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| Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Howard W. Hunter Chapter 15: The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper |
“As [Jesus] took the
bread and broke it, and took the cup and blessed it, he was presenting himself
as the Lamb of God who would provide spiritual nourishment and eternal
salvation.”
Q What does the
sacrament mean to you? How is partaking of the sacrament a blessing to you?
Our participation in
the sacrament is an opportunity to review our lives and renew our covenants.
1. Not long ago I …
[had] the privilege of attending the sacrament service in our own home ward. …
While the priests were preparing the sacrament, we were led in singing: God,
our Father, hear us pray; / Send thy grace this holy day. / As we take of
emblems blest, / On our Savior’s love we rest. [Hymns, no. 170]
A
priest kneeled over the broken bread and prayed: “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.” (D&C 20:77.) The deacons dispersed
throughout the chapel to serve the broken bread. One of them came to our row
and held the silver tray while I partook....
I
thought of the events that took place on the evening nearly two thousand years
ago when Jesus was betrayed. … The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper [was]
introduced to replace [animal] sacrifice and be a reminder to all those who
partake that He truly made a sacrifice for them; and to be an additional
reminder of the covenants they have made to follow Him, keep His commandments,
and be faithful to the end.
While
[I was] thinking about this, the admonition of Paul in his letter to the church
in Corinth came to my mind. He said: “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.” (1
Cor. 11:27–29.) ....
I
was troubled. I asked myself this question: “Do I place God above all other
things and keep all of His commandments?” Then came reflection and resolution.
To make a covenant with the Lord to always keep His commandments is a serious
obligation, and to renew that covenant by partaking of the sacrament is equally
serious. The solemn moments of thought while the sacrament is being served have
great significance. They are moments of self-examination, introspection,
self-discernment—a time to reflect and to resolve.
By
this time the other priest was kneeling at the table, praying that all who
should drink “may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed
for them; … that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to
be with them.” (D&C 20:79.) ....
The
young men concluded serving the sacrament. Then followed words of encouragement
and instruction, a closing hymn and prayer; and the sacred moments “unmarred by
earthly care” had come to a close [see “Secret Prayer,” Hymns, no. 144]. On the
way home … this thought came to my mind: What a wonderful thing it would be if
all persons had an understanding of the purpose of baptism and the willingness
to accept it; the desire to keep the covenants made in that ordinance to serve
the Lord and live His commandments; and, in addition, the desire to partake of
the sacrament on the Sabbath day to renew those covenants to serve Him and be
faithful to the end. …
Having
attended sacrament meeting and partaken of the sacrament made the day more
meaningful, and I felt that I better understood the reason why the Lord said,
“And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou
shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day; For
verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay
thy devotions unto the Most High.” (D&C 59:9–10.)
Q What can we do to get more out of the sacrament?
2. "Abide in me,
and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the
vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the
branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much
fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.... If ye abide in me, and my words
abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. If ye
keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my
Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto
you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is
my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.... Ye have not
chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring
forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain " (John 15:4-16).
Q How can the
sacrament help us to have more power in the Priesthood?
The Passover declares
that death has no permanent power on us.
3. [The Passover] is the
oldest of the Jewish festivals, celebrating an event in advance of receiving
the traditional Mosaic Law. It reminds every generation of the return of the
children of Israel to the promised land and of the great travail in Egypt which
preceded it. It commemorates the passage of a people from subjection and
bondage to freedom and deliverance. It is the Old Testament festival of
springtime when the world of nature awakens to life, growth, and fruition.
Passover
is linked with the Christian observance of Easter. … The Passover [and Easter]
testify of the great gift God has given and of the sacrifice that was involved
in its bestowal. Both of these great religious commemorations declare that
death would “pass over” us and could have no permanent power upon us, and that
the grave would have no victory.
During a feast
commemorating the Passover, the Savior instituted the ordinance of the
sacrament.
4. As the Gospel of John
makes clear, the feast of the Passover marked significant milestones during the
mortal ministry of Christ. At the first Passover in his ministry, Jesus made
his mission known by purifying the temple when he drove from its portals the
money changers and those who sold animals. In the second Passover Jesus
manifested his power by the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Christ here
introduced the symbols that would later have even greater meaning in the Upper
Room. “I am the bread of life,” he said. “He that cometh to me shall never
hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35.)
Of
course, it would be the feast of his last Passover that would give full
expression to this ancient celebration. By that final week of his mortal
ministry, Jesus knew clearly what this particular Passover would mean to him....
Matthew records: When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his
disciples, Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the
Son of man is betrayed to be crucified” (Matt. 26:1–2.)....
In
keeping with nearly fifteen hundred years of tradition. Jesus sat down with his
disciples and, after the eating of the sacrificial lamb and of the bread and
wine of this ancient feast, he taught them a newer and holier meaning of that
ancient blessing from God.
He
took one of the flat, round loaves of unleavened bread, said the blessing over
it, and broke it into pieces that he distributed to the Apostles, saying: “This
is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19.) As the cup was being poured, he took it and,
giving thanks, invited them to drink of it, saying, “This cup is the new
testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” (Luke 22:20.) Paul said of it:
“For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s
death till he come.” (1 Cor. 11:26.)
The
bread and wine, rather than the animals and herbs, would become emblems of the
great Lamb’s body and blood, emblems to be eaten and drunk reverently and in
remembrance of him forever.
In
this simple but impressive manner the Savior instituted the ordinance now known
as the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. With the suffering of Gethsemane, the
sacrifice of Calvary, and the resurrection from a garden tomb, Jesus fulfilled
the ancient law and ushered in a new dispensation based on a higher, holier
understanding of the law of sacrifice. No more would men be required to offer
the firstborn lamb from their flock, because the Firstborn of God had come to
offer himself as an “infinite and eternal sacrifice.”
This
is the majesty of the Atonement and Resurrection, not just a passover from
death, but a gift of eternal life by an infinite sacrifice. How fitting it was
during the observance of this ancient covenant of protection [the Passover
meal] that Jesus should institute the emblems of the new covenant of safety—the
emblems of his own body and blood. As he took the bread and broke it, and took
the cup and blessed it, he was presenting himself as the Lamb of God who would
provide spiritual nourishment and eternal salvation.
Q How is the symbolism
of the sacrament meaningful to you?
Q How can the sacrament
be a "covenant of protection [and] safety" for us?
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