“The Sacrament—a Renewal for the Soul”
Conference Talk by
Cheryl A. Esplin
October, 2014 General Conference, Saturday Morning Session
“The Sacrament and the Atonement”
Conference Talk by
Elder James J. Hamula
October, 2014 General Conference Sunday Morning
Session
Lesson by Lauren
Lauren
began her lesson by reading a quote from Elder James J. Hamula’s talk: “The ordinance of the sacrament has been
called “one of the most holy and sacred ordinances in the Church.” It needs to become more holy and sacred to
each of us. Jesus Christ Himself
instituted the ordinance to remind us what He did to redeem us and to teach us
how we may avail ourselves of His Redemption and thereby live with God again.”
Lauren
then showed us the bible video of “Last Supper” which showed Christ offering
the sacrament to the Twelve Apostles.
She
then asked, “Do we recognize the Sacrament to be the most holy ordinance? And:
How do you prepare for the Sacrament each week?” Some responses were: To repent; It keeps you humble; It is
cleansing.
Elder Hamula said, “In this
simple yet profound manner, Jesus instituted a new ordinance for God’s covenant
people. No longer would animal blood be spilled or animal flesh be consumed in
anticipation of a redeeming sacrifice of a Christ who was yet to come. Instead,
emblems of the broken flesh and spilled blood of the Christ who had already
come would be taken and eaten in remembrance of His redeeming sacrifice.
Participation in this new ordinance would signify to all a solemn acceptance of
Jesus as the promised Christ and wholehearted willingness to follow Him and
keep His commandments. To those who would so signify and conduct their life,
spiritual death would “pass over” them, and eternal life would be assured.
In the hours and days that
followed, Jesus entered into Gethsemane, was taken to Calvary,
and triumphantly departed the Arimathean’s tomb. After His departure from them,
Jesus’s faithful disciples in and about Jerusalem
came together on the first day of the week to “break bread,” and they did so
“steadfastly.” Surely, they did so not only to remember their departed Lord but
also to express gratitude for and faith in His marvelous Redemption of them.”
Lauren then read the
Sacrament prayer: O God, the Eternal
Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify
this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in
remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal
Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always
remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may
always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.
What
can we do to make the words of the Sacrament more meaningful? Some responses were that it helps when the
prayer is spoken slowly; re-read the prayer while the bread and water are being
passed; the bishopric helps set the tone
when we begin the Sacrament portion of the meeting.
Elder Hamula said, “With torn
and broken bread, we signify that we remember the physical body of Jesus
Christ—a body that was buffeted with pains, afflictions, and temptations of
every kind, a body that bore a burden of anguish sufficient to bleed
at every pore, a body whose flesh was torn and whose heart was broken in
crucifixion. We signify our belief that while that same body was laid to rest
in death, it was raised again to life from the grave, never again to know
disease, decay, or death. And in taking the bread to ourselves, we acknowledge
that, like Christ’s mortal body, our bodies will be released from the bonds of
death, rise triumphantly from the grave, and be restored to our eternal
spirits.
With a small cup of water, we
signify that we remember the blood Jesus spilled and the spiritual suffering He
endured for all mankind. We remember the agony that caused great drops of blood
to fall in Gethsemane. We remember the bruising
and scourging He endured at the hands of His captors. We remember the blood He
spilled from His hands, feet, and side while at Calvary.
And we remember His personal reflection on His suffering: “How sore you know
not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.” In taking
the water to ourselves, we acknowledge that His blood and suffering atoned for
our sins and that He will remit our sins as we embrace and accept the
principles and ordinances of His gospel.”
Lauren asked, “How do you
feel during the Sacrament?” Some
responses were: “Reading the words of
the Sacrament hymns helps focus; Engage
kids by asking 10 things they are grateful for that Jesus had done for them; Think about what you can work on during the
week; Take the promises literally…you
can be as perfect as when you were baptized.”
Elder Hamula said, “The
fundamental question facing all of us is not whether we will live but with whom
we will live after we die. While every one of us will return to the presence of
God, not every one of us will remain with Him. . . In partaking of the sacramental water, we are taught
how we may be made clean from sin and transgression and thus stand in the
presence of God. By the shedding of His innocent blood, Jesus Christ satisfied
the demands of justice for every sin and transgression. He then offers to make
us clean if we will have faith in Him sufficient to repent; accept all the
ordinances and covenants of salvation, beginning with baptism; and receive the
Holy Ghost. Upon our receipt of the Holy Ghost, we are cleansed and purified.
Jesus made this doctrine very clear: No
unclean thing can enter into [God’s] kingdom; … nothing entereth into his rest
save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood. …Now this is
the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be
baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy
Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.” And: “Next, we declare that we “are willing
to take upon [us] the name of [the] Son.” That is a solemn commitment to submit
ourselves to His authority and to do His work, which includes receiving for
ourselves every saving ordinance and covenant.
When we commit ourselves to these principles, we are promised in the
sacramental prayers that we will “have his Spirit to be with [us].” Receiving
anew the Spirit is a consummate blessing because the Spirit is the agent who
cleanses and purifies us from sin and transgression.”
Lauren read from Cheryl
Esplin’s talk where she quoted President Henry B. Eyring: “That means we must see ourselves as His. We
will put Him first in our lives. We will want what He wants rather than what we
want or what the world teaches us to want.”
Sister Esplin said, “Elder
Melvin J. Ballard taught how the sacrament can be a healing and cleansing
experience. He said: “Who is there among us that does not wound his spirit by
word, thought, or deed, from Sabbath to Sabbath? We do things for which we are
sorry and desire to be forgiven. … The method to obtain forgiveness is … to
repent of our sins, to go to those against whom we have sinned or transgressed
and obtain their forgiveness and then repair to the sacrament table where, if
we have sincerely repented and put ourselves in proper condition, we shall be
forgiven, and spiritual healing will come to our souls. …
“I am a witness,” Elder
Ballard said, “that there is a spirit attending the administration of the
sacrament that warms the soul from head to foot; you feel the wounds of the
spirit being healed, and the load being lifted. Comfort and happiness come to
the soul that is worthy and truly desirous of partaking of this spiritual
food.”
Our wounded souls can be
healed and renewed not only because the bread and water remind us of the
Savior’s sacrifice of His flesh and blood but because the emblems also remind
us that He will always be our “bread of life” and “living water.”
Sister Esplin expressed her
feelings about the Sacrament, “When I partake of the sacrament, I sometimes
picture in my mind a painting that depicts the resurrected Savior with His arms
outstretched, as if He is ready to receive us into His loving embrace. I love
this painting. When I think about it during the administration of the
sacrament, my soul is lifted as I can almost hear the Savior’s words: “Behold,
mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I
receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.”
Lauren closed her lesson by
bearing her testimony saying that by remembering this sacred ordinance that
through Him we are able to be cleaned each week when we partake of the
sanctified bread and water, to try harder to become better people and that
Christ was willing to be sacrificed for us.
