Families are the Lord's Workshop on Earth to Help Us Become What He Wants Us to Be

One place where we best seek to be filled with light and truth is in our own homes. The words in the chorus of the song we heard remind us, “God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be.”3 Families are the Lord’s workshop on earth to help us learn and live the gospel. We come into our families with a sacred duty to help strengthen each other spiritually.

APRIL 2015 General Conference, "Filling Our Homes with Light and Truth",Cheryl A. Esplin

Aaronic Priesthood Holders Represent the Savior When They Prepare, Bless, and Pass the Sacrament.

Aaronic Priesthood holders represent the Savior when they prepare, bless, and pass the sacrament. As a priesthood holder extends his arm to offer us the sacred emblems, it is as if the Savior Himself were extending His arm of mercy, inviting each one of us to partake of the precious gifts of love made available through His atoning sacrifice—gifts of repentance,forgiveness, comfort, and hope.¹⁷

The Sacrament--a Renewal for the Soul, Cheryl A. Esplin, October 2014 General Conference

There Is a Spirit Attending the Administration of the Sacrament

Elder Melvin J. Ballard taught how the sacrament can be a healing and cleansing experience. He said:

“Who is there among us that does not wound his spirit by word, thought, or deed, from Sabbath to Sabbath? We do things for which we are sorry and desire to be forgiven. … The method to obtain forgiveness is … to repent of our sins, to go to those against whom we have sinned or transgressed and obtain their forgiveness and then repair to the sacrament table where, if we have sincerely repented and put ourselves in proper condition, we shall be forgiven, and spiritual healing will come to our souls. …

“I am a witness,” Elder Ballard said, “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 being lifted. Comfort and happiness come to the soul that is worthy and truly desirous of partaking of this spiritual food.”11

The Sacrament--a Renewal for the Soul, Cheryl A. Esplin, October 2014 General Conference

She Was Neglecting a Big Part of the Atonement--Christ's Enabling Power

The sacrament provides a time for a truly spiritual experience as we reflect upon the Savior’s redeeming and enabling power through His Atonement. A Young Women leader recently learned about the strength we receive as we strive to thoughtfully partake of the sacrament. Working to complete a requirement in Personal Progress, she set a goal to focus on the words in the sacrament hymns and prayers.

Each week, she conducted a self-evaluation during the sacrament. She recalled mistakes she had made, and she committed to be better the next week. She was grateful to be able to make things right and be made clean. Looking back on the experience, she said, “I was acting on the repentance part of the Atonement.”

One Sunday after her self-evaluation, she began to feel gloomy and pessimistic. She could see that she was making the same errors over and over again, week to week. But then she had a distinct impression that she was neglecting a big part of the Atonement—Christ’s enabling power. She was forgetting all the times the Savior helped her be who she needed to be and serve beyond her own capacity.

With this in mind, she reflected again on the previous week. She said: “A feeling of joy broke through my melancholy as I noted that He had given me many opportunities and abilities. I noted with gratitude the ability I had to recognize my child’s need when it wasn’t obvious. I noted that on a day when I felt I could not pack in one more thing to do, I was able to offer strengthening words to a friend. I had shown patience in a circumstance that usually elicited the opposite from me.”

She concluded: “As I thanked God for the Savior’s enabling power in my life, I felt so much more optimistic toward the repentance process I was working through and I looked to the next week with renewed hope.”
The Sacrament--a Renewal for the Soul, Cheryl A. Esplin, October 2014 General Conference

Why I like this: As I repent each day and ask for forgiveness I find myself needing to repent of the same things each day or frequently.  I need to ask for "enabling power" of Jesus Christ in overcoming my repetitive sins.

The Sacrament--a Renewal for the Soul, Cheryl A. Esplin, October 2014 General Conference