Evidence #152 | February 15, 2021
Book of Mormon Evidence: Intertextuality of Sacrament Prayers
Post contributed by
Scripture Central
Abstract
The sacrament prayers found in Moroni 4–5 have numerous textual relationships with Christ’s sacramental teachings in 3 Nephi 18, as well as with some covenant language from earlier Nephite texts.Intertextuality Between Moroni 4–5 and 3 Nephi 18
The formal prayers that the Nephites used in administering the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper are found in Moroni 4–5. Although these prayers were recorded centuries after Christ’s personal ministry among the Nephites, Moroni commented that the “elders and priests” of his time “administered it according to the commandments of Christ” in a manner that Moroni claimed was “true” (Moroni 4:1). As shown in the following chart,1 textual analysis demonstrates that the prayers found in Moroni 4–5 indeed draw upon the teachings and prayers of Jesus, as recorded in 3 Nephi 18.
ask the father in my name (18:20) | O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son Jesus Christ (4:3; 5:2) |
he took of the bread and break and blessed it (18:3) | to bless and sanctify this bread (4:3) |
take of the wine (18:8) | to bless and sanctify this wine (5:2) |
to his soul (18:29) | to the souls (4:3; 5:2) |
unto all those who (18:5) | of all those who (4:3; 5:2) |
partake of my flesh and blood (18:28) | partake of it (4:3) |
take of the wine of the cup and drink of it (18:8) | drink of it (5:2) |
that they should eat (18:3) | that they may eat (4:3) |
ye shall do it (18:11) | that they may do it (5:2) |
in remembrance of my body (18:7) | in remembrance of the body of thy Son (4:3) |
in remembrance of my blood, which I have shed for you, (18:11) | in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them (5:2) |
it shall be a testimony unto the Father (18:7) witness unto the Father (18:10–11) | and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father (4:3) that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father (5:2) |
that ye are willing to (18:10) | that they are willing to (4:3) |
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. (18:5) | take upon them the name of thy Son (4:3) |
that ye do always remember me (18:7, 11) | and always remember him (4:3) and that they do always remember him (5:2) |
that which I have commanded you (18:10) ye shall keep my commandments, which the Father hath commanded me (18:14) I give you these commandments (18:34) | and keep his commandments which he hath given them, (4:3) |
ye shall have my Spirit to be with you. (18:7) | that they may always have his Spirit to be with them, Amen. (4:3) that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen. (5:2) |
As assessed by John W. Welch, “The close relationship between the words of Jesus in 3 Nephi 18 and the basic terms of the sacrament prayers found in Moroni 4–5 is readily apparent. Virtually every component in the two sacrament prayers has a precise counterpart in the express words of Jesus himself.”2
Intertextuality between Moroni 4–5 and Mosiah 4–5, 18
Earlier records of Nephite covenant ceremonies also likely influenced the final form of these sacramental prayers, especially portions of the speech given by King Benjamin in Mosiah 4–5, as well as the baptismal covenant found in Mosiah 18. For example, five elements of the sacrament prayers—(1) a willingness to enter the covenant, (2) to stand as a witness of God, (3) the name of the Lord, (4) keeping God’s commandments, and (5) the reception of God’s Spirit—are concentrated in only two verses in Mosiah 18 (vv. 9–10).
King Benjamin’s speech, particularly the portions recorded in Mosiah 5, offer a similar clustering of covenant concepts and language. In this case, the parallels are collectively closer to the sacramental prayers in Moroni 4–5 than what is found in 3 Nephi 18.3 The following chart can help readers track further relationships among these texts.4
all you that have entered into the covenant with God (5:8) |
| of all those who (4:3; 5:2)
|
that we may not drink out of the cup of the wrath of God (Mosiah 5:5; cf. 3 Nephi 11:11) |
| drink of it (5:2) |
ye should remember to retain the name written always in your hearts (5:12) |
| in remembrance of the body of thy Son (4:3) |
And we are willing to enter into a covenant with our God (5:5) | and are willing to bear one another’s burdens (18:9) Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn (18:8–9) | that they are willing to (4:3) |
I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ (5:8) | in the name of the Lord (18:10) | take upon them the name of thy Son (4:3) |
I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance (4:11) I would that ye should remember to retain the name written always in your hearts (5:12) |
| and always remember him (4:3) and that they do always remember him (5:2) |
be diligent in keeping his commandments (4:6) to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he shall command us (5:5) | that ye will serve him and keep his commandments (18:10) | and keep his commandments which he hath given them, (4:3) |
the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled (4:3)
| that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you (18:10) | that they may always have his Spirit to be with them, Amen. (4:3) that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen. (5:2) |
According to Welch,
These connections demonstrate one way in which Jesus took the old Nephite covenant text and made it new. The promises and allegiance to Christ remained basically the same, but the tokens of his resurrected body and atoning blood were presented as Jesus himself stood in their midst and provided the pattern that his repentant followers should observe from that time forth. The result would have appeared to the Nephites both marvelously familiar and revealingly innovative.5
Minor Changes in Wording
Although much of the wording in these accounts is similar, there are also minor differences, even in the more closely related passages in 3 Nephi 18 and Moroni 4–5. For example, “they” is used instead of “ye,” and Jesus’ references to himself (e.g., “me,” “my body,” “I have”) are changed to refer to Christ in the third person (e.g., “him,” “the body of thy Son,” “he hath”). These modifications are understandable, seeing that after Jesus departed, the prayers were directed to the Father on behalf of the congregation rather than remaining in the form of Jesus instructing the people directly.6
While many of the parallel words and phrases in 3 Nephi 18 are concentrated in verses 6–11, others come from scattered statements throughout Christ’s discourse. The sacrament prayers in Moroni 4–5 thus offer a remarkably compact repackaging of Christ’s more expansive teachings during his resurrected ministry among the Nephites. On these grounds as well, it is understandable—and perhaps even expected, considering how much time had elapsed—that minor variations would be present in the wording of these texts.
Conclusion
Nearly 80 pages of text (using the 2013 edition of the Book of Mormon) separate Christ’s teachings in 3 Nephi 18 from the formalized sacrament prayers found in Moroni 4–5. According to multiple witnesses, Joseph Smith did not use any notes or reference materials when he translated the Book of Mormon.7 This suggests he would have been forced to rely upon his memory alone if he had merely created a fictional set of sacramental prayers.
It should also be remembered that the original manuscript does not show any evidence of substantive revisions.8 Compactly blending so many statements under such constraining circumstances would be a challenging feat for almost any author, especially Joseph Smith who had limited education and literary experience at the time of the Book of Mormon’s translation.9
The way that Christ’s teachings themselves draw upon covenant statements made by King Benjamin and Alma the Elder, whose words and teachings had influenced the Nephites for generations, adds to the realism and authenticity of these textual developments. As Welch concluded,
The continuity and consistency from Mosiah [4–5, 18] to 3 Nephi 18 and to Moroni 4–5 reflects an inspired and detailed textual history, one that remarkably evinces precise usage of particular phrases over several centuries of religious experience, as well as several subtle transformations from earlier points of spiritual emphasis, by incorporating the words and symbols of Israelite and Nephite religious experience into the Nephite covenant-making texts.10
Scripture Central, “Where did Moroni Get the Sacramental Prayers from? (Moroni 4:1),” KnoWhy 250 (December 12, 2016).
John W. Welch, “Benjamin’s Covenant as a Precursor of the Sacrament Prayers,” in King Benjamin’s Speech: “That Ye May Learn Wisdom,” ed. John W. Welch and Stephen D. Ricks (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1998), 295–314.
John W. Welch, “From Presence to Practice: Jesus, the Sacrament Prayers, the Priesthood, and Church Discipline in 3 Nephi 18 and Moroni 2–6,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 5, no. 1 (1996): 119–139.
John W. Welch, “Our Nephite Sacrament Prayers,” in Reexploring the Book of Mormon: A Decade of New Research, ed. John W. Welch (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1992), 286–289.
- 1. This chart has been adapted (with many alterations) from John W. Welch, “From Presence to Practice: Jesus, the Sacrament Prayers, the Priesthood, and Church Discipline in 3 Nephi 18 and Moroni 2–6,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 5, no. 1 (1996): 123–124. In several cases, the immediate context of a shared idea may not be the same in both texts. For instance, the sacrament prayers pronounce a blessing on the bread and water followed by the phrase “to the souls of all” who partake or drink of it (Moroni 4:3; 5:2). Nothing in 3 Nephi 18 provides a precise match with this idea. However, one passage does contain a related warning: “For whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to his soul” (3 Nephi 18:29; emphasis added). While expressing a potential negative effect, this statement nevertheless contains the peculiar idea that the sacrament would have an effect (whether for good or ill, depending on worthiness) upon the “soul” of any who partake of it. More specifically, the language in both texts says that the sacrament will do something “to” the soul. When viewed in light of the numerous other parallels in words and phrases between these texts, it seems hard to imagine that the wording about the “soul” in the sacrament prayers wasn’t also derived from Christ’s teachings at Bountiful.
- 2. Welch, “From Presence to Practice,” 124.
- 3. The sacrament prayer on the bread mentions being “[1] willing to [2] take upon them the name of thy Son, and [3] always remember him, and [4] keep his commandments which he hath given them” (Moroni 4:3). While 3 Nephi 18:10–11 contains elements 1, 3, and 4 of the sacrament prayer, those passages fail to clearly mention element 2 (the need for Christ’s followers to take upon them the name of Christ). In contrast, King Benjamins speech contains all four of these concepts in fairly close proximity (see Mosiah 5:5–12). Although 3 Nephi 18:5 does say that the sacrament should be administered to those who believe and are baptized “in my name,” this connection isn’t as close as the parallel wording found in Moroni 4:2 and Mosiah 5:8, which both describe the need for disciples to “take upon” them the name of Christ.
- 4. This chart has been adapted (with many alterations) from Welch, “From Presence to Practice,” 123–124.
- 5. John W. Welch, “Benjamin’s Covenant as a Precursor of the Sacrament Prayers,” in King Benjamin’s Speech: “That Ye May Learn Wisdom,” ed. John W. Welch and Stephen D. Ricks (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1998), 300–301
- 6. For more on this, see John W. Welch, “Our Nephite Sacrament Prayers,” in Reexploring the Book of Mormon: A Decade of New Research, ed. John W. Welch (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1992), 287.
- 7. See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: No Notes or References,” November 2, 2020, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 8. See Royal Skousen, ed., The Original Manuscript of the Book of Mormon: Typographical Facsimile of the Extant Text (Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 2001), 13–33, 62–553.
- 9. See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Joseph Smith’s Limited Education,” September 19, 2020, online at evidencecentral.org; Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Joseph Smith Compared with Contemporary Authors,” November 2, 2020, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 10. Welch, “Benjamin’s Covenant as a Precursor,” 311.