The Savior told the multitude he would give them another
commandment. After that, He would go to the Father a fulfill other commandments
He received. He had referred to this commandment earlier in His ministry to the
Nephites.
“And verily, verily, I say unto you that I have other sheep,
which are not of this land, neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any
parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister.
“For they of whom I speak are they who have not as yet heard
my voice; neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them.
“But I have received a commandment of the Father that I
shall go unto them, and that they shall hear my voice, and shall be numbered
among my sheep, that there may be one fold and one shepherd; therefore I go to
show myself unto them” (3 Nephi 16:1-3).
The commandment He gave the Nephites was the same He gave in
the old world; do not allow anyone to knowingly partake of the sacrament when
they are not worthy. The Lord had told Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance
of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof” (Exodus 12:43).
Paul wrote, “Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and
drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be [GR offend against] guilty of
the body and blood of the Lord.
“But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that
bread, and drink of that cup.
“For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and
drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body” (1 Corinthians
11:27-29).
The consequences of partaking of the sacrament unworthily
are serious. “See that ye are not baptized unworthily; see that ye partake not
of the sacrament of Christ unworthily; but see that ye do all things in
worthiness, and do it in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God;
and if ye do this, and endure to the end, ye will in nowise be cast out”
(Mormon 9:29).
“We bind ourselves through the covenant made in partaking of
the sacrament. Through partaking of the bread, we remember the body of Christ
and his providing the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 11:24; compare 3 Nephi
18:6—7). Through partaking of the water, we remember the blood of Gethsemane or
the Atonement (1 Corinthians 11:27; compare 3 Nephi 18:10—11). To partake of
the sacrament requires one to be worthy. Therefore, one must reflect or examine
himself before partaking (1 Corinthians 11:27—28). To partake unworthily will
cause one to stumble and bring about sickness, either physical or mental, and,
Paul said, may even bring death [sleep] (1 Corinthians 11:29—30). Such is the
order revealed to the Corinthians by Paul and verified in the Book of Mormon as
a second witness (3 Nephi 18:28—32; Mormon 9:29). The sacrament is thus a stepping-stone
or a stumbling block.”[1]
The unworthy who partake of the sacrament “eatheth and drinketh
damnation to his soul” (3 Nephi 18:29). This is why they are to be forbidden
from taking the sacrament. “Ye are also commanded not to cast any one who
belongeth to the church out of your sacrament meetings; nevertheless, if any
have trespassed, let him not partake until he makes reconciliation” (D&C
46:4).
We are not to cast the unworthy out from among the
believers. “Nevertheless ye are commanded never to cast any one out from your
public meetings, which are held before the world” (D&C 46:3). They are to
give them the opportunity to repent and be in full fellowship.
“So Christ's chiding on prior disputes in the sacrament
setting picks up this earlier theme of contentiousness. His pattern is settling
issues on baptism and later on the sacrament, and in each case warning that the
wrong attitude will bring doctrinal conflict even after divine direction.”[2]
Should the person not repent, they
will not be numbered among the congregation. That person is not to be allowed
to destroy the church. He knows His
sheep. “And also with all those whom my Father hath given me out of the world”
(D&C 27:14).
“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of
mine” (John 10:14).
“Behold, I say unto you, that the good shepherd doth call
you; yea, and in his own name he doth call you, which is the name of Christ;
and if ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd, to the name by
which ye are called, behold, ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd” (Alma
5:38).
32 Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out of your
synagogues, or your places of worship, for unto such shall ye continue to
minister; for ye know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto
me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal them; and ye shall be the means
of bringing salvation unto them.
In spite of their unwillingness to repent, this person is
not to be cast out of places of worship.
We are to continue to minister to these people. We must give them to
return and repent. If they do this, they will be healed and receive salvation. “Return,
ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come
unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God” (Jeremiah 3:22).
“And after their temptations, and much tribulation, behold,
I, the Lord, will feel after them, and if they harden not their hearts, and
stiffen not their necks against me, they shall be converted, and I will heal
them” (D&C 122:13).
“[D]uring Christ's visit to the Nephites in the land
Bountiful, beyond the healing he provided to the ‘lame, or blind, or halt, or
maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are
afflicted in any manner’ (3 Nephi 17:7), he taught his disciples that they must
minister to the unworthy with the hope that ‘they will return and repent, and
come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal them’ (3 Nephi
18:32). Centuries earlier, Abinadi quoted Isaiah's message that it is ‘with his
stripes we are healed’ (Mosiah 14:5) from our sins and our iniquities.”[3]
[1] The
Stumbling Blocks of First Corinthians, Monte S. Nyman, Reprinted by
permission from The New Testament and the Latter-day Saints (Orem, Utah:
Randall Book Company, 1987), 249—62.
[2] Review
of “A Rhetorical Approach to the Book of Mormon: Rediscovering Nephite
Sacramental Language” (1993), by Mark D. Thomas, Richard Lloyd Anderson,
Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 6/1 (1994): 382.
[3] According
to Their Language Unto Their Understanding, Maxwell Institute website.
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