In explaining the reception of the Holy Ghost by the apostles of old, the First Presidency of the Church issued an instructive statement Feb. 5, 1916. See DESERET NEWS of that date, and _Improvement Era_, March, 1916; and for excerpt from same see "Jesus the Christ" (third and later editions), p. 720.
=1. The Sacrament.=--In the course of our study of the principles and ordinances of the Gospel, as specified in the fourth of the Articles of Faith, the subject of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper[511] very properly claims attention, the observance of this ordinance being required of all who have become members of the Church of Christ through compliance with the requirements of faith, repentance, and baptism by water and by the Holy Ghost.
=2. Institution of the Sacrament among the Jews.=--The sacrament of the Lord's Supper dates from the night of the Passover feast[512] immediately preceding the crucifixion of the Savior. On that solemn occasion, Christ and His apostles were assembled in Jerusalem, keeping the feast in an upper room, which had been made ready by His express command.[513] As a Jew, Christ appears to have been ever loyal to the established usages of His people; and it must have been with most extraordinary feelings that He entered upon this commemorative feast, the last of its kind bearing the significance of the type of a future sacrifice, as well as a reminder of God's favor in the past. Knowing well the terrible experiences immediately awaiting Him, He communed with the Twelve at the paschal board in anguish of soul, prophesying concerning His betrayal, which was soon to be accomplished by the agency of one who there ate with Him. Then He took bread, and blessed it and gave it to His disciples, saying, "Take, eat; this is my body;"[514] "this do in remembrance of me."[515] Afterward, taking the cup, He blessed its contents and administered it to them with the words, "Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."[516] It is interesting to note that the account of the sacrament and its purport as given by Paul[517] resembles so closely as to be almost identical with the descriptions recorded by the evangelists. The designation of the Sacrament as the Lord's Supper is used by no biblical writer other than Paul.