THE SACRAMENT

Every night around the world in billions of homes, you will find families gathered around the table to share in a ritual that has been passed on through thousands of years.  Eating supper together is a tradition that has gone back since the beginning of time.  It's been a moment where people can share not just food for life giving sustenance but also to share each other’s companionship.  It is a time for support and binding together emotionally.  It is the time to share events of the day and the concerns of the day and to talk together on a range of subjects, everything from politics and religion to hobbies and sports, the weather or the local gossip.

It's quite common to invite friends over to share in the supper and dinner experience with the same effect of deepening the friendship.   One remarkable experience is to receive an invitation to join a group in a dinner where you previously where unacquainted with any of the participants.  You go to that event not knowing anybody but then by the end of the evening, you find yourself walking out of the door having created new friendships that can potentially last for years. 

It's no coincidence that just prior to Jesus Christ crucifixion he gathered his apostles together for one last supper.  As they were eating, Christ initiated something called the Sacrament. 

We can read about it in the JST Matthew 26, verse 22 through 27:

“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and brake it, and blessed it, and gave to his disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is in remembrance of my body which I give a ransom for you.  And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it. For this is in remembrance of my blood of the new testament, which is shed for as many as shall believe on my name, for the remission of their sins. And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall observe to do the things which ye have seen me do, and bear record of me even unto the end.  But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I shall come and drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.  And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives.”

Christ used the symbol of the bread and of the wine to create a ceremony by which his disciples could remember him.  He did that for the purpose of joining them together with him as a family.

Again, quite often the sharing of supper creates a binding experience that moves the hearts of strangers into a place of friendship, and moves the hearts of friends into a place of family.  Could this be one purpose for which Christ gave the Sacrament?  Could it be a practice through which we can be included into the family of God?

We can see this in the record of John 14:18-23.

“I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me; because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.  Judas saith unto him, (not Iscariot,) Lord, how is it thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. “

John 14:24-27

“He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings; and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

It's clear from the from the references in John that by keeping the Commandments of Christ his Spirit dwells in us and by keeping those commandments we are made one with the Father and the Father loves these and will come and make his abode with those who keep those commandments.  To make an abode with someone is an indication of a family relationship.  I suppose that the custom of referring to God as a Father would further be an indication of a family relationship, wouldn’t it?

Judas the disciple asked how that was possible.  Christ, being eternal in nature and still alive even through resurrection, can make his presence known to anyone.  Certainly any sincere person who seeks for him and seeks to keep his commandments.  It has been said that this is merely figurative and not meant to be taken literally.  Some have even gone so far as to say that it is unnecessary (Oaks, Boise Rescue, 2015). When Christ said I will love him and will manifest myself to him, did he mean that he would literally manifest himself to the individual? Somebody else had the same question and received an answer to that question. They asked the Lord and reported receiving a revelation and wrote it down.  Here it is in Doctrine and Covenants Section 130: 1-3.

 “When the Savior shall appear we shall see him as he is. We shall see that he is a man like ourselves. And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy. John 14:23—The appearing of the Father and the Son, in that verse, is a personal appearance; and the idea that the Father and the Son dwell in a man’s heart is an old sectarian notion, and is false.

We first notice that the subject matter of this revelation is the Savior and that he is a man like ourselves.  That is to say, a very human looking person with a personality that we can interact with.  And notice that the same sociality which exists among us here with that subject (Christ) will exist among us there.  It gives us pause for a moment to consider that if I do not know the Savior here, will that be the same sociality which will exist in the hereafter?  If I know the Savior here as if he were family, will I know the Savior as family in the eternal world?  Surely these things cannot be taken too seriously and it must mean only that I know the Savior because his spirit dwells in my heart by the power of the Holy Ghost.  But wait a second, just to clarify, we see that such a notion is false in the very next stanza.  It is referring to a personal appearance!  And the idea of God “dwelling in your soul through the Holy Ghost as a sufficient means to establish a family relationship with God” is in fact a false idea.  It’s a Sectarian notion and is opposed to the scriptural promise.

So we see from the revelation provided by Joseph Smith that the reading in John is meant to be taken literally.  We can expect that if we are sincere in our efforts to obey the commandments of Jesus Christ, he will appear to us.  This is symbolized in the sacrament in which Christ gathered his family of disciples together and broke the bread and poured the wine and shared it with them.
When we partake of the sacrament that is ultimately what we are really meant to remember.  We're meant to turn inward, to examine our hearts and pray to the Father.  How can we keep those commandments which would please God and bring us into his family? We turn our hearts back to review the past and turn our minds forward to that time when we can sit down to the supper table with Jesus Christ as part of the family of God. 

It could be valuable to review how to conduct and how to partake of the sacrament in a way that draws out that true meaning of the Lord’s Supper. 

In Moroni Chapter 4 we receive the instructions on how to conduct the sacrament:

“The manner of their elders and priests administering the flesh and blood of Christ unto the church; and they administered it according to the commandments of Christ; wherefore we know the manner to be true; and the elder or priest did minister it— And they did kneel down with the church, and pray to the Father in the name of Christ, saying:  O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.”

There's a few things to note from this.

The elders of the church, the elders or the priests, administer the sacrament.  This symbolizes that they are meant to be servants, waiters if you will.  Any priestly office is a call to service.  It is not a call to preside and manage, nor even to conduct.  It is not a call to be in charge or to be the leader.  It is a call to be the servant. As it is written “But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased of him; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted of him“(JST Mathew 23:8-9). The purpose of the servant is to administer or rather to serve others. A Priest is a servant.

In Verse Two we see something interesting.  “And they did kneel down with the church.”  That is to say that the administering servants knelt down to pray with the church, meaning the congregation also was in the act of kneeling.  Everybody knelt.  Everybody participated in this prayer.  This was not a stage performance.  It was a true prayer for every individual and they did join them in the congregation. Everybody who partakes of the sacrament should kneel for the prayer, because they too are offering up the prayer as participants. 

Of course we're familiar with the prayer itself.  Their example showed that they were praying to the Father in the name of the son, Jesus Christ.  The bread represented the body of the Son.  That body which was broken for us and so likewise, the priests take whole bread (not cut) and break the bread in remembrance of Christ’s physical suffering.  They break the bread to show that Christ’s body was broken for us. 

The prayer for the bread contains a covenant with God.  God’s part of the covenant was to offer his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.  That is His part and in the prayer for the wine, we receive the symbol of that sacrifice, the blood.  However, in the prayer for the bread, there are three parts that we concern ourselves with because these constitute our portion of the covenant.  God’s part was to make the sacrifice for us, but what is our part?

As we eat in remembrance of the body of the son we witness to God that we are:

1.            Willing to take upon us the name of the Son.

2.            Always remember Him.

3.            Keep his commandments which he has given us

Those are the three things which we covenant to do and to keep. 

To take upon the name of the Son is to take upon ourselves the same work that the Son took upon him. He told us that his only purpose on the earth was to do nothing save it was the will of the Father.  In like manner, we make that sacrifice of self-will to keep the will of God.  God makes known his will for each individual on a personal level.  He may speak through many sources, but it will always be His own voice which we can learn to recognize.  Following that voice of God, in whatever language He may choose to speak to you personally is how you may follow God’s will. 

 Likewise, we are meant to remember him.  We are always to keep him in our mind and always do that which he would do if he were in our current situation. 

To keep the third item: to keep his commandments, requires that we have some kind of communication from God.  It's not possible to keep his commandments unless we have an open dialogue with the Lord.

What is it that God gives us if we can keep these three promises?

We may always have his spirit to be with us.  Always.  We have to ask, how often do we fail to live up to these things?  Do we always remember the Savior? Do we always keep his commandments? Do we always take upon ourselves the name of the Son?

No, quite often we do not.  In our bodies, we quite often fail.  God provided a means for us to renew the covenant even if we should fail.  That is given in the second representation of the sacrament ordinance, the ordinance of the wine.  The administration of the wine symbolizes the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  The Atonement is the price paid for our sins.  The price paid in blood is represented by the wine which is red in color.

Notice the changes in the prayer for the wine in comparison to the bread.  There are significant meanings behind those changes. 

“The manner of administering the wine—Behold, they took the cup, and said: O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.” (Moroni 5)

This prayer portrays the covenants imposed upon us as we drink the wine. We remember the blood of the Son because it was shed for us.  Why was it shed for us?  To cover for our sins.  To pay the price that we owe.  However, despite our sincerity in complying with the commandments of God, we still fail to meet the requirements of the Will of God.  Now these are not the requirements that are necessarily taught by men from the pulpit.  These are the commandments spoken to the individual from the mouth of God.  Likewise, these commandments are not necessarily the ones that we think we are failing at.  As it is written, God gives us weaknesses that we may be humble and turn to Him.  If it so be that we are humble and have trust in God, He will make weak things become strong unto us.  Our purpose in partaking of the wine of the sacrament is to renew ourselves before God and the conditions given to accommodate this renewal is that the price of our sins are payed for already by the very God that gave the commandments.  By acknowledging that we have faltered and turning back to that God for guidance, He covers the price and allows us further opportunity to continue in His service. 

The wine represents that blood that was paid for the price of justice.  It is red in color to represent the blood.  And further, wine is bitter to the taste representing the bitter cup which the Savior drank from in submitting his will to the Father.  From within, wine burns somewhat like a refiner’s fire reminiscent of the Holy Ghost and the Baptism of Fire. 

Notice that the covenant of the wine is simplified in comparison to the bread.  Our covenantal part is that we will remember him.  And the promised return is that we may have his spirit to be with us.  It does not say “always have his spirit” as the prayer for the bread does.  It says only that they may have his spirit to be with them.  Notice that it does not state anything about keeping commandments.  Nor does this prayer mention taking upon ourselves the name of the Son. That is because it is an acknowledgement that we have failed to keep the commandments and the atonement is applied on our behalf to rectify that failure.  It begins and ends with the simplest act of obedience which could be imposed upon us which is “to remember”.  To remember him and in remembering him it is enough to provide his spirit to work in us again and begin to guide us back to him.  If we will head his voice.  That is the part that the Lord will provide if we can but keep that one act of remembrance.

But for the bread, we are given the promise God’s Spirit will always be with us as we commit ourselves in taking the name of the Son upon us and remembering Him always and keeping his commandments.  Through the Atonement of blood represented by the wine, we can renew that commitment after having previously failed by initiating the return through remembering him.  In the remembering, he can bring us back to the place where we can always have his spirit to be with us once again as promised in the first covenant. 

It's important that we remember the symbolic aspects of the sacrament.  For example, why is wine administered?  For one thing, it's administered because of the color.  The color is red symbolizing the blood of Jesus Christ.  For another, it is bitter to the taste.  This brings to mind the words of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane:  Christ “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.” (Luke 22:42).  This calls to mind the difficulty of the trials that Christ undertook and the bitterness of the suffering that he endured.  “Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink— Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.” (D&C 19:18–19.)

It also calls to mind that we are to share in the trials of Christ to a certain extent if we are to receive some amount of the glory of God.  We see this in the following: “And she said unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left, in thy kingdom.  But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.  And he said unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is for whom it is prepared of my Father, but not mine to give. And when the ten heard this, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.” (JST Matthew 20:22)

Our suffering is tempered by the sacrifice of God if we will repent. “Behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent.” (D&C 19:16.)  This too is brought to mind as we drink the bitter cup of sacramental wine. The bitterness of a cup of wine is an appropriate symbol for the blood of Jesus Christ.

We can learn even more about the sacrament.  See the examples Christ gave when he administered it to the Nephites as recorded in third Nephi chapter 20: 1-9.

 “And it came to pass that he commanded the multitude that they should cease to pray, and also his disciples. And he commanded them that they should not cease to pray in their hearts.  And he commanded them that they should arise and stand up upon their feet. And they arose up and stood upon their feet. And it came to pass that he brake bread again and blessed it, and gave to the disciples to eat. And when they had eaten he commanded them that they should break bread, and give unto the multitude. And when they had given unto the multitude he also gave them wine to drink, and commanded them that they should give unto the multitude. Now, there had been no bread, neither wine, brought by the disciples, neither by the multitude;  But he truly gave unto them bread to eat, and also wine to drink. And he said unto them: He that eateth this bread eateth of my body to his soul; and he that drinketh of this wine drinketh of my blood to his soul; and his soul shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be filled. Now, when the multitude had all eaten and drunk, behold, they were filled with the Spirit; and they did cry out with one voice, and gave glory to Jesus, whom they both saw and heard.”

“And it came to pass that when they had all given glory unto Jesus, he said unto them: Behold now I finish the commandment which the Father hath commanded me concerning this people, who are a remnant of the house of Israel. Ye remember that I spake unto you, and said that when the words of Isaiah should be fulfilled—behold they are written, ye have them before you, therefore search them—And verily, verily, I say unto you, that when they shall be fulfilled then is the fulfilling of the covenant which the Father hath made unto his people, O house of Israel.  And then shall the remnants, which shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth, be gathered in from the east and from the west, and from the south and from the north; and they shall be brought to the knowledge of the Lord their God, who hath redeemed them.” (3 Nephi 20:10-13)

So some points to be understood as we read this. First Christ provided the bread and the wine. Why is that significant? When Christ provides bread and wine he provides enough to fill the people and we see that in the miraculous feeding of the 5000 in the New Testament.  In that story there was enough and plenty left over for everybody.  They could eat their fill and still have some remaining.  Again that's another aspect to consider when we conduct the sacrament.  When we feed the people, they should be able to eat to their satisfaction the amount of bread and wine which they desire to partake of.   

Second point which is again demonstrating that wine was used by Jesus Christ and not water.

By removing the nutrient from the supper or denying the use of nutritious foods and replacing it with a crumb and a sip, what are we symbolizing?  Are we not symbolizing that the ordinances which we are conducting do not provide the spiritual nutrition that the soul needs?  A little morsel of white bread and a thimble cup of water; this does not satisfy your thirst nor does it provide nutrition in any degree.  So the symbol can be lost.  Recall the manner that Christ fed the people.  He provided bread baskets that were remained full after the people where filled.  He promised that whosoever drank of that which he would give should never thirst again.  Allowing the people to partake of as much of the bread as they desire would be more in keeping with the example that Christ showed as he conducted the sacrament. So too the wine has more nutrition than the water, which provides the bitter taste and a reminder that his blood was spilt for us.   

Also in third Nephi chapter 20 it is significant that immediately upon conducting the sacrament, he (Christ) begins to talk about the promises given to the house of Israel.  What was the house of Israel? Ultimately, the house of Israel was and is a family.

Here again Christ calls to mind that the act of the supper is the attempt to draw the people into one family through that binding experience.  This is the intention that Christ has as he conducts the sacrament with his disciples and that should not be lost on us as we conduct this same ordinance. 

Another important point to recognize from third Nephi chapter 20 is that after the people have partaken they were filled with the spirit, the recognizable presence of God's Spirit.  And this is the way we can recognize if we are conducting the ordinance properly.  By conducting an ordinance properly, I don't mean to measure it by our outward performances.  I certainly don't mean to be overly focused on the symbolism of all the actions taken to conduct the sacrament.  Rather it is in the heart of the participant that is most important and in remembering him and in taking his name upon us and keeping his commandments.  That is the true meaning of the sacrament.  By doing these things with that purpose we may always have his spirit to be with us.

Lastly, for Mormons there's a bit of a conflict that we need to discuss.  That is the meaning of Section 89 in Doctrine and Covenants.  During the years of Prohibition in the United States of America, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints adopted the government’s stance against alcohol.  The government quickly recognized this folly and retracted its mandates.  The church on the other hand, cannot reverse course so easily and the prohibition remained, not as a commandment, not as a revelation but as a cultural norm.  Reviewing Section 89 which is held as revelation by all members of this church will be useful regarding this subject manner. This scripture will be known by all Mormons as the Word of Wisdom. It is a revelation given to Joseph Smith the Prophet in Kirkland in 1833.

So briefly in section 89 it says:

“1.  A Word of Wisdom, for the benefit of the council of high priests, assembled in Kirtland, and the church, and also the saints in Zion—

 2 To be sent by greeting; not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days—

 3 Given for a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints.”

The first thing we want to recognize is that this is given “not by commandment nor by constraint.” That is put in there for a reason and the reason is that when it comes to the temporal care of the body, there's a lot of variation for individuals and not everybody needs the same thing at the same time.  We don't all need to eat the same amount of food nor drink the same amount of beverage.  Sometimes we need nutrients of one kind or another.  A woman may need more Iron, a man may need more Zinc, a child may need more carbohydrates.  So we can’t prescribe the same amount of Iron for everybody nor the same amount of Zinc, nor the same amount of snack foods. It really depends on the needs of the individual.  Likewise, we don’t all need the same amount of sleep, some may need 10 hours a night and another may need only 7.  The Word of Wisdom Section 89 provides flexibility and is not a strict commandment that someone could use to draft a list of do’s and do not’s.  In other words, you cannot give strict dietary guidelines to others that are going to apply to all people, at all times. Individuals must turn to God and prayerfully select for themselves that which is most appropriate for them.  Of course if God gives a guideline, His advice is more powerful than any man's wisdom.  So we are going to take His words seriously.  We are going to consider them carefully and go to Him directly to learn how to apply them in our particular situation.  That's what it means when it says to be sent by greeting not by commandment nor constraint. 

 “3 Given for a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints.

 4 Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation—

 5 That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father, only in assembling yourselves together to offer up your sacraments before him.

 6 And, behold, this should be wine, yea, pure wine of the grape of the vine, of your own make.”

Remarkably this is very forward thinking in the 1830s that Joseph Smith would have the idea that there would be evils and designs which would exist in the hearts of men that would somehow be related to consumption of food and beverages.  This extends well beyond tobacco and even alcohol.  This goes into even the food industry and especially into the pharmaceuticals.  We will not discuss in any detail here the role that politics and business have played in coercing the diets of citizens into unhealthy patterns.  However, there's plenty of information available to you if you want to do the reading and the research that can show you just how much politics has influenced the nutrition made available to you.  We can see where that influence has sometimes been beneficial and yet more often overreached its bounds in the interest of monetary gain.  Ultimately it is up to you on a personal level to determine how much of that influence you would like to learn about or remain ignorant of.  I suppose the same could even be said of the role of politics and business in influencing the religion you choose to adopt.  For now, the, main point is that care must be taken regarding what we put into our bodies physically and it's okay for us to make decisions regarding this for ourselves by careful research, by careful prayer and with the intent to take care of the gift of life which God has given us.

On a personal note, there was an evening at home in which I recognized a need to prepare and partake of the Sacrament to assist me in my own personal desire to connect with God again.  At the time I had a sinus infection that inflamed the inner ear and was mildly painful.  I blessed the bread and wine and served my wife and then partook as well.  Within twenty minutes of drinking three quarter’s cup of wine, I felt a noticeable reduction in the pain within my ear.  By the end of the evening, it had fully healed.  What had been a three day illness had been cured by the medicine of the Sacrament.  There are scientific explanations for the use of a moderate application of mild alcohol as medicine.  Nevertheless, here is a personal example that I would like to emphasis had as much spiritual medicine as it did temporal.      

This section does not deal solely with the temporal body and the care of the body.  It ultimately deals with a spiritual connection and the spiritual connection in relation to the care of the physical body.

 “5 That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father, only in assembling yourselves together to offer up your sacraments before him.

 6 And, behold, this should be wine, yea, pure wine of the grape of the vine, of your own make.

 7 And, again, strong drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies.”

So there it is clearly spelled out.  Section 89 started out saying it is not a strict commandment. It doesn't say there is a list of things you can or cannot partake of.  It gives recommendations.  Among those recommendations is a warning to avoid wine and strong drinks, with an exception.  The exception is that wine is to be used “when assembling your selves together to offer up your sacraments before him.”  Likewise, it should be pure wine of the grapevine of your own making. Again emphasizing that wine is the appropriate symbol of the Sacrament.   Oddly enough, if we were to reinterpret Section 89 as a strict commandment, which it clearly says it is not, but yet if we were to interpret section 89 as a strict commandment then we would necessarily recognize that it is a commandment to drink wine as part of the Sacrament and not water.   However, it is not a strict commandment, rather it is a guideline.  So there is some flexibility there and some individual discretion is required.  We are necessarily going to need to counsel with the Lord personally.   Nevertheless the use of wine is not only appropriate to use but was the method established by Christ in an ordinance meant to remember Him, the Christ. That should set your minds at ease regarding the use of wine in Sacrament if you are a Mormon, especially a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.

The Sacrament is an ordinance that provides a covenant with God.  As we keep that covenant, it provides a surety of the promises God has given us that a day will come when we may sit with Him at the supper table as a part of the family of God.