Tutorial 4: Advanced Collection Notes

Scripture Notes Tutorial Day 4: The LDS Sacrament Prayers

Today’s tutorial will cover some other features of the collection note pane and we’re going to do this using the sacrament prayers because they are ideal for a comparison which will show you how to use tables.

Collecting Verses

Get started by opening a reading pane and navigating to D&C 20:77 which is the blessing on the bread. We want to start a collection note on this verse so click the top icon to the right of the verse to start a collection note that includes this verse.

Lets immediately give this note the title “Comparison of Sacrament Prayers” and a tag of “Sacrament.” You should know how to do this from the prior tutorials.

Now we notice that the previous verse and the next two verses should also be included in this note since they are part of the sacrament prayers.

You can either use the up and down plus buttons on the right of the verses in the note area, or just drag over the other three verses.

Once those four verses are there, in the reading pane to the left, click library, Book of Mormon, Moroni, and open chapter four and drag all three verses to the collection note, and then get the two verses from Moroni chapter five as well.

Increase your Master Note Area

Now that you’ve added these verses, click the right pointing arrow to expand your collection note.

We are going to add a table but before doing so, in your master note, click there and hit enter a couple times. We want to create a buffer around the table we are going to insert because it can be tricky to get outside the table (needs a little work which is coming up). Adding those extra lines is a workaround.

To add the table, click on the More Paragraph button to show a second icon row.

 

Then click on the table icon.

Then we want a 3×1 table so click on this cell.

Now, a table appears showing 3 columns and 1 row.

Now go down to D&C 20:77 and highlight the text. Right-click and select copy (or for the keyboard shortcut press ctrl-C (Windows) or cmd-C (Mac)) to copy it into memory.

Click into the first column’s cell and right-click and select paste, or press ctrl/cmd-V to paste it. 

You’ll see the other 2 columns shrink. Not a problem. As soon as you put content into them, they’ll expand.

Now repeat this process copy/pasting the blessing on the water in the second column.

Breaking Down the LDS Sacrament Prayers

Now take each blessing and break them up onto new lines so that each concept or phrase of the prayer is on a line even with the prayer beside it, and then in the third column, put:

Our Promises

God’s Promise

Questions

Other Thoughts

Now start filling in the third column. What are we promising, and what is God promising? How does it differ between each prayer? Write down all the questions you can come up with. These will become things to study and pray for revelation on.

When you’re done you should see something like this image below. Mark up the differences however you desire.

Filling in the blanks

These prayers were revealed by God so each word has an important reason for being there. For example, why do we only witness that we are willing to take upon us the name of Christ? Why is it only the prayer on the bread that says we may always have his spirit to be with us? Why does God instruct us to say “O God, the Eternal Father” twice in each prayer? Who is actually blessing the bread and water? What is the role of the priest in the sacrament? What does it mean to take the name of Deity upon us? Whose Spirit is it we are receiving?

Below your table, you might copy/paste this reference to a great talk on the sacrament that Elder Dallin Oaks gave in the April 1985 General Conference called “Taking Upon Us the Name of Christ.” Reading it will answer at least one of those questions I just posed (search “willing” in the article).

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1985/04/taking-upon-us-the-name-of-jesus-christ

Now that you’ve added that link, click in the category box at the top right of your note and check the box for “Article” and “Audio/Video/Image” since the link contains both of these items. That will make finding it easier when you learn about doing advanced searches.

Some Thoughts on the Covenants

The LDS sacrament prayers are like the proverbial onion where you peel back layer after layer and gain new insights and perspectives with time.

This tutorial is updated based on some new information I just received after listening to a podcast on the topic (click to listen to the podcast). I had never made this connection before but now see it. If you turn to Moroni 10:32-33, we can see in verse 32 that it is about becoming “perfect in Christ”. It uses the language “if ye shall” and lists off several things as prerequisites to becoming perfect in Christ. The “if ye shall” is an invitation that is similar to “if you are willing” to do these things.

Verse 33 then follows with “if ye…are perfect in Christ,” meaning you have arrived at that state, then you now become sanctified through the blood of Christ.

The implication of being willing in verse 32, can be tied to the sacrament prayer on the bread, while the reference to the blood of Christ in verse 33 can easily be tied to the blessing on the water in the sacrament where it says we “do always remember him.” In other words, the prayer on the bread perfects, and the prayer on the water sanctifies. The prayer on the bread says if we are willing to take his name upon us properly by making and keeping temple covenants, to keep his commandments, and to always remember him, we may always have his spirit to be with us. When we do not have the Spirit with us, it implies that we have failed in one of these three covenant obligations.

Then when we have shown our willingness to always have his spirit to be with us by doing these things, the prayer on the water acknowledges this by saying we “do always remember him,” and sanctifies us with the promise that we may have his spirit to be with us. I do not presently understand why the word “always” is missing from that last promise but if we have moved from willing to doing, it’s obviously a higher state and would in no way diminish the blessing to always have his spirit to be with us.

Also, note this doesn’t appear to be referencing the Holy Ghost in these covenants. “His” spirit is referencing Jesus Christ. The phrase “Spirit of Christ” is mentioned 5 times in scripture and studying them may help reveal another idea for what’s happening in these prayers.

Finally, what covenant are we renewing when we partake of the sacrament? For many years we have heard it is the baptismal covenant. I found this quote from Elder Neil L. Anderson in an article online by Ugo Perego. He cites it in footnote 45 from “Witnessing to Live the Commandments,” General Conference Leadership Training on the Sabbath Day Observance at Church (April 2015).

The title “renewing our baptismal covenants” is not found in the scriptures. It’s not inappropriate. Many of you have used it in talks; we have used it in talks. But it is not something that is used in the scriptures, and it can’t be the keynote of what we say about the sacrament. … The sacrament is a beautiful time to not just renew our baptismal covenant, but to commit to Him to renew all our covenants, all our promises, and to approach Him in a spiritual power that we did not have previously as we move forward.

You may want to add that quote into your notes as well (and add the Quote category).

Completing Your Search

Be sure to hit save on your collection note!

Now you can do searches for other scriptures that mention the sacrament and decide which of those verses should be added to this collection note. You might not add all the verses that mention “sacrament” (there are twelve if you search “sacrament*”), and you might add other verses that are sacrament related without using the word sacrament in the verse, such as the occasion of the Last Supper. Look at the Topical Guide and Study Helps and that will give you more verses to add to your collection to study. Once you’ve added these verses, add what you learn to the master note at the top of the collection note. Happy studying!