Reverence and Care in Administering the Sacrament

Appreciating the importance of the Sacrament.— Reverence and care in its adminstration. — Scripture teachings concerning the Sacrament. — Sacredness of covenants. ¶

I desire that my words to you may be indicted by the Spirit of our Father in Heaven, for the brief time allotted to a speaker is so valuable that individual opinions are of little worth, except they be inspired of the Lord. ¶

, I have rejoiced in being permitted to attend this conference, and in meeting so many of our brethren and sisters. To me it has been a time of refreshing, and I have enjoyed, more than I can tell, the instructions and spirit of the Conference. ¶

It is my privilege to travel and visit from place to place in the Church, and among the evidences of faithfulness that I have observed, in many places, is the increased attendance of the members of the Church in their sacrament meetings. I feel that a comprehension of the sacredness of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper is important to the members of the Church. We partake of physical food — that is, we partake of bread and water etc., to nourish the physical body. It is just as necessary that we partake of the emblems of the body and blood of our risen Lord to increase our spiritual strength. It is observed that men and women who go from year to year without partaking of the Lord's Supper, gradually lose the Spirit of our Heavenly Father ; they forfeit its companionship where they have had opportunity to participate in that blessing, but have failed to take advantage of it. The sacrament is of great importance. The Lord Himself ordained that we partake of these emblems. • There are many people who believe it is necessary to be baptized, and to have other ordinances of the Gospel performed in their behalf, and yet they become indifferent and careless regarding the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. It was regarded of such importance by our Father in Heaven that, through His beloved Son, and the apostles and prophets, as recorded in the scriptures, the Saints were admonished to partake of it regularly. Three of the evangelists refer to it, and we find that the scripture, in many places, teaches the importance of it, as it was taught by the Lord Himself when He dwelt in the flesh. Our Father in Heaven does not give us commandments or advice that are not of importance. He teaches us for our uplifting, for our growth and development, and if we will follow His counsel it will prepare us to go back into His presence. So I rejoice that the Saints are more faithful in observing this requirement of our Father. Each Sabbath day we are expected to meet together and partake of the emblems of the body and blood of our risen Redeemer. I have turned to a passage of scripture in the 11th chapter of First Corinthians, beginning with the 23rd verse, which reads as follows : ¶

"For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread : ¶

"And when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of me. ¶

"After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood : this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. ¶

"For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till He come. ¶

"Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be 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. ¶

"For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep." ¶

When I remember these words that have been given to us as the revelation of our Fathers' will, I rejoice when I find our brethren and sisters coming to the sanctuary and partaking of these emblems as indicated— worthily; but I desire to call your attention to the fact that there is danger if we do it unworthily. Before partaking of this sacrament, our hearts should be pure; our hands should be clean; we should be divested of all enmity toward our associates; we should be at peace with our fellow men; and we should have in our hearts a desire to do the will of our Father and to keep all of His commandments. If we do this, partaking of the sacrament will be a blessing to us and Will renew our spiritual strength. ¶

In connection with this matter, I note that there is a great improvement among us as a people. I believe our understanding of the importance of this requirement is increasing and becoming better all the time; that we are more particular to have the vessels bearing these emblems scrupulously clean, and that everything pertaining to the sacrament is as our Father in Heaven would have it — clean, sweet, and pure. ¶

The Lord has indicated the importance of the sacrament in another way. There are certain of the Priesthood who are not permitted to officiate in this ordinance. The Deacon or Teacher may not administer the sacrament, and those who bear no Priesthood, cannot act in this capacity. The Lord has certainly emphasized its importance by designating those who may officiate. Our people have been taught to take the sacrament with the right hand; we believe that is appropriate, and proper, and acceptable to our Father. The sacrament should not be accepted with a gloved hand ; nobody should receive it in that irreverent manner. We should partake of it in humility, with preparation of clean hands and pure hearts, and with a desire to be acceptable to our Father; then we will receive it worthily, and rejoice in the blessing that comes to us by reason of it. ¶

. The Lord has spoken regarding this matter in the Scripture ; I refer to the Bible, Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants. I find in the Book of Mormon, chapter 9, that Mormon, while teaching the people, admonishes them as follows : ¶

"See that ye are not baptized unworthily ; see that ye partake not of the sacrament of Christ unworthily." ¶

He thought it was of sufficient importance to emphasize it, and thus he taught the people in regard thereto. ¶

We also find reference to this matter in the 18th chapter of Third Nephi, where the Savior is instructing the people on this continent, just as He had taught His disciples in the old world, to observe the sacrament. It reads as follows : ¶

"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. ¶

"And this shall ye always observe to do, even as I have done, even as I have broken bread, and blessed it, and gave it unto you." ¶

We believe that the sacrament is not the literal body and blood of our Lord; in other words, we do not believe in the doctrine of Transubstantiation. The next verse reads as follows "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." ¶

So the Master taught, and there are other things in this chapter, pertaining to the same matter, that I will not take time to read. In addition to that, we find that in our own day the Lord has given us revelation upon that, subject. In section 20 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord gives unto us instructions upon the matter. In that revelation, beginning with the 75th verse, He says : ¶

"It is expedient that the church meet together often to partake of bread and wine in the remembrance of the Lord Jesus ; "And the elder or priest shall administer it; and after this manner shall he administer it — he shall kneel, with the church" [It does not say that the church must kneel, but he shall kneel with the Church] "and call upon the Father in solemn prayer, saying — " ¶

Note the beautiful prayer that follows. It is the same as that contained in the Book of Mormon, with the exception of one single word: ¶

"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." ¶

The prayer and blessing upon the water is somewhat similar. How sacred, how profoundly sacred, are the thoughts expressed in the sacrament prayer. I admonish you, my brethren, that when we officiate in administering the sacrament, we repeat, if possible, the exact words given by revelation, and that we do so with the Spirit of the Lord. When we repeat these prayers, we should feel the sentiments expressed by the words that we speak. Then I say also to those who partake of the sacrament, we should consider seriously the covenants we make with our Father. Let us pay strict attention to those covenants, and let us see to it that we eat and drink worthily, for the blessings of our souls and for the increase of our spiritual strength. These blessings are for you, my brethren and sisters, who are of the household of faith. Let us appreciate them, and live worthy of them, that by our lives we may exemplify our belief. Let none of us be under condemnation by partaking of the sacrament unworthily, thereby being deprived of the companionship of the Spirit of our Father. ¶

May the Lord bless us; may His Spirit continue to be poured out upon us. May we love each other, as our Father commanded that we should do. If we can partake of the sacrament worthily, we can love each other, even as our Father has ordained ; remembering that He has said unto us: "If ye are not one, ye are not mine." May we be one. May we be His in very deed — examplars of His cause and His truth, ever ready to teach and expound it in kindness and love, to the convincing of His children who know not of it. Let us teach them the truth by precept and example, so that, by reason of our faithfulness in so doing, our skirts may be rid of the blood of the generation in which we live; and when we go to our eternal home, may we be welcome there because of our labor in the interest of our Father's children. ¶

May the Lord add His blessings, and His peace be upon us, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶