The Sacrament

The Sacrament Prayers

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there are set prayers that are used each time to bless the Sacrament before passing it to the congregation. Here are the prayers that we use, they can be found in the book Doctrine & Covenants 20:75-79:

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.

In my online class that I am taking on the Doctrine & Covenants, I am studying the sacrament. One of the things that I read was something that I had never thought of before, even after 30+ years of hearing those prayers every Sunday. The course mentioned that the sacrament prayers don't actually bless the bread and the water, but they bless the souls of those who partake of the emblems. It does say in the prayers, "to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it," and " to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it. " I had never considered that these prayers aren't actually blessing the bread and water, but were blessing them to the good of my soul. If we take of the sacrament worthily we are made holy, not the emblems. I'm looking forward to going to church today and considering this element of the Sacrament prayer as I partake.