Bread, Wine, and the Holy Ghost

Book of Mormon Notes - Thursday, February 22, 2024, 3 Nephi 18

After experiencing such powerful and ineffable manifestations of the Lord, His Spirit, and His angels, and after receiving and pondering the teaching and ministering of the Resurrected and Living Christ, what must have been the thoughts and the feelings of the Nephites at the Temple in Bountiful?

We remember that they experienced unspeakable joy and that the glorious and miraculous works of Jesus Christ were beyond description. If there were poets, philosophers, and theologians among the Nephites, perhaps they were inspired, like Dante, Aquinas, and other medieval exponents of the beatific vision, to eulogize whatever could be eulogized about the events.

Mormon’s retrospective record does not contain such hymns and psalms of praise. But I imagine that the straightforward language in Joseph Smith’s records of his first theophany (see also here) might also correspond to whatever was written by the people:

My soul was filled with love, and for many days I could rejoice with great joy. The Lord was with me, but I could find none that would believe the heavenly vision. Nevertheless, I pondered these things in my heart.

and

I kneeled again. My mouth was opened and my tongue liberated, and I called on the Lord in mighty prayer. A pillar of fire appeared above my head. It presently rested down upon me and filled me with joy unspeakable. A personage appeared in the midst of this pillar of flame, which was spread all around and yet nothing consumed. Another personage soon appeared, like unto the first. He said unto me, “Thy sins are forgiven thee.” He testified unto me that Jesus Christ is the son of God. And I saw many angels in this vision. I was about fourteen years old when I received this first communication.

and

I retired to a secret place in a grove and began to call upon the Lord. While fervently engaged in supplication, my mind was taken away from the objects with which I was surrounded, and I was enwrapped in a heavenly vision and saw two glorious personages who exactly resembled each other in features and likeness, surrounded with a brilliant light which eclipsed the sun at noonday. They told me that all religious denominations were believing in incorrect doctrines and that none of them was acknowledged of God as his church and kingdom. And I was expressly commanded to “go not after them,” at the same time receiving a promise that the fulness of the gospel should at some future time be made known unto me.

As it was for the young Joseph Smith, certainly the presence and light of the Lord dispelled all confusion, contention, chaos, doubt, and darkness from before the Nephites at the Temple in Bountiful. It was important for them to always remember these experiences too. For this and other reasons, the Lord then instituted the sacrament among them and taught them how to pray and how to bestow and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

For these ancient Nephites, the sacrament and the gift of the Holy Ghost followed in the wake of their personal and direct communion with our Savior Jesus Christ. For most of us today, the light of Christ, the sacrament, and the gift of the Holy Ghost lead us toward such sacred personal encounters with God. The symbols and their meaning, the experiences and the remembrance go hand in hand. And we remember what Jesus taught His apostle Thomas (see also here):

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast ^aseen me, thou hast believed: ^bblessed are they that have not seen, and yet have ^cbelieved.

Jesus called for his Nephite disciples to bring bread and wine. He blessed and broke the bread and gave it to His disciples, commanding them to eat. Then He commanded His disciples to distribute the broken bread to the multitude. After they had all eaten and were filled, the Lord taught them:

Behold there shall one be ^aordained among you, and to him will I give power that he shall ^bbreak ^cbread and bless it and give it unto the people of my ^dchurch, unto all those who shall believe and be baptized in my name.

And this shall ye always observe to ^ado, even as I have done, even as I have broken bread and blessed it and given it unto you.

And this shall ye do in ^aremembrance of my ^bbody, 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. (3 Nephi 18:5-7)

Jesus had shown His Resurrected body, with His wound marks, to these blessed disciples, and then He mercifully provided a way for them to always remember Him and to testify unto the Father that they always remembered Him. And all this because the act of remembering Jesus Christ, and always remembering Him, invites His Spirit to be with us.

Next, the wine. After the disciples and the multitude had drunk and were filled, the Lord taught them:

Blessed are ye for this thing which ye have done, for this is fulfilling my commandments, and this doth witness unto the Father that ye are ^awilling to do that which I have commanded you.

And this shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized in my name; and ye shall do it in ^aremembrance of my ^bblood, which I have shed for you, that ye may witness 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. (3 Nephi 18:10-11)

Why does Jesus Christ want us to always remember Him, and particularly to remember His body and His blood? This is a question to ponder.

After instituting the sacrament among the Nephites, Jesus continued to teach them. The sacrament, the Lord’s supper, was and is the perfect teaching moment. Having nourished and satiated His disciples physically and symbolically with the bread and the wine, Jesus began to nourish His prepared and receptive audience spiritually. He gave them a commandment to always do these things, and by so doing to be blessed and built upon His ^arock. As I have mentioned in previous posts, here we see again the direct connection between the Spirit of the Lord, revelation, and the symbol of the Rock. Jesus Christ is the Rock, and we come to know Him, as Peter did, only by revelation:

When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, ^aElias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

He saith unto them, But whom say ^aye that I am?

And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the ^aChrist, the ^bSon of the ^cliving God.

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon ^aBar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not ^brevealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this ^arock I will build my ^bchurch; and the gates of ^chell shall not ^dprevail against it. (Matthew 16:13-18)

Flesh and blood - what men think and say - did not reveal the truth to Peter, to the ancient Nephites, or to us. The physical symbols of the bread and the wine (or water), do not reveal the truth, but the Spirit of God, the Father, that we invite through our acts of remembrance, does reveal the truth: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Why is the Spirit of God likened to a Rock? This is another question to ponder.

One answer that comes immediately to mind is that the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Truth, which is firm and unchanging, steady and strong, like a rock. Another answer that comes immediately to mind is that the rock that Moses smote in the wilderness, from which flowed a fountain of pure water, is symbolic of Jesus Christ and His word. Just as the Living Waters of Christ’s words issue from Him, quenching the thirst of our souls, so too did the living waters from the rock quench the thirst of the ancient Israelites under Moses’ guidance and direction. These waters give life, physically and spiritually, whereas the things of men, the things of flesh and blood, are temporary and volatile. In simple terms, when we build our lives upon the truth that the Spirit of God reveals to us, and particularly upon the truth about Jesus Christ, then it is like building upon the firm foundation of a Rock. Jesus Christ built His Church upon this Rock of Revelation, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is built upon this rock of revelation, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it:

How long can rolling waters remain impure? What ^apower shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to ^bhinder the ^cAlmighty from pouring down ^dknowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints. (D&C 121:33)

To do more or less than what Jesus and His Spirit teach us is to build upon a sandy foundation.

Jesus then taught his disciples to keep His commandments, to watch and ^apray always, to pray in His ^achurch, and to look to Him, our ^blight and ^cexample. Jesus Christ also taught the multitude to watch and pray always, to pray unto the Father in His name, and to ^apray in their families unto the Father, to bless their wives and children, always in His name. Jesus taught them to ^ameet together oft. He instructed them not to forbid any man from coming unto them, but rather to ^apray for them. He taught them to hold up their ^alight that it may shine unto the world, or in other words, to hold up the example of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ invited all, and He invites all, to come unto Him.

Finally, Jesus Christ gave special commandments to His ^adisciples whom he had chosen regarding the administration of the sacrament, the worthiness of those who partake of the sacrament, and how best to help people to repent. There had been disputations among the people on these matters, but Jesus Christ’s doctrine is to do away with disputations and contention.

Then it was time for Jesus Christ to return to His Father. Before leaving, Jesus touched with his ^ahand the ^bdisciples whom he had chosen, one by one, even until he had touched them all, and spake unto them as he touched them. What did He say to them? We don’t know. The multitude did not hear the words that Jesus Christ spoke unto them, but we know that Jesus Christ gave them ^apower to confer the gift of the ^bHoly Ghost, and Mormon promises to show us later that this record is true (see e.g. 3 Nephi 26:17, 3 Nephi 28:18, Moroni 2:2–3)

After touching them all, speaking to them, and endowing them with power, a ^acloud overshadowed the multitude, and Jesus ^adeparted from them, ascending into heaven.