the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church), the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, most often simply referred to as the sacrament, is the ordinance in which participants eat bread and drink water in remembrance of the body and blood of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. Normally, the sacrament is provided every Sunday as part of the

sacrament meeting Sacrament meeting is the primary weekly Sunday worship service in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Sacrament meetings are held in the chapel of a meetinghouse by each individual ward (or branch). The service is pres ...

, the primary weekly worship service, in each LDS Church

congregation Congregation may refer to: Religion *Church (congregation), a religious organization that meets in a particular location *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administrative body of the Catholic Church *Religious congregation, a type of religious instit ...

. Latter-day Saint adherents regard partaking of the sacrament to be a commandment of Jesus Christ; participating in it demonstrates a willingness to remember the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Sacrament ceremony

Administration of the sacrament to the congregation

In LDS sacrament meetings, the sacrament is passed to members of the congregation after being blessed by a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

from the Aaronic priesthood or a member of the

Melchizedek priesthood The priesthood of Melchizedek is a role in Abrahamic religions, modelled on Melchizedek, combining the dual position of king and priest. Hebrew Bible Melchizedek is a king and priest appearing in the Book of Genesis. The name means "King of Righ ...

. The sacrament table is prepared before the meeting begins, usually by

teachers A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, by placing whole slices of bread on trays and filling small individual water cups, which are also held in trays. Both bread and water trays are then covered with white cloth. After introductory prayers, administrative business, and announcements, the sacrament portion of the service begins. It is customary for the congregation to sing a

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

while the bread is uncovered and prepared. The congregation remains seated while the priesthood representatives stand and break bread into bite-sized pieces. The breaking of the bread represents the broken body of Christ. After breaking the bread and the conclusion of the hymn, the priesthood holder kneels and says a set prayer on the broken bread. The bread is passed to the congregation by priesthood holders, usually by

deacons A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Catholi ...

. The prayer on the bread is found in the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...

and

Doctrine and Covenants The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chur ...

: :"O

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

, 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." (

Book of Moroni The Book of Moroni () is the last of the books that make up the Book of Mormon. According to the text it was written by the prophet Moroni sometime between 400 and 421 CE. Moroni consists of ten chapters. Narrative Moroni's people had been d ...

4:3,

20:77). After the bread is passed to the congregation, the bread trays are placed on the table and covered with the white cloth. The water trays are then uncovered and a set prayer is given on the water, which is then passed to the congregation. The prayer on the water indicates that the water represents the shed blood of Christ: :"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this aterto 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." (

5:2,

20:79). After the water is passed to the congregation, the water trays are covered with the bread trays for the remainder of the service. The leftover bread and water are discarded. Latter-day Saints believe the bread and water to be symbols, not the actual body and blood of Christ, and that it is meant for those who have been baptized to "renew their baptismal covenants," although any person of any or no faith is permitted to partake, and it is common for children under the minimum baptismal age to partake as well.

Changes in sacrament administration

Weekly administration of the sacrament in the LDS Church did not begin until the 1850s. Until the late 1890s or early-20th century, the entire congregation often kneeled during the sacramental prayers, but current practice requires that only the individual giving the prayer kneel. Deacons and teachers did not originally take part in the preparing or passing of the sacrament, a practice which was first adopted in 1898 and was widely implemented in the 1920s or 1930s. Individual water cups, instead of drinking from a common cup, were introduced in 1911 in response to the

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest docum ...

. Passing the sacrament first to the presiding church authority was emphasized in 1946.

Temporary adjustments

* Occasionally, a lack of access to bread will result in the use of food other than bread in the sacrament. For instance, after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, members in Switzerland, under heavy food rationing, "were so anxious to partake of the sacrament that they purchased some potato peelings which cost fifty dollars and used these in place of bread." * On March 12, 2020, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, leaders of the church announced a temporary suspension of all large meetings for members of the church worldwide, including weekly sacrament meetings. Among the instructions given during this period of time was the directive that the bishops of each congregation ensure that those over whom they have stewardship receive the sacrament at least once a month during this period of time.

Meaning of the sacrament

The sacrament is viewed by adherents as a renewal of a member's

covenant Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general ** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible ** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...

made at

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

. According to the sacramental prayers, a person eats and drinks in remembrance of the body and blood of Jesus, promises to always remember him, take his name upon them, and keep his commandments. In return, the prayer promises that the participant will always have his spirit to be with them. The sacrament is considered the most sacred and important element of normal Sabbath day observance and as such is approached by Latter-day Saints with reverence and in a spirit of

penitence Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of contrition for sins committed, as well as an alternative name for the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. The word ''penance'' derives ...

. Consequently, all who partake of the sacrament are encouraged to examine their own consciences and prayerfully gauge their own worthiness to do so. If they feel unworthy, they are encouraged to refrain from participating in the sacrament until they have properly repented of their sins. Partaking of the sacrament by non-members and unbaptized members is permissible (except in cases where the person has been

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

by the church), but the unbaptized are regarded as not having part of the covenant associated with the sacrament.

Notes