In the October 2000 general conference, President Gordon B. Hinckley briefly noted the occasions of the Hosanna Shout: “This sacred salute to the Father and the Son is given at the dedication of each of the temples. It has also been given on a few occasions of historic importance, such as the laying of the capstone on the Salt Lake Temple and the celebration of the centennial of the Church in the 1930 general conference.”[1]
The Hosanna Shout is a sacred and awe-inspiring event, one that is only enacted “on occasions of extraordinary solemnity.”[2] To better understand its dignity and import, let us briefly review the history and power of the Hosanna Shout.[3]
Ancient Precedent and Early Latter-day Use
The word hosanna—deriving from Psalm 118:25 where a Hebraic version appears—means “save, we pray” or some variation of the deliverance theme.[4] The shouting of hosanna was practiced in ancient Jewish times, particularly during temple celebrations such as the Feast of Tabernacles, and was “accompanied by the beating of willow branches on the ground.”[5] The people also shouted hosanna when Jesus triumphally entered Jerusalem, again waving palm branches.[6] In the Book of Mormon, we read that the Holy Ghost shouted hosanna (see 1 Nephi 11:6), as did the Nephites after conquering the Gadianton Robbers (see 3 Nephi 4:31-32) and after touching the hands and feet of the Lord Jesus (see 3 Nephi 11:16-17). From these various examples we see that shouting hosanna in ancient times expressed both joy and supplication.[7]
Early shoutings of hosanna by Latter-day Saints were generally “spontaneous and individual without organization or standard wording.”[8] The Lord even commanded early missionaries to shout “Hosanna, hosanna, blessed be the name of the Lord God!” as part of their preaching to the world (D&C 19:37; see also D&C 36:2-3; D&C 39:18-19).
The Kirtland Temple
The Hosanna Shout as a ritual began to formalize during the Kirtland Temple dedicatory period.[9] Relating to the dedicatory period (from January to April, 1836), the first recorded instance of the developing shout comes from Joseph Smith on January 21, after the ordinance of washing and anointing was performed: “Many of my brethren who received the ordinance [of washing and anointing] with me saw glorious visions also. Angels ministered unto them as well as to myself, and the power of the Highest rested upon us. The house was filled with the glory of God, and we shouted Hosanna to God and the Lamb,”[10] followed in later visions by “loud hosannas, and glory to God in the highest.”[11]
A week later on January 28, Church leaders gathered in the Temple, and “when the Twelve and the seven presidents were through with their sealing prayer, I called upon President Sidney Rigdon to seal them with uplifted hands; and when he had done this, and cried hosanna, that all the congregation should join him, and shout hosanna to God and the Lamb, and glory to God in the highest.”[12] Regarding that evening the Prophet Joseph recorded, “I felt to praise God with a loud hosanna, for His goodness to me and my father’s family, and to all the children of men….After these quorums were dismissed, I retired to my home, filled with the Spirit, and my soul cried hosanna to God and the Lamb, through the silent watches of the night; and while my eyes were closed in sleep, the visions of the Lord were sweet unto me, and His glory was round about me. Praise the Lord.”[13]
The Kirtland Temple dedicatory period peaked on March 27, when the temple was dedicated. The day was one of jubilation and praise. Many hymns were sung during the dedication, including the newly written “The Spirit of God like a fire is burning.” Towards the end of the dedicatory service, “President Rigdon then made a few appropriate closing remarks, and a short prayer, at the close of which we sealed the proceedings of the day by shouting hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to God and the Lamb, three times, sealing it each with amen, amen, and amen.”[14]
Concerning this dedicatory Shout, Eliza R. Snow wrote that the shout was given “with such power as seemed almost sufficient to raise the roof from the building.”[15] And regarding this dedicatory period, George A. Smith later observed, “The Lord poured His Spirit upon us, and gave us some little idea of the law of anointing, and conferred upon us some blessings. He taught us how to shout hosannah.”[16]
Early Hosanna Shouts in Utah
Regarding the Hosanna Shout in the early pioneer era in Utah, one scholar noted, “Between the years of 1844 and 1892, the organized and spontaneous traditions of shouting highlighted many significant events, both temporal and spiritual, in Church history. The shouts continued to be associated with temples and were given at various groundbreaking, cornerstone, capstone, and dedication ceremonies of the Utah temples. A shout was given at a number of general conferences, solemn assemblies, July 24 celebrations, and significant occasions.”[17]
One such instance occurred during the groundbreaking ceremony for the St. George temple. After the dedicatory prayer was offered, President Brigham Young “referred to the shouts of hosanna used in the Kirtland Temple, and led the shout of hosanna.”[18]
Salt Lake Temple Capstone Ceremony
Beginning around the time of the Salt Lake Temple completion, the Hosanna Shout was limited to sacred occasions such as temple dedications and other momentous events.
During the Salt Lake Temple capstone ceremony in April 1892, then-Elder Lorenzo Snow offered the following instruction on the Hosanna Shout:
The words of the shout, Hosanna! To be uttered upon, or after, the laying of the capstone to-day, were introduced by President Joseph Smith at the Kirtland Temple, and were there used at a solemn assemblage where the power of God was manifested and the vision of the Almighty was opened up to the brethren. This is no ordinary order, but is—and we wish it to be distinctly understood—a sacred shout, and employed only on extraordinary occasions like the one now before us. We wish it also to be distinctly understood that we want the brethren and sisters not only to express the words, but that their hearts shall be full of thanksgiving to the God of heaven.[19]
President Snow then demonstrated the Shout and announced, “Now when we go before the Temple, and this shout goes forth, we want every man and every woman to shout these words to the very extent of their voices, so that every house in this city may tremble, the people in every portion of this city hear it, and it may reach to the eternal worlds.”[20]
After President Snow instructed the assembled Saints on the proper order of the Hosanna Shout, President Wilford Woodruff spoke and “said that if there is anything on this earth that would attract the attention of the God of hosts it would be the sight of this great congregation singing [shouting] ‘Hosanna.’”[21] A prayer was offered, the capstone was laid, and the congregation gave the Hosanna Shout. Of the Shout, one writer commented, “The spectacle and effect of the shout was grand beyond description, the emotions of the multitude being stirred up in the greatest intensity of devotion and enthusiasm.”[22]
Another person wrote, “The eyes of thousands were moistened with tears in the fulness of their joy. The ground seemed to tremble with the volume of sound which sent forth its echoes to the surrounding hills. A grander or more imposing spectacle than this ceremony of laying the Temple capstone is not recorded in history. The hosannas had scarce ceased when the vast congregation burst forth in the glorious inspirational hymn, ‘The Spirit of God like a fire is burning.’”[23]
Salt Lake Temple Dedication
The Hosanna Shout was offered during the Salt Lake Temple dedication. President Wilford Woodruff noted, “‘They [Joseph, Hyrum, and others] were rejoicing with us in this building which had been accepted of the Lord and [when] the [Hosanna] shout had reached the throne of the Almighty,’ they too had joined in the joyous shout.”[24]
“This shout of Hosanna thrilled the hearts of the vast multitude, and echoed grandly through the magnificent building,” wrote Emmeline B. Wells. “So exultant and enraptured were the saints in their rejoicing that their faces beamed with gladness, and the whole place seemed glorified and sanctified … on that never-to-be-forgotten occasion.”[25]
Yet another attendee recorded, “When the great song, ‘The Spirit of God Like A Fire is Burning’ was sung by the united audience,” wrote Charles Savage, Utah photographer and choir member, “a feeling different thrilled through me from any one I ever experienced. The hosannah shout was something long to be remembered and one I never expect to hear again during my life.”[26]
Later Occasions
During the centennial general conference, held in April 1930, the Hosanna Shout was given by the Saints assembled throughout the world. Of that event, the conference report reads, “The waving of the white handkerchiefs in almost perfect unison and the shouting of praises to God and the Lamb by the thousands of people assembled in the great tabernacle, was perhaps the most thrilling and impressive religious solemnity that those present had ever witnessed.”[27]
The Conference Center of the Church was dedicated during the Sunday morning session of the October 2000 general conference. After noting that the Shout has been given at historic occasions, including temple dedications, President Hinckley noted, “We feel it is appropriate to give the shout here, as we dedicate this great building, the likes of which we may never undertake again. Any mention of this by the media should recognize that for us this is a very sacred and personal thing. We request that it be treated with deference and respect.”[28] President Hinckley then gave instruction regarding the Shout, after which he offered the dedicatory prayer. Immediately following the prayer, he led the congregation in the Hosanna Shout.
Conclusion
The Hosanna Shout is a sacred ritual, conducted for solemn and joyous occasions. It is to be given with a heart full of thanks and praise. It is a shout meant to attract the attention of the God of Hosts. Its performance is moving and ennobling.
Of the Shout’s power, Elder B. H. Roberts noted,
“When voiced by thousands and sometimes tens of thousands in unison, and at their utmost strength, it is most impressive and inspiring. It is impossible to stand unmoved on such an occasion. It seems to fill the prairie or wood: and mountain wilderness or tabernacle, with mighty waves of sound: and the shout of men going into battle cannot be more stirring. It gives wonderful vent to religious emotions, and is followed by a feeling of reverential awe—a sense of oneness with God.”[29]
Notes
Picture citation: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Handkerchief.jpg
1 Gordon B. Hinckley, “This Great Millennial Year,” October 2000 general conference.
2 James E. Talmage, The House of the Lord (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1969), 125.
3 This paper draws heavily from Jacob W. Olmstead, “From Pentecost to Adminisration: A Reappraisal of the History of the Hosanna Shout,” Mormon Historical Studies 2 (2); available at http://mormonhistoricsites.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Mhs2.2OlmsteadFall2001.pdf (accessed 19 November 2013).
4 http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/hosanna
5 Olmstead, “A Reappraisal of the History of the Hosanna Shout,” 9.
6 See Matthew 21:9; Mark 11:9-11; John 12:12-13.
7 See Lael J. Woodbury, “The Origin and Uses of the Sacred Hosanna Shout,” Sperry Lecture Series (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1975), 18.
8 Olmstead, “A Reappraisal of the History of the Hosanna Shout,” 10.
9 See Olmstead, “A Reappraisal of the History of the Hosanna Shout,” 13-16; Woodbury, “The Origin and Uses of the Sacred Hosanna Shout,” 19-21.
10 History of the Church, 2:381, available at https://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/hcpgs/hc.aspx (accessed 7 September 2014); also in Church History in the Fulness of Times, 165, available at https://www.lds.org/manual/church-history-in-the-fulness-of-times-student-manual/chapter-thirteen-glorious-days-in-kirtland-1834-36?lang=eng (accessed 7 September 2014).
11 History of the Church, 2:382.
12 History of the Church, 2:386.
13 History of the Church, 2:387.
14 History of the Church, 2:427-428.
15 Church History in the Fulness of Times, 166.
16 Journal of Discourses, 2:215, electronic transcription available at http://journalofdiscourses.com/2/35 (accessed 7 September 2014).
17 Olmstead, “A Reappraisal,” 21-22.
18 Millennial Star, vol. 36 no. 16, 21 April 1874, page 255; available at
http://cdm15999.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/MStar/id/14224 (accessed 7 September 2014).
19 Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Lorenzo Snow, chapter 10, available at https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-lorenzo-snow/chapter-10-come-into-the-temples?lang=eng (accessed 16 September 2014).
20 Teachings: Lorenzo Snow, chapter 10.
21 Salt Lake Tribune, April 7, 1892, page 5;
http://udn6.lib.utah.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/slt13/id/12688/rec/84
22 Deseret Evening News, April 6, 1892, page 8; http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045555/1892-04-06/ed-1/seq-8/
23 Teachings: Lorenzo Snow, chapter 10.
24 From Andrew Jenson diary, 7 April 1893; as cited in LaRene Gaunt, “The Power of God Was with Us,” Ensign, March 1993; available at https://www.lds.org/ensign/1993/03/the-power-of-god-was-with-us?lang=eng
25 Emmeline B. Wells, “Temple Dedication,” Woman’s Exponent, Apr. 15 and May 1, 1893, p. 156; as cited in LaRene Gaunt, “The Power of God Was with Us.”
26 Charles Roscoe Savage Journal, 6 Apr. 1892, Manuscript Division, BYU Library; as cited in Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, “Every Window, Every Spire Speaks of the Things of God,” Ensign, March 1993; available at https://www.lds.org/ensign/1993/03/every-window-every-spire-speaks-of-the-things-of-god?lang=eng
27 Conference Report, April 1930, page 22; https://archive.org/stream/conferencereport1930a#page/n23/mode/2up
28 “This Great Millennial Year,” Ensign, November 2011; available at https://www.lds.org/ensign/2000/11/this-great-millennial-year?lang=eng
29 History of the Church, 7:629.
Musings 
