John Bytheway - The Sacrament

Text 2014 John Bytheway

Illustrations 2014 Nathan Pinnock

Art direction by Richard Erickson

Design by Shauna Gibby

A portion of the poem Strange Devotion, by Walter M. Horne (in A Pocketful of LDS Verse [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1967], 3638) is adapted and used by permission of Deseret Book Company.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

ISBN 978-1-60907-790-7

(CIP data on file)

Printed in China 01/2014

R. R. Donnelley, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

**Bookshelf eBook users: Double tap on images to zoom.**

JBTo my children: Ashley, Andrew, Natalie, Matthew, Timothy, Bethany

NPFor Alison, Rachel, Emily, Anna, Joseph, Ben, and Jacob. I love you guys.

Symbols of the Sacrament

The table. The sacrament table is like the table at which Jesus gave his disciples the Last Supper. Just like those disciples, we sit down in fellowship and eat with the Lord.

The sacrament table is also like an altar. An altar is where sacrifices occur, and when we use the sacrament table we remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us. In fact, one of the altars in the ancient temple was called the table of the Lord ().

Look at the chapel in your ward building. Notice that the sacrament table is not in the back or along the side. It is in front of the chapel where everyone can see it and be reminded of its symbolism.

The cloth. A white cloth covers the bread and water trays just like the white cloth that covered Jesus body when he was buried in the tomb. The next time youre at church, look closely at the sacrament table and see if it doesnt resemble a body covered by a cloth. Also, read and notice what the resurrected Jesus did with the cloth before he left the tomb.

The hymn. A hymn is like a prayer (), we also sing a sacrament hymn. This hymn is always about the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

The bread. The bread is a symbol of Jesus body. The teachers dont break the bread in the sacrament preparation room, and we dont buy bread that is already in small pieces. During the sacrament hymn, the priests stand up at the table, pick up the bread, and then tear it into small pieces.

Jesus called himself the bread of life. The priests tear the bread in pieces in remembrance of his body, which was bruised, broken, torn for us (Hymns, 1985, no. 181). The priests serve as a visual aid while the rest of us sing a hymn about the Atonement.

In the Old Testament, we read about a bread-like substance called manna that came from above and fed the children of Israel. Manna preserved their mortal lives during their wanderings. Today the sacrament reminds us that Jesus, the bread of life, also came from above and gives us the promise of eternal life.

Its interesting to remember that the word Bethlehem, the place where Jesus was born, means house of bread (Bible Dictionary, 621).

The water. The water represents the blood of Jesus, which was shed for us. In 1830, the Lord revealed that it wasnt necessary that wine be used for the sacrament, as it was in New Testament times (see ).

Alma may have been referring to the sacrament when he spoke of partaking of the bread and the waters of life (). Because of Jesus body, represented by the bread, we will all live again in the Resurrection. Because of Jesus blood, represented by the water, we have the opportunity of eternal life.