Moroni 4

#Moroni Chapter 4

#Scripture Mastery

Moroni 4-5 (compare D&C 20:77, 79) Sacramental Prayers

1 The manner of their elders and priests administering the flesh and blood of Christ unto the church; and they administered it according to the commandments of Christ; wherefore we know the manner to be true; and the elder or priest did minister it─

verse 1 “they administered it according to the commandments of Christ; wherefore we know the manner to be true” Moroni 4-5 present the prayers that the Nephites used in administering the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Although these prayers, as known to Moroni, were recorded here centuries after the visit of Christ to the Book of Mormon peoples, Moroni indicated that the “elders and priests” of his time “administered it according to the commandments of Christ” in a manner that Moroni claimed was “true.”

Although readers rarely notice the intricate textual interdependency between Moroni 4-5 and 3 Nephi 18, the words of the sacramental prayers in Moroni 4–5 can clearly be traced, for the most part, directly to the very words of Jesus Christ used when He administered the Sacrament during his post- Resurrection ministry, as recorded in 3 Nephi 18.

There are other records of Nephite covenant making / renewal ceremonies that appear to have had influence on the sacramental prayers in their final form, especially the grand speech given by King Benjamin in Mosiah 1–5. The chart below shows parallels between Mosiah 5, 3 Nephi 18 and Moroni 4–5.

#Mosiah 5 3 Nephi 18 Moroni 4-5

This ye shall do [partake of the bread] in that they may eat in remembrance of the Remembrance of my body (18:7) body of thy Son (4:3)

I would that ye should take upon you and it shall be a testimony unto the Father and witness unto thee, O God, the

The name of Christ (5:8) (18:7) Eternal Father, that they are willing to

take upon them the name of thy Son

(4:3)

that ye do always remember me (18:7) that they . . . always remember him (4:3) And if ye do always remember me ye shall that they may always have his Spirit to

have my Spirit to be with you (18:7) be with them (4:3)

we are willing . . . to be obedient to this [partaking of the wine] doth witness unto and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father that they [God’s] commandments in all things the Father that ye are willing to do that which I are willing to . . . keep his commandments which he hath that he shall command us (5:5) have commanded you (18:10) given them (4:3)

and ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which I have shed for you, that ye may witness which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, unto the Father that ye do always remember O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember me (18:10) him (5:2)

and if ye do always remember me ye shall that they may have his Spirit to be with them (5:2) my Spirit to be with you (18:11)

From the above comparison, it is clear that the sacrament prayers, as they were known in the time of Moroni, ritually recalled the words that Jesus Christ spoke when he introduced the sacrament to the Book of Mormon people. The language is slightly modified, in that “they” is used instead of Jesus’s “ye.” Jesus’s references to himself (e.g., “me,” “my body,” “I have”) are changed to refer to Christ in the third person (e.g., “him,” “the body of thy Son,” “he hath”) as Jesus was no longer present and the prayers are directed to the Father (For more on this, see John W. Welch, “Our Nephite Sacrament Prayers,” in Reexploring the Book of Mormon: A Decade of New Research, ed. John W. Welch, Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1992, 287).

Because the Nephites met often and partook of the sacrament immediately after the visitations of Christ among them, it would seem likely that the ceremonial form of the sacrament prayers crystalized very soon in the ministry of Nephi, the disciple of Jesus.

One particularly noteworthy phrase appears in the prayers as found in Moroni 4–5 that was not included in the recorded words of Christ in 3 Nephi 18—“that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son” (Moroni 4:3). As shown in the above table, that phrase parallels King Benjamin’s words as he put his people under covenant to take upon themselves the name of Christ (Mosiah 5:8) about 150 years before the appearance of Christ at the temple in Bountiful.

The sacrament prayers used in the time of Moroni were closely based on the very words that Christ Himself spoke when He visited the Book of Mormon peoples. The words of Christ were likely used to replace the language of an already rich history of covenant making rituals among the Nephites, but the replacement still preserved some of the verbiage from their traditional covenant renewal ceremony. As BYU Professor John W. Welch has noted, “It seems that Nephite texts and traditions have combined and coalesced beautifully into the final sacrament prayers in Moroni 4–5” (Welch, “Our Nephite Sacrament Prayers,” 288).

Readers may note that the prayers used by the modern Church today, as found in Doctrine and Covenants 20:77, 79, are almost exactly the same words recorded in Moroni 4–5. It is significant that these words are essentially the words that Christ spoke (and perhaps what He would speak if present) when He introduced the ordinance Himself in 3 Nephi 18. The prayers recorded by Moroni demonstrate an effort to keep the prayers as close to Jesus’ own words as possible.

Moroni was careful to record these precious sacrament prayers precisely, because they were sacred, were based on the actual words of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, and conveyed through the sacramental ordinance the powers of the sacrificed body and atoning blood of Christ. In addition, those words also communicated the power of the Holy Ghost and aligned the will of the Father with ordinary men and women who seek to keep his commandment. To serve these holy purposes, Moroni was careful to convey the words of these prayers with solemn exactness.

2 And they did kneel down with the church, and pray to the Father in the name of Christ, saying:

verse 2 “And they did kneel down with the church” It is interesting to note that in the early days of the Church in this dispensation, the entire Church congregation knelt when the sacrament was blessed. This is largely impractical in modern congregations, though we must still have an attitude of humility and bend the “knees” of our hearts as the priest offers the prayers. It should be noted that all such changes in practice have been inspired, with prophetic authorization.

3 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 hath given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.