When Was the Last Time that You Partook of the Sacrament?

             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).

            I know that the opportunity to partake of the sacrament is a sacred one. There are many things that we can do to help us to remember the Savior, but none of them does the job like partaking of the sacrament does. I know that we can be filled with the Spirit as we partake worthily of the sacrament each week.