Step 1: Preparation and Setup
The
sacrament begins when priesthood holders, typically Teachers in the Aaronic
Preisthood, set trays of unbroken bread and water on the sacrament table and
cover the trays with a white cloth. Those who prepare the sacrament represent
God the Father and Jesus Christ (or Jehovah, his name in pre-earth life)
preparing for the atoning sacrifice. Their preparation began before Christ was
born into this world. When Alma the Elder (a prophet in The Book of Mormon)
baptized a man named Helam, his baptismal prayer ended with these words – “and
may [Almighty God] grant unto you eternal life, through the redemption of
Christ, whom he has prepared from the foundation of the world.” (Mosiah 18:13).
The scriptures do not explicitly tell us how God prepared Jehovah for the
atoning sacrifice, but we can make some reasonable assumptions. God taught and
mentored Jehovah. He also put Jehovah through tests and trials that allowed him
to grow and develop, even in the pre-earth life. During his mortal life, Jesus
further prepared by doing things such as studying the scriptures, being
baptized, fasting for 40 days and then resisting Satan’s temptations, communing
with his Father, giving service, and ascending the Mount of Transfiguration to
be endowed with great power.
The
sacrament bread symbolizes the body of Christ and the water symbolizes his
blood. The body of Christ is the veil and the blood of Christ is the power by
which we are able to go through the veil into the presence of God. The Apostle
Paul explained the meaning of the body and blood of Christ – “Having therefore,
brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new
and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to
say, his flesh” (Hebrews 10:19-20). The bread and water of the sacrament can represent
approaching the veil and going through it into the presence of God.
The
bread can also represent the physical acts of keeping the commandments, or what
we physically do with our bodies. This is known as “the outward ordinances”
(D&C 107:20), “the law of carnal commandments” (D&C 84:27), “the
temporal law” (2 Nephi 2:5), and “the lesser portion of the word” (Alma 12:10).
The water can represent “the inner man” (Moses 6:65), or the motives for
action. This is known as “the spiritual law” (2 Nephi 2:5), “the law of God
after the inward man” (Romans 7:22), and “the greater portion of the word”
(Alma 12:10). The bread would represent a lesser set of commandments and trials
and the water would represent a greater set of commandments and trials. When a
person successfully completes both rounds of trials, he is then “sanctified by
the Spirit” (D&C 84:33) and “it is given unto him to know the mysteries of
God until he know them in full” (Alma 12:10).
The
white cloth represents the power, spirit, light and glory with which God
anointed Jehovah to be the Savior of the world before the creation of the earth.
In fact, the title ‘Christ’ means ‘Anointed One’. The Lord revealed to Isaiah
what his anointing specifically was for: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon
me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he
hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable
year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that
mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for
ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of
heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of
the Lord, that he might be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:1-3).
The
Apostle Peter described how God also anointed Christ at the time of this
baptism, and the purpose of that anointing: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all
that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” (Acts 10:38).
The
prophet Lehi saw the Savior in vision after he had been anointed with God’s
spirit: “And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of
heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day.”
(1 Nephi 1:9). The white cloth represents the brightness of Christ’s luster,
which is his power, spirit, light and glory.
When
Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration, “his face did shine as the sun, and
his raiment was white as the light” (Matthew 17:2). His light is, among other
things, a protective covering, shielding him during spiritual warfare. In order
for Christ to have performed the atoning sacrifice, he had to allow his
protective covering of light to be opened so that all the sins of the world
could be loaded into him.
The
sacrament table represents an altar of sacrifice. Altars are designed with
right angles, just like typical sacrament tables in LDS chapels. For Christ,
the altar was the Garden of Gethsemane and then the cross, which was also made
of right angles.
Step 2: The Congregation Sings a Hymn
After
eating the last supper of the Passover, Christ and his disciples sang a hymn
before he went to the Garden of Gethsemane to perform the atoning sacrifice
(see Matthew 26:30). When we sing the sacrament hymn, we are re-enacting the
hymn that Christ sang with his disciples. We are also singing a “song of
redeeming love” (Alma 5:26).
Step 3: The Bread is Broken
While
the congregation sings a hymn, the priests stand up, pull the white cloth away
from the bread, and then break the bread into little pieces. The priests
represent God the Father, the bread represents Christ, and the act of breaking
the bread represents the atoning sacrifice when God “laid on [Christ] the
iniquities of us all” (Isaiah 53:3), which “suffering caused [Christ], 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 [he] might not drink
the bitter cup, and shrink” (D&C 19:18).
An
angel told King Benjamin that Christ would suffer “more than man can suffer,
except it be unto death” (Mosiah 3:7). Alma the Younger describes the suffering
that he experienced for his sins after an angel appeared to him and his
partners in crime, the sons of King Mosiah (grandsons of King Benjamin), and
told him to stop destroying the spirituality and testimonies of the members of
the church at that time and place. His ensuing suffering is likely the greatest
suffering that “man can suffer, except it be unto death.” Alma also mentions
the one thing that would have made his suffering worse, which is what Christ
did suffer – “But I was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was harrowed
up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins. 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. 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. 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.”
(Alma 36:12-15).
The
one thing that would have made Alma’s suffering worse would have been to go
into the presence of God in his sinful state. When Christ took his sins upon
us, he suffered what Alma did suffer and more, because Christ “he descended below
all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and
through all things, the light of truth” (D&C 88:6). He stood in the
presence of God while he was in our sinful state, but did not “become extinct.”
In this way, God the Father inflicted the greatest suffering on Christ his son.
However, Christ healed from the ordeal and thus gained the knowledge to
“justify many; for he [bore] their iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:11). He arose “with
healing in his wings” (Malachi 4:2). He suffered for us “according to the flesh
that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out
their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance” (Alma 7:13).
Step 4: Prayers on the Bread and the Water
The
priest who says the sacramental prayer represents Christ, in his role as our
mediator and advocate with Father, offering an intercessory prayer to God
during the atoning sacrifice. The priest who stands during sacramental prayer
represents God the Father listening to the intercessory prayer.
The
great intercessory prayer that Christ offered as part of the atoning sacrifice
is found in John 17. The sacramental prayers have much of the same intent as that
prayer. In the great intercessory prayer, Christ’s pleading to the Father on
our behalf included the following – “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word
is truth. … And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be
sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also
which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as
thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that
the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest
me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and
thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know
that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I
will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they
may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the
foundation of the world.” (John 17:17-24).
Step 5: Pass the Bread and the Water
The
Deacons who assist in passing the sacrament represent Christ in his ongoing
mission to search for his people and to find them, and to “bring salvation to
all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last
sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and
bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.” (Alma
34:15). As the Deacon extends his arm with the tray, his arm represents “an
invitation unto all men” (Alma 5:33) and Christ’s “arm of mercy [that] hath
atoned for [our] sins” (D&C 29:1) extended towards us. The hands of the
Deacons passing the sacrament symbolize this truth – “Am I a God at hand, saith
the LORD, and not a God afar off?” (Jeremiah 23:23).
While
the sacrament is being passed, the Priests watch. They represent God the Father
watching the work of salvation being carried out. Their eyes represent God’s
eyes – “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto
their cry.” (Psalm 34:15). As God watches us, he hopes that we accept the
offering of the atonement and that we live righteous lives that will bring us
back to his presence. God has a personalized plan of salvation for each one of
us that he adjusts as necessary, depending on the path of life that we choose.
The Priests’ eyes are like the eyes of God as he watches our life and adjusts
our individual plans. The piece of bread that we eat in a given week is
slightly different than the piece we ate the previous week, symbolizing
adjustments in God’s work with us, based on our own choices and performance.
Step 6: Partake of the Bread and the Water
As
we extend our hand to take the bread and the water, we exercise our agency to
accept the gifts of the atonement. We “partake of the fruit of the tree of
life” and “eat and drink of the bread and the waters of life freely” (Alma
5:34). We “partake of the goodness of God, that [we] might enter into his rest”
(Jacob 1:7).
God
gave Moses instructions on how to sanctify his brother Aaron and the other
priests who would minister in the tabernacle so that they would be fit for
temple service. One of the sanctifying acts was to eat bread made for the
tabernacle – “And Aaron and his sons shall eat the . . . the bread that is in
the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And they shall
eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to
sanctify them” (Exodus 29:32-33). When we take the sacrament, we also become
more sanctified. To sanctify means the same thing as to make holy. The apostle
Peter tells us something that Christ had said – “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1
Peter 1:16). We become more holy, or sanctified, when we take the sacrament.
After
King Benjamin had given the sermon that an angel had given to him, the people
who heard it asked God in prayer, “O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of
Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be
purified” (Mosiah 4:2). Drinking the water of the sacrament is one way in which
the “atoning blood of Christ” is applied to us. The result for the people of
King Benjamin was that “the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were
filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of
conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who
should come” (Mosiah 4:3). The Spirit of the Lord applies the power of the
atoning blood of Christ, which is the same spirit requested in the sacramental
prayers – “that they may always have his spirit to be with them.”
God’s
desire is that we accept the mercies offered to us in the sacrament. He is
pained when we do not accept them. Alma the Younger quoted Zenock, an ancient Israelite
prophet, when he was teaching the Zoramites about faith – “Thou art angry, O
Lord, with this people, because they will not understand thy mercies which thou
hast bestowed upon them because of thy Son.” (Alma 33:16). We must exercise our
agency to accept the gifts and mercies that God offers, otherwise God’s effort
is wasted and he is unable to rejoice with us – “For what doth it profit a man
if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he
rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is
the giver of the gift.” (D&C 88:33).
Step 7: Returning the Empty Trays of Bread and Water
When
the Deacons return the empty trays of bread and water, they represent Christ
returning and reporting to the Father to tell him that we have accepted the
gift offered. Christ and his Father then counsel together to decide on how to
best assist each of us to continue to progress spiritually by offering us
gifts, sending divine aid, and putting us through additional trials. Jesus had
something like this in mind when he told his disciples, “In my Father’s house
are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a
place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and
receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. … Ye have heard
how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye
would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater
than I.” (John 14:2-3, 28).
Eventually,
Christ will help us fulfill what is written in this revelation – “And if your
eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and
there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light
comprehendeth all things. Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become
single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will
unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way,
and according to his own will. Remember the great and last promise which I have
made unto you; … purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet
before me, that I may make you clean; That I may testify unto your Father, and
your God, and my God, that you are clean from the blood of this wicked
generation; that I may fulfil this promise, this great and last promise, which
I have made unto you, when I will.” (D&C 88:67-69, 74-75).
