Partaking of the sacrament is the most important part of our Sunday worship, and we often think of it as a time to consider our sins and resolve to do better.
While this is true, Elder Patrick Kearon suggested in the October 2024 general conference a different approach to this holy ordinance:
“We may have been conditioned to suppose that the purpose of the sacrament is to sit in the pew thinking only about all the ways we messed up during the week before. But let’s turn that practice on its head” (emphasis added).
A Conduit to Christ
Productively reviewing our wrongdoings during the sacrament is an essential part of the ordinance, but Elder Kearon reminds us that the focus of the sacrament should extend beyond repentance:
“Yes, we ponder the sufferings and injustices inflicted upon our Redeemer for our sin, and that does cause sober reflection. But we sometimes get stuck there—in the garden, at the cross, inside the tomb. We fail to move upward to the joy of the tomb bursting open, the defeat of death, and Christ’s victory over all that might prevent us from gaining peace and returning to our heavenly home.”
If worthily partaking of the sacrament doesn’t culminate in feelings of joy and gratitude, we can take Elder Kearon’s advice on what to do during this holy ordinance:
- Ponder the ways the Lord has ‘relentlessly [pursued]’ us throughout the week.
- Reflect on the joy of daily repentance.
- Give thanks for the Savior’s presence in our triumphs and struggles.
- Give thanks for times we’ve felt His grace, forgiveness, and power.
We can also remember the promise Jesus made to the Nephites after explaining the sacrament:
“And if ye shall always do these things blessed are ye, for ye are built upon my rock.”
Partaking of the sacrament is more than a cleansing; it’s a means of opening, week after week, the conduit to Jesus Christ and the blessings of our baptismal covenants.
An Ordinance of Healing
Alma teaches that keeping our baptismal covenants is how the Savior pours “his Spirit more abundantly upon [us].” In the New Testament, we are taught that God’s spirit is not a “spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” It is a spirit of healing.
“I am a witness 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 is lifted. Comfort and happiness come to the soul that is worthy and truly desirous of partaking of this spiritual food” (“The Sacramental Covenant,” Improvement Era, Oct. 1919, 1027).
It’s important to consider the sacrament in its entirety. Only then can we recognize its transformative power, one that cleans us and heals us.
Christ “was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5). But the story doesn’t end there and neither does the sacrament. He suffered, and His suffering ended. He performed the Atonement, and He rose again.
To fully experience the joy and miracle of the sacrament ordinance, we cannot dwell only on our sins and Christ’s suffering. We must remember the last words of Isaiah 53:5, the promise that puts an end to our spiritual death:
“And with his stripes we are healed.”
More articles for you:
▶ Steve Young testifies of angels to famous sports journalist
▶ The First Presidency invited you to prepare for Easter by doing these 2 things
▶ Why being denied entry to the temple answered a woman’s prayers for truth