The following are sections out of Bill McKeever’s book In their Own Words: A Collection of Mormon Quotations. The full book of 400 pages is available at Mormonism Research Ministry or Amazon.com.
Standard Works
“See that ye are not baptized unworthily; see that ye partake not
of the sacrament of Christ unworthily; but see that ye do all things
in worthiness, and do it in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of
the living God; and if ye do this, and endure to the end, ye will in
nowise be cast out” (The Book of Mormon, Mormon 9:29).
“For, behold, I say unto you, that it mattereth not what ye shall
eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament, if it
so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory—remembering
unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my
blood which was shed for the remission of your sins. Wherefore, a
commandment I give unto you, that you shall not purchase wine
neither strong drink of your enemies; Wherefore, you shall partake
of none except it is made new among you; yea, in this my
Father’s kingdom which shall be built up on the earth.” (Doctrine
and Covenants 27:2-4).
“That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among
you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father,
only in assembling yourselves together to offer up your sacraments
before him. And, behold, this should be wine, yea, pure wine of
the grape of the vine, of your own make” (Doctrine and Covenants
89:6).
2nd President Brigham Young
“Its observance is as necessary to our salvation as any other of the
ordinances and commandments that have been instituted in order
that the people may be sanctified, that Jesus may bless them
and give unto them his spirit, and guide and direct them that they
may secure unto themselves life eternal” (Brigham Young, Discourses
of Brigham Young, p. 266).
10th President Joseph Fielding Smith
“SAINTS COMMANDED TO PARTAKE OF SACRAMENT. In
the present dispensation, at the time of the organization of the
Church, the Lord said: ‘It is expedient that the church meet together
often to partake of bread and wine in the remembrance
of the Lord Jesus.’ Then follow the exact words which are to be
used in blessing the bread and the wine, or water, which by revelation
has been substituted for wine. To meet together often for this
purpose is a requirement made of members of the Church, which
is just as binding upon them in its observance as the requirement
in relation to any other principle or ordinance of the gospel. No
member of the Church who refuses to observe this sacred ordinance
can retain the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Ghost”
(Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation 2:338).
“SAINTS GAIN SPIRIT THROUGH SACRAMENT. But the ordinance
means more than this. When we eat the bread and drink
the water, we covenant that we will eat and drink in remembrance
of the sacrifice which he made for us in the breaking of his body
and the shedding of his blood; that we are willing to take upon us
the name of the Son; that we will always remember him; that we
will always keep his commandments which he has given us, In this
act we witness to the Father, by solemn covenant in the name of
the Son, that we will do all of these things. Through our faithfulness
to these covenants, we are promised that we will always have
the Spirit of the Lord to be with us to guide us in all truth and righteousness”
(Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation 2:339).
13th President Ezra Taft Benson
“We go to our chapels each week to worship the Lord and renew
our covenants by partaking of the sacrament. We thereby promise
to take His name upon us, to always remember Him, and keep all
His commandments. Our agreement to keep all the commandments
is our covenant with God. Only as we do this may we deserve
His blessings and merit His mercy. (Come unto Christ, p. 36.)” (Ezra
Taft Benson, The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 442).
First Presidency
“Third, we promise as we take the sacrament to keep His commandments,
all of them. President J. Reuben Clark Jr., as he
pled—as he did many times—for unity in a general conference
talk, warned us against being selective in what we will obey. He
put it this way: ‘The Lord has given us nothing that is useless or
unnecessary. He has filled the Scriptures with the things which we
should do in order that we may gain salvation.’ President Clark
went on: ‘When we partake of the Sacrament we covenant to obey
and keep his commandments. There are no exceptions. There are
no distinctions, no differences’ (in Conference Report, Apr. 1955,
10–11). President Clark taught that just as we repent of all sin,
not just a single sin, we pledge to keep all the commandments.
Hard as that sounds, it is uncomplicated. We simply submit to the
authority of the Savior and promise to be obedient to whatever He
commands (see Mosiah 3:19). It is our surrender to the authority
of Jesus Christ which will allow us to be bound as families, as a
Church, and as the children of our Heavenly Father” (Henry B.
Eyring, “That We All May Be One,” Ensign (Conference Edition),
May 1998, pp. 67-68).
Apostles
“We should remember that it is not pleasing in the sight of the
Lord to partake of this ordinance or sacrament in a thoughtless
manner, but that we should come here for the purpose of renewing
our covenants and of pledging ourselves once more to remember
the Savior, to take upon us His name, and to keep His commandments—that
is, to keep all of them that have been revealed
to us, to live lives of purity, and to be devoted and obedient to the
principles He has revealed for the salvation of man” (Francis M.
Lyman, February 24, 1884, Journal of Discourses 25:60-61).
“Many years ago there came to Salt Lake City a learned prelate
of the Greek Catholic Church. He visited one of our Sacrament
meetings, and was greatly shocked to see the Saints sipping water
instead of wine at the table of the Lord. He afterwards said to me:
‘Why do you do this? Jesus Christ authorized the use of wine when
he instituted the Sacrament at Jerusalem.’ ‘Yes,’ I assented, ‘and
He also authorized wine when He instituted the same ordinance
among the Nephites here in America, as told in the Book of Mormon.
But what has that to do with us? We are living in another dispensation.
We are not governed by what Jesus told the Jews to do,
nor by what he told the Nephites to do. We are governed by what
He tells the Latter-day Saints to do; and the latest word that comes
from Him through his living oracle at the head of the Church,
must always take precedence over any former commandment given
by Him to us or to any other people. We also will use wine in the
Sacrament whenever the Lord requires it; but since He has said
that it matters not what we eat or drink at such times, so long as we
do it with an eye single to His glory, we use water instead’” (Orson
F. Whitney, Conference Reports, October 1925, p. 104).
“The sacrament has not been established as a specific means of
securing remission of sins; nor for any other special blessing aside
from that of a continuing endowment of the Holy Spirit, which,
however, comprises all needful blessings. Were the sacrament ordained
specifically for the remission of sins, it would not be forbidden
to those who are in greatest need of forgiveness; yet participation
in the ordinance is restricted to those whose consciences
are void of serious offense, those, therefore, who are acceptable
before the Lord, those indeed who are in as little need of special
forgiveness as mortals can be” (James Talmage, Articles of Faith,
1984, p. 159).
“The Sacrament is intended for the members of the Church. The
covenants in the prayer of blessing are those made when entrance
into the Church is consummated. Where there are many nonmembers
present in a Sacrament meeting, the presiding officer
usually announces that the Sacrament will be administered to
members of the Church, without further comment. There should,
however, be no attempt to withhold the bread and water from
non-members. If such persons partake, it will be upon their own
responsibility; and to some extent at least they then accept the
meaning and covenants of the ordinance” (John A. Widtsoe, Evidences
and Reconciliations, p. 82).
“By taking of the sacrament, worthy saints renew the covenant previously
made by them in the waters of baptism (Mosiah 18:7-10);
unbaptized children, being without sin, are entitled and expected
to partake of the sacrament to prefigure the covenant they will
take upon themselves when they arrive at the years of accountability.
Worthy partakers of the sacrament put themselves in perfect
harmony with the Lord (3 Ne. 18.) As indicated by our Lord’s
statement they gain ‘the remission of their sins’ (Inspired Version,
Matt. 26:24.)” (Bruce McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 1966, p. 660).
“In the sacrament we seal our covenant by partaking of the sacred
emblems of the Crucifixion. Literally, then, as we partake,
do we not pledge to keep each and every commandment, and do
we not confirm that pledge by eating of the broken bread and
drinking from the cup? What does the broken bread represent?
The torn flesh of Christ! What does the cup represent? His blood
shed on the cross in the midst of suffering of infinite proportions,
suffering which made himself, even God, the greatest of all, to
tremble because of pain and to bleed at every pore and suffer
both in body and spirit (see D&C 19:18)” (Mark E. Petersen,
“O America, America,” Ensign (Conference Edition), November
1979, p. 13).
“As Latter-day Saints partake of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper,
we drink water in remembrance of his blood, which was shed
for us. (See D&C 20:79.)” (Dallin H. Oaks, “What Think Ye of
Christ?” Ensign (Conference Edition), November 1988, p. 66).
“We would watch carefully as the priests officiated in a sacred procedure
somewhat similar to the very first such occasion, and listen
as they recited the divinely directed blessings upon the bread and
water in remembrance of the flesh and blood of our Savior. Every
word in the sacrament ordinance is vital. All who attend the sacrament
meeting should clearly hear each word and reflect upon
the covenant being made and on their own personal worthiness”
(David B. Haight, A Light unto the World, p. 174).
“Every Sunday, the growing child, together with other worthy
Saints, receives the sacrament at the hands of priesthood bearers—the
bread representing the body of Christ, and the water representing
his blood that was shed to atone for our sins” (Robert D.
Hales, “Blessings of the Priesthood,” Ensign (Conference Edition),
November 1995, p. 33).
“Each week as we participate in the ordinance of the sacrament, we
renew the promise of the Savior’s birth in our own lives. We take
His name upon us, and we renew our covenant of obedience and
our promise that we will always remember Him” (Robert D. Hales,
“The Promise of Christmas,” Ensign, December 2013, p. 19).
“The scriptures repeatedly teach that the Spirit of the Lord will not
dwell in an unclean tabernacle. When we worthily partake of the sacrament,
we are promised that we will ‘always have his Spirit to be with
[us].’ To qualify for that promise we covenant that we will ‘always remember
him’ (D&C 20:77)” (Dallin H. Oaks, “Pornography,” Ensign
(Conference Edition), May 2005, p. 88. Brackets in original).
Seventies
“Sacrament meetings are really more than just meetings. They
are sacred moments in a holy place” (Dennis B. Neuenschwander,
“Holy Place, Sacred Space,” Ensign (Conference Edition), May
2003, p. 72).
“Each week, in partaking of the sacrament, we covenant to always remember Him” (Gerrit W. Gong, “Always Remember Him,” Ensign, May 2016 (Conference Edition), p. 108).
“In the ordinance of the sacrament, we witness unto God the Father that we are willing to take upon us the name of His Son and always remember Him and keep His commandments, which He has given us, that we may always have His Spirit to be with us” (Gerrit W. Gong, “Always Remember Him,” Ensign, May 2016 (Conference Edition), p. 108).
Church Manuals
Jesus has given us special prayers for the sacrament. This is the
prayer for the bread: ‘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, and witness unto thee, O
God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them
the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments
which he has given them; that they may always have
his Spirit to be with them. Amen.’ This is the prayer for the water:
‘O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son,
Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this water to the souls of all those
who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood
of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto
thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember
him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen’” (Gospel
Fundamentals, 2002, pp. 119-120).
“Church members meet on the Sabbath to worship God and partake
of the sacrament (see D&C 20:75; 59:9). During this holy
ordinance, they partake of bread and water in remembrance of
the Savior’s sacrifice of His flesh and blood and to renew their
covenants (see Matthew 26:26-28; Joseph Smith Translation, Mark
14:20-25; Luke 22:15-20; 3 Nephi 18; Moroni 6:6)” (Handbook 2:
Administering the Church, 2010, p. 173).
“Although the sacrament is for Church members, the bishopric
should not announce that it will be passed to members only, and
nothing should be done to prevent nonmembers from partaking
of it” (Handbook 2: Administering the Church, 2010, p. 173).