How the Sacrament Makes Us Holy - Bret Wall August 25, 2019

How the sacrament makes us holy

What would you do if you knew you were going to die tomorrow? Most of us have no idea when we will leave this temporal life. Most of us probably don’t want to know. But it is a question that has often been posed - what would you do if today was your last day on earth?

Since this is a question that many people have discussed, I spoke with my family and looked up answers online from various sources. Here are some of the suggestions I found:

• Spend time creating personal messages to those I loved
• Watch the sunset one last time
• Call my mom

And of course there were plenty of people that had responses like eat, drink and party all night. 

One answer that I really liked said they would have a dinner at their home with the family and friends they cared for - and maybe even cook it for them. 

I liked this last example because this is similar to what our savior did. Christ knew he was to be crucified on the following day, so unlike most of us, he was able to choose what to do on his last full day on earth. It was passover, and Jesus told his apostles to get a room for them to prepare their supper that evening, what we would forever refer to as the Last Supper. This moment has been captured in many paintings, including the famous painting “The Last Supper” by Leonardo DaVinci. 

In Luke we read:

14 And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.

15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:

16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

17 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:

18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.

19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

Jesus was aware of his last day prior to his death. And his last night (before going to Gethsemane), he had dinner with his closest friends and followers. I believe he wanted to make this last moment a special moment.  It was this evening that he taught them the ordinance of the sacrament. 

In Mark, chapter 14, the Joseph Smith Translation is even more clear on this. It states, starting in verse 20:

20 And as they did eat, Jesus took bread and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them, and said, Take it, and eat.

21 Behold, this is for you to do in remembrance of my body; for as oft as ye do this ye will remember this hour that I was with you.

22 And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them; and they all drank of it.

23 And he said unto them, This is in remembrance of my blood which is shed for many, and the new testament which I give unto you; for of me ye shall bear record unto all the world.

24 And as oft as ye do this ordinance, ye will remember me in this hour that I was with you and drank with you of this cup, even the last time in my ministry.

To me, this points to the significance of the sacrament. It was so important that Jesus made sure to teach it to his apostles on one of the most significant nights in the history of this world. 

I want to focus today on why the sacrament is so important - and how it can make us more holy. 

In the Book of Mormon when Christ visited the Nephites, he also implemented the sacrament to the people. After having the sacrament administered to all in attendance, he said:

3 Nephi 18:11

11 And this shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized in my name; and ye shall do it in aremembrance of my bblood, 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.

In this scripture, Jesus teaches us that the sacrament should be provided to all who repent and are baptized - and reminds us that we do it to remember his sacrifice. The sacrament prayers that we just heard this morning contain this same language. 

This past General Conference, Elder Jeffrey R Holland (one of our current apostles) spoke about our Sunday meetings. He mentioned that our modified Sunday service (referring to the change to the two hour block) is to emphasize the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper as “the sacred, acknowledged focal point of our weekly worship experience”. 

“We are to remember in as personal a way as possible that Christ died from a heart broken by shouldering entirely alone the sins and sorrows of the whole human family.”

A big focus of his talk was on how we should make our sacrament meeting as sacred as possible. He even made an apostolic plea for the reduction of “clamor” or loud noise in our meetings. He mentioned that of course there will be occasional outbursts from children, but that we should focus with our families on how important this ordinance and meeting is. 

It reminds me of years ago when I went to the temple as a young child to be sealed to my parents. I vividly remember how excited I was to enter the House of the Lord. My parents had told me how sacred the temple was and that I would be away from them for a period of time (prior to being sealed) and how I should behave. I remember going to what I would call the nursery of the temple - a room where I was taken where there were mostly kids. Kids of various ages. I’m not sure if all temples have rooms like this, but the Salt Lake temple did. And I remember how quiet it was. I was provided some crayons and a coloring book and sat quietly awaiting my parents. There were kids younger than me without their parents, and none were being loud or distracting. There was definitely a feeling of reverence. This helped me have a wonderfully sacred experience that day as I participated in the sealing ordinance. 

Just a couple of weeks ago Tevia and I attended the singles ward as our oldest son was giving a talk. The first thing that stood out to me was the silence during the passing of the sacrament. It was amazing. Obviously in the singles ward there are generally no kids, so quiet reverence would be expected. But I think Elder Holland was asking us to really think about how sacred this meeting should be. If we begin to think of it as being as important and sacred as the temple, perhaps that would be a start. Maybe it starts by focusing on these 5 - 10 minutes when the sacrament is passed and working with our kids (or ourselves) to focus on being reverent. And maybe helping those sitting near us to do so as well without acting like a cranky, old man or woman. 

In a talk by Elder Peter F Meurs of the Seventy in the fall 2016 General Conference, he listed five ways to increase the impact and power of our regular participation in the sacrament ordinance and how it can make us more holy. I liked his advice and have seen the blessings when we have tried to do this. 

First: Prepare in advance. I believe there have been many talks - and even primary songs - about preparing physically for the Sabbath. I can attest to how easy it is to lose the spirit on Sunday morning when one of our sons can’t find their shoe or shirt or tie. But in this talk he also mentions it means to prepare spiritually. This would include beginning our repentance process even before we come to church, maybe even the day before, and studying the lessons for the week. Thus we can be prepared spiritually to be ready to feel the spirit and participate in the sacred ordinance. Have we thought about those in attendance with us? Are there people here we have issues with? Are there people here we have unkind feelings toward? We should be working to resolve those feelings so we all can feel the peace and joy that should come from this ordinance. Once again, I think that many of us already do this when we go to the temple. We should also focus to do this prior to our Sunday meetings. 

Second: Arrive early. Bishop has also recently mentioned this. Once again, I think this goes beyond arriving physically early, but arriving spiritually early as we prepare our heart to partake of the sacrament. We often start our fasts the day before - and maybe we should be preparing our hearts each Saturday evening even if it isn’t fast Sunday. 

Third: Sing the hymns! And read and ponder the words, particularly of the sacrament hymn. The Lord has stated “For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me (D&C 25:12)”. I understand not everyone loves to sing. But this is not a try-out for the glee club. I am often saddened when I attend wards where the congregation doesn’t sing. As a deacon I remember one of my leaders telling us that it was embarrassing to see the priesthood holders preparing to pass the sacrament just sitting there and not singing. He taught us it was a part of the worship. My mother doesn’t think she is a good singer, but since I was a child I remember her always singing - and pointing out to me her favorite songs. Whenever I hear the song “I Stand All Amazed” I can’t help but think of her and the words that would usually touch her heart enough to create tears on her face when she sang it. During that Last Supper, it was noted in the scriptures that Christ also took time to sing a hymn with his disciples. 

Fourth: Spiritually participate in the sacrament prayers. I think it is easy for all of us to tune out these words that we hear every week. But we should try to focus on what they really mean - and what we are committing to do. We are making a covenant each week; something we shouldn’t take lightly. The blessing we are promised is to always have His spirit to be with us. Is there a greater blessing? In these days of anxiety, fear, depression, loneliness, and sorrow, I know my prayers are often pleading for this blessing. 

Fifth: Ponder and remember Him as the emblems are passed. While the deacons or other priesthood pass the bread and then the water, let’s think about what the sacrament really means. Let’s remember his sacrifice for us. Let’s ponder on how we can be better people. Let’s open our hearts and beg for forgiveness for all of our weaknesses. We should remember the words of Christ when he stated:

“Behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; …

“Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink” (D&C 19:16, 18).

Maybe every Sunday we won’t be able to do all of these things. But I testify that when we do, we will feel his spirit. I can remember one Sabbath day in particular that I feel like I actually prepared in all these ways. Tevia and I were in Jerusalem as I was there on business. It was Saturday (the Sabbath) and we attended the sacrament meeting held at BYU Jerusalem. I had prepared in advance by having the opportunity to explore Jerusalem the day before: to see the places our Lord walked and taught and suffered. I was able to witness many other Christians around me have spiritual experiences - and reflect on the life of the Savior. 

My wife and I were alone without kids, so we arrived very early, just in case we got lost. We took the time to look out over Jerusalem from the BYU campus. There was no rush to make sure we were there before the opening song. It helped build an anticipation for the meeting and I was truly prepared to feel the Spirit.

The meeting was quiet and reverent, as it was mostly colleges students and tourists like us. Everyone sang! I love to sing, so that is rarely an issue for me, but this congregation was enthusiastic and sang in worship. As the bread and water was passed, I was able to look out over the city of Jerusalem and almost be forced to think that Christ had implemented this ordinance here, where I was. It felt more real; more tangible. And more than any other moment during my time in the Holy Land, this sacrament meeting was where I felt the spirit the strongest. I will never forget it. That experience, like others in my life, acts as a reservoir of strength and faith for me when I struggle with the trials of this world. 

But I know that we don’t have to be in Jerusalem to have this experience. We can have it right here, today. I’m sure most of us have had days like that. I think Elder Holland was encouraging us to try and make that every week. As we shift our approach to make the sacrament the sacred, sanctifying experience it should be, we will be prepared to fully commit to the covenants we are renewing and be blessed with the Holy Spirit of Promise. 

Elder David A Bednar, another of our current apostles, taught:

“The ordinance of the sacrament is a holy and repeated invitation to repent sincerely and to be renewed spiritually. The act of partaking of the sacrament, in and of itself, does not remit sins. But as we prepare conscientiously and participate in this holy ordinance with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then the promise is that we may always have the Spirit of the Lord to be with us. And by the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost as our constant companion, we can always retain a remission of our sins.”

And that - the remission of our sins, or forgiveness of our sins - is what we all need to become Holy. The partaking of the sacrament also is supposed to help us renew our covenants we have made with God. The sacrament provides us the opportunity to open our heart and renew our commitment to Him. Like at our baptism, we are going through a process to show our willingness to be better - to be more like Him.

By taking the time to truly prepare for and participate in the Lord’s Supper, we can be blessed with the Holy Ghost. We can be made more Holy and have the strength needed to get through this week. 

I testify that Christ implemented this ordinance to provide us a way to renew our covenants with him. I can also testify that during those weeks that I truly am focused on understanding the sacrament, that I can feel his Spirit more strongly and increase my faith. My wish is for all of us to be able to look forward to attending this meeting. That we can come with broken hearts and contrite spirits. That we can reach out to those that aren’t here so they can participate with us. I am grateful for the restored gospel and blessings it brings my life.