The Significance of the Sacrament
Sister Vicky Drummond
President Joseph Fielding Smith
stated that: “sacrament meeting is the
most sacred, the most holy, of all the meetings of the Church. When I reflect
upon the gathering of the Savior and his apostles on that memorable night when
he introduced the sacrament; when I think of that solemn occasion my heart is
filled with wonderment and my feelings are touched. I consider that gathering
one of the most solemn and wonderful since the beginning of time.”
Bishop Weber spoke regarding the significant
of the sacramental prayers. He shared
how a sister wanted to be re-baptized so that she could feel clean and be sin
free again. He explained that partaking
of the sacrament each week, permits us to review our covenants, ask for
forgiveness and promise to do better at keeping our covenants the next week.
Also, he explained that the baptism and sacrament prayers are the two prayers
that must be recited word for word.
President Smith also stated: “It’s the duty of the members of the Church
to walk humbly and faithfully in the knowledge and understanding of the
atonement of Jesus Christ. It is our
duty to carefully and thoughtfully consider the nature of the sacrament prayers
when we hear them offered in our meetings. There are four very important things
we covenant to do each time we partake of these emblems, and in partaking,
there is the token that we subscribe fully to the obligations, and thus they
become binding upon us. These are as follows:
1. We eat in remembrance of
the body of Jesus Christ, promising that we will always remember His wounded
body slain upon the cross.
2. We drink in remembrance of
the blood which was shed for the sins of the world, which atoned for the
transgression of Adam, and which frees us from our own sins on condition of our
true repentance.
3. We covenant that we will be
willing to take upon us the name of the Son and
always remember Him. In keeping this covenant we promise that we will be called
by His name and never do anything that would bring shame or reproach upon that
name.
4. We covenant that we will
keep His commandments which He has given us; not one commandment, but that we
will be willing to “live by every word that proceeded forth from the mouth of
God.”
If we will do these things then we
are promised the continual guidance of the Holy Ghost, and if we will not do these
things we will not have that guidance.
Next week as we partake of the
sacrament, let us ponder the words of the sacramental prayer as well as our
commitments to Heavenly Father.
