"The Real Presence."--After the living oracles had departed, and only the dead letter of the Scriptures remained, uninspired "private interpretation" [16] conceived the notion that Jesus, when he said, "This is my body" and "my blood," meant the words to be taken literally. From that erroneous inference sprang the doctrine of transubstantiation, with its twin heresy, consubstantiation; the former a Roman Catholic tenet, the latter an unorthodox Protestant tenet relating to the Eucharist. So insistent was the Catholic Church upon this point, that men and women were condemned and punished as heretics, for denying "the real presence," the actual flesh and blood of Christ, in the elements of the Lord's Supper. [17] Figurative, not Literal.--The language of Jesus, when he instituted the Lord's Supper at Jerusalem, was undoubtedly figurative. When He said, of the bread and wine, "This is my body" and "my blood," his body was intact, his spirit in his body, and his blood yet unsplit. He was there in person, whole, complete. This being the case, how could he have meant to identify the bread and wine with the constituents of his mortal tabernacle? "These are the emblems of my body and blood"--that was his meaning. He made this clear to the Nephites, in saying: "This shall ye do in remembrance of my body." Remembrance presupposes absence. Because he would be absent in body thereafter, they were to do this "in remembrance of" his body. What need to remember him, if he were present in person? As well require faith from one having a perfect knowledge. [18] Use of Wine Forbidden.--The Latter-day Saints have been criticized for using water in the Sacrament; the Savior having sanctioned the use of wine both among the Jews and the Nephites. The explanation for the change is simple. The Church of Christ is not dependent upon books, nor upon tradition. It has an inspired Priesthood, led by immediate, continuous and direct revelation. The Lord has commanded his people in these days not to use wine in the Sacrament under existing conditions. This is the word they are under obligation to obey--not the word given to other peoples in former dispensations. [19] Christ to Come Again.--Neither the Savior's resurrection, nor his ascension into Heaven [20] signalized the end of his personal ministry, the cessation of his labors in behalf of mankind. After his resurrection, He "went in body to minister to translated and resurrected bodies;" [21] and with these He will return when Enoch's City descends and all is ready for his glorious advent. Footnotes 1. "Elias," Canto 3, Part 2. 2. Psalms 16:10. 3. The hypocrites! They could commit murder, could cause the death of the innocent, and feel no compunction: but they were horrified at the thought of a technical Sabbath-day desecration. Could there be a more glaring instance of "straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel"? 4. John 19:33. 5. Matt. 26:17-20; Mark 14:12-25; Luke 22:7-20. 6. John 19:30.