The Articles of Faith Part 21

=7.= There is an entire absence of scriptural sanction for giving the sacrament to any who are not members in full fellows.h.i.+p in the Church of Christ. Christ administered the ordinance on the eastern continent to His apostles only; and we have record of their giving it to those only who had a.s.sumed the name of Christ. Amongst His western fold, Christ established the law that only the actual members of His Church should partake. In promising to ordain one among them with power to officiate in the sacrament, the Savior specified that the one so chosen should give it unto the people of His Church, unto all those who believed and were baptized in His name.[523] Only those indeed who had been so baptized were called the Church of Christ.[524] Continuing His instructions to the disciples concerning the sacrament, the Savior said: "This shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized in my name."[525]

[523] III Nephi xviii, 5.

[524] III Nephi xxvi, 21.

[525] III Nephi xviii, 11.

=8.= And the same law is applicable to-day; it is the members of the Church[526] who are admonished to meet together often for the observance of the sacrament; and the Church comprises none of mature years who have not been baptized by the authority of the Holy Priesthood.[527]

[526] Doc. and Cov. xx, 75.

[527] Doc and Cov. xx, 87.

=9. Purpose of the Sacrament.=--From the scriptural references already made, it is plain that the sacrament is administered to commemorate the atonement of the Lord Jesus, as consummated in His agony and death; it is a testimony before G.o.d, that we are mindful of His Son's sacrifice made in our behalf; and that we still profess the name of Christ and are determined to strive to keep His commandments, in the hope that we may ever have His Spirit to be with us. Partaking of the sacrament worthily may be regarded therefore as a means of renewing our covenants before the Lord, of acknowledgment of mutual fellows.h.i.+p among the members, and of solemnly witnessing our claim and profession of members.h.i.+p in the Church of Christ. The sacrament has not been established as a specific means of securing remission of sins; nor for any other special blessing, aside from that of a fresh endowment of the Holy Spirit, which, however, comprises all needful blessings. Were the sacrament ordained for the remission of sins, it would not be forbidden to those who are in greatest need of special forgiveness; yet partic.i.p.ation in the ordinance is restricted to those whose consciences are void of serious offense, those, therefore, who are acceptable before the Lord; those indeed who are in as little need of special forgiveness as mortals can be.

=10. The Sacramental Emblems.=--In inst.i.tuting the sacrament among both the Jews and the Nephites, Christ used bread and wine as the emblems of His body and blood;[528] and in this, the dispensation of the fulness of times, He has revealed His will that the Saints meet together often to partake of bread and wine in this commemorative ordinance.[529] But the Lord has also shown that other forms of food and drink may be used in place of bread and wine. Very soon after the Church was organized in the present dispensation, the Prophet Joseph was about to purchase some wine for sacramental purposes, when a special messenger from G.o.d appeared to him, and delivered the following instructions: "For, behold, I say unto you, that it mattereth not what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, when ye partake of the sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory; remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins.

Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, that you shall not purchase wine, neither strong drink, of your enemies: Wherefore you shall partake of none except it is made new among you; yea in this my Father's kingdom which shall be built up upon the earth."[530] Upon this authority, the Latter-day Saints administer water in their sacramental service, in preference to wine concerning the purity of which they are not a.s.sured. However, in the vineyard districts of the Church territory, wine has been generally used.

[528] Matt. xxvi, 27-29; III Nephi xviii, 1, 8.

[529] Doc. and Cov. xx, 75.

[530] Doc. and Cov. xxvii, 2-4.

=11. Manner of Administering the Sacrament.=--It is customary with the Latter-day Saints in all wards or regularly organized branches of the Church, to hold sacramental meetings every Sabbath. The authority of the priest of the Aaronic order of priesthood is requisite in consecrating the emblems; and, as a matter of course, any one holding the higher order of priesthood has authority to officiate in this ordinance. The bread is first to be broken into small pieces, and placed in suitable receptacles on the sacramental table; and then, according to the Lord's direction, the elder or priest shall administer it, after this manner:--"He shall kneel with the Church and call upon the Father in solemn prayer, saying:--

"_O G.o.d, 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 G.o.d, 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._"[531]

[531] Doc. and Cov. xx, 76, 77; compare Moroni iv.

=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 G.o.d, 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 G.o.d, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen._"[532]

[532] Doc. and Cov. xx, 78-79; compare Moroni v.

=13.= The plainness of the Lord's instructions to the Saints regarding this ordinance, leaves no excuse for disputation concerning the ceremony, for a.s.suredly 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,[533] was the same as revealed for the guidance of the Saints in the dispensation of the fulness of times.

[533] Moroni iv; v.

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 lat.i.tude, the term is applied to any miraculous or spiritual manifestation; it is so used by Bishop Jeremy Taylor when he says, "G.o.d 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 fellows.h.i.+p, comes the term _excommunicate_, as applied to deprivation of church fellows.h.i.+p, 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 princ.i.p.al meal of the day, and really corresponded to our dinner.

=3. The Pa.s.sover and the Sacrament.=--The feast of the pa.s.sover was the chief of the annual ceremonials of the Jews, and derived its name from the circ.u.mstances 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 pa.s.sage through the land, the Lord pa.s.sed 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 Pa.s.sover, from _pasach_--to pa.s.s 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 Pa.s.sover," 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 G.o.d with their forefathers (Ex. xii, 26. 27). But aside from its commemorative purpose, the pa.s.sover became to the people a type of the sacrifice on Calvary.

Paul says, "Christ, our pa.s.sover, is sacrificed for us" (I Cor.

v, 7). As being typical of the future atoning death of Christ, the pa.s.sover 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 pa.s.sover, 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 partic.i.p.ation 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 ma.s.s 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 a.s.sertion 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.

LECTURE X.

AUTHORITY IN THE MINISTRY.

=Article 5.=--We believe that a man must be called of G.o.d, by prophecy and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel, and administer in the ordinances thereof.

MEN CALLED OF G.o.d.

=1. Scriptural Examples.=--It is not less agreeable to the dictates of human reason, than it is conformable to the plan of perfect organization which characterizes the Church of Christ, that all who minister in the ordinances of the Gospel should be called and commissioned for their sacred duties by the authority of heaven. The scriptures sustain this view most thoroughly; they present to us an array of men whose Divine callings are specially attested, and whose mighty works declare a power greater than that of man. On the other hand, not an instance is set down in holy writ of anyone taking to himself the authority to officiate in sacred ordinances, and being acknowledged of the Lord in such administration.

=2.= Consider the case of Noah, who "found grace in the eyes of the Lord"[534] in the midst of a wicked world. Unto him the Lord spake, announcing His displeasure with the wicked inhabitants of earth, and the Divine intention concerning the deluge; and instructed him in the manner of building and stocking the ark. That Noah declared the word of G.o.d unto his perverse contemporaries is shown in Peter's declaration of Christ's mission in the spirit world,--that the Savior preached to those who had been disobedient during the period of G.o.d's long suffering in the days of Noah, and who had in consequence endured the privations of the prison house in the interval.[535]

Surely none can question the Divine source of Noah's authority, nor the justice of the retributive punishment following the wilful rejection of his teachings, for his words were the words of G.o.d.

[534] Gen. vi, 8.

[535] I Peter iii, 19-20.

=3.= So also with Abraham, the father of the faithful; the Lord called him[536] and made covenant with him for all the generations of his posterity. Isaac[537] was similarly distinguished; likewise Jacob,[538] to whom, as he rested upon his pillow of stones in the desert, the Lord appeared. Unto Moses[539] came the voice of G.o.d amidst the fierceness of fire, calling and commissioning the man to go into Egypt and deliver therefrom the people whose cries had come up with such effect before the throne of heaven. In this great work Aaron[540] was called to a.s.sist his brother; and later, Aaron and his sons[541] were chosen by Divine direction from the midst of the children of Israel to minister in the priest's office. When Moses[542]

saw that his days were numbered, he solicited the Lord to appoint a successor in his holy station; and by special command, Joshua, the son of Nun, was so selected.

[536] Gen. xii-xxv; Pearl of Great Price: Book of Abraham.

[537] Gen. xxvi, 2-5.

[538] Gen. xxviii, 10-15.

[539] Exo. iii, 2-10.

[540] Exo. iv, 14-16, 27.

[541] Exo. xxviii, 1.

[542] Numb, xxvii, 15-23.