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Can things be holy?

Merlin

Active Member
different people have different things they consider religiously special. Perhaps the shrine at Lourdes, maybe a crucifix, an icon, a church, the altar, a copy of the Bible or the Quran, and so on.

Is it possible for things or places to be holy? If so, what special powers do they have?
 

Merlin

Active Member
Aqualung said:
I think things can be sacred, but not holy.
Sorry, can you please explain the practical difference. What things do you consider sacred, and what difference would it make if they were considered holy. Are these things treated any differently?
 

michel

Administrator Emeritus
Staff member
Merlin said:
Sorry, can you please explain the practical difference. What things do you consider sacred, and what difference would it make if they were considered holy. Are these things treated any differently?
hehe - Oxford Dictionary Sacred:-
• adjective 1 connected with a deity and so deserving veneration; holy. 2 (of a text) embodying the doctrines of a religion. 3 religious rather than secular.
 

Scuba Pete

Le plongeur avec attitude...
Holy means being set apart for God's use. Christians are called to be Holy:

I Peter 1: 13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." NIV
 

Aqualung

Tasty
Merlin said:
Sorry, can you please explain the practical difference. What things do you consider sacred, and what difference would it make if they were considered holy. Are these things treated any differently?
Sacred is something that you should treat with the highest respect. Holy is something that is perfect and worthy of worship.
 

jonny

Well-Known Member
This is interesting because we had a lesson in church on this very subject yesterday.

In the LDS Bible Dictionary it states:

"According to the Old Testament, things or places were holy that were set apart for a sacred purpose;"

Ezekiel 22:26 - "Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned my holy things..."

In my life, there are at least three places that I know of that are set apart for sacred purposes. The temple, where I go to make sacred covenants with God; the home, where I was taught and will teach my family about God; and the chapel/church, where I go to renew the covenants that I have made with God and make covenants through ordinances such as baptism.

You may be interested in this talk. It is what we discussed on the subject and was very inspirational to me. It is called "Standing in Holy Places."
 

jonny

Well-Known Member
NetDoc said:
Holy means being set apart for God's use. Christians are called to be Holy:

I Peter 1: 13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." NIV
I agree. Here are some quotes on this subject from the talk that I referenced above.

Holiness is the strength of the soul. It comes by faith and through obedience to God’s laws and ordinances. God then purifies the heart by faith, and the heart becomes purged from that which is profane and unworthy. When holiness is achieved by conforming to God’s will, one knows intuitively that which is wrong and that which is right before the Lord. Holiness speaks when there is silence, encouraging that which is good or reproving that which is wrong.




Holiness is also a standard of righteousness. In some remarks by President Brigham Young in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, February 16, 1862, he used the expression “Holiness to the Lord.” He then further explained what “Holiness to the Lord” meant to him. I quote: “Thirty years’ experience has taught me that every moment of my life must be holiness to the Lord, resulting from equity, justice, mercy and uprightness in all my actions, which is the only course by which I can preserve the Spirit of the Almighty to myself.”
As President Brigham Young taught, “Every moment of [our lives] must be holiness to the Lord, … which is the only course by which [we] can preserve the Spirit of the Almighty to [ourselves].” May the Lord bless each and all of us in our special responsibility to find holiness to the Lord by standing in holy places. That is where we will find the spiritual protection we need for ourselves and our families. That is the source of help to carry forth the word of the Lord in our time. Standing in holy places will help us rise above the evil influences of our time and draw us closer to our Savior. I testify that if we do this, the Lord will bless us forever and we will be made mighty “in faith and in works.” 12 In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
After I head this talk I printed a paper with the words "Holiness to the Lord" and put it over my bedroom door as a reminder of what I should strive to do.
 

Terrywoodenpic

Oldest Heretic
During the service to install my Altar the Bishop said it was now "set aside" meaning it was now Gods' and to me set aside or set apart means Holy. I am sure things and people so set aside are Holy.


Terry____________________
Blessed are those who suffer in the cause of right, the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
 

Linus

Well-Known Member
Merlin said:
Is it possible for things or places to be holy? If so, what special powers do they have?
I personally don't believe in many sacred relics or anything like that. I think the word "Holy" simply means "set apart." It does not mean that it has special powers or anything like that.

We christians, God's church, are to be holy. We are set apart for a specific purpose. We are not common. We are simply in the world, not "of" the world.
 

Merlin

Active Member
Binyamin said:
Yes, define special powers.
I don't know what special powers there could be. This really was the purpose of this thread. I have many times heard people say that this place or this thing is holy, without really stipulating what that meant.

Clearly there are places like shrines (Lourdes for example) which are claimed to have special powers, although many doubt that. Other people want to touch a crucifix, a statue, perhaps a scroll, or even the place where the scrolls are kept. I have heard of people wanting to touch a person, such as the overall head of the church. So some people actually believe that these things or places or people have something worth touching?

I was just wondering what are other people's views .

Are these things holy, if so do they have anything special about them, if so what is it?
 

Merlin

Active Member
jonny said:
This is interesting because we had a lesson in church on this very subject yesterday.

In the LDS Bible Dictionary it states:

"According to the Old Testament, things or places were holy that were set apart for a sacred purpose;"

Ezekiel 22:26 - "Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned my holy things..."

In my life, there are at least three places that I know of that are set apart for sacred purposes. The temple, where I go to make sacred covenants with God; the home, where I was taught and will teach my family about God; and the chapel/church, where I go to renew the covenants that I have made with God and make covenants through ordinances such as baptism.

You may be interested in this talk. It is what we discussed on the subject and was very inspirational to me. It is called "Standing in Holy Places."
Thank you.

A follow-up question is "do these holy places have any special powers or attributes"?
 

Merlin

Active Member
Terrywoodenpic said:
During the service to install my Altar the Bishop said it was now "set aside" meaning it was now Gods' and to me set aside or set apart means Holy. I am sure things and people so set aside are Holy.


Terry____________________
Blessed are those who suffer in the cause of right, the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Thank you. That is how I remember it. I just wondered if, having been consecrated, it had any special attributes?
 

Merlin

Active Member
jonny said:
One of the..fundamental principles of Mormonism is to receive truth
let it come from whence it may
.
I love this quote. I would put it exactly like that but with the word Mormonism changed to 'my faith'. I sincerely hope you live by that. Very few do.
 
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