Skip to main content

As Now We Take the Sacrament

Dear Reader,


Normally I would apologize for a long absence, but the experience we had today just can't wait. I had an entirely new view on taking the sacrament because of a simple oversight by one of the boys passing the sacrament to us. Then the Bishop spoke and gave a little more perspective on spirituality.

First, the sacrament. Today we attended our new ward in Kaysville and we were sitting on the front row of the overflow area in the chapel. As is customary with the sacrament meeting in the Church of Jesus Christ, the members of the Aaronic priesthood will bless the bread and water that represents Christ's flesh and blood before allowing the members of the congregation to partake of it. While they were passing around the bread on their trays, our row was somehow skipped. My wife, my in-laws and myself did not receive the bread while taking the sacrament.

My father-in-law and I both did our best to attract the attention of those priesthood holders helping with the sacrament and we finally flagged them down and were able to partake of the bread before they finished passing it around.

I asked myself a question at that point: How often do I ask for the sacrament?

It sometimes becomes a routine to attend church meetings and partake of the sacrament just because it is there and we don't have to exert much effort to partake of the bread and water in order to renew our covenants with the Lord. However, as I learned today, it is an entirely new perspective to ask for the sacrament as if it were something that we are not entitled too. Asking for the sacrament was a humbling experience and gave a new significance to it. Asking for the sacrament added another layer of value to it and made it more personal.

I urge you all to think about how it would change your perspective if you had to ask for the sacrament every week. There are those that do. Some are bound to their homes and must ask for someone to bring them the bread and water to be blessed in their homes. Asking for the sacrament is probably not the easiest thing for them. However, it makes it more personal and they can feel how much Heavenly Father loves them.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Book of Mormon Stories

Dear Reader, Today I simply want to share a story that has strengthened my testimony of the Book of Mormon over the years. Professor Felix Mynhardt was fluent in many languages, including English, Afrikaans, Hebrew and Egyptian, as well as many others. He was employed as a language professor when he had been praying that the Lord would give him some divinely important task that would justify his having this gift of language from God. In 1970 he visited with a group of Mormon leaders, who sought to commission him to translate the Book of Mormon from English into Afrikaans. He said that he knew of the Book of Mormon from his religions studies, and his initial reaction was that he did not want to be involved in translating it. However, that evening, as he prayed upon his knees, as was his habit, he said the Spirit of the Lord convinced him. The message was something on the order of, "You asked me for a great, divinely inspired task of translation, I sent it to you in the form o...

Am I Proud to Be an American?

This weekend is the 4th of July, or Independence Day in the United States of America. One of my favorite songs during this time of celebrating the country is "God Bless the USA." The words paint a detailed picture of the beauty of the United States, both in a physical and emotional aspect. Our country is often depicted in a majestic manner such as this, making it seem like the greatest in the world and we often hear those bold words, "I'm proud to be an American."  With all of the issues that have been cropping up over the past couple of years such as impeachment, systemic racism, foreign intervention, and most significantly the COVID-19 pandemic, I have reflected deeply about what we celebrate with the 4th of July. These issues are just a few of the many that have made me wonder about the country we praise so proudly.  Am I really proud to be an American?  Thomas Jefferson wrote the candid words of the Declaration of Independence, which were th...

We'll Build This Love From the Ground Up

Dear Reader, Family ties are great. They are hard to maintain sometimes, but they are well worth the effort. God gave us families for a reason. I have seen it time and time again that being part of a family can help you come back from any setback or go forward to accomplish any goal. It must be said that my family is perfect for me. Heavenly Father knew what He was doing when He helped Lauren and I come together to form our own family and bring together our extended families. My in-laws are very generous and my parents are very loving. My siblings (in-laws included) are all fun to be with and they each teaches me in little ways. This past year with new family and lots of grand experiences has shown me how it important it is to be part of a family. This time last year, Lauren and I were preparing for our wedding and thinking about where she would be applying to grad school. Last fall we worked hard to finish as much school as we could and we planned to wait on have kids until she...