Prepare and passing sacrament

[pgm44]

After questions from some young women, "why can young women not prepare and pass the sacrament" I looked around for an answer to their question "

In the website: http://www.nearingkolob.com/women-allow ... sacrament/
I found some information, but not clear enough to me to talk about it with my Bishop about it.

If we remember that administer means “to manage or be responsible for” then a following analogy makes clear women should be able to participate in the sacrament by preparing and passing it:

A CEO, as an administrator, manages and is responsible for his/her company with men and women working together to run the company. Similarly, scripture says that priests should administer the sacrament. They can administer the sacrament by managing it, being responsible for it, and blessing the sacrament, with men and women working together under the priests to see that the sacrament is available to all people desiring to partake of it.


Hope to read here the answer.

[russellhltn]

The direction can be found in Handbook 2: 20.4 Sacrament. It's quite clear from the official instruction manual of the church that one needs to be a priesthood holder to prepare, bless, or pass the sacrament. Local units are not authorized to deviate from the instructions.

Any further discussion should take place with your bishop or stake president. The forum is primarily for supporting technology, not to debate church policy.

[johnshaw]

There has been plenty of debate and discussion around handbook direction and policy on this forum over the years. It is not specifically for supporting technology, and includes supporting the administrative work of the church including record keeping, clerk and execsec duties. I get that this is a touchy subject for some, for others it is long overdue.

PGM44, I echo the idea that you should bring this up with your priesthood leaders and allow them to counsel together and with their Area Authority Seventy. I've participated in several healthy discussions of this topic and other similar ones in Stake Presidency meetings.

[Tabitha.bair]

The closest symbolic ordinance to the sacrament in the Old Testament is "The Day of Atonement" found in Leviticus Chapters 9 & 16. In this ordinance it outlines the duties of the High Priest & his appointed priests.

Then in the New Testament when Jesus first introduces the sacrament ordinance to his disciples he demonstrates how the ordinance should be preformed, being the High Priest, He prepared, administered, & passed the sacrament to his disciples and instructed them to do the same with the saints after he is no longer with them.

When the sacrament is implemented in the Book of Mormon in 3rd Nephi 18 he also demonstrates this order again, He being the High Priest sends his disciples to obtain the bread and wine, he breaks the bread and blesses it and & the wine & then offers them to his disciples and then He instructs them to give it unto the multitude.

In the Restoration in D&C 20 the procedure of the sacrament ordinance is outlined once again with the duties of the High Priest & his appointed elders, priests, teachers, & deacons and their roles & responsibilies in this ordinance.

The pattern of this ordinance has remained the same yesterday, today, & forever. We must be careful not to compare how the world opperates business with how the Savior opperates his Church, or more importantly His sacred ordinances.
There are wonderful ways women can contribute to the sacrament ordinance, examples include: selecting the sacred sacrament hymns, baking the sacrament bread, & sewing or handstiching a linen tablecloth for the sacrament table; these would be wonderful suggestions to bring up to the Bishop, Relief Society, & Young Women's presidents.