Sit; Kneel; Stand.

[Justice]

I have been eternally blessed as I have read the Book of Mormon this time. I am seeing SO many things that I've never seen before. Also, I'm seeing the things I understood before in a whole new light. As I can I'll post a few of those things that I think might make good discussion.

I noticed many distinct differences between the 1st and 2nd time Christ gave the people the Sacrament. I'll post the 1st time in blue, followed by the same event the 2nd time in Red. All of these verses are taken from 3 Nephi. See what you think.

Christ had finished teaching them many things, including how to baptize, and ordained the 12 to baptize. After these teachings, here is a little background of what was happening to give proper setting, the blue before the 1st time He gave the Sacrament, the red before the 2nd time:

17: 15 And when he had said these words, he himself also knelt upon the earth; and behold he prayed unto the Father, and the things which he prayed cannot be written, and the multitude did bear record who heard him.

17: 17 And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father.

They felt joy but apparently didn't understand what Jesus said, because their "hearts couldn't conceive of it." Interestingly, this was before their rebirth. Watch...

19: 31 And it came to pass that he went again a little way off and prayed unto the Father;

19: 32 And tongue cannot speak the words which he prayed, neither can be written by man the words which he prayed.

19: 33 And the multitude did hear and do bear record; and their hearts were open and they did understand in their hearts the words which he prayed.

19: 34 Nevertheless, so great and marvelous were the words which he prayed that they cannot be written, neither can they be uttered by man.

This time their hearts were opened and they understood. Keep in mind they were baptized between the 1st and 2nd times they received the Sacrament, which I will not quote, but you can read for yourself in chapter 19.

17: 18 And it came to pass that Jesus spake unto them, and bade them arise.

He asked them to rise. Then then the fire came down and encircled their "little ones." Chapter 17 ends with this setting saying the multitude did see it and bear record of it.

18: 1 And it came to pass that Jesus commanded his Disciples that they should bring forth some bread and wine unto him.

20: 6 Now, there had been no bread, neither wine, brought by the disciples, neither by the multitude;

20: 7 But he truly gave unto them bread to eat, and also wine to drink.

18: 2 And while they were gone for bread and wine, he commanded the multitude that they should sit themselves down upon the earth.

20: 2 And he commanded them that they should arise and stand up upon their feet. And they arose up and stood upon their feet.

18: 3 And when the Disciples had come with bread and wine, he took of the bread and brake and blessed it; and he gave unto the Disciples and commanded that they should eat.

18: 4 And when they had eaten and were filled, he commanded that they should give unto the multitude.

20: 4 And when they had eaten he commanded them that they should break bread, and give unto the multitude.

18: 5 And when the multitude had eaten and were filled, he said unto the Disciples: Behold there shall one be ordained among you, and to him will I give power that he shall break bread and bless it and give it unto the people of my church, unto all those who shall believe and be baptized in my name.

18: 8 And it came to pass that when he said these words, he commanded his Disciples that they should take of the wine of the cup and drink of it, and that they should also give unto the multitude that they might drink of it.

18: 9 And it came to pass that they did so, and did drink of it and were filled; and they gave unto the multitude, and they did drink, and they were filled.

20: 5 And when they had given unto the multitude he also gave them wine to drink, and commanded them that they should give unto the multitude.

18: 10 And when the Disciples had done this, Jesus said unto them: Blessed are ye for this thing which ye have done, for this is fulfilling my commandments, and this doth witness unto the Father that ye are willing to do that which I have commanded you.

20: 8 And he said unto them: He that eateth this bread eateth of my body to his soul; and he that drinketh of this wine drinketh of my blood to his soul; and his soul shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be filled.

20: 9 Now, when the multitude had all eaten and drunk, behold, they were filled with the Spirit; and they did cry out with one voice, and gave glory to Jesus, whom they both saw and heard.

The scriptures say "to him who has ears to hear, let him hear." I believe the differences between the 1st and 2nd time He gives them the Sacrament are remarkable. If you consider the main difference between these people from the 1st time until the 2nd time was what transpired in chapter 19, it is even more remarakble.

What happened in chapter 19? They were baptized with water, yes. But, what happened to them?

We have been baptized with water. Can you see the significance of this and how it "relates to us in our day?"

When I noticed these differences, at first, I didn't notice that He asked them to sit before the 1st time He gave them the Sacrament, and to arise (or stand up) before the second.

Do you hear the song "Rise Up, O Men of God" playing in your head?

Also, as a side note, see how the "little ones" did not have to go through the baptism process before they were "filled with the Spirit?"

Edited November 1, 2008 by Justice

[Justice]

Where does "kneel" fit in?

In case you didn't see it:

In the very first verse I quoted, I didn't highlight it, the multitude was kneeling as they prayed, and Christ also knelt down. They were praying, and that was what brought all these things to pass.

If you've noticed Elder Bednar's talks in General Conference, you will see that he has followed the pattern of Alma. Alma had taught the poor among the Zoramites about a seed, and how it relates to the word of God. He taught many things, all of which Elder Bednar has been speaking about in conference. Here is a good verse that summarizes the things Alma and Elder Bednar have been speaking about:

Alma 32:

42 And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.

Without getting into details and making a long post about topics and how they relate, this verse summarizes Alma's teachings, and Elder Bednar's talks in conference... up until this last one, where he spoke about praying always.

Remember?

Well, watch, also, what Alma does after his teachings:

Alma 33:

1 Now after Alma had spoken these words, they sent forth unto him desiring to know whether they should believe in one God, that they might obtain this fruit of which he had spoken, or how they should plant the seed, or the word of which he had spoken, which he said must be planted in their hearts; or in what manner they should begin to exercise their faith.

It is clear the people didn't really understand Alam's words. They sent someone to him and asked him "is there just one God, or will Christ, the Son of God, really come?" They didn't know what to think about all this and exactly how to do as Alma had instructed them to know if Christ was the Son of God.

So, Alma's answer to them can apply to any of us if we have the same question. Their question was how?

Alma answers with the words of Zenos:

Alma 33:

4 For he said: Thou art merciful, O God, for thou hast heard my prayer, even when I was in the wilderness; yea, thou wast merciful when I prayed concerning those who were mine enemies, and thou didst turn them to me.

5 Yea, O God, and thou wast merciful unto me when I did cry unto thee in my field; when I did cry unto thee in my prayer, and thou didst hear me.

6 And again, O God, when I did turn to my house thou didst hear me in my prayer.

7 And when I did turn unto my closet, O Lord, and prayed unto thee, thou didst hear me.

8 Yea, thou art merciful unto thy children when they cry unto thee, to be heard of thee and not of men, and thou wilt hear them.

9 Yea, O God, thou hast been merciful unto me, and heard my cries in the midst of thy congregations.

10 Yea, and thou hast also heard me when I have been cast out and have been despised by mine enemies; yea, thou didst hear my cries, and wast angry with mine enemies, and thou didst visit them in thine anger with speedy destruction.

11 And thou didst hear me because of mine afflictions and my sincerity; and it is because of thy Son that thou hast been thus merciful unto me, therefore I will cry unto thee in all mine afflictions, for in thee is my joy; for thou hast turned thy judgments away from me, because of thy Son.

12 And now Alma said unto them: Do ye believe those scriptures which have been written by them of old?

13 Behold, if ye do, ye must believe what Zenos said; for, behold he said: Thou hast turned away thy judgments because of thy Son.

Let this answer given by both Alma and Elder Bednar be a guide and testimony to us of the importance of prayer. Not just prayer, but turning our hearts to God in prayer always. And, let us remember that it is because of Jesus Christ AND our continual prayer that we are given mercy. Only through continual prayer can we "cease to be idle" and "have an eye single to the glory of God."

Edited November 1, 2008 by Justice

[Guest tomk]

"Only through continual prayer can we "cease to be idle" and "have an eye single to the glory of God."

I could not agree more. :)

Jesus said:

Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.

Part of coming unto Christ is receiving, and acting upon, this invitation.

But how many of us do it?

-------------------------------------

As far as the significance of "sit, stand, kneel" -- I know not what this meaneth.

A few verses that enter my mind is this one:

Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.

Luke 9: 14-15

14 For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company.

15 And they did so, and made them all sit down.

until I did a search for "sit down" I never realized how oft it is repeated (alarm bells) in scripture in reference to the sacrament:

• <LI class=searchitem>Matt. 14: 19

  19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

• <LI class=searchitem>Matt. 15: 35

  35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.

  <LI class=searchitem>Matt. 27: 36

  36 And sitting down they watched him there;

  <LI class=searchitem>Mark 6: 39

  39 And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.

• Mark 8: 6

  6 And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people.

Remember -- Nephi included the PLAIN AND PRECIOUS truths from Isaiah. Engraving into the plates of metal was a painstaking and meticulous task ... so they chose their content and their words VERY VERY CAREFULLY - like ultra concentrated laundry soap are the words found in the Book of Mormon:

2 Ne. 8: 25

25 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem; loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.

Think TEMPLE ceremonies - just not the endowment, but sealings as well. We kneel. We stand in the T Order of P.

All so that we can be presented at the Veil and receive our errand from the Lord -- and eventually enter into His Presence.

Whatever "sit, stand, kneel" means -- it prefigures the reception of the Second Comforter.

[Guest tomk]

If you think about the placement of the marks upon the garment.

Some say they have relevance to the crucifixion.

How might they be viewed by another when sitting, kneeling, standing?

We will kneel before Him

Bathe His feet with our tears

Stand and embrace Him

[MrNirom]

and were filled

I think this is one interesting point. I believe the sacrament was part of a meal. I read an interesting take:

The Book of Mormon tells us that the Nephites ate and drank until they "were filled."

History tells us that early Christians did the same thing.

Is there a difference in effect between eating a bite of bread and eating until you are satisfied? Is there a difference between drinking a swallow of water and a full glass of wine? There is a big difference. Eating and drinking to a fullness is a symbol of ascending to the fullness of the Spirit in obtaining the stature of Christ. A fulfilling sacrament gives the member a much greater opportunity to contemplate for a longer more intensive period as he eats and drinks.

There is always a symbolic truth to be learned from the actions of a people. What is the meaning is changing the sacrament from eating bread and drinking wine until one is full to taking a swallow of tasteless water and a tiny piece of bread?

The meaning is obvious. Instead of being filled with the quality taste of the spirit, as symbolized by good wine, we are given a swallow of tasteless water symbolizing that little spirit and no discernment of quality is there.

Instead of eating bread (the body of Christ) until full, we take less than a bite leaving us yet hungering for the true presence and work of Christ. May we all partake of the body of Christ by being one with the body of Christ and drink of His One Spirit.

And speaking of the sacrament.. I think it is very important to note here:

Another mistake the Nephites made, which seemed

quite harmless to them, yet was abhorred by the

prophets, was, "They did receive all manner of

wickedness, and did administer that which was sacred

unto him to whom it had been forbidden because of

unworthiness." (4 Nephi v. 27)

The prophets have always been quite strict concerning

the Lord's body, for those who take the sacrament

make up the spiritual body of Christ and if a part of

that body is not purified, then it is not in reality the

Lord's body-for He will not claim it and the Spirit will

be withheld. This is why the Church was commanded,

"The Elders or Priests are to have sufficient time to

expound all things concerning the Church of Christ,

previous to their partaking of the sacrament." (D&C

20:68)

Mormon warned, "See that ye partake not of the

sacrament unworthily." (Mormon 9:29)

Paul warned, "Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this

bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall

be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a

man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread

and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh

unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself,

not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are

weak and sickly among you, and many sleep."

[Referring to the sleep of death] (I Cor. 11:27-30)

Just some 'food for thought'.