The night before His Crucifixion, Jesus met with His Apostles and gave them a gift—the sacrament. And while we may not be accustomed to speaking of it this way, the sacrament ordinance is a great exercise in meditation.
The Sacrament as a Meditation
Carrie Skarda, author of The Power of Stillness, explains on the Magnify podcast, “Christ’s last gift to His disciples was a meditation. He [in essence] said, ‘You’re going to forget me, so I’m going to give you a tool to help you remember me.’ And [that gift was] the sacrament, which we continue to participate in even to this day.”
The sacrament is a designated time to focus our attention on spiritual things. And why would Christ give us this gift? Carrie suggests it is because He understands the power of stillness.
“We read in the scriptures that [Christ] often went away to secluded places to pray,” she says. “How often do we go away to secluded places to commune with our Heavenly Father and invest in our relationship with Him? I think the Savior gave us the sacrament as an opportunity to build stillness into our weekly routine because He knew from His own personal experience how empowering that could be in helping us be spiritually resilient.”
And the sacrament isn’t a Latter-day Saint’s only opportunity for stillness. In fact, stillness is built into many things we do. Other practices that intentionally focus our attention on spiritual things include,
- Offering prayer.
- Pondering scripture.
- Honoring the Sabbath Day.
- Attending the temple. Carrie suggests temple worship doesn’t have to be just about “doing a name” but can be our way of “stopping the doing to just be with God.”
- Fasting. Carrie says this practice “is a time to use our whole bodies as a way of being pruned back and just focusing our attention on spiritual things.”
Why Stillness is So Beautiful
In other words, God knew our lives would be busy, so He set aside time within our religious practice to be still. And as we experience stillness, we are better able to feel the Holy Ghost.
“When we’re in a more embodied, mindful place, then we’re able to feel the direction of the Holy Ghost. And that helps us be our best self and also helps us connect with others around us in a more sanctifying way,” Carrie says.
You can listen to Carrie’s full Magnify episode on stillness wherever you get your podcasts or in the player below.
For more articles on stillness and meditation, see the links below.
▶ Expert tips for enjoying spiritual stillness—no matter what’s on your plate
▶ ‘How do you avoid getting overwhelmed?’ Sharon Eubank’s brilliant and simple answer
▶ The most productive thing you can do for your testimony is also the simplest
▶ How to stop feeling exhausted and find spiritual rest, according to President Nelson
