Receive Jesus Christ

tyler90az · November 13, 2012

Has anybody ever had one of those Sacrament meetings where you feel like the spirit is a million miles away? I know I have! Just a month ago I remember my kids crying and running around so much that I could not feel the spirit. I felt like screaming to the roof top, o spirit wher art though? In the hopes of the most amazing miracle ever happening… my kids being quiet. If only every time we walked in church our kids would sit perfectly and listen intently. .. if only, if only. Could you imagine all the people that would come to church then?

If kids did quiet every time they walked in it would have made that Sacrament about a month ago better. They were crying so loud I did not hear the bread get blessed. Since I did not hear the blessing I decided not to partake of the bread. Then after much thought I came to the conclusion better the spirit then the letter. When the water was blessed I listened intently and partook of the water. My week was not the same. I missed out on receiving Jesus Christ into my life by partaking in a sacred and great ordinance.

A ward near where Sandy hit new the sacredness, the greatness of the Sacrament Ordinance. It was 9am, very cold and dark. Their ward building had lost power due to Sandy. They still decided to the right thing and held sacrament in a very cold building. They knew the importance of the Sacrament. That the Sacrament ordinance is so important we are commanded to perform it every week. Needless to say, after the Sacrament meeting they all piled into buses and helped any Sandy victims they could.

To see the greatness of the Sacrament we can look at when Jesus Christ instituted it. Before the Savior was to atone for the sins of the world he set out to institute the Sacrament. The ordinance is not some step to the atonement. Nor is it something that we should push to the back of our minds or take lightly. It is on par with anything else the Savior has done or will do. Joseph Fielding Smith thought of that meeting as, “the most sacred, the most holy, of all the meetings of the Church” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols., Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954–56, 2:340).

The following is an account of when Jesus Christ first instituted the Sacrament.

1 Corinthians 11: 24-25 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in ^aremembrance of me.

25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

Just as important is when Jesus Christ instituted the Sacrament among the Nephites.

3 Nephi 18:6-7

6 And this shall ye always observe to ^ado, 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 ^aremembrance of my ^bbody, 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.

Jesus Christ instituted the ordinance and it continues to be carried out by those with proper authority. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only church with the proper authority to perform the Sacrament Ordinance. The very fact that we are the only church with the proper authority should impel us to not take the sacrament for granted. It is a great blessing to partake of the Sacrament each week. The Lord declared, “In the ordinances … , the power of godliness is manifest.” The Sacrament meeting is the most important meeting in church and we have the ability to make it like the first sacrament, most sacred, most holy. Here are three principals to help make it the most sacred, most holy meeting.

First, fully repent before taking the Sacrament. One of the truly miraculous blessings of the Sacrament is the cleansing power. That cleansing power is contingent on our choice to fully repent before taking the Sacrament.

D&C 58:42 Behold, he who has ^arepented of his ^bsins, the same is ^cforgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.

Second, clear our minds of worldly distractions. You can only feel the spirit as much as you allow yourself too. If you choose to let your mind be bogged down with other things the spirit will find no home. For the spirit loves a calm mind. Remember the spirit speaks in whispers.

Richard G. Scott “It is important that our daily activities do not distract us from listening to the Spirit.”

Third, focus on the Savior and how he atoned for all of our sins. It is repeated many times in the Sacrament prayers that we should always remember him. That should be something that is especially true during the Sacrament. Nothing will invite the spirit more than thinking about his mission. The mission he embarked on to save each of us. The Savior did not atone for us as a whole group he knew each of us and atoned for each of us individually.

2 For, behold, I say unto you, that it mattereth not what ye shall ^aeat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my ^bglory—^cremembering unto the Father my ^dbody which was laid down for you, and my ^eblood which was shed for the ^fremission of your sins. D&C 27:2

Don R. Clarke gave five more principles that will help us get the most out of Sacrament in his October General conference talk. Which are, 1. Have a Feeling of Gratitude for the Atonement of Jesus Christ, 2. Remember That We Are Renewing Baptismal Covenants, 3. During the Sacrament We Can Feel Forgiven of Our Sins, 4.We Can Receive Inspiration for Solutions to Our Problems, 5. Partaking of the Sacrament Worthily Will Help Us Be Filled with the Holy Ghost.

If we can apply those principles the Sacrament meeting will come alive. It will go from being just a meeting to the most sacred, most holy. It will be a meeting where we receive Jesus Christ into our lives each week.

In addition to making the Sacrament a sacred experience the covenants we make need to be kept. I like Brother Twitchells words on Covenant, “there is no more Sacred word in the gospel then covenant.” The Sacrament is what we take each week to renew our baptismal covenants. During the Sacrament prayers we are told to obey three commandments. Remember Jesus Crist, take upon us his name and obey his commandments.

It says on lds.org under sacrament, “Those who partake of the Sacrament place themselves under covenant with the Lord to take upon them the name of Christ, to always remember him, and to keep his commandments. The Lord in turn covenants that they may always have his Spirit to be with the.”

To take the Sacrament in the right spirit remembering its sacredness and holiness. To take the sacrament remembering Jesus Christ. To take the sacrament with a mindset of obeying the covenants. To take the Sacrament in that manner is to receive Jesus Christ into your life each week. Brothers and sisters lets make it our goal to receive Jesus Christ into our lives each week.

I testify and have felt the spirit tell me that the Sacrament is truly a holy ordinance. That if we can just give an hour of our time and focus on the Sacrament Meeting our life will be much better. The spirit will be with us in ways we could never imagine. That angels will be on our left and our right. That it is true if we always remember him, he will always remember us and his spirit will be with us forever and ever. I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. That he atoned for each of us individually and instituted the Sacrament so we could be forgiven of our sins every week. I know this brothers and sisters, it is true.

Sé que el libro de Mormón es otro Testamento de Jesucristo. Creo en Jesus Cristo

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Could somebody look this over and give me advice? I need real advice nothing sugar coated. I am not worried about spelling errors or writing errors. As those do not matter since it is a speech. What I want to know is if it flows good and if there are more scriptures I could throw in. I do not have a lot of time to write a speech, your help is much appreciated. Thank You

Edited November 13, 2012 by tyler90az

Calm · November 13, 2012

One thing...the font is hard to read. If you could change it, it would be easier to critique. As it is, I am putting effort into figuring out individual words so the whole thing feels very choppy to me, which it may not be.

Edited November 13, 2012 by calmoriah

tyler90az · November 13, 2012

One thing...the font is hard to read. If you could change it, it would be easier to critique. As it is, I am putting effort into figuring out individual words so the whole thing feels very choppy to me, which it may not be.

It is pretty choppy, I agree.

Bill “Papa” Lee · November 15, 2012

One thing...the font is hard to read. If you could change it, it would be easier to critique. As it is, I am putting effort into figuring out individual words so the whole thing feels very choppy to me, which it may not be.

Wait I did not write it...

Calm · November 15, 2012

If this is the kind of thing you had in mind, let me know and I will finish when I get a chance. I tend to be wordy and your stytle tends more to sparse so if you don't like it, my feelings won't be hurt. Had to do spelling and grammar at the same time from habit.

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Has anybody ever had one of those Sacrament meetings where you feel like the spirit is a million miles away? I know I have! Just a month ago I remember my kids crying and running around so much that I could not feel the spirit. I felt like screaming to the roof top, "o spirit where art thou?" in the hopes of the most amazing miracle ever happening… my kids being quiet. If only every time we walked in church our kids would sit perfectly and listen intently. .. if only, if only. Could you imagine all the people that would come to church then?

If kids did quiet every time they walked in, it would have made that Sacrament about a month ago more spiritually satisfying (refreshing?). They were crying so loud I could not hear the blessing on the bread. And since I did not hear the blessing I decided not to partake of the bread when it was passed. In the interval between bread and water though after serious thought, I came to the opposite conclusion: "better to follow the spirit than the letter". When the water was blessed I therefore listened intently and then when I was offered it, I partook of the water. Still my week was not the same. I had missed out on receiving Jesus Christ into my life by fully partaking in a sacred and great ordinance.

A ward near where Sandy hit knew that sacredness better than me (I?) when their opportunity came and were able to experience and share in the greatness of the Sacrament Ordinance. That Sunday, it was 9am, very cold and dark. Their ward building had lost power due to the destruction left behind by Sandy. They still decided to do the right thing and held sacrament inspite of the less than inspiring conditions. They knew the importance of the Sacrament outweighed any consideration of comfort, that the Sacrament ordinance is so important we are commanded to perform it each week. After Sacrament meeting they continued their commitment to Christ when they all piled into buses and went out to help any Sandy victims they could.

To see the greatness of the Sacrament we can look at when Jesus Christ chose to instituted it. Before the Savior was to atoned for the sins of the world he set out to institute the Sacrament. The ordinance is not just some step to the atonement. Nor is it something that we should push to the back of our minds or take lightly. It is on par with anything else the Savior has done or will do. Joseph Fielding Smith thought of that meeting as, “the most sacred, the most holy, of all the meetings of the Church” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols., Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954–56, 2:340).

The following is an account of when Jesus Christ first instituted the Sacrament.

1 Corinthians 11: 24-25 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in^aremembrance of me.