The Spirit heals and renews our souls. The promised blessing of the sacrament is that we will “always have his Spirit to be with [us].”
A
group of young women once asked me, “What do you wish you had known
when you were our age?” If I were to answer that question now, I would
include this thought: “I wish when I was your age I had understood the
significance of the sacrament better than I did. I wish I had understood
the sacrament in the way that Elder Jeffrey R. Holland described. He
said, ‘One of the invitations inherent in the sacramental ordinance is
that it be a truly spiritual experience, a holy communion, a renewal for
the soul.’1”
How can the sacrament “be a truly spiritual experience, a holy communion, a renewal for the soul” each week?
The
sacrament becomes a spiritually strengthening experience when we listen
to the sacrament prayers and recommit to our covenants. To do this, we
must be willing to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ.2
Speaking of this promise, President Henry B. Eyring taught: “That means
we must see ourselves as His. We will put Him first in our lives. We
will want what He wants rather than what we want or what the world
teaches us to want.”3
When we take the sacrament, we also covenant to “always remember”4
Jesus Christ. On the night before He was crucified, Christ gathered His
Apostles around Him and instituted the sacrament. He broke bread,
blessed it, and said, “Take, eat; this is in remembrance of my body
which I give a ransom for you.”5
Next He took a cup of wine, gave thanks, gave it to His Apostles to
drink, and said, “This is in remembrance of my blood … , which is shed
for as many as shall believe on my name.”6
Among
the Nephites and again at the Restoration of His Church in the latter
days, He repeated that we are to take the sacrament in remembrance of
Him.7
As
we partake of the sacrament, we witness to God that we will remember
His Son always, not just during the brief sacrament ordinance. This
means that we will constantly look to the Savior’s example and teachings
to guide our thoughts, our choices, and our acts.8
The sacrament prayer also reminds us that we must “keep his commandments.”9
Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”10
The sacrament gives us an opportunity for introspection and an
opportunity to turn our heart and will to God. Obedience to the
commandments brings the power of the gospel into our lives and greater
peace and spirituality.
The
sacrament provides a time for a truly spiritual experience as we
reflect upon the Savior’s redeeming and enabling power through His
Atonement. A Young Women leader recently learned about the strength we
receive as we strive to thoughtfully partake of the sacrament. Working
to complete a requirement in Personal Progress, she set a goal to focus
on the words in the sacrament hymns and prayers.
Each
week, she conducted a self-evaluation during the sacrament. She
recalled mistakes she had made, and she committed to be better the next
week. She was grateful to be able to make things right and be made
clean. Looking back on the experience, she said, “I was acting on the
repentance part of the Atonement.”
One
Sunday after her self-evaluation, she began to feel gloomy and
pessimistic. She could see that she was making the same errors over and
over again, week to week. But then she had a distinct impression that
she was neglecting a big part of the Atonement—Christ’s enabling power.
She was forgetting all the times the Savior helped her be who she needed
to be and serve beyond her own capacity.
With
this in mind, she reflected again on the previous week. She said: “A
feeling of joy broke through my melancholy as I noted that He had given
me many opportunities and abilities. I noted with gratitude the ability I
had to recognize my child’s need when it wasn’t obvious. I noted that
on a day when I felt I could not pack in one more thing to do, I was
able to offer strengthening words to a friend. I had shown patience in a
circumstance that usually elicited the opposite from me.”
She
concluded: “As I thanked God for the Savior’s enabling power in my
life, I felt so much more optimistic toward the repentance process I was
working through and I looked to the next week with renewed hope.”
Elder Melvin J. Ballard taught how the sacrament can be a healing and cleansing experience. He said:
“Who
is there among us that does not wound his spirit by word, thought, or
deed, from Sabbath to Sabbath? We do things for which we are sorry and
desire to be forgiven. … The method to obtain forgiveness is … to repent
of our sins, to go to those against whom we have sinned or transgressed
and obtain their forgiveness and then repair to the sacrament table
where, if we have sincerely repented and put ourselves in proper
condition, we shall be forgiven, and spiritual healing will come to our
souls. …
“I
am a witness,” Elder Ballard said, “that there is a spirit attending
the administration of the sacrament that warms the soul from head to
foot; you feel the wounds of the spirit being healed, and the load being
lifted. Comfort and happiness come to the soul that is worthy and truly
desirous of partaking of this spiritual food.”11
Our
wounded souls can be healed and renewed not only because the bread and
water remind us of the Savior’s sacrifice of His flesh and blood but
because the emblems also remind us that He will always be our “bread of
life”12 and “living water.”13
After administering the sacrament to the Nephites, Jesus said:
“He
that eateth this bread eateth of my body to his soul; and he that
drinketh of this wine drinketh of my blood to his soul; and his soul
shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be filled.
“Now, when the multitude had all eaten and drunk, behold, they were filled with the Spirit.”14
With
these words, Christ teaches us that the Spirit heals and renews our
souls. The promised blessing of the sacrament is that we will “always
have his Spirit to be with [us].”15
When
I partake of the sacrament, I sometimes picture in my mind a painting
that depicts the resurrected Savior with His arms outstretched, as if He
is ready to receive us into His loving embrace. I love this painting.
When I think about it during the administration of the sacrament, my
soul is lifted as I can almost hear the Savior’s words: “Behold, mine
arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I
receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.”16
Aaronic
Priesthood holders represent the Savior when they prepare, bless, and
pass the sacrament. As a priesthood holder extends his arm to offer us
the sacred emblems, it is as if the Savior Himself were extending His
arm of mercy, inviting each one of us to partake of the precious gifts
of love made available through His atoning sacrifice—gifts of
repentance, forgiveness, comfort, and hope.17
The
more we ponder the significance of the sacrament, the more sacred and
meaningful it becomes to us. This was what a 96-year-old father
expressed when his son asked, “Dad, why do you go to church? You can’t
see, you can’t hear, it’s hard for you to get around. Why do you go to
church?” The father replied, “It’s the sacrament. I go to partake of the
sacrament.”
May
each of us come to sacrament meeting prepared to have “a truly
spiritual experience, a holy communion, a renewal for [our] soul.”18
I
know that our Heavenly Father and our Savior live. I am grateful for
the opportunity the sacrament provides to feel of Their love and to
partake of the Spirit. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
- Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant: The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon (1997), 283.
- See Doctrine and Covenants 20:77.
- Henry B. Eyring, “That We May Be One,” Ensign, May 1998, 67.
- Doctrine and Covenants 20:77, 79.
- Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 26:22 (in Matthew 26:26, footnote c, and in the Bible appendix).
- Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 26:24 (in the Bible appendix); see also Matthew 26:26–28; Mark 14:22–24; Luke 22:15–20.
- See 3 Nephi 18:7, 11; Doctrine and Covenants 20:75.
- See “How Do I Keep My Covenant to Always Remember the Savior?” Come, Follow Me Sunday School curriculum; lds.org/youth/learn/ss/ordinances-covenants/remember; True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference (2004), 147–48.
- Doctrine and Covenants 20:77.
- John 14:15.
- Melvin J. Ballard, in Melvin R. Ballard, Melvin J. Ballard: Crusader for Righteousness (1966), 132–33.
- John 6:48.
- John 4:10.
- 3 Nephi 20:8–9.
- Doctrine and Covenants 20:77.
- 3 Nephi 9:14.
- I’m grateful to Ann Madsen for her insight on this principle.
- Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, 283.
© 2014 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All Rights Reserved
What I Heard:
Understand the significance of the sacrament- See it as an invitation
- He gave His body as a ransom for you; He is "the bread of life"
- His blood was shed for you if you believe on His name; He is the "living water"
- You are witnessing you will always remember Him by looking to His example and teaching to guide your thoughts, choices, and actions
- You are committing to keep His commandments
- The Atonement brings a cleansing and enabling power
- Can warm the soul, heal the wounds of the spirit, bring comfort and happiness; renews
- Fills us with His Spirit
- See the offering of the sacrament by the deacon as the arm of mercy being extended to you, inviting you to partake of the precious gifts of love available through the atonement.
- Ask yourself "Do I consider the sacrament a spiritual experience, a holy communion, a renewal of my soul?
- Learn to:
- listen to the prayers
- ponder the significance of the sacrament
- recommit to your covenants
- take upon yourself the name of Christ by seeing yourself as His; putting Him first; wanting what He wants.
- always remember Him
- look inward; turn your heart and will to God
- feel gratitude and hope
- recognize the enabling power of the Atonement in my daily life
- truly repent
- prepare for the sacrament by being truly worthy and desirous
- Obedience brings power, peace and spirituality
What I Will Do:
- Each Sunday, write down one thing I felt about the significance of the Sacrament.
- Prepare for the Sacrament by evaluating my actions and heart each day and accounting to Heavenly Father each night in prayer; repenting swiftly.
- Express gratitude each day, in prayer, for the enabling power of the Atonement. Be specific.
- Begin my worship the moment I enter the chapel, not after we say the opening prayer.Review the following talks about expected behaviorand attitude in Sacrament Meetings:
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