Posted by:
lurking in
(
)
Date: May 06, 2016 11:56PM
... that I first read about a couple of decades ago.
The Mormon version of the Eucharist ("sacrament") prayers read, in part:
"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son Jesus Christ, to BLESS AND SANCTIFY this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat IN REMEMBRANCE of the body of thy Son ...." (Moroni 4:3)
And,
"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son Jesus Christ, to BLESS AND SANCTIFY this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it IN REMEMBRANCE of the blood of thy Son ...." (Moroni 5:2)
[Emphasis added]
From New Approaches to the Book of Mormon:
"The epiclesis was important in the British Anglican tradition. The 1790 American version which was used in Smith’s day—and likely the prayer used in St. John’s Episcopal Church in Canandaigua, New York, near Smith’s home—reads as follows: 'And we most humbly beseech thee, o merciful Father, to hear us; and, of thy almighty goodness, vouchsafe to BLESS AND SANCTIFY, with thy Word and Holy Spirit, these thy gifts and creatures of bread and wine; that we, receiving them according to thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ’s holy institution, IN REMEMBRANCE of his death and passion, may be partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood' (Wigan 1964)." [Emphasis added]
http://signaturebookslibrary.org/a-rhetorical-approach-to-the-book-of-mormon-rediscovering-nephite-sacramental-language/So, yeah, I think we can conclude that the author/s of the Book of Mormon were not ancient and borrowed heavily from their surroundings.
(The link referenced contains a lot more information on the Mormon sacrament/Eucharist and how it relates to the development and evolution of the Eucharist in other Christian traditions.)
[Title edited]
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2016 06:21AM by lurking in.