The day after the feeding, the crowds find Jesus at Capernaum, and he turns the sign into the great discourse: “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life.” He is himself the bread that came down from heaven — “I am the bread of life” — and to eat his flesh and drink his blood is to have eternal life. The hard saying drives many disciples away; and when he asks the Twelve, “Will ye also go away?” Peter answers, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.”
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22The day following, when the people who stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, save that one into which his disciples had entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples had gone away alone 23(nevertheless, there came other boats from Tiberias near unto the place where they did eat bread, after the Lord had given thanks), 24when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also boarded a ship and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. 25And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, how did you come here? 26Jesus answered them and said, Truly, truly I say unto you, you seek me not because you desire to keep my sayings, neither because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves and were filled. 27Labor not for the food which perishes, but for that food which endures unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man has power to give unto you, for him has God the Father sealed.
28Then said they unto him, What shall we do that we might work the works of God? 29Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God: that you believe on him whom he has sent. 30They said therefore unto him, What sign do you show then, that we may see and believe you? What do you work? 31Our fathers did eat manna in the desert as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat. 32Then Jesus said unto them, Truly, truly I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from Heaven, 33for the bread of God is he who comes down from Heaven and gives life unto the world. 34Then said they unto him, Lord, for ever give us this bread.
35And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that comes to me shall never hunger, and he that believes on me shall never thirst; 36but I said unto you that you also have seen me, and believe not. 37All that the Father gives me shall come to me, and him that comes to me, I will by no means cast out. 38For I came down from Heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. 39And this is the Father’s will which has sent me: that of all which he has given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 40And this is the will of him that sent me: that everyone who sees the Son and believes on him may have everlasting life. And I will raise him up in the resurrection of the just at the last day.
41The Jews then murmured at him because he said, I am the bread which came down from Heaven. 42And they said, Is not this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he says, I came down from Heaven?
43Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. 44No man can come unto me except he does the will of my Father who has sent me. And this is the will of him who has sent me: that you receive the Son, for the Father bears record of him. And he who receives the testimony and does the will of him who sent me, I will raise up in the resurrection of the just. 45For it is written in the prophets: And these shall all be taught of God. Every man therefore that has heard and has learned of the Father comes unto me 46(not that any man has seen the Father save he who is of God — he has seen the Father). 47Truly, truly I say unto you, he that believes on me has everlasting life. 48I am that bread of life. 49This is the bread which comes down from Heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die. 50Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead; 51but I am the living bread which came down from Heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever. And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
52The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 53Then Jesus said unto them, Truly, truly I say unto you, except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up in the resurrection of the just at the last day. 55For my flesh is food indeed and my blood is drink indeed. 56He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells in me and I in him. 57As the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that eats me, even he shall live by me. 58This is that bread which came down from Heaven, not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead. He that eats of this bread shall live for ever. 59These things said he in the synagogue as he taught in Capernaum.
60Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is a hard saying; who can hear it? 61When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Does this offend you? 62What, and if you shall see the Son of Man ascend up where he was before? 63It is the spirit that quickens, the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. 64But there are some of you that believe not. (For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not and who should betray him.) 65And he said, Therefore said I unto you that no man can come unto me except he does the will of my Father who has sent me.
66From that time, many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. 67Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will you also go away? 68Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69and we believe and are sure that you are that Christ, the Son of the living God.
70Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? 71He spoke of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon, for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.
22The next day, when the throng left behind on the other side of the sea discussed leaving, they realized there was no other boat than the one his companions had used. They knew that Jesus had not been with them on the boat. They saw his companions leave without him. But he was now gone away also. 23And so, when other boats arrived from Tiberias near to where they were fed barley bread after the Messiah had blessed it, 24they took the available boats and went to Capernaum to try to locate Jesus. 25When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked, Teacher, from what source did you come? 26Jesus replied, In the name of Father Ahman I tell you, You follow after me, not because you intend to obey what I teach, nor because you witnessed miracles and believe, but you are slaves to your bellies and want to be fed more barley bread. 27Do not be preoccupied with food for your bellies, but for food from God, that is, light and truth, leading to endless progression upward. I am Son Ahman and can give you sustaining light and truth, for God the Father has declared I am His Son.
28Then they asked him, What do we need to do to enter God’s pathway of endless progress? 29Jesus answered and said, The pathway is before you in me, I teach and display what the Father wants you to witness and believe. 30They said in response, What sign will you give to us to confirm this pathway, so we can trust your message? What will you give to us? 31Our fathers were fed with manna in the desert for forty years. As the scripture states, He gave them bread from Heaven to eat. Feed us likewise.
32Then Jesus said to them, In the name of Father Ahman I tell you the truth, Moses was not the one who gave bread, it was my Father who did that. 33But now my Father is offering true life-giving bread from Heaven, which is light and truth. For the Bread of God is sent from the Heavenly Council to give light and truth to the world. 34They responded, Master, feed us with this bread forever.
35Jesus said bluntly to them, I am the bread that gives life; he that follows the path with me will never hunger for light; and any who believe on me shall never thirst for truth. 36Unfortunately, as I have already told you, even though you have seen me, you do not believe me. 37But my Father has provided some who will heed my words, and those who follow me I will safely keep. 38I am descended from above as a Messenger sent to follow Father Ahman’s plan. 39Father’s plan is that by completing my ascent I will have the power to rescue creation, losing nothing. 40Moreover, those who are here on this journey with me will be added upon for evermore if they have faith in me. They will rise up to likewise generate endless lives, worlds without end.
41The Jews loudly objected to his claim of calling himself, I am, and equating himself with God, and because he claimed to be the bread which came down from Heaven. 42And they challenged his teaching, asking the people, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he claim to descend from Heaven?
43Jesus responded to them, Do not dispute my teaching between yourselves. 44No man can come unto me except he follows the path of my Father, who has sent me as His messenger of salvation. And this is what my Father expects of you, that you heed his Son. For the Father testifies he sent me, and anyone who accepts the Father’s testimony, and has the faith in him to heed his testimony, I will raise upward in the resurrection of the just. 45For it is written in the prophets, And these shall all be taught by God. Every person who has hearkened and has learned the will of the Father, accepts me as his messenger. 46None of you have seen the Father unless you first descended from God’s presence, as I have come; and all who have seen the Father can testify of him. 47In the name of Father Ahman I declare to you, He that has faith on me has endless lives, worlds without end. 48I am that bread of life. 50This is the bread that descended from Heaven, that a man may eat of me and his life never end. 49Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and they perished. 51But I am the living bread sent from Heaven to rescue you. If any man takes into themselves this bread, he will gain light and truth and the power for endless life. The staff of life I provide is to sacrifice my flesh, which I will surrender to rescue the world.
52The Jews argued among themselves, demanding, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 53Then Jesus said to them, In the name of Father Ahman I say unto you, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, you will never have endless life in you. 54Those who eat my flesh, and drink my blood, will obtain endless life. I will raise him up in the resurrection of the just at the last day. 55Just as the Father provided this life for me, I will provide it for you if you have faith in me. For my flesh will fill you with light, and my blood will quench you with truth. 56If you receive these, I will fill you with light and truth and we will be brothers, sons of God. 58My sacrifice is the bread I descended from Heaven to provide, not like the manna eaten by your deceased ancestors who rejected greater light and truth in their day. The light and truth I offer leads to endless lives, worlds without end.
59The foregoing is what he taught in the Capernaum synagogue.
60Many of his followers, after they had heard him teach this in the synagogue, concluded, This is hard to accept; who can agree with it? 61When Jesus understood that even his close companions balked at it, he said to them, Are you offended by that? 62How are you going to have the faith to witness my ascent back to the Throne of the Father where I have come from? 63I have spoken of the Spirit of light and truth that enlightens. The flesh is nothing, and my message is about light and truth. My teachings are Spirit, and they are life. 64But there are some of you that do not understand because you do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who were faithless and foresaw who would betray him. 65And he said, Because of faithlessness I tell you that no faithless man can come with me. Only those who heed the will of my Father who sent me will have power to rise with me.
66At that time many followers left and ended their journey with him. 67Then Jesus asked the twelve, Are you also going to leave? 68To which Simon Peter answered, Lord, where else is there to go? You teach the words of Eternal life. 69All of us believe and are certain that you are the Messiah, the Holy One of the Most High God. 70Jesus told them, Have I not chosen you twelve, and even among you one follows the accuser? 71He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for he was one of the twelve and would ultimately betray him.
When the hard saying emptied the synagogue, Peter would not leave: “To whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.” Joseph Smith took up that confession to open a sermon a month before his death — there is profit in nothing else, so search ever deeper into the mysteries of godliness.
Discourse, 12 May 1844, Nauvoo · Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 364 (on John 6:68) · Joseph Smith Papers ↗Also recorded in as reported by Samuel W. Richards.
The Savior has the words of eternal life. Nothing else can profit us. There is no salvation in believing an evil report against our neighbor.
I advise all to go on to perfection, and search deeper and deeper into the mysteries of Godliness. A man can do nothing for himself unless God direct him in the right way; and the Priesthood is for that purpose.
This discourse is Barker’s home ground. In the temple, the high priests alone ate the “bread of the Presence,” a most-holy food that imparted holiness and the LORD’s own presence; later tradition called that bread Wisdom, whom “those who eat me will hunger for more.” To eat the bread of life, Jesus says, is to receive that presence and live forever.
This union was described as sharing Life or Spirit (John 6:57, 63), presumably sustained by the bread of the presence that the high priests ate. In John’s Gospel, Jesus gives this teaching with reference to the bread from heaven: “He who eats me will live because of me” — the eternal life of the high priest sustained by the bread of the presence — “he who eats this bread will live for ever” (John 6:57–58).
Later tradition links the tabernacle and the Bread of the Presence to Wisdom… and in Ben Sira Wisdom herself promised “Those who eat me will hunger for more” (Ben Sira 24.21). The gift of Wisdom was eternal life… and the obvious way to have eaten Wisdom was as the Bread of Presence, the Bread of Life perhaps?
OCR spacing in Barker’s scanned text has been silently normalized; wording is unchanged.