Chapter 4
How elders and priests
administer the sacramental bread is explained. About A.D. 401–21.
Moroni shares how the sacramental bread is to be
administered. It is based on Christ’s example when he ministered to the
Nephites.
“1 And it came to pass that Jesus commanded his disciples
that they should bring forth some bread and wine unto him.
“2 And while they were gone for bread and wine, he commanded
the multitude that they should sit themselves down upon the earth.
“3 And when the disciples had come with bread and wine, he
took of the bread and brake and blessed it; and he gave unto the disciples and
commanded that they should eat.
“4 And when they had eaten and were filled, he commanded
that they should give unto the multitude.
“5 And when the multitude had eaten and were filled, he said
unto the disciples: Behold there shall one be ordained among you, and to him
will I give power that he shall break bread and bless it and give it unto the
people of my church, unto all those who shall believe and be baptized in my
name.
“6 And this shall ye always observe to do, even as I have
done, even as I have broken bread and blessed it and given it unto you.
“7 And this shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I
have shown unto you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do
always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to
be with you” (3 Nephi 18:1-7).
“In reporting the Savior's teachings on the sacrament, 3
Nephi 18 includes only the Savior's paraphrase of the ordinance, not the
precise wording of the sacramental prayers. Later, Mormon's son, Moroni, the
final editor of the Book of Mormon chronicle, prepared two supplementary
chapters (Moroni 4 and 5) dealing specifically with the manner of administering
the Lord's Supper.”[1]
The ordinance of the sacrament is to be administered by an
elder or priest.
They are to kneel and offer the blessing over the bread.
Let’s break the blessing and look at each part.
“O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy
Son, Jesus Christ”
We begin by calling upon the Father in Christ’s name.
“to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those
who partake of it”
Sanctify means “to set apart to a sacred purpose or to
religious use.”[2]
We are asking the bread be blessed for our sacred use.
“that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son,
and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father”
When He established the sacrament, Christ commanded we eat
it in remembrance of Him.
“And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave
unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in
remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19).
“And this shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I
have shown unto you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do
always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to
be with you” (3 Nephi 18:7).
“that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy
Son, and always remember him,”
We promise Him we are willing to follow and obey Him by
taking upon His name. We also promise to always remember Him.
“and keep his commandments which he hath given them”
We also promise to keep His commandments.
When we do these things, we making a covenant with Christ.
We covenant we will do all these things.
As with all covenants, it is a two-sided agreement. In
return for keeping these covenants, the Lord makes us a promise.
“that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.”
The promise the Lord makes is we will always have His Spirit
to be with us. The Spirit will guide us and help us to keep our side of the
covenant.
“[O]ne of the main purposes of the Book of Mormon, as stated
on its Title Page, is to show that God remembers the covenants he has made with
his people (see also 1 Nephi 19:15-16; 2 Nephi 29:1-2; 3 Nephi 16:11), it is
especially appropriate that the renewal of covenants includes a commitment to ‘always
remember him, and keep his commandments,’ as the faithful affirm their
willingness to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ (Moroni 4:3).”[3]
“Of all the blessings we can count, the greatest by far is
the feeling of forgiveness that comes as we partake of the sacrament. We will
feel greater love and appreciation for the Savior, whose infinite sacrifice
made possible our being cleansed from sin. As we partake of the bread and
water, we remember that He suffered for us. And when we feel gratitude for what
He has done for us, we will feel His love for us and our love for Him.
“The blessing of love we receive will make it easier for us
to keep the commandment to ‘always remember him.’ You may even feel love and
gratitude, as I do, for the Holy Ghost, who Heavenly Father has promised will
always be with us as we remain faithful to the covenants we have made. We can
count all those blessings every Sunday and feel grateful.[4]
[1] The
Book of Mormon: A Blueprint for Organizing the Church, Scott H. Faulring, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 7/1
(1998): 67.
[3] “O
Man, Remember, and Perish Not” (Mosiah 4:30), Louis Midgley, Maxwell
Institute website.
[4] Gratitude
on the Sabbath Day, President Henry B. Eyring, October 2016 General
Conference.
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