An M* reader named Steve wrote to us last month (I was a little slow in contacting him, so that’s why I’m just posting this now) with some questions. They are questions I don’t really know the answers to, but I have found myself pondering questions like these recently, so I thought I’d post this and see what others think.
I have four related questions about the LDS (and other Christian faiths) practice of “asking a blessing on the food” prior to eating. First, does God really do something to the food, i.e., “bless” it? Second, does God’s blessing the food change it sufficiently that something like spoiled food is made healthy or Oreo’s and Kool-Aid are made healthy? Third, since LDS priesthood holders exercise their authority to pronounce blessings such as for illness, comfort, or even in dedicating graves, homes, etc., why don’t we “pronounce” blessings on food rather than ask God to bless it? Last, if the reality is that we are primarily thanking God for the food (which is appropriate), why do we not just say so?
I am an active adult convert to the Church of about 30 years and have wondered this a long time but have never gotten an answer of any substance. We basically did the same thing of asking for a blessing on the food in my previous Protestant faith and I wondered about it then as well.
I like the idea of praying over food as a way of expressing gratitude and remembering our blessings, though the blessing part of the prayer doesn’t make much sense in that context. I also like the idea of praying over the food as a way of creating a sacred space while doing a mundane thing – one more way of connecting with God. But I’m still not sure why exactly we ask God to bless the food. What is the origin of the tradition?
A very good question. Somewhat recently I realized that when I was asking for a blessing on the food I was just saying the words because that’s what you’re supposed to say, not because it had any meaning to me, so I’ve stopped. I’m pretty sure good food will “nourish and strengthen our bodies” whether it’s blessed or not.
I stopped asking for a “blessing” on meals many years ago for this exact reason. Blessing the food doesn’t change its chemical makeup — cheeseburgers and french fries aren’t any less likely to kill me after being blessed than before.
Instead, in my prayer, I express thanks for the food (which, in virtually every case, is far more than most of the world is eating at any given moment) and thanks for those who prepared it.
In my home we bless the food only sometimes. I would like to make it a habit, and hope to make it a habit someday because I think there are many benefits.
I do not think it turns spoiled food into safe food, or junk food into healthy food.
I do think it does the following:
1. Invites the feelings that prayer can bring into your home, and into your mealtimes, and into your family
2. It is a prayer and it gives you the opportunity to express gratitude and ask for blessings. Perhaps asking for the blessing that the food brings us together would be a nice change to nourish and strengthen. I have sometimes simply asked “Please bless the food” rather than telling God what to bless it with.
I don’t remember where, but there was a similar post somewhere about this. An interesting note from that was that the scriptures state to thank the Lord for what you have – including on the meals you eat. They don’t tell us to bless the food. Blessings on the food is, I believe, more of a tradition. As JKS noted above, it helps us acknowledge God in all things. Although I don’t feel there is anything wrong in asking God to bless the food, since that discussion I have really tried to make an effort to thank the Lord for the food rather than blessing it. It puts my mind where it really needs to be – Thanking the Lord for my abundance.
(but sometimes, especially at ward potlucks, I think a blessing upon the food is a matter of practical importance)
I don’t really know the answers to any of those, but a funny note would be that as a kid, if I had snuck something out of dishes of food on the table before the prayer, I’d open my mouth (widely, as a REALLY young child) so that the blessing of the food from Heavenly Father would go down my throat and bless the food.
I guess I kind of made that up, as a kid. Funny ideas we get, sometimes. Lol!
Mike, blessing the sacrament doesn’t change it either.
I think what changes is our attitude. While thankfulness is part of that, I also think we dedicate things towards God. It is part of doing all things, even partaking of food, in God’s name.
I’ve wondered the same thing for a long time. At my house it goes like this – we’ll sit down at the table, fold our arms, and when it’s my turn to say the prayer, I expressing thanks for blessings received, for the preparer of the food, and pretty much say whatever is in my heart at the time. But when when the prayer is over, I’ll often realize – oops! I forgot to bless the food! (Although I usually do remember)
My first memorable experience with this was on my mission when, after my prayer, the Elder next to me said, “It’s not the bless, it’s the thank!” That stuck with me, although it made me wonder, why the bless?
I’ve also always tried to be one to avoid “vain repetitions”, so when I do bless the food, I’ll try to use different language. If I’m blessing refreshments, or not-so-healthy food, I’ll usually ask a blessing on us so that we can enjoy it.
I don’t know that the food actually changes when it is blessed, but I do believe that the Lord has power to do so, if needed, as well as “make it do our bodies [more] good” than it normally would. Especially when someone in my family is sick, I ask that the food will help strengthen our bodies, and give our bodies the nutrients they need to fight the sickness. I think a prayer in faith that asks for a blessing on the food (or on our ability to receive the food well) can definitely have an impact on our health, which in turn affects our spirit.
I think it’s a matter of faith, as well as gratitude, and need.
Here are a few items I Google’d up:
http://www.splendidsun.com/wp/index.php/2005/03/07/60
http://letyourmindalone.blogspot.com/2005/12/please-bless-this-food-missionary.html
I agree with Clark. In the sacrament the emblems are blessed and sanctified. While the emblems do not change physically, our mindset and attitude change.
Sarebear,
That’s a wonderful image! I mean that sincerely. Ah, the faith of children…
Thank you! I was afraid that image made me look more like a gaping fish . . .
Clark:
The sacramental emblems don’t change physically (Ã la transubstantiation), but we are consecrating them — setting them apart, making them holy — for a divine purpose. Their spiritual character changes “to the souls of those who partake of [them].”
I don’t see any need or requirement to do the same thing to our everyday meals.
Anybody ever been to a temple cafeteria where a sign is posted that the food has been blessed?
#12:
No.
But I have been in a temple cafeteria where caffinated beverages were sold.
Mike, I think that ultimately we should consecrate everything we do to the Lord. I think the blessing of the food is part of that, even if we don’t take it that seriously. (I’ll confess that I don’t much)
Just to add to that last post. I think the relevant scripture that makes the point I’m trying to is Alma 37:36-37. It’s one of my favorite scriptures and I certainly can think of times I’ve lived it better than others.
It seems to me that we are required to do more than just be thankful. Clearly thanks is part of it, as the above scripture attests. But I think we are to do all things unto the Lord. I like the way Paul puts it. If you read through his writings, he often talks about being in Christ. To me Alma 37 is really about how we come to bring ourselves to be in Christ. I think that our prayers over food, and really over everything else are a strong part of that, if only to orient how we conduct ourselves.
I recall my most spiritual times truly being times when nothing seemed to small to consider in terms of the spirit. And those were also times when I prayed quite regularly, even if only in my mind, and was constantly trying to live Alma 37.
Of course now I’ve just made myself depressed thinking how I’m not like that now and perhaps how I don’t take prayer, especially prayers over food, as seriously as I once did.
Because asking for a blessing that sugary food ‘nourish and strengthen’ became a joke at our house, we have tried to change what we say. One, we call it “say the prayer”; two, we find it a good time to express gratitude, not only for the food, but for the opportunity to be together, to have it so easily available, to have the means to obtain it, etc. (ie, the Alma 37:36-37 thing). Or in other words, to take the time, when consuming food, to think about the Lord, even if it is just for a moment.
The OP’s question about where it came from intrigued me – googling the words “nourish and strengthen” I see that this has been a topic of discussion at other fora (beliefnet, and splendid sun) with interesting commentary, and that it was also a stock phrase in prayers from other religions (but usually they are asking God to nourish and strengthen them in the faith). So it may be an imported phrase, heard as children (I know that is certainly what I learned to say as a child) and passed along to new generations. Often, a phrase that is meaningful in its first use(s) loses its savor as it is separated from its roots.
The pairing of nourish and strengthen is found in the Book of Mormon. In 1 Nephi 15:15, the importance of getting sustenance from the true vine is illustrated with those words. But in 1 Nephi 17:3, it specifically hearkens to the ability of the Lord to make our bodies strong through the food he provides and instructs his followers to consume.
Anyway, it was something I found interesting to think about.
I’d always thought it came from the Jewish traditions of prayers/blessings before and after meals.
http://www.jewfaq.org/prayer.htm
And, yes, I have heard others comment on how funny that some people were bowing their heads even though the food was already blessed (said at a temple cafeteria with a snicker–apparently blessing the food is the only reason to pray before a meal to that person, *sigh*)
I think the idea of *needing* to bless a meal guarantees that we will pray more often, hopefully as often as we eat. Theoretically a thanks-only prayer could do the same thing, but thanks-only prayers are always thought of as something we *should* do, not something we *need* to do. I see blessing our meals as a tradition that teaches us to pray for and about everything, and a symbollic way of putting God first.
Another thought that just struck me is perhaps we’re not blessing the meal as food, but rather the meal as a gathering of people. Sort of like an invocation.
Blessings on Food
by Christine Quinn Christensen
Blessings on food are prayers to thank God for providing sustenance and to ask his blessings both on the food and on those who share it. In Mormon homes such blessings precede each meal and may be given by any member of a dining party, adult or child. In private these prayers are spoken orally, but may be spoken silently by individuals dining in public. All blessings on the food are addressed to God in the name of Jesus Christ. They are spoken from the heart as there is no prescribed prayer.
Latter-day Saints follow the patterns established by Christ and his disciples in blessings on food. When feeding the multitudes, Christ gave thanks for sustenance (Matt. 15:35-36) and blessed it (Matt. 14:19). Paul taught that food was to be received with prayer and thanksgiving (1 Tim. 4:3-5).
Biblical examples of praying over food are the basis for the Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant traditions of blessings on food or saying grace. Converts to Mormonism tended to continue these traditions from their prior faiths, and to be bolstered by the Latter-day Saint instruction on prayer: All things are to be done “with prayer and thanksgiving.” Food and all “good things which come of the earth…are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart,…to strengthen the body and enliven the soul …. And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things” (D&C 59:7, 17-19, 21). (See From Whom All Blessings Flow by Elder Neal A. Maxwell)
Petitioning God for blessings on the food to be eaten is typical of Mormon table blessings. This may include requests for nourishment and good health, for strength to do one’s work and God’s will and to be of service. Other blessings on the diners or on those who prepared the meal are also deemed appropriate.
In many cultures, breaking bread or sharing a meal with others is an act of hospitality. According to Latter-day scripture such sharing may also be a foretaste of the future Messianic banquet (D&C 58:8). Because family meals provide opportunities for sharing the deepest spiritual concerns and rejoicings, it is especially appropriate to begin such occasions with prayer and the invocation of the Spirit. In LDS families this prayer is customarily spoken at the beginning of the meal only, and not also following the meal, as is the custom among some people of other religions. Because there is no prescribed form for Latter-day Saint blessings on food, such blessings enable families daily to express their own feelings, thoughts, and words in intimate prayer and fellowship two or three times a day.
Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol. 1, Blessings on Food
Porter Rockwell comes through again with a great comment. Thanks, Porter, you’re a bodyguard to the faith!
I think of the primary importance being expressing gratitude, and we colloquially say ‘bless the food’. I think there are times where we may legitimately want to ask a ‘blessing’ on the food. There are times where I ask that it ‘may be enjoyable’ since it’s obviously not really ‘nourishing’ (e.g. lots of sweets and desserts).
For some reason … I also think of the blessing pronounced upon ‘them that believe’ (http://scriptures.lds.org/dc/84#65). In that case, maybe something can be miraculously changed. For example, if they are administered poison in their food (http://scriptures.lds.org/dc/84#71).
On the ‘random thought’ side … I always wanted to bless everyone’s lunch if I were called on to give a prayer at the Tuesday BYU devotional. I always ate my lunch there (as did many others) and thought it would be nice if the ‘blessing on the food’ were taken care of from the pulpit. 😉
Sometimes my mom has done weird things, like we come to sit down at the table (when visiting – I don’t still live at home (!)), and she’ll, say, I already blessed the food, like they do at the temple. I’m sort of thinking (sarcastically), gee, why don’t you just go ahead and bless the groceries, and that’ll take care of it for the week!
Meems, you made me laugh out loud.
You know, I worked as a volunteer in the temple kitchen, it was really fun. They do have a formal thing in the morning where they meet and share a spiritual thought and give a sincere prayer.
One of the things I love about my husband is his constancy in blessing the food. I remember when we were dating, I went over to his house once and walked in him, sitting alone at the table, with his pancakes, and his head bowed over his food.
He is this great big guy, a man’s man, but he’ll come home for lunch and I will peek in from my office (where I am blogging:), and bow my head with him. He doesn’t know I do this. I just think it’s sweet.
That is sweet, Anne! Thanks! BTW, I’m way too hard on my mom, as only a daughter can be 😉
Why stop at blessing the grocery store? Why don’t we dispatch a faithful saint to California’s Imperial Valley to bless all of the lettuce so I don’t have to pray over a lunch salad again this season?
Wow! What a great idea! I think you should write to Salt Lake right away, gst!! Let us know what they say!