Christ Introduces the Sacrament

Then Jesus told His disciples to bring some bread and wine. While they were gone, He told the multitude to sit upon the ground. After the disciples returned with bread and wine, Jesus broke the bread, blessed it, and gave some of it to His disciples to eat. After they were filled, Jesus told them to give bread to the multitude.

After the multitude had eaten and were filled, Jesus said to His disciples, “I will ordain one of you, giving him the power to break bread, bless it, and give it to the people of my church—to all who believe and are baptized in my name. Do this often, even as I have done, in remembrance of my body that I now show you. Do this as a testimony to the Father that you will always remember me. If you always remember me, my Spirit will always be with you.”

Then Jesus told His disciples to drink of the wine, and then give it to the multitude to drink. The disciples and the multitude drank, and were all filled. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “You are blessed because of what you have done, for this fulfills my commandments and witnesses to the Father that you are willing to obey them. Always do this, giving the wine to those who repent and are baptized in my name, in remembrance of my blood that I have shed for you, witnessing to the Father that you will always remember me. If you always remember me, my Spirit will always be with you.

“I give you a commandment to do these things. If you obey it, you will be blessed for building upon my rock. But if one of you does more or less than these things, he is not built upon my rock, but upon sand. He will fall, and the gates of hell will open to receive him. You are blessed and kept from hell if you keep my commandments that the Father has told me to give you. You must watch and pray always, or you will be tempted by the devil and become his captives. As I have prayed among you, pray in my church—among my people who repent and are baptized in my name. I am the light and have set an example for you.”

After Jesus said these things to His disciples, He turned to the multitude and said, “You must watch and pray always. Otherwise, you will be tempted by Satan, who wants to have power over you. Therefore, you must always pray to the Father in my name. Whatever you ask the Father, if it is right and if you believe that you will receive, it will be given to you.

“Pray with your families to the Father, always in my name, and they will be blessed. Meet together often as my church. Do not forbid anyone from meeting with you, but invite all to come. If they come, pray for them in my name to the Father. Hold up your light that it may shine to the world. I am the light you should hold up—the things you have seen me do. You have seen me pray to the Father, and you see that I have not sent any of you away, but I have commanded each of you to come to me—to feel and see. You must do likewise, inviting those in the world to come to me. And those who do not keep this commandment will be led by the devil’s temptations.”

After saying this to the multitude, Jesus turned to His disciples again, and said, “Before I go to my Father to fulfill other commandments that He has given me, I give you one other commandment: Do not allow anyone, whom you know to be unworthy, to eat the bread or drink the wine that you will minister to my people.

“Whoever eats and drinks these emblems of my flesh and blood unworthily, eats and drinks damnation to his soul. Do not tell an unworthy man to leave your meeting, but care for him and pray for him. If he repents and is baptized in my name, then receive him and give him the bread and wine. But if he does not repent, he will not be numbered among the sheep of my flock, for he might destroy them. (For I know my sheep, and they are numbered.) Even though he is not baptized and numbered among my sheep, you will continue to invite him to your meetings, for he may yet repent and come to me with full purpose of heart, and I will heal him, and you will have assisted me in saving him. Do as I have commanded and you will not come under condemnation, for cursed are those whom the Father condemns.

“I give you, my disciples, these commandments because of the disputes that have been among you. You will be blessed if you have no disputes among you. Now I go to the Father, because it is necessary for your benefit.” Then Jesus touched each of His disciples as He spoke to them individually. Later, the disciples bore record that Jesus gave them the power to give the Holy Ghost. And I, Mormon, will show you later that their record is true. After Jesus touched His disciples, a cloud came over the multitude, preventing them from seeing Him, and only His disciples saw Him ascend into heaven.