The Sacrament

Christ Introduced the Sacrament

Our Savior wants us to remember His great atoning sacrifice and keep His commandments. To help us do this, He has commanded us to meet often and partake of the sacrament.

The sacrament is a holy priesthood ordinance that helps remind us of theSavior’s Atonement. During the sacrament, we partake of bread and water. We do this in remembrance of His flesh and His blood, which He gave as a sacrifice for us. As we partake of the sacrament, we renew sacred covenants with our Heavenly Father.

The Savior introduced the sacrament to his Apostles before his crucifixion, to the Nephites after his resurrection, and he restored the ordinance in latter days through Joseph Smith. 

How the Sacrament Is Administered

The scriptures explain exactly how the sacrament is to be administered. The sacrament is administered by those who hold the necessary priesthood authority. A priest or Melchizedek Priesthood holder breaks bread into pieces, kneels, and blesses it (see D&C 20:76). A deacon or other priesthood holder then passes the sacrament bread to the congregation. The process is repeated with the water.

Jesus has revealed the exact words for both sacrament prayers. We should listen carefully to these beautiful prayers and try to understand what we are promising and what is being promised to us. (See D&C 20:77 - 79).

The ordinance of the sacrament is performed very simply and reverently.

The Covenants We Renew during the Sacrament

Each time we partake of the sacrament, we renew covenants with the Lord. A covenant is a sacred promise between the Lord and His children. The covenants we make are clearly stated in the sacramental prayers. It is important to know what those covenants are and what they mean.

We covenant that we are willing to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ. By this we show we are willing to be identified with Him and His Church. We commit to serve Him and our fellowman. We promise that we will not bring shame or reproach upon that name.

We covenant to always remember Jesus Christ. All our thoughts, feelings, and actions will be influenced by Him and His mission.

We promise to keep His commandments.

The Lord promises that if we keep our covenants, we will always have His Spirit to be with us. A person guided by the Spirit will have the knowledge, faith, power, and righteousness to gain eternal life.

Our Attitude When Partaking of the Sacrament

Before partaking of the sacrament, we are to prepare ourselves spiritually. The Lord emphasizes that no one should partake of the sacrament unworthily. That means we must repent of our sins before taking the sacrament. 

During the sacrament service we should dismiss from our minds all worldly thoughts. We should feel prayerful and reverent. We should think of the Atonement of our Savior and be grateful for it. We should examine our lives and look for ways to improve. We should also renew our determination to keep the commandments.

We do not need to be perfect before partaking of the sacrament, but we must have the spirit of repentance in our hearts. The attitude with which we partake of the sacrament influences our experience with it. If we partake of the sacrament with a pure heart, we receive the promised blessings of the Lord.

How do you make the sacrament a daily part of your life and/or what do you do to maintain a reverent attitude while taking the sacrament?  Please share your ideas in the comments.

Spiritual Gifts

• Following baptism, each of us had hands laid on our heads to receive thegift of the Holy Ghost. If we are faithful, we can have His influence continually with us. Through Him, each of us can be blessed with certain spiritual powers called gifts of the Spirit. These gifts are given to thosewho are faithful to Christ. “All these gifts come from God, for the benefit of the children of God” (D&C 46:26).They help us know and teach the truths of the gospel. They will help us bless others. They will guide us back to our Heavenly Father. To use our gifts wisely, we need to know what they are, how we can develop them, and how to recognize Satan’s imitations of them.

The scriptures mention many gifts of the Spirit. These gifts have been given to members of the true Church whenever it has been on the earth (see Mark 16:16–18). The gifts of the Spirit include the following:

The Gift of Tongues (D&C 46:24)

The Gift of Interpretation of Tongues (D&;C 46:25)

The Gift of Translation (D&;C 5:4)

The Gift of Wisdom (D&;C 46:17)

The Gift of Knowledge (D&;C 46:18)

The Gift of Teaching Wisdom and Knowledge (Moroni 10:9–10)

The Gift of Knowing That Jesus Christ Is the Son of God (D&;C 46:13)

The Gift of Believing the Testimony of Others (D&;C 46:14)

The Gift of Prophecy (D&;C 46:22)

The Gift of Healing (D&;C 46:19–20)

The Gift of Working Miracles (D&;C 46:21)

The Gift of Faith (Moroni 10:11)

We Can Develop Our Gifts

The Lord has said: “For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God. To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby” (D&;C 46:11–12).

To develop our gifts, we must find out which gifts we have. We do this by praying and fasting. We should seek after the best gifts (see D&C 46:8). Sometimes patriarchal blessings will help us know which gifts we have been given.

We must be obedient and faithful to be given our gifts. We then should use these gifts to do the work of the Lord. They are not given to satisfy our curiosity or to prove anything to us because we lack faith. Of spiritual gifts, the Lord said, “They are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do” (D&C 46:9).

Satan Imitates the Gifts of the Spirit

Satan can imitate the gifts of tongues, prophecy, visions, healings, and other miracles. Moses had to compete with Satan’s imitations in Pharaoh’s court (see Exodus 7:8–22). Satan wants us to believe in his false prophets, false healers, and false miracle workers. They may appear to be so real to us that the only way to know is to ask God for the gift of discernment. 

We Must Be Careful with Our Gifts of the Spirit

The Lord said, “A commandment I give unto them, that they shall notboast themselves of these things, neither speak them before the world;for these things are given unto you for your profit and for salvation”(D&C 84:73). We must remember that spiritual gifts are sacred (see D&C 6:10).

In return for giving us these gifts, the Lord asks that we “give thanksunto God in the Spirit for whatsoever blessing [we] are blessed with”(D&C 46:32).

For further study, see:

"Quick to Observe", by Elder David A. Bednar, December 2006 Ensign

"There are Many Gifts", by Elder Marvin J. Ashton, November 1987 Ensign

"Spiritual Gifts", by Elder Dallin H. Oaks, September 1986 Ensign