Sacrament

“Perhaps the longest-lived celebration of gratitude and thanksgiving is Passover. What’s the origin of Passover and what’s its connection to modern day Thanksgiving and our covenants with God?”

It’s not realistic to think your Nursery-aged child will sit still and listen intently for an entire Sacrament meeting. Here are a few ways to help them learn.

One afternoon, I walked into my son’s room and saw him quietly playing. I could tell that he was engaged in an imaginary game but couldn’t quite tell what was going on. He had flipped his toddler chair to form a table and then he had carefully laid a book on top.

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has provided updated guidelines to help Church leaders and members safely increase engagement in worship and other activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I sit on my pew, heart heavy and storm raging. In the prayer over the bread I am reminded that I have covenanted to take His name, and my soul is caught up in the wondering about this.

“A thought has occurred to me that my making a covenant today is a lot more important than the message that I have prepared.”

The following article originally ran on LDS Living in September 2015.

One of the main admonitions that we try to follow as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints comes from Nephi in the Book of Mormon:

The sacrament is an ordinance that we, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, can partake of every week. We take the bread and the water to remember our Savior and to renew the covenants we made with God at baptism. While the doctrine may be clear as to why we take it, does the order of partaking of the sacrament bread and water really matter?

At the heart of regular weekly worship in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the simple ritual known as the sacrament. Much else is dispensable. Excepting certain conference weekends, however, the sacrament is essential.

As Latter-day Saints, families are a huge part of our doctrine and our membership. And at one time or another, we've probably had the responsibility of watching a toddler during sacrament meeting and experienced all the unique challenges and joys that provides.

The following article previously ran on LDS Living in September 2016.

As a youth speaker stood and began her very first sacrament meeting talk, I realized she sounded just like a typical adult speaker—and that wasn’t a good thing.

Through the regular pattern of sacrament meeting, I feel like I get a chance to symbolically relive the first Easter weekend.

Note: For many families with special needs, we understand weekly church attendance may not be an option. Follow the Spirit and counsel with Church leaders to find the best fit for your family. For more information about how to incorporate the gospel into your unique family situation, click here.

The following excerpt has been republished with permission from faithmatters.org.

Happiness and peace in this life and in the world to come depend upon remembering the Savior and covenants with Him daily.

My sister-in-law Cheryl Harward Wilcox came to value the sacrament much more as she helped care for her mother, Melva, until she passed away at age 92. Melva was in the hospital in Payson, Utah, when it was decided that there was nothing more that could be done except to keep her as comfortable as possible until she passed on. As preparations were being made to transport her back to her home, two brethren from a local ward came into the room and asked Cheryl if her mother would like the sacrament. At first, Cheryl told them, “No, thank you.” Her mom could hardly swallow. Then Cheryl said, “On second thought, let me ask her.” Cheryl leaned close to her mother’s ear and said, “There are two priesthood holders here. Would you like to try to take the sacrament?”

Have you ever had to stand in the spotlight at the podium, nervously adjusting the microphone as you try to say something profound and spiritual? You're not alone! Everyone who speaks at a sacrament meeting goes through some variety of these nine funny, and sometimes painful, stages.

The Holy Ghost will give us very specific guidance if we will hear and act upon it. One woman tells of a personal commandment, or prompting, that she felt compelled to obey:

1. Get Inspired Introspection

While other parents dream of their sons growing up to become astronauts, brain surgeons, or president, I dream of my son having a normal life. My son, Spencer, was diagnosed with autism at age 3. My wife, Katie, and I immediately had a thousand questions. Will he ever be able to get a job? Will he ever be able to live on his own? Will any girl see past his challenges to consider marrying him? We still have those questions, but we've learned to focus on more immediate questions.

Recently I visited with a friend who hasn’t stepped inside a chapel in years. This genuinely good guy believes that even casual church attendance should be based upon some basic level of obedience.

Sitting in the back of the chapel during fast and testimony meeting feels like a safe bet—until we get the spiritual prompting to stand up and bear our testimonies. For several minutes, we struggle with whether or not we really should. We rationalize. We're teaching Gospel Doctrine this week. We just bore our testimony last year, right? We don't have anything special to say. We're scared.

Moms of young kids, I know you. I’ve been you. I’ve sat in sacrament meeting with children on all sides, pulling my clothes and my hair, trying to crawl under the pew, smashing Cheerios in the bench.

With the announcement of the new meeting schedule, it is more important than ever that the sacrament become a pivotal point in our weekly devotion. I share this Pondering in the hope of deepening our sacrament worship. It is based on notes for a talk I gave in a sacrament meeting a couple months ago in Mongolia.

Chances are, if you’re a Latter-day Saint, you’ve had this happen to you before: it’s a Tuesday night like any other. Our family has just finished dinner, and we’re clearing the table when the phone rings. It’s the bishop. The conversation lasts less than two minutes, but the worry we feel coming away from that phone call will haunt us for the next week: we’ve been asked to give a talk in sacrament meeting.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are commanded to partake of the sacrament each week (see D&C 59:9, 12). When the priest offers the scriptural prayer on the bread, he prays to God, the Eternal Father, that all who partake may “witness unto thee . . . that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son” (D&C 20:77; Moro. 4:3). This renews the covenant made in the waters of baptism that we will take upon us the name of Jesus Christ and “serve him and keep his commandments” (Mosiah 18:10). In modern scriptures persons desiring to be baptized are required to witness before the Church “that they have truly repented of all their sins, and are willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end” (D&C 20:37; see also 2 Ne. 31:13; Moro. 6:3).

As is taught in the temple, the Lord has always required his people to offer sacrifice, from the time of our first parents onward. The type and place of sacrifice have changed over the ages, but the fundamental principles undergirding the doctrine of sacrifice have not. Righteous sacrifices are really symbols of our obedience to the Lord, of Jesus Christ and His atonement, of our desire to imitate the Savior and live as He does. Our offering of sacrifice demonstrates our commitment to follow the Lord above anyone or anything else.

Purpose: To teach children the importance of the sacrament

Do we understand who we really are? Do we grasp the significance of the divine potential that lies within each of us? Based on the decisions I see many people make—decisions that seem to be founded on temporal trivia rather than eternal truth—I’m afraid the answer is "No, not really."

"We express our love to those in this congregation and our prayers for the victims and their families. Local leaders are ministering to them at this time," Church spokesman Eric Hawkins said.

Years ago, before the Church instituted the three-hour block schedule for our Sunday meetings, we used to go to the chapel for meetings three times every Sunday—once in the morning for priesthood meeting, a second time for Sunday School opening exercises and classes, and finally a third time for a ninety-minute sacrament meeting. When I was a very young man, our ward’s Sunday School superintendent, Brother Marchant, came to our class one Sunday to ask for volunteers who would be willing to give the prayer, the 2½-minute talks, and the sacrament gem (a verse of scripture shared before the sacrament was passed) in the following week’s Sunday School opening exercises. My strategy was to quickly volunteer to say either the prayer or the sacrament gem. I was motivated by the desire to avoid having to give a talk at all costs! Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t the only person in the class with that strategy, and I missed out on my first choice, the prayer. I was quick enough, however, to score the sacrament gem assignment. Given the other alternative, I felt lucky.

“The name of Jesus Christ,” the text message read. It was the topic I received from the bishopric member in the ward that I was assigned to speak to that Sunday as a member of the high council. I thought, “That’s a pretty vague topic.” I began to ponder what exactly I may speak about to that ward on Sunday. However, not really anything came to my mind throughout the week.

Here are a few habits that may be sneaking into your Sunday worship that aren’t in accordance with the Church handbook.

Each Sunday, when we take the sacrament, we remember our covenants, our promise to mourn with those who mourn and to comfort those who stand in need of comfort (Mosiah 18:9). This month’s visiting teaching principle and First Presidency message encourage us to remember our Savior as we keep our covenants and get to know those we teach.

Editor's note: The following responses have been edited for length and clarity.

General Conference Talk: “That They Do Always Remember Him” by Elder Claudio R. M. Costa October 2015 general conference

The following is an excerpt from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's book Trusting Jesus. He offers eight things we can remember when we take the sacrament. (Headings have been added.)

I think you would be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t identify “remembering” as a major theme in the Book of Mormon. “O remember, remember” (Helaman 5:9), “Do ye not remember?” (Alma 9:9), and “It came to pass that Shez did remember the destruction of his fathers, and he did build up a righteous kingdom” (Ether 10:2). Even outside of the Book of Mormon, the theme of remembrance permeates the scriptures.

For Moroni to engrave the sacrament prayers on the plates is a testimony that the sacrament was an essential, not an optional, part of their worship.

Conference Talk: For more information on this topic read "Small and Simple Things," by Christoffel Golden Jr., Ensign, Nov 2007, 78-80

To the person who didn’t take the sacrament today:

Most of us have a vivid memory of the first time we went to the temple to receive our endowments. I was a newly called missionary and had traveled to the Los Angeles Temple. I did not know what to expect. Although some aspects of my own endowment were wonderfully edifying to me, much of it was confusing. I left bewildered and a little frightened. I have since discovered that my experience was not unique. I have also discovered why my first experience was not all what I had anticipated. At the time, I did not understand the manner in which the Lord teaches His children in His house. Had I understood, my anxiety and confusion would have disappeared, even though my comprehension level might have remained the same.

The weekly sacrament ritual is the focal point in LDS sabbath worship. In it we renew our baptismal covenants with Christ. These covenants include promises to God, to ourselves, and to others. The ritual also has layers of meaning in how it is prepared, blessed, and passed by the Aaronic priesthood holders in the ward.