Item Detail
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26307
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0
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0
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English
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Sacramental Connections : Deliverance, Redemption, and Safety (D&C 27)
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You Shall Have My Word : Exploring the Text of the Doctrine & Covenants
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Salt Lake City, UT ; Provo, UT
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Deseret Book ; Religious Studies Center, BYU
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75-91
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The Restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints included the authoritative reinstitution of the ordinance of the sacrament. The Lord instructed the Saints that it is “expedient that the church meet together often” to participate in this ordinance (D&C 20:75). Most references dealing with the sacrament in the Doctrine and Covenants address the administrative aspects of this ordinance. For example, the scriptures address the authority required to perform the ordinance (D&C 20:46, 58, 76), sacramental emblems (D&C 20:75–79; 27:1–5), prayers (D&C 20:77, 79), the frequency of partaking of the sacrament (D&C 20:75), and personal preparation for participation therein (D&C 20:68; 46:4). Such instruction is vital in maintaining the veracity of this sacred ordinance, but if we are not careful, we may focus too much on scriptural texts dealing with administering the ordinance alone and thus overshadow the possibilities of recognizing additional insights, understanding broader purposes, and receiving additional blessings of the sacrament.
When considering how the sacrament is represented in the scriptural text of the Restoration, we can see that section 27 of the Doctrine and Covenants makes a unique contribution. It connects other textual concepts and administrative aspects of the sacrament by constructing a framework for understanding and applying the sacrament. The power of this revelatory text, however, is accessed only when its various parts are viewed as being connected and integrated one with the other. This chapter examines how the text of section 27 uniquely connects three purposes of the sacrament, namely, directing our attention to remembering the genesis of our deliverance (vv. 1–4), inviting us to look forward to our future redemption (vv. 5–14), and showing us how the sacrament provides safety and protection in how we live our lives presently (vv. 15–18). [From the text]