grape_nephi
25th November 2006, 01:23 PM
Article of Faith 6 states “We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.”
In my discussions with avid Mormons on this topic they have mentioned that the Mormon Church is a restoration of the Church that Christ set up on the earth as handed down to the Apostles. However, is this really the case? What was this early church like? Does it resemble the Mormon Church, church meetings or organizations?
In speaking of the early Christian Church it is my belief that Paul was a relative late-comer. He had not met Jesus during Jesus’ ministry and so was not one of the early disciples. Jesus was a Jew and being an itinerant rabbi he would have been very familiar with Jewish law and practice as well as worship.
Before addressing the offices within the church I am going to touch upon the church itself and the topic of worship.
Worship was and is very important to the Jewish people and comes from three sources; the temple, the synagogue tradition, and the scriptures. Worship or the system of worship for the Jews and also for early Christians came initially from the scriptures. It is in the Pentateuch that temple worship was laid out. Not only the physical layout of the temple (and before that the tabernacle) proper but also the rites and forms or worship that was to take place in the temple (specifically in Exodus 25 through 27). These rites and forms of worship were not secret. They were very sacred but were well known by the Jews and by anyone who could read the Jewish scriptures. For the early Jews and Christians worship followed a heavenly model. Luckily we have examples of this in Isaiah 6, Daniel 7 or Revelations 4 and 5. Worship on earth was patterned after worship in heaven.
During the Babylonian exile the Jews moved to a new form of worship, the synagogue. Because the temple was no longer available for worship, the Jews took part in an alternate form of worship that would continue up to the present day. And it was this type of worship that Jesus would have been most familiar with as a child and rabbi. The synagogue liturgy (work of the people, i.e. worship) follows a fairly set pattern:
• The Litany – The opening to the service consisting of prayers.
• The Confession – A confession of God’s faithfulness.
• Intercessory Prayer – Preparation for the scripture reading.
• Scripture Readings – Readings from the Law and the Prophets. When Jesus is reported to have read and taught in the synagogue, it was during this portion that he read.
• Preaching – The reading was followed by a sermon on the meaning of the scriptures that were read. Jesus is reported to have expounded upon the reading he made in the synagogue at the outset of his ministry.
• Benediction – Prayers in conclusion of the worship service.
In a Reformed Jewish synagogue that I was able to attend in July 2006, the liturgy had the following form:
• Warm-up – Morning blessings and Psalms.
• The Shema – The watchword of the Jewish faith is given and God is thanked.
• The Amidah – Prayers of thanks and peace are given.
• The Torah Service – Readings from the Laws and the Prophets.
• After Torah Service – Concluding prayers are given.
After the Jewish worship service a communal meal is held. Communal meals were very important to the Jews and many times of worship included meals. For example Passover.
This form of worship and the organization of the liturgy would have been very familiar to not only Jesus but also to the apostles and the rest of the disciples of Jesus. In careful reading of the New Testament, in sections that detail worship before the main missions to the Gentiles, we may see that the Apostles and disciples not only worshiped in the synagogue but also held a Eucharistic meal on the Lord’s Day (Sunday). And they also took part in worship at the temple.
Acts 2
41 ¶ Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
The Apostles continued with their normal daily practices, simply adding in the christological additions to the synagogal practice. This was the start of the early church, a grounding in the synagogue, continuing those practices and this same motif was transferred to the Christian liturgy when the primary liturgy was performed on the Lord’s Day (Sunday). The early Christian Church transformed into the Proto-Orthodox church after the changes to theology was instituted by Paul and accepted by Gentile converts and today this same tradition has been handed down in the Eastern Orthodox Church that traces its lineage and authority to the Apostles.
What must also be understood is that Jesus was a Jew and would have worshipped God in the same fashion that Jews worshipped in their synagogal service. If we look to the writing of Luke we may see that the opening of Jesus’ ministry is grounded in the synagogue. In Luke chapter 4 we have a depiction of Jesus acting as the Sheliach Tsibbur (representative of the people) when he read from the prophets. This person was also expected to give the devotions. Jesus would have ascendedd the bema and led the people in prayers and the shema followed later by the readings from the prophets and the devotion or interpretation of the prophets. I cannot stress enough the factt that this form of worshop was followed by not only the followers of Jesus but by Jesus himself.
Even the Book of Mormon, which claims to be a second witness of Jesus Christ, mentions synagogue and temple worship in Alma 16:13:
“16:13 And Alma and Amulek went forth preaching repentance unto the people in their
temples, and in their sanctuaries, and also in their synagogues, which was built after the
manner of the Jews.”
Synagogues are also mentioned in Alma 21, Alma 26, Alma 31, Alma 32, etc. The synangogue was set up in a consistent manner. The building faced Jerusalem and had an ark on the jerusalem end that help the scriptures. In the center of the main room was the bema which held a lectern for reading and for giving any sermons or interpretations of the Law and the prophets. I am not aware of any archaeological finds in the New World that could be considered a synagogue. However, in Syria, old Christian churches have beed excavated that are consistent with this type of architecture.
Since Jesus and his followers were Jewish, patterning the early Christian liturgy after the practices of the Jewish synagogue is understandable. In fact, the early followers of Jesus in Jerusalem would have attended Sabbath synagogue meetings and then at sundown (the end of the day for the Jews) attended a newly instituted Christian eucharistic service with an agape meal.
The basic layout of the Mormon sacrament service is as follows:
• Greeting
• Opening Hymn
• Opening prayer
• Sacrament hymn
• Sacrament prayers and passing of the sacrament
• Various songs and talks given by the laity
• Closing Hymn
• Closing prayer
The layout of the early Christian liturgy is as follows:
“Synaxis” or Open Meeting Eucharist
Greeting and Response Greeting and Response
Lections interspersed with Psalmody Kiss of Peace
Psalmody Offertory
Sermon Eucharistic Prayer
Dismissal of Catechumens Fraction
Intercessory Prayers Communion
Benediction Benediction
The synaxis is derived from the synagogue liturgy. Because of the persecutions during early Christian times, the synaxis was separate from the eucharist and all non-Christians were removed from the eucharistic service before it began. After the time of Constantine the synaxis and the eucharist were joined into one service. The eucharistic service is shown as early as 150 CE in the writings of Justin Martyr in his First Apology.
I have personally attended services in the Russian Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, Jewish Synagogues, and various protestant churches. The closest liturgies to synagogue worship are in the liturgy of the Orthodox church as noted above. The Mormon worship service does not resemble (except in the very simplest sense) the synagogue service or the service as used in the early Christian church. So the question of whether or not the Mormon Church is a restoration of the early Christian church in my estimation, at least in regards to the liturgy, is a resounding; No.
The Eucharist
To understand the significance of the Eucharist it is important to understand the aspects of worship. And to understand this one must come to the realization that worship begins in heaven and our worship should pattern heavenly worship.
As noted previously the Old and New Testaments record instances of worship in heaven. These always occur before the throne of God and include such things as adoration and hymns of praise. Part of the Old Testament is the setting up of worship in the Tabernacle and then ultimately in the Temple. As an example of one of the scenes in the Old Testament that detail heavenly worship, refer to Isaiah chapter 6:
“1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. “
Verses 6 and 7 are a foreshadowing of the Eucharist and this act by the seraphim purged the sin from Isaiah. Other recordings are given throughout the Bible including Revelations 4 and 5 that show the order of worship at the throne of God.
Naturally, if one is taking part in true worship one will follow in the footsteps given by the prophets which the early Christians did. Hebrews chapter 8 verses 1 through 6 show how worship is to proceed:
“ 1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.”
I should note that in the original Greek the word translated into English as minister is the word leitourgos which means liturgist or the one who officiates over the liturgy. Liturgical worship is not optional in true Christian worship but is necessary and correct. A closer translation of verse 6 would be “But now he has obtained a better liturgy, because he is the mediator of a better covenant...”. This now brings us to the question of “What is the Eucharist and why is it important?”
As given in the Gospels, during the Last Supper, the Lord instituted the Eucharist. Prior to that Jesus taught that he was the bread of life. There is no getting around the fact that Jesus’ body and blood were divine and in taking them a person could have redemption.
John 6:
“48 I am that bread of life.
49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. “
Matthew 26:
“26 ¶ And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, band blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. “
Luke 22:
“19 ¶ 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.
20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. “
Mark 14:
“22 ¶ And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.
23 And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.
24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. “
The Mormon Church’s sacrament is a remembrance only of the death of Christ.
D&C 20:
“75 It is expedient that the church meet together often to partake of bread and wine in the remembrance of the Lord Jesus;
76 And the elder or priest shall administer it; and after this manner shall he administer it-he shall kneel with the church and call upon the Father in solemn prayer, saying:
77 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.
78 The manner of administering the wine-he shall take the cup also, and say:
79 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen. “
It should be noted that although wine is mentioned in this section of the Doctrine and Covenants water is now used in the Mormon Church.
The partaking of the Eucharist is not just a sign of remembrance but is the culmination of the feast where the partaker takes part in the mystery of he who reigns at the right hand of God. Who gave his life so that all may live. Early Christians such as Justin Martyr in the early to mid 2nd century understood the Eucharist to be the body and blood of Christ:
"For we do not receive these things as though they were ordinary food and drink... the food over which the thanksgiving has been spoken becomes the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus in order to nourish and transform our flesh and blood."
The Eucharist was to transform a person’s life, their spiritual life and like real bread and wine nourished the person. The Eucharist became a life-giving mystery. Each believer through the Holy Spirit was nurtured through grace sacramentally and was afforded spiritual sustenance.
This communion could not simply be added to Synagogue worship during the early years of the Church. In the early church the Lord’s Supper (Eucharist, Sacrament, Communion) was celebrated at the end of the Fellowship meal (agape). This meal was held Saturday evening after the end of the Sabbath. This partaking of the Eucharist was done in thanksgiving for the Grace of Christ and for the sacrifice that he performed for the good of all. This agape meal continued and was understood by Messianic Jews who followed Jesus to be a culmination of the Passover tradition where Christ made the ultimate sacrifice for sin.
The symbology and meaning of the Eucharist are very important to traditional and especially first century Christianity. Mormonism misses this symbology by removing the Body and Blood from their sacramental service and relegating the “believer” to only remembering the death of the Lord. Mormonism has further distanced itself from the roots of Christianity by not only changing the liturgy to be more of a corporate meeting, far from synagogal roots, and by removing the saving elements of the Eucharist that was so important to early Christians.
In my discussions with avid Mormons on this topic they have mentioned that the Mormon Church is a restoration of the Church that Christ set up on the earth as handed down to the Apostles. However, is this really the case? What was this early church like? Does it resemble the Mormon Church, church meetings or organizations?
In speaking of the early Christian Church it is my belief that Paul was a relative late-comer. He had not met Jesus during Jesus’ ministry and so was not one of the early disciples. Jesus was a Jew and being an itinerant rabbi he would have been very familiar with Jewish law and practice as well as worship.
Before addressing the offices within the church I am going to touch upon the church itself and the topic of worship.
Worship was and is very important to the Jewish people and comes from three sources; the temple, the synagogue tradition, and the scriptures. Worship or the system of worship for the Jews and also for early Christians came initially from the scriptures. It is in the Pentateuch that temple worship was laid out. Not only the physical layout of the temple (and before that the tabernacle) proper but also the rites and forms or worship that was to take place in the temple (specifically in Exodus 25 through 27). These rites and forms of worship were not secret. They were very sacred but were well known by the Jews and by anyone who could read the Jewish scriptures. For the early Jews and Christians worship followed a heavenly model. Luckily we have examples of this in Isaiah 6, Daniel 7 or Revelations 4 and 5. Worship on earth was patterned after worship in heaven.
During the Babylonian exile the Jews moved to a new form of worship, the synagogue. Because the temple was no longer available for worship, the Jews took part in an alternate form of worship that would continue up to the present day. And it was this type of worship that Jesus would have been most familiar with as a child and rabbi. The synagogue liturgy (work of the people, i.e. worship) follows a fairly set pattern:
• The Litany – The opening to the service consisting of prayers.
• The Confession – A confession of God’s faithfulness.
• Intercessory Prayer – Preparation for the scripture reading.
• Scripture Readings – Readings from the Law and the Prophets. When Jesus is reported to have read and taught in the synagogue, it was during this portion that he read.
• Preaching – The reading was followed by a sermon on the meaning of the scriptures that were read. Jesus is reported to have expounded upon the reading he made in the synagogue at the outset of his ministry.
• Benediction – Prayers in conclusion of the worship service.
In a Reformed Jewish synagogue that I was able to attend in July 2006, the liturgy had the following form:
• Warm-up – Morning blessings and Psalms.
• The Shema – The watchword of the Jewish faith is given and God is thanked.
• The Amidah – Prayers of thanks and peace are given.
• The Torah Service – Readings from the Laws and the Prophets.
• After Torah Service – Concluding prayers are given.
After the Jewish worship service a communal meal is held. Communal meals were very important to the Jews and many times of worship included meals. For example Passover.
This form of worship and the organization of the liturgy would have been very familiar to not only Jesus but also to the apostles and the rest of the disciples of Jesus. In careful reading of the New Testament, in sections that detail worship before the main missions to the Gentiles, we may see that the Apostles and disciples not only worshiped in the synagogue but also held a Eucharistic meal on the Lord’s Day (Sunday). And they also took part in worship at the temple.
Acts 2
41 ¶ Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
The Apostles continued with their normal daily practices, simply adding in the christological additions to the synagogal practice. This was the start of the early church, a grounding in the synagogue, continuing those practices and this same motif was transferred to the Christian liturgy when the primary liturgy was performed on the Lord’s Day (Sunday). The early Christian Church transformed into the Proto-Orthodox church after the changes to theology was instituted by Paul and accepted by Gentile converts and today this same tradition has been handed down in the Eastern Orthodox Church that traces its lineage and authority to the Apostles.
What must also be understood is that Jesus was a Jew and would have worshipped God in the same fashion that Jews worshipped in their synagogal service. If we look to the writing of Luke we may see that the opening of Jesus’ ministry is grounded in the synagogue. In Luke chapter 4 we have a depiction of Jesus acting as the Sheliach Tsibbur (representative of the people) when he read from the prophets. This person was also expected to give the devotions. Jesus would have ascendedd the bema and led the people in prayers and the shema followed later by the readings from the prophets and the devotion or interpretation of the prophets. I cannot stress enough the factt that this form of worshop was followed by not only the followers of Jesus but by Jesus himself.
Even the Book of Mormon, which claims to be a second witness of Jesus Christ, mentions synagogue and temple worship in Alma 16:13:
“16:13 And Alma and Amulek went forth preaching repentance unto the people in their
temples, and in their sanctuaries, and also in their synagogues, which was built after the
manner of the Jews.”
Synagogues are also mentioned in Alma 21, Alma 26, Alma 31, Alma 32, etc. The synangogue was set up in a consistent manner. The building faced Jerusalem and had an ark on the jerusalem end that help the scriptures. In the center of the main room was the bema which held a lectern for reading and for giving any sermons or interpretations of the Law and the prophets. I am not aware of any archaeological finds in the New World that could be considered a synagogue. However, in Syria, old Christian churches have beed excavated that are consistent with this type of architecture.
Since Jesus and his followers were Jewish, patterning the early Christian liturgy after the practices of the Jewish synagogue is understandable. In fact, the early followers of Jesus in Jerusalem would have attended Sabbath synagogue meetings and then at sundown (the end of the day for the Jews) attended a newly instituted Christian eucharistic service with an agape meal.
The basic layout of the Mormon sacrament service is as follows:
• Greeting
• Opening Hymn
• Opening prayer
• Sacrament hymn
• Sacrament prayers and passing of the sacrament
• Various songs and talks given by the laity
• Closing Hymn
• Closing prayer
The layout of the early Christian liturgy is as follows:
“Synaxis” or Open Meeting Eucharist
Greeting and Response Greeting and Response
Lections interspersed with Psalmody Kiss of Peace
Psalmody Offertory
Sermon Eucharistic Prayer
Dismissal of Catechumens Fraction
Intercessory Prayers Communion
Benediction Benediction
The synaxis is derived from the synagogue liturgy. Because of the persecutions during early Christian times, the synaxis was separate from the eucharist and all non-Christians were removed from the eucharistic service before it began. After the time of Constantine the synaxis and the eucharist were joined into one service. The eucharistic service is shown as early as 150 CE in the writings of Justin Martyr in his First Apology.
I have personally attended services in the Russian Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, Jewish Synagogues, and various protestant churches. The closest liturgies to synagogue worship are in the liturgy of the Orthodox church as noted above. The Mormon worship service does not resemble (except in the very simplest sense) the synagogue service or the service as used in the early Christian church. So the question of whether or not the Mormon Church is a restoration of the early Christian church in my estimation, at least in regards to the liturgy, is a resounding; No.
The Eucharist
To understand the significance of the Eucharist it is important to understand the aspects of worship. And to understand this one must come to the realization that worship begins in heaven and our worship should pattern heavenly worship.
As noted previously the Old and New Testaments record instances of worship in heaven. These always occur before the throne of God and include such things as adoration and hymns of praise. Part of the Old Testament is the setting up of worship in the Tabernacle and then ultimately in the Temple. As an example of one of the scenes in the Old Testament that detail heavenly worship, refer to Isaiah chapter 6:
“1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. “
Verses 6 and 7 are a foreshadowing of the Eucharist and this act by the seraphim purged the sin from Isaiah. Other recordings are given throughout the Bible including Revelations 4 and 5 that show the order of worship at the throne of God.
Naturally, if one is taking part in true worship one will follow in the footsteps given by the prophets which the early Christians did. Hebrews chapter 8 verses 1 through 6 show how worship is to proceed:
“ 1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.”
I should note that in the original Greek the word translated into English as minister is the word leitourgos which means liturgist or the one who officiates over the liturgy. Liturgical worship is not optional in true Christian worship but is necessary and correct. A closer translation of verse 6 would be “But now he has obtained a better liturgy, because he is the mediator of a better covenant...”. This now brings us to the question of “What is the Eucharist and why is it important?”
As given in the Gospels, during the Last Supper, the Lord instituted the Eucharist. Prior to that Jesus taught that he was the bread of life. There is no getting around the fact that Jesus’ body and blood were divine and in taking them a person could have redemption.
John 6:
“48 I am that bread of life.
49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. “
Matthew 26:
“26 ¶ And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, band blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. “
Luke 22:
“19 ¶ 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.
20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. “
Mark 14:
“22 ¶ And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.
23 And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.
24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. “
The Mormon Church’s sacrament is a remembrance only of the death of Christ.
D&C 20:
“75 It is expedient that the church meet together often to partake of bread and wine in the remembrance of the Lord Jesus;
76 And the elder or priest shall administer it; and after this manner shall he administer it-he shall kneel with the church and call upon the Father in solemn prayer, saying:
77 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.
78 The manner of administering the wine-he shall take the cup also, and say:
79 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen. “
It should be noted that although wine is mentioned in this section of the Doctrine and Covenants water is now used in the Mormon Church.
The partaking of the Eucharist is not just a sign of remembrance but is the culmination of the feast where the partaker takes part in the mystery of he who reigns at the right hand of God. Who gave his life so that all may live. Early Christians such as Justin Martyr in the early to mid 2nd century understood the Eucharist to be the body and blood of Christ:
"For we do not receive these things as though they were ordinary food and drink... the food over which the thanksgiving has been spoken becomes the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus in order to nourish and transform our flesh and blood."
The Eucharist was to transform a person’s life, their spiritual life and like real bread and wine nourished the person. The Eucharist became a life-giving mystery. Each believer through the Holy Spirit was nurtured through grace sacramentally and was afforded spiritual sustenance.
This communion could not simply be added to Synagogue worship during the early years of the Church. In the early church the Lord’s Supper (Eucharist, Sacrament, Communion) was celebrated at the end of the Fellowship meal (agape). This meal was held Saturday evening after the end of the Sabbath. This partaking of the Eucharist was done in thanksgiving for the Grace of Christ and for the sacrifice that he performed for the good of all. This agape meal continued and was understood by Messianic Jews who followed Jesus to be a culmination of the Passover tradition where Christ made the ultimate sacrifice for sin.
The symbology and meaning of the Eucharist are very important to traditional and especially first century Christianity. Mormonism misses this symbology by removing the Body and Blood from their sacramental service and relegating the “believer” to only remembering the death of the Lord. Mormonism has further distanced itself from the roots of Christianity by not only changing the liturgy to be more of a corporate meeting, far from synagogal roots, and by removing the saving elements of the Eucharist that was so important to early Christians.