I Am Bismark

i hate how lds culture has this obsession lately with finding symbolism in everything. i think people think that the more symbolic they can make something, the more meaningful and spiritually uplifting it can become. while i think there is place for symbolism in the temple ceremonies, i really think this is inappropriate for the sacramental ordinance. the sacrament has two symbols. the bread is symbolic of Christ’s body. the water is symbolic of Christ’s blood. that is it. those are the only symbols we need, and those are the only symbols we should have. anything else dilutes the simple but paramount meaning of the ordinance.

this summer some guy in my elder’s quorum was apparently looked at as the source for “deep” doctrine. one of our lessons was about the sacrament, so the teacher had him come up to the front and share with us a list of the symbols he could find in the ordinance. he went through this list of around 50 inane things like the four corners of the sacramental table symbolizing the gospel encompassing the four corners of the earth and the white shirts of the priests symbolizing the purity of Christ the high priest. everyone seemed impressed, but all i could think of was that next time all of those people were taking part in the ordinance, they would be trying to find all of these symbols instead of contemplating their personal covenants with Christ, which is the only thing we should be thinking about during that time. the first principles and ordinances of the gospel are not esoteric, and we should not try to make them that way.