"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 has given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen."[530]
12. After the bread has been distributed to the congregation, in which labor the teachers and deacons may take part, under the direction of the officiating priest, the wine or water is consecrated in this manner:—
"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine [or water] 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."[531]
13. The plainness of the Lord's instructions to the Saints regarding this ordinance, leaves no excuse for disputation concerning the ceremony, for assuredly no one who officiates in these holy rites can feel that he is authorized to change the forms even by the alteration of a word. If ever the Lord desires a change in this ordinance, He will doubtless make it known through His established channels of the priesthood. The records of the Nephites clearly prove that the manner of administering the sacrament as practiced in their day,[532] was the same as revealed for the guidance of the Saints in the dispensation of the fulness of times.
NOTES.
1. The Term "Sacrament" is commonly used in both a general and a specific sense; according to its derivation, it signifies a sacred thing or holy ceremony, and with this meaning it is applied by different sects to several ceremonies of their churches. Thus, the Protestants speak of two sacraments,—baptism and the Lord's Supper; the Roman and Greek Catholics recognize seven sacraments,—the two named above, and also confirmation, matrimony, the bestowal of church orders, penance, and extreme unction. Some sections of the Greek church are said to exclude confirmation and extreme unction from among the seven sacraments. With even greater latitude, the term is applied to any miraculous or spiritual manifestation; it is so used by Bishop Jeremy Taylor when he says, "God sometime sent a light of fire, and pillar of a cloud ... and the sacrament of a rainbow, to guide His people through their portion of sorrows." Specifically, however, the word sacrament denotes the Lord's Supper, and in this sense alone does the word occur in Latter-day Saint theology. Eucharist and Holy Communion are terms employed in certain churches as synonymous with the sacrament of the Lord's supper. From the custom of regarding the ceremony of communion, that is, the partaking of the sacrament, as an evidence of standing in any church, and from the rule which withholds this privilege from those who are judged to be unworthy of fellowship, comes the term excommunicate, as applied to deprivation of church fellowship, meaning literally to cast out from communion.
2. The Lord's Supper.—As stated, this designation of the sacrament occurs but once in the Bible. The "Lord's Supper" is referred to by Paul in his first epistle to the Corinthians. In all probability this name was used because the rite was first administered at the time of the evening meal. It must be remembered that the deipnon or evening supper among the Jews was the principal meal of the day, and really corresponded to our dinner.
3. The Passover and the Sacrament.—The feast of the passover was the chief of the annual ceremonials of the Jews, and derived its name from the circumstances of its origin. In setting His hand to deliver Israel from the bondage of Egypt, the Lord wrought many miracles and wonders before Pharaoh and his idolatrous house; and, as the last of the ten terrible plagues to which the Egyptians were subjected, the first born of every household was smitten with death during a single night. By previous command, the Israelites had marked the posts and lintels of their doorways with the blood of a lamb slain for the occasion, the blood having been sprinkled by means of a bunch of hyssop. In His passage through the land, the Lord passed over the houses so marked (Exodus xii, 12, 13); while in all the Egyptian homes the stroke of death was felt. Hence arises the name Passover, from pasach—to pass by. The flesh of the paschal lamb was eaten amid the haste of departure. To commemorate their deliverance from bondage, the Lord required of the Israelites an annual celebration of this event, the occasion being known as the "Feast of the Passover," also as the "Feast of Unleavened Bread," the latter name arising from the Lord's command that during the specified time of the observance no leaven should be found in the houses of the people (Ex. xii, 15); and the occasion of the feast was to be taken advantage of for instructing the children concerning the merciful dealings of God with their forefathers (Ex. xii, 26. 27). But aside from its commemorative purpose, the passover became to the people a type of the sacrifice on Calvary. Paul says, "Christ, our passover, is sacrificed for us" (I Cor. v, 7). As being typical of the future atoning death of Christ, the passover lost part of its significance by the crucifixion, and was superseded by the sacrament. There is perhaps no closer relation between the two ordinances than this. Surely the sacrament was not designed to fully supplant the passover, for the latter was established as a perpetually recurring feast:—"And the day shall be unto you for a memorial: and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever" (Ex. xii, 14).
4. Errors Concerning the Sacrament, and its signification, and the manner of administering it, grew rapidly in the professed-Christian churches during the early centuries of the Christian era. As soon as the power of the priesthood had departed, much disputation arose in matters of ordinance, and the observance of the sacrament became distorted. Theological teachers strove to foster the idea that there was much mystery attending this naturally simple and most impressive ordinance; that all who were not in full communion with the Church should be excluded, not only from participation in the ordinance, which was justifiable, but from the privilege of witnessing the service, lest they profane the mystic rite by their unhallowed presence. Then arose the heresy of transubstantiation,—which held that the sacramental emblems by the ceremony of consecration lost their natural character of simple bread and wine, and became in reality flesh and blood,—actually parts of the crucified body of Christ. Argument against such dogmas is useless. Then followed the veneration of the emblems by the people, the bread and wine—regarded as part of Christ's tabernacle, being elevated in the mass for the adoration of the people; and later, the custom of suppressing half of the sacrament was introduced. By the innovation last mentioned, only the bread was administered, the dogmatic assertion being that both the body and the blood were represented in some mystical way in one of the "elements." Certain it is, that Christ required his disciples to both eat and drink in remembrance of Him.
5. Sacrament Administered to Unbaptized Children.—Questions have been raised as to the propriety of administering the sacrament to children below the age specified as that of baptism into the Church. As indicated in a preceding lecture (pp. 127-130), children born in the Church are members thereof without baptism until they arrive at the age of accountability. There is seemingly no violation of law in administering the sacrament to such innocent subjects, and as the living authorities of the Church have directed the practice, the question of propriety is answered. Nevertheless, children should be taught that after they have been baptized and confirmed in the Church, the partaking of the sacrament has to them an added significance, in that it marks a renewal of the covenants they made at the waters of baptism.