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PHIL - Why are the Sacrament prayers not considered vain repitition, that Jesus told us to avoid?
JOEL -
As the scriptures say Christ doesn't want us to fall into vain repetitions when we pray to Him.
"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." (Matt. 6: 7)
The words "vain repetition" mean unproductive repetition of the same words to elicit a feeling of self-importance(Websters).
What you are talking about are not just prayers, they are priesthood ordinances. While it is true that the words we say for the Sacrament, baptism, and temple rites are always the same, they are not spoken in vain as the prayers Christ was talking about in Matthew; and they are different from the personal prayers that God wants to hear from us. President Spencer W. Kimball said:
"By revelation the Lord has given the Church…set prayers for use in our sacred ordinances…. [These] relate to the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, his crucifixion, and his burial and resurrection. All of the ordinances in which we use these prayers place us under solemn covenants of obedience to God" (Kimball, Spencer W., Prayer. Salt Lake City, 1977)
So the Sacrament prayers are not just prayers, they are priesthood ordinances that are essential for our salvation and therefore must be performed the same way for everyone everywhere.
Besides that, we received the Sacrament prayers through revelation from God Himself. He must not consider them vain repetition or He wouldn't have instructed us to use them (D&C 20: 77-79).
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