Monday, April 23, 2012

Remember the Words Which I Have Spoken

The 3 Nephi account of the Worship of the Shalems includes an aside not recorded in Matthew.  Christ turns to his twelve disciples and urges them to remember his words, because they are the ones he has chosen to minister to this people.

This is sometimes understood to be a clarification of what follows, the admonition to take no care for food, drink and clothing.  It is read to indicate that those commandments only apply to the disciples, and not to all the participants.  I disagree with this interpretation.  I think that the food-drink-clothing commandment is text referring to a ritual action that is not explicitly described -- the receiving of the bread, wine and clothing of heaven -- and I think that all the participants in the ordinance here took the sacrament and were dressed (either at this time or, perhaps, later).

Remember that we have a multitude here.  So how I read this is that Christ chooses his disciples and he ministers to them in the provision of bread, wine and heavenly clothing, and the disciples in turn minister the same elements of the Worship of the Shalems to the rest of the crowd.

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