Emma Smith and 12 others, including Newel Knight and his wife, Sally, were baptized on June 28, 1830, in Colesville, New York. However, they were not confirmed then because a local mob disrupted the service and the Prophet Joseph Smith was arrested “on the charge of being a disorderly person, of setting the country in an uproar by preaching the Book of Mormon, etc.” (see History of the Church, 1:87–88). Joseph was cleared of all charges, but mobs still kept him away from Colesville until August 1830, when he was finally able to confirm most of the new converts. Joseph Smith then returned to his home in Harmony, Pennsylvania.
Early in August 1830, Newel Knight and his wife traveled to Harmony to visit Joseph and Emma Smith. Because Sally Knight and Emma had not yet been confirmed, it was decided that they would be confirmed and that those gathered would partake of the sacrament together. On his way to obtain some wine for the sacrament, the Prophet Joseph was met by a heavenly messenger and received the revelation in Doctrine and Covenants 27 (see History of the Church, 1:106).
The Lord gives instructions concerning the emblems of the sacrament
What would you think if you saw potato peelings being used for the sacrament?
President Ezra Taft Benson visited war-torn Europe immediately following World War II. At that time food was scarce, and many people struggled just to survive. The scarcity of food made it necessary for Church members to adapt what they used as part of the sacrament. President Benson recalled: “I cannot forget the French Saints who, unable to obtain bread, used potato peelings for the emblems of the sacrament” (“Prepare for the Days of Tribulation,” Ensign, Nov. 1980, 33–34)
Read Doctrine and Covenants 27:1–2, and identify what the angel told Joseph Smith about the emblems of the sacrament. In your scripture study journal, answer the following questions:
Why do you think it was acceptable in the circumstance of the French Saints to use something other than bread as emblems of the sacrament?
Complete the following principle by filling in the blanks: As we partake of the , we are to the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Answer the following questions in your scripture study journal:
What do you think partaking of the sacrament “with an eye single to [God’s] glory” means?
How can you more fully remember the Savior’s Atonement as you partake of the sacrament?
In Doctrine and Covenants 27:3–4 the Lord warned Joseph Smith not to use wine or strong drink (any drink with intoxicating qualities) for the sacrament if it was purchased from their enemies. Only wine that was made by the Saints could be used (this was more than two years before the Word of Wisdom [D&C 89] would be revealed). Today, water is used in the sacrament instead of wine.
The Lord will partake of the sacrament again on the earth
Ponder how your experience taking the sacrament might be different if you were doing so in the presence of the Savior.
When the Savior introduced the ordinance of the sacrament to His Apostles at the Last Supper, He prophesied of a time when He would return to the earth and partake of the sacrament again with His disciples (see Matthew 26:26–29).
Throughout history the Lord has given priesthood authority to righteous men to help administer the ordinances of His gospel. He has also given priesthood keys to priesthood leaders so they can direct, control, and govern the use of His priesthood on earth.
In Doctrine and Covenants 27:5–12 we learn about some of those who will attend this sacrament meeting with Jesus Christ. Read these verses, and in your scripture study journal, make a list of the individuals who will attend this meeting and, if mentioned, what keys or responsibility they have.
Read Doctrine and Covenants 27:13, and identify what keys the Lord gave to the Prophet Joseph Smith. You may want to mark the phrase “dispensation of the gospel for the last times; and for the fulness of times.” From this verse we learn that the dispensation of the fulness of times brings together all gospel keys, ordinances, and truths of past dispensations.
A dispensation is a period of time when the Lord reveals His gospel doctrines, ordinances, and priesthood. It is a period “in which the Lord has at least one authorized servant on the earth who bears the holy priesthood and the keys, and who has a divine commission to dispense the gospel to the inhabitants of the earth. When this occurs, the gospel is revealed anew, so that people of that dispensation do not have to depend basically on past dispensations of knowledge of the plan of salvation” (Bible Dictionary, “Dispensations”).
Our dispensation is the final dispensation. It is often called “the dispensation of the fulness of times” because all of the priesthood keys that the Lord has revealed for the blessing of His children have been restored (see Ephesians 1:10). The Prophet Joseph Smith is the head, or leader, of this gospel dispensation, just like Adam, Enoch, Noah, and Moses were heads of other gospel dispensations.
Read Doctrine and Covenants 27:14, and identify who else will be present at the sacrament meeting with the Savior.
Who do you think the Savior meant by “all those whom my Father hath given me out of the world”?
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Elder Bruce R. McConkie
Elder Bruce R. McConkie stated: “Every faithful person in the whole history of the world, every person who has so lived as to merit eternal life in the kingdom of the Father will be in attendance and will partake, with the Lord, of the sacrament” (The Promised Messiah: The First Coming of Christ [1978], 595).
Write your name under the list of those whose names you have already written in your scripture study journal. Then answer the following question: How do you feel, knowing that you could be in attendance at this sacrament meeting with the Lord?
The Lord commands His people to put on the whole armor of God
Doctrine and Covenants 27:15–18 contains counsel that will help us be worthy to qualify for the Lord’s blessings, including the blessing of attending the sacrament meeting mentioned in verses 4–14.
What would you want to wear if you knew you were going into battle?
What did the Lord counsel us to do to prepare for our spiritual battles?
The Lord promised that if we take upon ourselves the whole armor of God, we will be able to withstand the evil day. What do you think “the evil day” refers to? What do you think it means “to stand” at that time?
Study Doctrine and Covenants 27:15–18, and label each piece of armor in the accompanying diagram with words or phrases from those verses.
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armor of God
Answer the following questions in your scripture study journal:
Why do you think the Lord invites us to put on the whole armor of God?
How can the attributes associated with each piece of armor protect us against temptation and evil?
In what ways have you felt protection in your life as you have sought to put on the armor of God?
Ponder what you could do to more fully put on the whole armor of God by considering what areas in your life you need to improve.
Write the following at the bottom of today’s assignments in your scripture study journal: