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[ Intro for the uninitiated: In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of late, the recommended curriculum of study has been titled Come, Follow Me. This year’s course features the Doctrine and Covenants. ]
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D&C 27:2 For, behold, I say unto you, that it mattereth not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory—remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins.
Just as Peter learned God does not show favorites among animals or people, Joseph Smith learned God does not show favorites among food or drink. So while we generally eat bread and drink water as we celebrate the sacrament, if the apocalypse arrived and all we had was Doritos and goatmilk, that would be fine. In fact, in order to serve folks with celiac disease I’ve used bananas and unpleasant crackers in the past. While this Sunday it would be silly to have the priests breaking Doritos in half, one can imagine gingerbread at Christmas or lettuce for Easter. People would undoubtedly find this distracting, but I live in a ward where people (not just visitors) sometimes moan in delight when they partake. I was talking to a former member of our stake last summer. He used to be in our ward often as our assigned high councilor and he missed our bread. He about died when we told him about the recent appearance of sacrament bread with a sugar-cardamom–glaze crust. Who can blame him? But the real question is, can that moment of delight turn you to Jesus? Certainly not less than freezer-burnt Wonder Bread, imo.
D&C 27:5 Behold, this is wisdom in me; wherefore, marvel not, for the hour cometh that I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you on the earth, and with Moroni, whom I have sent unto you to reveal the Book of Mormon, containing the fulness of my everlasting gospel, to whom I have committed the keys of the record of the stick of Ephraim;
While I’m a big fan of the Word of Wisdom, having made it so much a part of me that I can’t really even imagine wanting to “drink of the fruit of the vine“ and would feel weird doing it even if I got to do it with Jesus and Moroni, I can’t deny that this prohibition doesn’t seem like an eternal one but one for us now here in this dispensation. Although, I mean, Jesus and Moroni. That’d be cool. But hang on! As we continue to read, we learn that also invited to this party—in addition to Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Jesus, and Moroni—are Elias, John the Baptist, Elijah, Joseph, Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Michael/Adam, Peter, James, and John. Those are fifteen dudes I would definitely love to spend an evening with! BUT THAT’S NOT ALL, FRIENDS. In addition to these fifteen (and fifteen’s an interesting number in LDS tradition if you want to get conspiratorial about it), verse 14 tells us that he’ll also be drinking “with all those whom my Father hath given me out of the world.” And that ain’t just top-tier prophets and Oliver. No, no. It might even include you and me. Now that‘s a party.
D&C 28:5 But thou shalt not write by way of commandment, but by wisdom;
The context here is Oliver’s being given instructions at a moment where a rival peepstoner is getting attention from Church membership. Oliver gets the scoop that “no one shall be appointed to receive commandments and revelations in this church excepting my servant Joseph Smith, Jun.” but if he’s “led at any time by the Comforter to speak or teach, or at all times by the way of commandment unto the church, [he] mayest do it.” But writing? Uh-uh. He can’t write by way of commandment, only by wisdom. (I love this because it seems applicable to everyone with a blog, newsletter, or bad habit of scrawling upon the subway.) Also, Oliver, don’t tell Joseph what to do because he’s been “given…the keys of the mysteries, and the revelations which are sealed, until I shall appoint unto [the Church] another in his stead.” Presumably, this is referring to the passing down of the office of Church president to Brigham Young to John Taylor all the way down to Russell M. Nelson in 2018. But I’ve been thinking a lot about this line of succession the last few days thanks to a terrific little article by Matthew Bowman that points out that canonically, the president of the Church isn’t a “prophet, seer, and revelator” (or, perhaps, it would be better to say, not just a prophet/seer/revelator) as we sustain him as each April General Conference (and at ward and stake conferences for a total of three times a year, am I counting right?), but the “President of the High Priesthood of the Church; Or, in other words, the Presiding High Priest over the High Priesthood of the Church.” Why isn’t that title recited as we sustain? Discuss.
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