The Savior Institutes the Sacrament among the Nephites

Today I read 3 Nephi 18, where the Savior institutes the sacrament among the Nephites. It is interesting to me the wording that is used here. It says that when the Savior gave them the bread they ate until they were filled. The same with the wine used for the sacrament. Unless Mormon is speaking metaphorically about being filled with the Holy Ghost, which I do not think is the case, those men ate a lot of sacrament bread and drank a lot of sacrament wine.

I often wonder at the practice of the sacrament of the early saints what, if anything was different about it from what we do today. I don't know, but like I said I wonder about it. I do find it interesting that the Lord is implying that those who are unworthy to partake of the sacrament are those who have not been baptized yet. In verse 30 He states that any who are unworthy to partake of the sacrament are not to be cast out but rather if they repent and are baptized then they shall receive the sacrament.

This is unique because I have always heard the commandment of not partaking of the sacrament unworthily to apply to members of the church, much like Moroni states in Mormon 9, but I guess that could actually be interpreted a couple of ways too. That makes a lot more sense to me but I also understand the idea of members not partaking of the sacrament unworthily too such as those who are not in good standing and do not keep the commandments.

You'll also notice that the commandment to not let anyone partake unworthily was actually directed at the disciples and not the multitude at large. It is the Priesthood authority's responsibility to direct the sacrament appropriately and not the members responsibility. I have never personally seen anything like that where a member takes it upon themselves to police the sacrament and who takes it, but I have heard stories of it. Who knows if they are true, but every tall tale has at least a grain of truth in it. But the scriptures are very clear that it is a Priesthood responsibility, not a command to all members.

Finally a thought, we know that the Nephites have had the Melchizedek Priesthood this entire time, because they had the priesthood and Lehi was not of the lineage of Aaron so they did not have the aaronic priesthood. However, it does appear that giving the gift of the Holy Ghost was not done prior to the Lord's resurrection. I could be wrong but I have not seen it during my readings and when I do a search of it through the scriptures I do not find reference to it until after the Savior's resurrection. So it is unclear if this is truly the case but it is a neat thing to ponder on and study to see what one can find out. Until tomorrow.