QUOTE |
3. NE 18:28 - 30. 28 And now behold, this is the commandment which I give unto you, that ye shall not suffer any one knowingly to apartake of my flesh and blood unworthily, when ye shall minister it; 29 For whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to his soul; therefore if ye know that a man is unworthy to eat and drink of my flesh and blood ye shall forbid him. 30 Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out from among you, but ye shall minister unto him and shall pray for him unto the Father, in my name; and if it so be that he repenteth and is baptized in my name, then shall ye receive him, and shall minister unto him of my flesh and blood. |
As I understand it, a nonmember is perfectly fine taking the sacrament. That would be unless you KNOW that they are guilty of a very serious sin.
According the General Handbook (again, as I understand it) the only people who are forbidden to partake of the sacrament are those who are under Church discipline. (Disfellowship or excommunication)
The sacrament is the renewal of the baptismal covenant. For those who have not made that covenant, it has no effect. This includes those who are not members of the Church yet, including young children and investigators. However, when a person is in a Church discipline process, it means he or she has made and subsequently broken baptismal covenants in a serious way, and thus taking the sacrament would have a negative effect.
I see your points, but still I hear some members using the verses I quoted when argumenting that non members should not partake of the sacrament. The key point, as I see it, is what makes a non member unworthy? From these verses it may seem as if when you're not baptized you're not worthy.
What I have been taught is exactly what Howe said - basically a person is only unworthy if they have made their baptismal covenant and subsequently broken it. And they should only stop partaking of the sacrament if they have discussed their situation with their bishop and been told to stop.