Can nonmembers take the sacrament?

As you know, the bread and water of the sacrament are meant for Church members so we can renew our baptismal covenants. However, we should not do anything during sacrament meeting to prevent nonmembers from partaking of the sacrament.

It’s good to invite nonmember friends and family to church, and we want them to feel welcome and comfortable in our meetings. It would be helpful to prepare them for sacrament meeting by explaining the purpose of the sacrament and what will happen during the meeting. If they ask whether they should take the sacrament, simply tell them that they may choose to do so but that it is intended for Church members, who are renewing their baptismal covenants.

As Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has said, “The ordinance of the sacrament makes the sacrament meeting the most sacred and important meeting in the Church” (“Sacrament Meeting and the Sacrament,” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2008, 17). We should help nonmembers understand this important ordinance, ensuring that they also feel comfortable at our meetings.