Ordinances are Sacred

The Celestial Society of Believers has always called itself:

THE UNITED ORDER

Ah ... if the Latter-day Saints could, at least understand what actually happened in the early days of the Restoration, when God and his son Jesus Christ brought together in one heart intent, the minds of the various members who arrived from all the corners of the world to make their Church on earth again as a principle of the United Order, as it was in the time of Christ and his apostles (Acts 2: 44-45), then, the guide that they so much seek in their imperfect human leaders, distant and untouchable, they would find hidden by God, within themselves. - 6th article of faith.

“44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;

45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.”

6 We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.

FROM PRE-EXISTENCE MEETING WE RECEIVE THE RIGHT TO A REWARD, A PRIZE, A REWARD - A VERY PRECIOUS TREASURE - A HIDDEN RETRIBUTION

We know that, in the course of the meeting that took place in our pre-existence, in that great council that took place in the heavens, which was proposed by our heavenly mentors, that humanity, while on earth, would be entitled to a reward; and like a very valuable treasure, this reward should be hidden from all the children of Adam; being worthy of obtaining, only those who were worthy through strict observance of the laws and ordinances stipulated by God and his son Jesus, as transmitted by revelations to his past prophets and, transcribed to us through his gospel in our sacred scriptures which map to guide us in the present, so that no one deceives us, saying: Here is the truth, when, therefore, it is within ourselves (Romans 2:15), while others cover their eyes not to see and their ears to don't listen. - See Matthew 13: 13-14

Romans 2

15 - Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

Mathew 13

13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

THE ANOINTING WE BRING WITH US FROM THE PRE-EXISTENCE

That is why the Scriptures mention the anointing that we have brought with us since pre-existence. - See 1 John 2: 24-27.

1 John 2

24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.

26 These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.

27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

This anointing, says the Scriptures, makes it possible for Latter-day Saints to know all things, not because I am saying it, or because Joseph or the other Church leaders have already said something about it, but because we were all there, in that great advice and we heard from him, Jesus, what we have to do to get such a reward. - Alma 13: 1-3.

Alma 13

And again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave these commandments unto his children; and I would that ye should remember that the Lord God ordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son, to teach these things unto the people.

2 And those priests were ordained after the order of his Son, in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption.

3 And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.

IN PRE-EXISTENCE WE HAVE BEEN PROMISED A HELPER

So he said he would send us a helper, not only to teach us all the things we have to learn while we are passing through here on this earth, but also to remind us of all the things that He, Jesus, said at that big meeting. - John 14:26.

26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

AFTER THE DEATH OF JOSEPH SMITH ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS LOST - THE ORDINANCE OF THE SACRAMENT

Among the most important things we have to remember, which were restored to their rightful place in the Church of Christ with the restoration of the gospel in 1830 and, soon put aside again after the death of Joseph Smith and finally forgotten by the people of the covenants are those that concern the most important of all the ordinances of the gospel, I would say primordial, since this validates all others, and consequently even the priesthood of the Only Begotten Son of the Father among the members of the church, since D&C 84:21 states that "without his ordinances the authority of the priesthood, and the power of divinity is not manifested to men in the flesh."

ONLY MEMBERS MAY SHARE THE SACRAMENT

1 ° 'That, according to the texts of 3 NEPHI 18: 5, 11, 29 and 30 and D&C 20:68, only a baptized member of the Church can share in the sacramental ordinance'.

3 Nephi:

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.

11 And this shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized in my name; and ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood, which I have shed for you, that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you.

29 For whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to his soul; therefore if ye know that a man is unworthy to eat and drink of my flesh and blood ye shall forbid him.

30 Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out from among you, but ye shall minister unto him and shall pray for him unto the Father, in my name; and if it so be that he repenteth and is baptized in my name, then shall ye receive him, and shall minister unto him of my flesh and blood.

D&C 20:

68 The duty of the members after they are received by baptism—The elders or priests are to have a sufficient time to expound all things concerning the church of Christ to their understanding, previous to their partaking of the sacrament and being confirmed by the laying on of the hands of the elders, so that all things may be done in order.

In the only record made at the beginning of the restoration on sacrament meetings, John Whitmer, being the secretary assigned to record all things concerning the Church of Christ (D&C 47), reported that, in obedience to the Book of Mormon and D&C commandments, “ that disciples used to exclude unbelievers.”1

‘3Nephi 18: 28-30’ informs that an unbaptized person is unworthy to partake of the Lord’s sacrament, as well as imposing the duty of baptized members ‘not to allow an unbaptized person to participate in sacramental emblems’.

See - the ‘Student Manual of Religion 121 and 122 in the Book of Mormon’; pag.144 under top. "The Church at the time of Moroni". (D&C 20:68)

Although the ‘D&C Student Handbook, course 324-325; page 99, opening paragraph 'means, through the text of D&C 46: 5, that afterwards the Lord allowed any visitor to participate in the sharing of the sacrament, we do not see in this Section 46 the Lord Jesus Christ being permissive for anyone who is visiting the Church can, in fact, participate in the emblems with the members already baptized, as we are guided to understand by the content of this manual.

Beforehand, however, in uttering the order with respect to those who are not of the Church in this section, the Lord said "that they should not be excluded from sacrament meetings, 'as long as they are sincerely seeking the kingdom'".

However, it can be seen in the ‘Student manual, D&C / Church history, page 75, referring to D&C 46; 1-4 ’that:‘ The ancient saints of the Church were in fact refusing to allow nonmembers to attend sacrament meetings ’.

That is, in no time, in this last dispensation, or in any past dispensation in which there was the gospel of Christ on earth, the Lord never gave permission to a nonmember to share his emblems without taking his name on him for his baptismal dedication; as the members of the church today understand through the text of D&C 46, where the Lord makes it clear to the members that at the time were amazed that they had to exclude nonmembers from their sacrament meetings, that only those who were sincerely looking for the Kingdom could attend and not just a researcher who was visiting the Church for the first, second, or third time.

However, the same Manual continues: ‘but only worthy members could participate’, thus showing that there is a difference between watching and participating in the emblems.

FIXED PRAYERS - PRE-DETERMINED IN HEAVENS

Furthermore, we are informed, through the teachings of Joseph Smith, that the two sacramental prayers are 'fixed prayers', predetermined in the council of heaven to be 'read, or memorized, in order to be repeated verbatim', as well as found recorded both in the book of Moroni 5: 2, as well as in the revelation given to the Church in Section 20:79 of D&C.

In light of this, the ‘Student Manual, Seminar, D&C study and Church History, precisely on page 41, in the last paragraph, contains valuable information regarding the only three prayers that are fixed in the Church.

So says the manual: "Fixed prayer is that which is revealed by the Lord for a special purpose and must be repeated 'word for word'". This is done, the manual continues, ‘so that sacred ordinances are performed exactly '.

However, on the sacramental table of the church, we now find two uniform wooden tablets, on which you can see both prayers to bless the emblems of the Lord. However, with regard to the prayer that the cup is blessed in 'remembrance' of the blood of Christ, it can be read on one of these tablets:

O God, Eternal Father, we pray in the name of your son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify 'this water' ... When, therefore, both in the Book of Mormon, as transcribed in the context of Moroni 5: 2, as well as in the revelation of Doctrine and Covenants 20:79, we do not find the word 'WATER' commonly spoken in Current Prayer.

What we find when reading both scriptures mentioned above, both in the book of Mormon, as well as in D&C, remains, as translated in its purity and simplicity since the beginning of the restoration, as the word 'WINE'.

In addition, if we look at the original prayer from the 19th century book of Mormon, as well as section 20 of D&C, we will notice subtle changes in both prayers, both in the bread and wine prayers.

If such prayers, revealed by the Savior himself to be read or given at the sacramental table, ‘word for word’, as they appear in his scriptures, are no longer being fulfilled in the manner stipulated by the Lord; then, wouldn't it be enough reason for Church members to question the general authorities, as to the validity of this ordinance?

Another contrast, compared to what we see today in sacrament meetings of the Church; is in the reading of Moroni 4: 1-3, as well as in D&C 20: 76-77 that clearly and unambiguously reveal to us that at the time of sacramental prayer 'the whole Church', without exception, must kneel together with the speaker when blessing bread and wine.

In fact, there is no passage in the standard works that govern our faith, which allows only those who bless the emblems on the sacramental table, as is done today, to represent us kneeling in this act of humility, when, therefore, even Joseph Smith Jr. and the first apostles of the restoration knelt down each time they celebrated this ceremony in memory of what Christ did for humanity in general.

Finally, we learn from the teachings of the Church, that the restoration, together with all the laws and ordinances of the Lord, restored the true symbologies of the eternal gospel, each corresponding to its respective functions in the order of the Melchizedek priesthood, which were still established in the county in the Heavens to be typical representations of the eternal covenant between God and man with regard to their varied offices.

Imagine, therefore, that at a certain time on the meridian of time, the apostles Peter and John went out to preach to the Bedouins in the desert and soon found a family ready to be baptized. However, without water reservoirs, in the middle of the dry and arid wilderness, to fill a baptismal fountain, an angel appears to them and tells them with the voice of Jesus Christ, that it doesn't matter what one uses to baptize, as long as it is done with eyes fixed on its glory. So, by divine providence, they now fill the baptismal font 'with goat's milk' and validate that family's baptism for the glory of God.

As a result, having the apostles returned to Jerusalem, where rivers and reservoirs of water abound, should they, from then on, invalidate the original symbol, which was determined by God even before the foundation of the world? - D&C 128: 12-13.

Through this question, I go into the question imposed by the church as a result of section 27 of D&C; for, unlike Peter and John's analogy in the desert, an angel literally appeared to Joseph Smith so that he would not buy wine from his enemies, ‘but if there were none, they could use anything’.

However, the angel said in the voice of Jesus Christ: "as long as he remembered his body and his blood". (Vs. 2)

Other than that, this revelation makes it clear in verses 03 and 04 that "the commandment is not to buy wine from your enemies", but, "new wine should be made", elaborated by the members of the Church in this kingdom of God that will be built on the earth ".

This is so true, that three years after Joseph received this instruction, the Lord reveals to him section 89 of D&C, better known as 'the Word of Wisdom', and in it the same admonition is repeated in relation to wine:

“5 Behold, it is neither good nor acceptable in the eyes of your Father for someone among you to drink wine or strong drink,‘ except ’when you come together to offer your sacraments before Him. 6 And behold, it must be ‘wine’, rather pure grape wine from the vine, of your own making ”.

Because of this admonition given in D&C 27 and section 89, Joseph Fielding Smith explained that: 'Joseph should not use wine in the sacrament, unless it was produced by the saints themselves and of recent manufacture'. He still goes on to say: ‘that wine was used mainly because of its resemblance to blood’

Parallel to what Joseph Fielding Smith said, verse 05 alludes to the fact that 'the time will come when on earth, the Savior, will come to drink with us the fruit of the vine'.

- Now, in this regard, everyone knows that ‘fruit of the vine’ is wine; the juice of the vine, which Christ himself said represented his blood - "the blood of the New Testament".

This, in fact, due to its blood-like coloring, reminds us that the Savior gave his blood for us in accordance with his words recorded in 3 Nephi 18: 11 which says: “And this you will always do to all who repent and are baptized in my name; and you will do it in remembrance of my blood ”.

Is it possible, however, to find ‘a reliable answer’ to the question that arises here in relation to section 27, through the position taken by the Church that we should now use water instead of the original symbol of the sacrament?

There can certainly be no more credible source of understanding for this section of D&C than the man who received it - in this case, Joseph Smith, who, upon his understanding of this revelation, 'purchased wine of his own making'.

So says the account made by himself shortly after receiving this revelation:

“... In obedience to this commandment we prepared some wine of our own creation, and held our meeting, consisting of only five, people, Newel Knight and his wife, me and my wife, and John Whitmer. Thus, we share the Sacrament together in our home ... ”- Church History Vol. 1, page 106 to 108.

Under no circumstances, as long as Joseph lived, or even any other president of the Church until 1896 used, or understood that they should use water to represent the blood of Christ in sacrament meeting.

This symbol was inappropriately modified by men without God's consent regarding everything He revealed about the sacrament to his Servant, the prophet Joseph Smith Jr.

Therefore, due to so many additions and modifications that have been adopted by the church over the decades, we can undoubtedly conclude that, since God is the same yesterday, today and always, that He can do his own work and select among the children a prophet of men as he sees fit, as he has always done in the past, to put all things changed in his house in order by the precepts of men. - 2 Nephi 27: 21-26

21 Touch not the things which are sealed, for I will bring them forth in mine own due time; for I will show unto the children of men that I am able to do mine own work.

22 Wherefore, when thou hast read the words which I have commanded thee, and obtained the witnesses which I have promised unto thee, then shalt thou seal up the book again, and hide it up unto me, that I may preserve the words which thou hast not read, until I shall see fit in mine own wisdom to reveal all things unto the children of men.

23 For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith.

24 And again it shall come to pass that the Lord shall say unto him that shall read the words that shall be delivered him:

25 Forasmuch as this people draw near unto me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their hearts far from me, and their fear towards me is taught by the precepts of men—

26 Therefore, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, yea, a marvelous work and a wonder, for the wisdom of their wise and learned shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent shall be hid.