Now that President Oaks’s preference for people to take the sacrament with their right hand has been enshrined in the Handbook (see instruction #7), we here at ZD are excited to leak the following list of additional rules for the sacrament that President Oaks also proposed but that have been put on hold until he becomes Church President.
Materials
- Homemade bread is preferred for the sacrament, but store bought may also be used in cases where the women in the unit have rejected their divine gender role.
- Bread should be neither too sweet nor too savory, as either of these may detract from the simplicity of the ordinance.
- Bread color should be as white as possible, to provide the most delightsome possible representation of the Savior.
- The use of filtered water is encouraged, but not required. A water filter may be installed in the church building, but if so, it must be funded by the members in the units using the building.
- The carbonation or flavoring of sacrament water is strictly prohibited.
- The temperature of water should be between 45 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit (7.2 and 12.8 degrees Celsius).
- The use of ice cubes in place of water is prohibited.
Blessing
- Prayers should be given in the language most commonly spoken by members of the unit. Recently returned missionaries should not use sacrament prayers as an opportunity to show off their second language skills.
- The priesthood holders giving the prayers should complete each one in between 20 and 45 seconds. The presiding authority is responsible for monitoring that the prayers are spoken neither too quickly nor too slowly.
- The volume of the prayers should be between 57 and 63 decibels (after amplification, where available). If no microphone is available, the prayer-giver is permitted to raise his voice, but he must not shout the prayer. In such circumstances, as long as the presiding authority is able to hear it to verify its correctness, the prayer is sufficiently loud.
- If the priesthood holder giving the prayer makes one error, he may correct it by starting over from the beginning of the line in which the error occurred. If he makes a second error, he must start over at the beginning of the prayer.
- A prayer-giver who utters a profanity after making an error in a prayer is prohibited from blessing the sacrament for a period of at least three months.
Passing
- The presiding authority receives the sacrament first. If the presiding authority is not part of the unit leadership (e.g., the stake president), he receives the sacrament first, followed by the unit’s bishop or branch president (or highest-ranking bishopric member if he is not present).
- Priesthood holders who pass the sacrament use their right hands to carry trays. When one priesthood holder is carrying two trays, balancing them on top of each other on his right hand is the preferred method, but use of the left hand to carry the second tray is also permitted.
- A sacrament tray must be passed by no more than ten (10) members before being returned to one of the priesthood holders passing the sacrament. Note that in this context, a priesthood holder sitting in the congregation does not reset the counter, as he is not an official participant in the passing of the sacrament. The presiding authority should encourage members of the congregation to seat themselves in such a manner as to allow this rule to be followed.
- The passing of a tray from a congregation member on one row to a member on another row without a sacrament-participating priesthood holder handling the tray in between is strictly forbidden. Similarly, a tray must not be passed across an aisle from one congregation member to another.
- Members who arrive in the middle of the ordinance and have not had the opportunity to receive the bread should not be offered the water. Members who consistently arrive this late may have their temple recommends revoked, at the discretion of the bishop or branch president.
- Non-members and members under church discipline are not to partake of the sacrament. The presiding authority is authorized to enforce this restriction by any means necessary, up to and including expelling unworthy sacrament-takers from the meeting.
I will continue to take the sacrament with whatever hand I want. I will, however, start sustaining people with my left hand.
I’m confused about Passing rule #3. If there are 12 people on a row, does the tray have to be returned after the 10th person offers it to the 11th person, or does it have to be returned after the 5th person offers it to the sixth person (i.e., counting passing and returning as separate instances that, combined, cannot exceed 10). And if it is the former, could the 10th person reach across the 11th person to offer it to the 12th person to avoid violating the rule.
Good thinking, DaveW!
And that’s a good question, Last Lemming. I only wish the memo leaked to us had been clearer. đ I’m imagining it means that bishops will encourage ward members not to sit more than ten (10) to a pew, but I also like the mental image of deacons leaning into the pew to make sure to grab the tray and reset the counter before it passes to an eleventh hand.
I don’t see it prohibited anywhere in these instructions (is it possible for the author(s) of this leaked document to overlook such a possibility??), but one solution to the “too many people in a pew” problem would be to have someone in each pew who determines if there are more than 10 per pew. In such a scenario, one person per family should be designated to hold the tray while the members of said family each take a sacramental token. IME, those of Sunbeam or so age (of either gender) are often very willing volunteers for such a task.
In addition, many of these “word other than junior” primary children would be quite willing to carry the tray all the way down the pew offering to everyone seated in the pew. In such a case, only one pair of hands needs to handle the tray per pew before returning the tray to a priesthood holder passing the sacrament.
I’m just glad this gets things closer to how Jesus did it during the Last Supper.
I think there is more at play here than a pedantic command from arguably authoritarian leaders. Do a word search for “right hand” in the Bible, and you will find dozens of references to the right hand in connection with oaths, protections, and preferences. Even in courtrooms today, witness are asked to raise their right hand in taking the oath to tell the truth. I view this direction as consistent with the symbolic nature of the sacramental covenant and the oath we take in connection therewith, and not as some slight of those who are left handed or some power play by present leadership.
That being said, the satire of the article makes some valid points. I often think of the statement made by Pres. Packer (of all people!), who I heard with my own ears say (to the best of my recollection) that regimentation can stifle inspiration. Indeed!
I love it.
For future reference (in case you are inclined to write more handbook parodies), one very noticeable feature that I’ve observed in the handbook’s writing style is the relatively infrequent use of “should” or “must”. Guidelines are issued as statements of fact rather than preference. Rather than “members should partake with their right hand”, we have just “members partake with their right hand”, to which I can’t help but respond “oh, do they?” and go out of my way to use my left hand.
MrShorty, good thinking. I think the designated passer-within-the-pew should be a woman or girl as often as possible too!
Exactly, Tygan! No more crunching on ice cubes like heathens.
That’s a totally fair point, Hogarth. I was actually struck, when I went to read what the Handbook actually does say about the sacrament, how much of it is principle based. For example, I was heartened to read these lines: “The bishop uses discretion when asking for the prayer to be repeated. He ensures that doing so does not cause undue embarrassment or detract from the ordinance.” I guess to me it just seems like the rule of taking it with your right hand sticks out even more against such a background (although there are other bits that seem nit-picky to me too).
Quentin, great point! I have such a hard time writing that way. And I find it so annoying and have exactly the same response you do. Like don’t try to Jedi mind trick me into thinking this is the way it is. Just say the way you want it to be. If you’re interested, I wrote a post a few years ago about this issue of using descriptive language to do prescriptive work.
https://zelophehadsdaughters.com/2015/11/02/latter-day-saints-do-not-pray-to-heavenly-mother/
Sacrament attire is an essential matter in showing one’s worship of the Savior. The sacrament is neither presented to nor partaken of by any member who is not attired so as to demonstrate the formality of this sacred Ordinance. In no even should the sacred emblems of the sacrament be presented to a person who is attired in clothing that does not represent their gender at birth.
Joking aside, I partook of the sacrament at home during a Comminity of Christ service using fruit punch and a matzohâand it was kind of lovely. Iâve always felt like Joseph was onto something when he held a sacrament meeting in Kirtland using fist-sizes hunks of bread and entire wine goblets. Treating it as an actual sacred meal is a spiritual rush.
Yes, Paul, great example, although appalling. I’m sure President Oaks would be on board with your addition.
And Bro. Jones, I like it! That sounds like a cool experience!
Is the right hand thing in the Handbook new?
Yup! If you follow the link in the introductory comment of the post, it’s #7 on the list.
Ziff
Everything you post or comment is designed to cause friction or to to stir the pot. I wonder why you like to do that.
Jonathan, nobody is making you read. Move along.
Just a footnote:
We call it President Oaksâs preference as to the right hand. It appeared for the first time in the 2020 handbook revision. However the tradition has been floating around for a long time.
In the March 1983 Ensign, the âI Have a Questionâ section asked whether it was necessary to partake with the right hand. The answer was provided by a regional representative who provided some Old Testament background and etymological reasoning for the importance of the right hand.
Who was this regional representative? Russell M. Nelson.
Sometimes it takes awhile to get your views into the handbook!
Dub, that’s awesome! Great find!
“Recently returned missionaries should not use sacrament prayers as an opportunity to show off their second language skills.” I’m actually in favor of this being extended to all prayers.
I think that would make sense, Christopher. Although maybe I only find it annoying because I’m a noob who served a mission where I spoke my native language. đ