The names of two of the most sacred ordinances in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have no adequate equivalents in the Japanese language, an illustration of the problems sometimes inherent in teaching religion across cultures, a BYU professor said Friday.
PROVO — The names of two of the most sacred ordinances in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have no adequate equivalents in the Japanese language, an illustration of the problems sometimes inherent in teaching religion across cultures, a BYU professor said Friday.Van C. Gessel, a professor of Japanese at BYU, spoke at the 50th BYU Studies symposium and said in Japan, members of the LDS faith use the created words, "baputesma" and "endaumento" for the ordinances of baptism and endowment, along with the words "sute-ku" and "wa-do" for stake and ward.