The Place of the Sacrament in The Way to Eternal Life

This is part 1 of 2 of a lesson I wrote for Elders Quorum on the symbolism of the sacrament. I tried to write it so that even a recent convert would understand. Maybe I achieved that purpose, maybe not.

INTRODUCTION

In order to better understand the sacrament, it is useful to understand the steps of spiritual progression that begin with faith, repentance and baptism, and culminate with entering God’s presence and being given a promise of eternal life. The scriptures use different phrases to describe these steps of spiritual progression such as “the way” and “the doctrine of Christ” (2 Nephi 31:21), “paths of righteousness” (Psalm 23:3), and “the way of eternal life” (2 Nephi 10:23). These steps are represented by the layout of the tabernacle of Moses. The showbread in the tabernacle corresponds to our ordinance of the sacrament today. The showbread and the sacrament represent the step in the journey of spiritual progression just prior to entering the presence of God.

Each step in the administration of the sacrament has symbolic meaning. It is like the enactment of a great drama. The steps that will be considered are preparation of the sacrament, singing a hymn, breaking the bread, offering the sacramental prayers, passing the sacrament, partaking of the sacrament, and returning the empty trays.

THE TABERNACLE OF MOSES AND THE STEPS OF SPIRITUAL PROGRESSION

The picture of the layout of the tabernacle of Moses above comes from a lesson titled “The House of the Lord in the Wilderness” from an LDS Church Education System Institute manual (http://www.ldsces.org/manuals/old-testament-institute-student-manual-1/ot-in1-04-exo-13.asp; I shifted the labels on left-hand side slightly in order to better align with the layout and then rotated it 180 degrees). The tabernacle represents the phases of a person’s spiritual journey from being a born into a fallen world to returning to the presence of God. The outer courtyard with the altar of sacrifice and the laver represents the phase of spiritual development where a person first develops faith in Christ, repents, and is baptized. This corresponds to a telestial level of spirituality and testing. At this level, you repent of major sins, particularly sins of commission (things that you actually do that are not right). At this level, the major test is to do the right things. One person’s experience at this level will be similar to other people’s experience at this level.

Receiving the Holy Ghost, or being baptized by fire and the Holy Ghost, is represented by the entrance to the Holy Place. In real life, it is a transition from a telestial level to a terrestrial level of spirituality and testing. At this level, you repent of smaller sins, particularly sins of omission (things that you should do but don’t). The main features of the terrestrial level in real life are an increase in spiritual experiences beginning with the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, and feasting on the word of Christ, represented by the table of showbread and the sacred lampstand in the Holy Place of the tabernacle. A person who is progressing within this level will likely be fasting, praying, and studying the scriptures regularly. He will also give more and more selfless service. The major test at this level is to do the right things for the right reason, which is love or charity, and God will put you through tests of his choosing to determine that. Or, as the Psalmist said, “him shall [the Lord] teach in the way that he shall choose” (Psalm 25:12). We each have very different experiences at this level. It is more individualized than the previous (telestial) level.

Once you have progressed through the terrestrial level in real life, you will meet God at the veil in a very real experience that may or may not include seeing him. However, once you are admitted into his presence and transition to a celestial level of spirituality, you will most likely see God. This is represented in the tabernacle of Moses by the veil and the Holy of Holies. Once at this point spiritually, you will likely receive a promise of eternal life, also known as calling and election made sure. God will also give you instructions on what you are then expected to do with your life.

Prophets Describe the Pattern of Spiritual Progression

The Book of Mormon prophet Alma the Younger told his son Helaman about his own ministry and the pattern he followed to bring souls to Christ – “For because of the word which he has imparted unto me, behold, many have been born of God, and have tasted as I have tasted, and have seen eye to eye as I have seen; therefore they do know of these things of which I have spoken, as I do know; and the knowledge which I have is of God.” (Alma 36:26).

That verse outlines the order of the major phases of spiritual progression. First is to be born of God. This corresponds to faith, repentance, baptism and the reception of the Holy Ghost. This is symbolized in the tabernacle of Moses in the outer courtyard. Second is to taste of the joy that Alma had tasted. This corresponds to the principles of feasting on the word of Christ and hungering and thirsting after righteousness, to being tested by the “bread of adversity, and the water of affliction” (Isaiah 30:20), and to the symbolism of the ordinance of sacrament as we practice it today and to the showbread in the Holy Place of the tabernacle of Moses. To see eye to eye as Alma had seen refers to meeting Christ at the veil after mighty prayer. This corresponds to the symbolism of the altar of incense and the veil in the tabernacle of Moses. Christ described this step as “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). The final step is to gain the same knowledge that Alma had. This is symbolized in the tabernacle of Moses by being in the Holy of Holies. It is “the more sure word of prophecy,” which means that a person has knowledge “that he is sealed up unto eternal life, by revelation and the spirit of prophecy, through the power of the Holy Priesthood. It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance.” (D&C 131:5-6).

Joseph Smith described the successive steps of spiritual progression similar to how Alma the Younger described them, but included more information about the final step:

“The other Comforter spoken of is a subject of great interest, and perhaps understood by few of this generation. After a person has faith in Christ, repents of his sins, and is baptized for the remission of his sins and receives the Holy Ghost, (by the laying on of hands), which is the first Comforter, then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou shalt be exalted. When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and his election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter, which the Lord hath promised the Saints, as is recorded in the testimony of St. John, in the 14th chapter, from the 12th to the 27th verses.

“Now what is this other Comforter? It is no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; and this is the sum and substance of the whole matter; that when any man obtains this last Comforter, he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to time, and even He will manifest the Father unto him, and they will take up their abode with him, and the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him, and the Lord will teach him face to face, and he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God; and this is the state and place the ancient Saints arrived at when they had such glorious visions—Isaiah, Ezekiel, John upon the Isle of Patmos, St. Paul in the three heavens, and all the Saints who held communion with the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 150-151)

The Sacrament in the Journey of Spiritual Progression

The ordinance of the sacrament represents a phase of spiritual development between receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and entering the presence of God. The sacrament is more or less equivalent to the showbread in the tabernacle of Moses. The showbread was kept on a table in the Holy Place of the tabernacle. Wine was also kept on the table. In Hebrew, the showbread was called “bread of the presence”, meaning that it was the bread of the presence of God. Twelve loaves were placed on the table each week. They were eaten and replaced at the end of the week. The Holy Place also had a giant menorah or sacred lamp stand. In the sacrament prayer, the priest asks “that they may always have his Spirit to be with them.” The light of the menorah represents the spirit of Jesus Christ to which the sacramental prayers refer.

Christ visited the Nephites at one of their temples after his resurrection. The Nephites built temples similar to the temple of Solomon, which had a layout very similar to the tabernacle. While he was speaking to the Nephites, he asked twelve disciples to go get bread and wine, which he would then use to institute the sacrament among the Nephites. They most likely went into the Holy Place of their temple and brought the showbread and wine to Christ so that he could administer the sacrament. Thus, the sacrament is rooted in the temple. Our sacrament is patterned after the Nephite sacrament as described in The Book of Mormon (see Moroni chapters 4 and 5).

If you were to walk further into the tabernacle, you would come to the veil and on into the Holy of Holies and the presence of God. After passing through the phase of spiritual development represented by the sacrament, “the man will find his calling and his election made sure.” The ordinance of the sacrament is preparation to enter the presence of God and to obtain eternal life. Priesthood holders who administer the sacrament are helping to prepare others to enter the presence of God. 

Alma the Younger’s Suffering as a Type of Christ's Suffering During the Atonement

From John Taylor’s statement, “through that atonement and the power of the Priesthood associated therewith”, we learn that the blood and atoning sacrifice of Christ provides power to the priesthood. Alma the Younger understood the connection between the atoning blood of Christ and holding the priesthood – “thus this holy calling being prepared from the foundation of the world for such as would not harden their hearts, being in and through the atonement of the Only Begotten Son … Therefore they were called after this holy order, and were sanctified, and their garments were washed white through the blood of the Lamb.” (Alma 13:5 and 11). In addition, Enoch taught that “by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified” (Moses 6:60). A little later in Moses 6, he went on to explain how Adam went through all three of those steps dealing with water, spirit and then blood:

64) And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water.

[Adam kept the commandment “by the water” when he was baptized]

65) And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit of God descended upon him, and thus he was born of the Spirit, and became quickened in the inner man.

66) And he heard a voice out of heaven, saying: Thou art baptized with fire, and with the Holy Ghost. This is the record of the Father, and the Son, from henceforth and forever;

[Adam was justified “by the Spirit” when “the Spirit of God descended upon him”]

67) And thou art after the order of him who was without beginning of days or end of years, from all eternity to all eternity.

68) Behold, thou art one in me, a son of God; and thus may all become my sons. Amen. (Moses 6:64-68)

[Adam was sanctified “by the blood” when he was ordained after the Order of God, which is the priesthood, and became a “son of God”]

Understanding the suffering that Christ endured during the atoning sacrifice will help us understand the power behind the priesthood. We will look at men in the scriptures who suffered as a type of Christ’s suffering and at other scriptures that explain what his suffering entailed.

The scriptures tell us that Christ “suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam.” (2 Nephi 9:21). They explain further that “he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death” (Mosiah 3:7). Although Christ suffered more than any man can suffer, I have wondered what passage or passages in the scriptures describe the greatest pain suffered by anyone other than Christ. Understanding that would give some insight into the suffering of Christ. I have found that the suffering that Alma the Younger describes is the greatest pain and suffering that anyone other than Christ has experienced recorded in the scriptures. After “seeking to destroy the church of God” (Alma 36:6), an angel appeared to him and told him to stop. He describes his subsequent suffering in Alma 36:

12) But I was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins.

13) Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I was tormented with the pains of hell; yea, I saw that I had rebelled against my God, and that I had not kept his holy commandments.

14) Yea, and I had murdered many of his children, or rather led them away unto destruction; yea, and in fine so great had been my iniquities, that the very thought of coming into the presence of my God did rack my soul with inexpressible horror.

15) Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God, to be judged of my deeds.

16) And now, for three days and for three nights was I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul.

17) And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.

18) Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.

21) Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. … (Alma 36:12-21)

Alma describes his suffering with phrases such as racked with eternal torment, harrowed to the greatest degree, tormented with the pains of hell, inexpressible horror (at the thought of coming into the presence of God), gall of bitterness, encircled by the everlasting chains of death, and nothing so exquisite and bitter. In Mosiah 27:29 we also learn that his suffering included the bonds of iniquity and the darkest abyss. In addition, he essentially says that pain was so great that he wanted to have his mind, consciousness, spirit, intelligence, identity, body and soul annihilated or extinct, rather than to go into the presence of God. He says that he was in this state for three days and three nights, which is interesting because of what Jesus said here – “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:40). The three days and three nights of pain link Alma’s suffering to Christ’s time in the spirit world after his suffering in Gethsemane and on the cross. Therefore, I believe that Alma’s suffering was a type of Christ’s suffering.

We already understand that Christ suffered the pain of all men, which would include the pain that Alma suffered. We also understand that if man suffered what Christ did, he would have physically died from it and possibly even had his spirit disintegrated. What is it that Christ suffered that was beyond what Alma suffered? Alma tells us that the most painful part of his suffering was due to the thought of coming into the presence of God while in his sins, but he didn’t have to experience that. It seems that what Alma feared to experience but didn’t and what Christ actually did experience was being brought into the presence of God for final judgment. Alma described the experience of going into the final judgment unprepared:

12) And Amulek hath spoken plainly concerning death, and being raised from this mortality to a state of immortality, and being brought before the bar of God, to be judged according to our works.

13) Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned.

14) For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence.

15) But this cannot be; we must come forth and stand before him in his glory, and in his power, and in his might, majesty, and dominion, and acknowledge to our everlasting shame that all his judgments are just; that he is just in all his works, and that he is merciful unto the children of men, and that he has all power to save every man that believeth on his name and bringeth forth fruit meet for repentance.

16) And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death; then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness.

17) Then is the time when their torments shall be as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever; and then is the time that they shall be chained down to an everlasting destruction, according to the power and captivity of Satan, he having subjected them according to his will.

18) Then, I say unto you, they shall be as though there had been no redemption made; for they cannot be redeemed according to God’s justice; and they cannot die, seeing there is no more corruption. (Alma 12:12-18)

Christ describes the suffering of the wicked after they are resurrected and brought to final judgment in this revelation to Joseph Smith found in Doctrine and Covenants 19:

15) Therefore I command you to repent—repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore—how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.

16) For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;

17) But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;

18) Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—

19) Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men. (D&C 19:15-19)

In the next verse, Christ explains the “least degree” of suffering that men can experience – “Wherefore, I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with my almighty power; and that you confess your sins, lest you suffer these punishments of which I have spoken, of which in the smallest, yea, even in the least degree you have tasted at the time I withdrew my Spirit.” (D&C 19:20). If that is the smallest or least degree of suffering, then keep in mind that Alma experienced being “harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins.” (Alma 36:12).

The difference between Christ suffering the final judgment of the unrepentant and the wicked suffering the final judgment is that Christ suffered it while still mortal and vulnerable to physical death, but the wicked will suffer it after becoming immortal. Christ seems to link the suffering that he experienced to actually entering into God’s presence when he was unclean while bearing our sins – “And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.” (3 Nephi 27:19). He can wash us in his blood so that we may enter into God’s kingdom because he suffered the pain of entering into God’s kingdom as an unclean being and subsequently recovered and healed from it on our behalf.

 
Alma found relief from his suffering after he “cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me” (Alma 36:18) and “the Lord in mercy hath seen fit to snatch me out of an everlasting burning” (Mosiah 27:28). However, for Christ “there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me.” (Isaiah 63:5).