Blessing the Sacrament

In the Doctrine and Covenants the Church is commanded to “meet together often to partake of bread and wine in remembrance of the Lord Jesus.”  We are told that “the elder or priest shall administer it” (D&C 20:75-76).  As we look at examples of the Sacrament being blessed in the scriptures it shows just how serious of an obligation that the duty to bless the emblems of the Sacrament is.  Of course the first Sacrament was the last Passover and it was the Savior that administered it: “Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.  And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:26-28).  The fact that it was Jesus Himself who physically blessed and passed out the Sacrament shows just how serious the responsibility of the priest is in our day as he, in the same manner as Jesus, blesses and distributes the Sacrament. 

               In other places in the scriptures we see the Savior also blessing and administering the Sacrament personally.  At the end of the first day, we read that “he took of the bread and brake and blessed it; and he gave unto the disciples and commanded that they should eat” (3 Nephi 18:3).  Though he delegated the future administration of the Sacrament—He told them, “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”—in this instance there was no delegation used (3 Nephi 18:5).  The Savior Himself blessed the bread.  We see the same thing the next day when He was with them: “And it came to pass that he brake bread again and blessed it, and gave to the disciples to eat….  And when they had given unto the multitude he also gave them wine to drink” (3 Nephi 20:3-5).  These two documented occasions apparently weren’t the only two where this happened, for we read, “The Lord truly did teach the people, for the space of three days; and after that he did show himself unto them oft, and did break bread oft, and bless it, and give it unto them” (3 Nephi 26:13).  Even though He had delegated the responsibility to someone else, He thought it important enough to continue to offer the ordinance personally in at least some instances.  In the New Testament the Savior also administered the Sacrament to the two disciples who were on the road to Emmaus.  We read, “As he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them” (Luke 24:30).  It was the Savior Himself who administered the Sacrament, and so those who do so today should remember that they are standing in His place.  They represent none other than the Savior, and if He were present in our Sacrament Meetings He would, the scriptures seem to suggest, want to be able to bless the emblems of the Sacrament personally.