How did we overlook that we should all kneel as the sacrament is being blessed?
Consider:
Moroni 4:2 And they did kneel down with the church, and pray to the Father in the name of Christ, saying...
D&C 20:76 And the elder or priest shall administer it; and after this manner shall he administer it--he shall kneel
with the church and call upon the Father in solemn prayer, saying...
Note that in both scriptures it says that the person blessing the sacrament will kneel WITH the church and not FOR the church or
IN FRONT OF the church. No, WITH the church, that is to say WITH the members which together are the church.
This very issue was discussed in the 1890's and was dismissed by Joseph F. Smith as being "rather impracticable":
"I want to speak of one or two little things that have been brought to my mind here and at other places, which may be
profitable to some of us. I would like to call the attention of the congregation, especially of the Bishops, to the mode
of administering the sacrament. The book of Doctrine and Covenants teaches us that the Elder or Priest who
administers the sacrament 'shall kneel with the Church.' Of course, it is quite difficult, and probably
inappropriate, for a whole congregation to kneel while the blessing is being asked upon the bread and upon the
water. The confusion and noise incident to kneeling and rising again would be inappropriate. Besides, the
construction of our meeting houses, and the size of the congregations generally, would make that practice rather
impracticable." (Collected Discourses, Vol. 3, Joseph F. Smith, July 16, 1893)
Difficult? Probably inappropriate? Confusion and noise? Construction of our meeting houses? Size of congregations? Impracticable?
Sounds a lot more like excuses rather than revelation to me.
Our meeting houses could have been built to accommodate the word of
God! Catholics stand and kneel as a congregation during Mass without noise or confusion. I believe we were
supposed to kneel during the sacramental prayers but this point has been over looked and is now lost.
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