Index of Claims made in Chapter 13: Communion and Baptism
191
Claim
- The authors start off Chapter 13 by citing one of the favorite anti-Mormon references of all, The Seer by "Apostle Orson Pratt."
Author's source(s)
Response
- To give the reader some background, Brother Pratt was ordained an Apostle on April 26, 1835 but was subsequently excommunicated on August 20, 1842 and rebaptized and reordained an Apostle on June 20, 1943. The information in The Seer was published as a periodical in Washington D.C. and Liverpool, England between January 1853 and August 1854. This material was not reviewed by other Church leaders and reflected Orson Pratt's personal beliefs and not LDS doctrinal views. An excellent summary of LDS views regarding the information found in The Seer has been given by W. John Walsh:
The Seer was a newspaper published by Elder Orson Pratt while serving a mission for the Church. In the paper, Elder Pratt gave his viewpoints on a number of gospel principles. When the Church discovered what Elder Pratt had written, he was censured and the writings were officially and publicly condemned for containing false doctrine. In a Proclamation of the First Presidency and Twelve, dated October 21, 1865, the Church said:
"The Seer "contain[s] doctrines which we cannot sanction, and which we have felt impressed to disown, so that the Saints who now live, and who may live hereafter, may not be misled by our silence, or be left to misinterpret it. Where these objectionable works, or parts of works, are bound in volumes, or otherwise, they should be cut out and destroyed; with proper care this can be done without much, if any, injury to the volumes.
"It ought to have been known, years ago, by every person in the Church-for ample teachings have been given on the point-that no member of the Church has the right to publish any doctrines, as the doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, without first submitting them for examination and approval to the First Presidency and the Twelve. There is but one man upon the earth, at one time, who holds the keys to receive commandments and revelations for the Church, and who has the authority to write doctrines by way of commandment unto the Church. And any man who so far forgets the order instituted by the Lord as to write and publish what may be termed new doctrines, without consulting with the First Presidency of the Church respecting them, places himself in a false position, and exposes himself to the power of darkness by violating his Priesthood.
"While upon this subject, we wish to warn all the Elders of the Church, and to have it clearly understood by the members, that, in the future, whoever publishes any new doctrines without first taking this course, will be liable to lose his Priesthood."1
- For the authors to quote this work as representative of LDS beliefs is representative of very poor scholarship.
Remembering the Last Supper
191-192
Claim
- Returning to the subject of "Communion" or the Sacrament, as Latter-day Saints refer to it, the authors construct a straw man argument2 regarding LDS usage of water in place of wine. The following excerpt from Answering Challenging Mormon Questions is especially applicable:
Latter-day Saints emphatically affirm our reliance on the atoning blood of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins as attested to in the Bible (Col. 1:14; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 Jn. 1:7; Rev. 7:14) and modern scripture (1 Nephi 12:10; Mosiah 3:7, 11; 4:2; Alma 5:21, 27; 21:9; 24:13; 34:36; Helaman 27:19; Ether 13:10; Moroni 4:1; 5:2; 10:33; D&C 20:40; 27:2; 76:69; Moses 6:62).
Even the sacrament prayer given at the beginning of the administration of the water affirms the symbolism of the atoning blood. It states in part: "... bless and sanctify this water to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them..." (D&C 20:79).
As to our use of water in place of grape juice (new wine-see Isa. 65:8), it is important to note that initially grape juice was used in the sacrament both in the early church (Matt. 26:28-29) and in the latter-day church (D&C 20:79; History of the Church, 1:78). As a precaution against enemies of the Church poisoning or adulterating the grape juice sold to the Saints, a change was authorized by the Lord (History of the Church, 1:106-108; Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:132; Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, p. 55). The Lord revealed, "that it mattereth not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory-remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins" (D&C 27:1-2).
It is interesting to note that the command throughout the scriptures was not to partake of the bread and wine but rather of the bread and the cup (Matt. 26:27; Mark 14:23; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25-26). It therefore appears that it was not the wine that was being emphasized but the "bitter cup" (D&C 19:18) of which Christ would partake (Matt. 20:22-23; 26:27, 39, 42; Mark 10:38; 14:23, 36; Luke 22:17, 20, 42; John 18:11; 1 Cor. 10:21; 11:25). This is also in conformity with the Old Testament usage of the term "cup" to symbolize suffering (Ps. 11:6; 75:8; Isa. 51:17, 22; Jer. 25:15, 17; 49:12; see also "Jesus the Christ", p. 620, note 8).
It is noteworthy that some early Christians used both water and wine in the sacrament. Justin Martyr (ca. 140 A.D.) recorded:
"On Sunday we hold a meeting in one place for all who live in the cities or the country nearby. The teachings of the Apostles or the writings of the prophets are read as long as time is available. When the reader has finished, the president gives a talk urging and inviting us to imitate all these good examples. We then all stand together and send up our prayers. As noted before, bread, wine and water is brought forth after our prayer. The president also sends up prayers and thanksgivings. The people unitedly give their consent by saying, "Amen." The administration takes place, and each one receives what has been blessed with gratefulness. The deacons also administer to those not present... We all choose Sunday for our communal gathering because it is the first day, on which God created the universe by transforming the darkness and the basic elements, and because Jesus Christ-our Redeeming Savior-rose from the dead on the same day" (First Apology, pp. 65-67, as cited by Vestal and Wallace, The Firm Foundation of Mormonism, p. 231).
This practice was also mentioned by Pope Julius I (A.D. 337) in a decree which stated: "But if necessary let the cluster be pressed into the cup and water mingled with it" (Gratian, De Consecratione, Pars III, Dist. 2, c. 7, as cited by Leon C. Field, Oinos: A Discussion of the Bible Wine Question, New York, 1883, p. 91, and Samuele Bacchiocchi, Wine in the Bible, pp. 109-110). This practice of mixing wine and water may be related to the fact that both blood and water were shed on the cross. John recorded that, "one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water" (John 19:34). John latter recorded that, "there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one" (1 Jn. 5:8). In like manner baptism by water was also related by Paul to Christ's death (Rom. 6:3-5).
Samuele Bacchiocchi, a non-Mormon scholar, has observed that, "An investigation... of such Jewish Christian sects as the Ebionites, the Nazarenes, the Elkesaites, and the Encratites, might provide considerable support for abstinence from fermented wine in the Apostolic Church. The fact that some of these sects went to the extreme of rejecting altogether both fermented and unfermented wine using only water, even in the celebration of the Lord's Supper, suggests the existence of a prevailing concern for abstinence in the Apostolic Church" (Wine in the Bible, p. 181). It also suggests that early Christians understood that "it mattereth not what ye shall eat or drink when [partaking] of the sacrament" (D&C 27:1-2).
Catholics at a much later period also substituted the Eucharist for the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper, believing that it would literally be turned into the flesh and blood of the Lord (See Mormon Doctrine, p. 241 or James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of our Fathers, pp. 235-250).
Although the later practice was introduced during a period of apostasy, it nonetheless shows that some Christians felt it was permissible to modify the observance of the sacrament even without direction from the Lord. The LDS sacrament service, on the other hand, is observed often and within the guidelines given by the Lord as prescribed in LDS scriptures (See Jn 6:53-54; Acts 2:46; 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:23-30; Moroni 4 and 5; D&C 20:75-79; 27:1-4). For additional information on the LDS reliance on Christ's atonement see Gilbert W. Scharffs, The Truth About The God Makers, pp. 192-193.3
- One of the authors, Eric Johnson, was aware of this 1995 response before he co-wrote Mormonism 101,4 but he chose to ignore it and ask the same questions-questions which were already answered by this and by many other LDS authors. Despite Mr. Johnson's access to LDS apologetic responses on this subject, he chose to ignore this information and present the typical anti-Mormon diatribe attacking our modern use of water in preference to wine.</h2>
Response
FAIR WIKI EDITORS: Check sources
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Claim
- The authors also quote The Encyclopedia of Mormonism on the subject but fail to quote the part that explains the use of water in preference to wine:
Unbaptized children, however, being without sin, are entitled and expected to partake of the Sacrament to prefigure the covenant they themselves will make at the age of accountability, age eight (see Children: Salvation of Children). In administering the Sacrament, Christ himself used emblems readily at hand at the Last Supper-bread and wine. To Joseph Smith the Lord declared "that it mattereth not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the Sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory-remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins" (D&C 27:2). In typical LDS practice, bread and water are used.5
</h2>
Response
FAIR WIKI EDITORS: Check sources
Baptism as Practiced by the LDS Church
193
Baptism as Practiced in Christianity==
194
Bible Passages Used by the LDS
197
Endnotes
1 This information was published on John Walsh's popular Web site, and until mid-2001 could be found at http://www.mormons.org/response/qa/seer_jd.htm. The Web site has since been discontinued. Additional explanations about The Seer can be found at the FAIR Web site: http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Is_The Seer_a_Reliable_Source.html.
2 A straw man argument is a polemical tactic in which a person develops a false argument that is easier to refute than the real argument at hand. Time is spent building up the false argument, which is then easily destroyed. All the while, the real argument still stands, as it has not been directly addressed.
3 Michael W. Hickenbotham, Answering Challenging Mormon Questions (Bountiful, Utah: Horizon Publishers, 1995), 131-133.
4 See Mr. Johnson's July 2000 critique of Answering Challenging Mormon Questions at Amazon.com's Web site: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0882905368/qid%3D985390458/107-1790784-8029347.
5 Paul B. Pixton, "Sacrament," Encyclopedia of Mormonism, edited by Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1992), 3:1244.
