Commenting on the use of extemporaneous prayers over the bread and wine in early Latter-day Saint practice, Justin Bray noted that:
Because prayers rarely appear in early
Latter-day Saint records, it is difficult to determine how often and to what
degree officiators deviated from those prescribed for the bread and wine. In
1845, however, George D. Watt transcribed the sacramental prayers given by
Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball in Nauvoo, Illinois, proving a glimpse into
their improvised nature at the time. Both apostles followed a basic outline of
invoking the name of God and asking him in the name of Jesus Christ to “bless
and sanctify” the bread and wine. But there was also room for variation. Young
began his prayer with, “Our Father in Heaven, in the name of Jesus we pray that
thou would bless and sanctify this bread to the use of and benefit of all that
take of it.” He further asked that the bread become “the bread of life” to all
who partake, “realizing that thou hast done for us.” He added, “Our Lord[,]
help us to repent of all our sins[,] to return from all our evils[,] to do thy
will and work righteousness that we may be accepted of thee.” Heber C. Kimball
is said to have given a similar extemporaneous prayer over the water. (4) Even
the slightest alteration to a word or two would be noticeable to a modern
Latter-day Saint, let alone full sentences like those employed by Young and
Kimball. Yet it appears that, at the time, this was common practice. (Justin
Bray, "The Sabbath, the Sacrament, and the Latter-day Saints," in Sacred
Time: The Sabbath as a Perpetual Covenant, ed. Gaye Strathearn [Provo,
Utah: BYU Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2022], 209-10)
The note
for the following reads:
As cited in David W. Grua, “’Strictly Adhering
to the Inspired Form’: Early Latter-day Saint Sacramental worship and the Canonical
Prayers” (unpublished paper presented at “Joseph Smith Papers Conference:
Joseph Smith and Sacred Text in Nineteenth-century America,” Salt Lake City, September
10, 2021). Extemporaneous sacrament prayers continued to be given as Latter-day
Saints migrated to the Great Basin region. In 1852, Heber C. Kimball said, “We
have dedicated this sacrament to the Father and to the Son, that the saving
principles of life may be in and that, in partaking of it, we may become
sanctified. We bless the water as well as the bread and ask God to sanctify it
and fill it with life and the principles of salvation.” “Discourse,” Deseret
News, February 3, 1852, 2. In 1863, Kimball explained, “We are now partaking
of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper; when we partake of the bread, let us
pray the Father that strength may be given to our bodies that they may not
wither, but be strengthened to reach a good old age; when we partage of the
wine—or water—which is emblematic of his blood, let us ask the Father that our
blood may never be spilled unless it is necessary for the advancement of his
kingdom and the glory of God.” “Remarks,” Deseret News, March 11, 1863,
1. (Ibid., 230 n. 4)
Further Reading:
David W. Grua and Jonathan A. Stapley on Early LDS Approaches to the Sacrament Prayers
