I studied about the sacrament in my Come, Follow Me studies this week. The Savior Jesus Christ presented a sermon known as the Sermon on the Mount, while he lived on earth. He presented a similar sermon after His Resurrection to people who lived in ancient America. This sermon is known as the Sermon at the Temple.
After the Savor taught the Beatitudes
and that we are to hold up His light to the world, He commanded His disciples
to bring forth some bread and wine. While they were gone to get the bread and
wine, He commanded the multitude to sit down upon the earth.
3 And
when the disciples had come with bread and wine, he took of the bread and brake
and blessed it; and he gave unto the disciples and commanded that they should
eat.
4 And when they had eaten and
were filled, he commanded that they should give unto the multitude.
5 And when the multitude had
eaten and were filled, he said unto the disciples: Behold there shall one be
ordained among you, and to him will I give power that he shall break
bread and bless it and give it unto the people of my church, unto all
those who shall believe and be baptized in my name.
6 And this shall ye always
observe to do, even as I have done, even as I have broken bread and
blessed it and given it unto you.
7 And this shall ye do in
remembrance of my body, which I have shown unto you. And it shall be
a testimony unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always
remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you.
8 And it came to pass that when
he said these words, he commanded his disciples that they should take of the wine of
the cup and drink of it, and that they should also give unto the multitude that
they might drink of it.
9 And it came to pass that they
did so, and did drink of it and were filled; and they gave unto the multitude,
and they did drink, and they were filled.
10 And when the disciples had
done this, Jesus said unto them: Blessed are ye for this thing which ye have
done, for this is fulfilling my commandments, and this doth witness unto the
Father that ye are willing to do that which I have commanded you.
11 And this shall ye always do to
those who repent and are baptized in my name; and ye shall do it in remembrance of
my blood, which I have shed for you, that ye may witness unto the Father
that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my
Spirit to be with you. (3 Nephi 18:3-11)
These
verses tell us that partaking of the sacrament can help us to remember the
Atonement of Jesus Christ. As we partake of the sacrament worthily and keep our
covenants, God has promised that we will always have His Spirit to be with us.
They also tell us that we can be spiritually filled when we partake of the
sacrament.
Have you ever wondered what you can do to be “filled”
when you partake of the sacrament? The Come, Follow Me manual for individuals
and families suggests that we ask ourselves a series of questions during the
sacrament service. Our questions should be like these: “How do I feel about the
Savior and His sacrifice for me?” “How is His sacrifice influencing my daily
life?” “What am I doing well as a disciple, and what can I improve?” I heard a
couple of questions recently that are similar: “What am I doing that I should
stop doing?” “What am I not doing that I should start doing?”
President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency gave
the following counsel about one way the sacrament can fill us spiritually:
As
you examine your life during the ordinance of the sacrament, I hope your
thoughts center not only on things you have done wrong but also on things you
have done right – moments when you have felt that Heavenly Father and the
Savior were pleased with you. You may even take a moment during the sacrament
to ask God to help you see these things…. When I have done this, the Spirit has
reassured me that while I’m still far from perfect, I’m better today than I was
yesterday. And this gives me confidence that, because of the Savior, I can be
even better tomorrow (“Always Remember Him,” Ensign, Feb. 2018, 5).
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