The Sacrament

My Position on the Sacrament

When I was a youth my family went inactive from the church, sadly these are the years that I needed it the most. As I went about my life without guiding principles I made a huge mess. When I was eighteen years old and returning to activity I attended a convert baptism and I was mesmerized by the Spirit in the room and the way the entire experience made me feel. I couldn't help to think that I wanted this for myself, I wanted to be baptized again. Of course I knew that wasn't going to happen, so I began to study the sacrament with an emphasis on renewing my baptismal covenants. It is amazing to me all of the opportunities and guides that God has provided to help bring us back home to him. I have no doubt in my mind that my Heavenly Father knew that I would need the saving ordinances of the Sacrament and that they exist for the sole purpose of a remission of sin and a rebirth of spirit through the atonement of Jesus Christ. 

1.President Henry B. Eyring- April 2015 Conference “The Comforter” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/the-comforter?lang=eng

“You are a covenant member of the Church of Jesus Christ. A great change began in your heart when you came into the Church. You made a covenant, and you received a promise that began changing your very nature.”

2. Elder Russell M Nelson –April 2015 Conference “The Sabbath Is a Delight” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/the-sabbath-is-a-delight?lang=eng

“The Savior identified Himself as Lord of the Sabbath. It is His day! Repeatedly, He has asked us to keep the Sabbath10 or to hallow the Sabbath day. We are under covenant to do so.”

3. Elder Russell M Nelson –April 2015 Conference “The Sabbath Is a Delight” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/the-sabbath-is-a-delight?lang=eng

“Faith in God engenders a love for the Sabbath; faith in the Sabbath engenders a love for God. A sacred Sabbath truly is a delight.”

4. Elder M. Russell Ballard-April 1996 “Feasting at the Lord’s Table” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1996/04/feasting-at-the-lords-table?lang=eng&query=elder+m+russell+ballard+sacrament

“For example, carefully planned sacrament meetings should be a spiritual feast in which we worship and learn of our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Bishops, if your sacrament meetings are less than a banquet of spiritual nourishment, I urge you to invite suggestions from your ward council, especially the sisters, on ways to make every sacrament meeting a more reverent, spiritual experience.”

5. Elder David A Bednar- April 2006 “That We May Always Have His Spirit to Be with Us” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2006/04/that-we-may-always-have-his-spirit-to-be-with-us?lang=eng

“Precisely because the promised blessing is that we may always have His Spirit to be with us, we should attend to and learn from the choices and influences that separate us from the Holy Spirit.”

6. Elder David A Bednar- April 2006 “That We May Always Have His Spirit to Be with Us” 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2006/04/that-we-may-always-have-his-spirit-to-be-with-us?lang=eng

“Through the ordinance of the sacrament we renew our baptismal covenant and can receive and retain a remission of our sins (see Mosiah 4:12, 26). In addition, we are reminded on a weekly basis of the promise that we may always have His Spirit to be with us. As we then strive to keep ourselves clean and unspotted from the world, we become worthy vessels in whom the Spirit of the Lord can always dwell.”

7. Cheryl A. Esplin- October 2014 “The Sacrament a Renewal for the Soul” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/the-sacrament-a-renewal-for-the-soul?lang=eng&query=sacrament

“The sacrament becomes a spiritually strengthening experience when we listen to the sacrament prayers and recommit to our covenants. To do this, we must be willing to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ.”

8. Cheryl A. Esplin- October 2014 “The Sacrament a Renewal for the Soul” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/the-sacrament-a-renewal-for-the-soul?lang=eng&query=sacrament

“The sacrament provides a time for a truly spiritual experience as we reflect upon the Savior’s redeeming and enabling power through His Atonement.”

9. Dallin H. Oaks- October 2008 “Sacrament Meeting and the Sacrament” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/sacrament-meeting-and-the-sacrament?lang=eng&query=sacrament

“The ordinance of the sacrament makes the sacrament meeting the most sacred and important meeting in the Church. It is the only Sabbath meeting the entire family can attend together. Its content in addition to the sacrament should always be planned and presented to focus our attention on the Atonement and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

10. Dallin H. Oaks- October 2008 “Sacrament Meeting and the Sacrament” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/sacrament-meeting-and-the-sacrament?lang=eng&query=sacrament

“The sacrament is the ordinance that replaced the blood sacrifices and burnt offerings of the Mosaic law, and with it came the Savior’s promise: “And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost”