade to definite convictions and inspire to noble conduct, to furnish religious education, and to promote social reform are its essential responsibilities. Worship is a natural attitude to the individual who is prompted by a desire to adjust himself to the universe and to obtain the peace of mind that follows upon the establishment of a right relationship. ”

“ Besides the Sundays there were many holy days of obligation, that is, religious festivals on which attendance at Church was obligatory, and in addition a certain number of days of devotion on which, because of special reverence for some particular saint, or in celebration of some event in the life of the Lord or his saints, the people of special parts of the country found themselves drawn to attendance on church services. ”

“ Catholics may also celebrate here any of the festivals of the church in the way and manner she prescribes, because they are religious festivals, and the right to celebrate them is included in the freedom of conscience ”

“ It is so persistently twisted and befogged and misunderstood, some of the very best people seem inclined to make our prayer-meetings into formidable church-meetings, for the purpose of hearing a succession of not very short sermons, rather than a social gathering of Christians, to sympathize with, and pray for and help each other, as I believe the Master intended them to be. ”

“ There were "protracted meetings," or campaigns of prayer and exhortation, lasting often a fortnight, at which all the resources of popular theology were employed to awaken and maintain their audiences in a state of frenzy and religious delirium, during which conviction of sin was supposed to enter the heart more effectually. ”

“ Social gatherings at regular periods have also been found effective to this end. In short, were a system of religion established, founded exclusively and consistently on experience and common sense, it would include sabbaths of interrupted worldly affairs, social gatherings to promote worshipful obedience to the Creator and a body of men educated and sustained for the express purpose of discovering, instructing in and perpetuating the intellectual, social, moral and religious interests of humanity. Such a ministry would be not dogmatic teachers, but leaders in discussions and investigations. ”

“ None of the gross vices always to be found in large communities were practised there. On the Sabbath-day, when its only bell sent its voice distinctly over the valley, the humble dwellers met in the single church, not only bound together by the tie of human brotherhood, but by the sweeter ties of Christian charity, to hear the word of God and perform the work of prayer and praise. ”

“ All Churchmen who feel in these dangerous days it would be a great comfort and advantage to hear the Church’s voice distinctly indicating the course to be pursued, within any reasonable reach of that gathering, ay, and beyond it, would, it is to be hoped, attend. ”

“ We are met in conference as subjects of the kingdom of God, as heirs of everlasting glory, having a hope greater than the world can give, and a peace that the world can neither give nor take away. To preside over such a gathering, met to consider the best means of spreading the Gospel of Christ among men, is a token of respect upon which I place a very high value. ”

“ In speaking of the gathering, we mean to be understood, according to scripture, the gathering of the elect of the Lord, out of every nation on earth; and bringing them to the place of the Lord of hosts, where the city of righteousness shall be built, and where the people shall be of one heart and one mind when the Savior comes ”

“ These ceremonies, so often repeated, have become a sort of mechanical exercise for most people, and the young priests despatch the service of great festivals with an activity and a dexterity little calculated to produce any religious effect. ”

“ The project sprang from a common desire on the part of certain evangelical men all over the globe to combine against infidelity and Rome. An annual week of prayer in various cities throughout the world, in Britain an annual conference, a general conference once every lustrum in some European capital, reports from branches on events touching religious liberty: such were the methods by which these good men proposed to bring about the golden year. ”

“ By the bulk of the people they are held in great reverence, and rarely are they unattended by tiny congregations of two or three, while on the occasion of important religious festivals people flock to them in hundreds. ”

“ The principle of gathering has been preached for the past thirty-seven years. Before this principle was preached by the Elders, a great many of the people had received the spirit of it; and the consequence was, that no sooner had it been taught by the Presidency of the Church, than the people everywhere were ready to receive it. It had been revealed to them by the Holy Ghost, whose office it is to reveal that which is past, present, and that which is to come, and no surer, stronger testimony can be given to any one than it affords. ”

“ The Collect enables us to worship the Unity which exists in the power of the Divine Majesty, even while we acknowledge the glory of the Eternal Trinity." Proper Lessons, Proper Psalms and Proper Preface in the Communion Office emphasize the importance of the Festival and mark it as one of the great days of the Church. ”

“ All these meetings were unusually large; the houses were generally too small to contain the people; many had to stand out of doors for want of room; nevertheless, the people behaved orderly, and the Lord’s presence was felt to preside, solemnizing those crowded assemblies, in all of which my mind was opened, and ability afforded, to preach the gospel to the people in the demonstration of the spirit and with power, and many hearts were broken and contrited, and went away rejoicing, under a thankful sense of the unmerited favour. ”

“ Such a gathering as this is worthy of thanksgiving; it is peerless and unique among meetings. Other meetings are held from motives of material interests—such as social, political, commercial, educational—but this assemblage has no other purpose than attainment to the divine Kingdom; therefore, it is unique, unequaled. The hearts have turned to God; spirits are exalted through the glad tidings of God; the intentions of all are directed to God. ”

“ That all the people meet so timely for public worship that the whole congregation may be present at the beginning, and with one heart solemnly join together in all parts of the public worship, and not depart till after the blessing. ”

“ The gathering previously foretold is now being accomplished, and wherever the children of men are, if there are individuals among them who would delight to be disciples of the Lord Jesus, forsake sin and sinful company and practices, they are called upon to gather out from the wicked and assemble themselves together at some place designated by the finger of the Almighty. ”

“ Religious rites are, first, rites of approach, whereby the community draws nigh to its god; and, afterwards, rites of sacramental meals whereby the community celebrates its reconciliation and enjoys communion with its god. ”

“ Representative rites and collective recreations are even so close to one another that men pass from one sort to the other without any break of continuity. The characteristic feature of the properly religious ceremonies is that they must be celebrated on a consecrated ground, from which women and non-initiated persons are excluded. ”

“ The church of our forefathers, founded on personality, is exchanged for the church of democracy, founded on crowds; and the church of the moment is the institutional church, in which the standing of the clergyman is exchanged for the standing of the congregation. The inevitable result, the crowd clergyman, is seen on every hand amongst us—the agent of an audience, who, instead of telling an audience what they ought to do, runs errands for them morning and noon and night. ”

“ It is our privilege in these public gatherings appointed for the worship of God, to have the presence of these holy ones in our midst, and to have the power of the Almighty to rest upon both speaker and hearer, that we may be fed and nourished by the bread of life that comes down from heaven, and that when we part and go to our respective callings and places of abode we may each carry with us "a live coal from the altar." ”

“ The pulpit is more and more being merged in the worship, and is losing its domination over the worship. With this tendency goes increased attention to the Holy Sacraments, especially the Holy Communion, more frequent celebrations and more frequent participation, increased opportunity of worship during Sunday and during the week, and also therewith the greatly increased attention to the organization of the Church for aggressive Christian work. ”

“ The prayer-meeting ought to be the place of expressed heed and expected blessing—the place of expressed weakness and expected power—the place where God's people assemble with one accord, to take hold of the very throne of God, to get into the very treasury of heaven, and draw thence all we want for ourselves, for our households, for the Whole Church of God, and for the vineyard of Christ. ”

“ It appears to be held that an attendance at Mass or Matins is a sufficient recognition of the interests of religion and that the rest of the day may be regarded, not as the Lord's Day, but as man's--as a day of unlimited amusement and self-indulgence. ”

“ Therefore, the united prayers of a congregation, sodality or family, and, above all, the public prayers of the whole Church, have great influence with God. We should join in public prayers out of true devotion, and not from habit, or, worse, to display our piety. ”

“ Our gathering together, the kind of Gospel that is preached, the disposition and feeling to build Temples, a strong impression that seems to rest upon all the people, is something in itself very remarkable.
Now in relation to our gathering, who is there anywhere else in the world that feel as the Latter-day Saints do? You do not find it anywhere, and nothing but the Spirit of God operating upon the minds of the people could have induced them to gather together as they have done. This spirit was imparted, as the Holy Ghost is, by the laying on of hands, through the medium of the Priesthood. ”