Passing and partaking of the sacrament.

Tommy asked me the other day whether or not he could pass the sacrament with his left hand, as it felt more natural and comfortable for him (as he is left handed). I answered him saying that I didn't think it mattered, as 'blessing' the sacrament is the ordinance, 'passing' it is not.

On my quest to find out what the procedure was, I found that not everyone was in agreeance on the so called 'doctrine' - leading me to research these things and find out for myself. I don't really care one way or the other, I just want to know!


What about those who don't have use of their right hand, be it from stroke, amputation, injury, birth defect, etc. ?

Could they baptise someone? I highly doubt it, as it is an ordinance, yet they could pass the sacrament.

A lot of people in the church are stuck on the preeminence of procedure I have found. The Pharisees in the time of the Savior were sticklers for practicing the letter of the law. I assume that there is nothing wrong with that as long as the letter of the law does not replace the spirit of the law. If you aren't familiar with the difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law, here is a good example that I always like to use:

One Sabbath day Jesus entered a synagogue and saw in the congregation a man whose right hand was withered. In the crowd were a group of Pharisees who were trying to have Jesus arrested for breaking the law. They watched him carefully, trying to find a way to trap him. They asked the Savior, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?

What do you think the Savior said? The Savior replied with a question: “What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep?
Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath day.

About a year ago, we were asked in Branch Council whether or not we thought it appropriate to deliver bread to people in need of service on a Sunday. Most people thought it was ok, including myself. Others felt it was inappropriate because it was breaking the Sabbath. This to me, is the difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. I had no problem with those who thought it was inappropriate either, as I respect other peoples opinions. I gave a more extreme example to Jacob tonight, so he would understand, and it went like this:

Most people believe it is wrong to lie. However, what if you lied to save someones life? What if you lived in World War 2 Europe and were harbouring fugitive Jews? What if you were asked if you had any Jews in your home? Would it be wrong to lie to save their lives? In this scenario, the morally high ground would be to lie to save a life, particularly if this choice was confirmed by personal revelation.

Anyhow, I feel confident that the spirit and meaning of the sacrament is in no way invalidated by partaking or passing of the elements with the left hand. It is, however, customary to do these things with the right hand, and this custom is apparently interpreted by some as doctrine. Those who feel that this is a doctrinal matter are normally quite adamant about it, since to them it is a matter of doctrine. Sometimes, traditions, customs, social practices and personal preferences of individual church members may, through repeated or common usage, be misconstrued as Church procedures or policies. Occasionally, such traditions, customs and practices may even be regarded by some as eternal principles.

In saying all of this, I do understand that the custom of passing and partaking of the sacrament with the right hand relates to a matter of reverence and respect and at the end of the day, I don't have a problem with it, and I don't have a problem with those who enforce it. I do however, like to be educated in these things!

I did some research and found this:

The right hand has traditionally (from the earliest times) been associated with the more noble functions and the left hand with the more base. So intrinsic is this in the cultures of the world that in earlier languages the names for the right and left hands carried the significance of their functions. The word “right” in Greek is “ortho,” from where we get the word “orthodox.” It also means “straight” or “true,” from where we get the term “orthodontist,” or “tooth straightener, “donte” being “tooth.” The English word “right” comes from the Latin “rectus,” meaning “straight.” The English word “left” comes from the Old English, meaning “weak.” In Spanish the right hand is “la mano diestra” and the left is “la mano siniestra.” Our word, “dexterous” derives from “diestra” and our word “sinister” derives from “siniestra.” Even today in the English language, the term “left” or “left handed” denotes some degree of inferiority, implying clumsy, awkward, insincere, backhanded, or dubious.
So it is both proper and customary to partake of the sacrament with the right hand, and it would not be inappropriate to teach our children (when they are old enough to understand it) that partaking and passing of the sacrament with the right hand is a matter of respect.

I think that a lot of lefties have suffered through life as member's of the only oppressed minority that have no representation, no spokesman, no recognition and no rights. They struggle through life with the requirement to adapt to a right handed world. Although some accommodations are made when it is commercially advantageous, they are not always easy to come by. How about baseball? Not so long ago, kids who were left handed had to wear a right handed glove on their left hand to catch the ball, then slip it off under their right arm in order to free their left hand to throw the ball. It was not uncommon back in the old days to see a teacher forcing lefties to write with their right hand, rapping their knuckles with a ruler whenever they saw the pencil in their left hand. (By the way, did you know that there are no left handed pencils? Pick up a pencil or pen in your left hand and look at the inscription written along the side. It will always be upside down.)

Men’s shirts button from the right so that they must be buttoned with the right hand. The only reason why women’s blouses button on the left is that when buttons were first used they were very expensive, and the only women who could afford them had maids. So the buttons were put on the left side so that the maids could do them up with their right hands.

It is very difficult to find such implements as left handed scissors, butter knives and mustache cups. Virtually all wrist watches have the stems on the right side. Musical instruments, such as guitars and other stringed instruments, trombones, trumpets and the other brass instruments, (to name a few), are all constructed for right handed people. The doors to public buildings are normally designed to accommodate right handed persons. The bolts on firearms are located on the right side. The computer mouse is designed for right handed people. Books and magazines open from the right, the pages to be turned by the right hand.

Interesting facts? I thought so. I continued with my research to find out what the handbook says about passing the sacrament with the right or left hand. Nothing.

Church History and Modern Revelation, vol. 1 by Joseph Fielding Smith wrote:

These changes and innovations are innocently adopted, but in course of time there is the danger that they will become fixed customs and considered as necessary to the welfare of the Church. For example, let us consider the ordinance of the Sacrament. It became the custom in many wards throughout the church to have the young men who passed the Sacrament all dressed alike with dark coats, white shirts and uniform ties. This could in time lead to the established custom of dressing them in uniform, such as we see done in some sectarian and other churches. Then again as they passed the Sacrament they had to stand with their left hand plastered on their backs in a most awkward manner. The priests or elders who administered these holy emblems had to stand in a certain way as the one officiating in the prayer knelt at the table. In some instances the Bishop stood in the pulpit with raised hands in an attitude of benediction. Other customs among the quorums and in the services of the wards were introduced. Members of the Church were instructed that they must not touch the trays containing the bread and the water with their left hand, but must take it in their right hand after partaking as their neighbor held the tray in his or her right hand. In the Priesthood in the wards, we now have "supervisors" directing the activities of the deacons and the priests. How long will it take before these supervisors are considered as a regular part of the Priesthood and it will be necessary to set them apart or ordain them to this office? So we see that we, if we are not careful, will find ourselves traveling the road that brought the Church of Jesus Christ in the first centuries into disrepute and paved the way for the apostasy.


So, Tommy has some interesting challenges facing him as he grows up. Let’s hope that those challenges help him to be a non-conformist, to challenge conventionalism, to learn to adapt to unusual or difficult circumstances, and to recognise and be sympathetic to others in society who may be handicapped in one way or another.