We ought to be careful that we do not partake of these emblems [of the sacrament] to our condemnation. Do you ever quarrel with your brethren, or act in such a way as to get up feelings, and perhaps speak harsh words one about another, and in other ways do that which is wrong, and then meet together in solemn mockery before God and eat condemnation to your souls? We want to be careful about these things; and hence we should understand that when we bring our gift to the altar, and there remember that we have ought against our brother, we should first go and be reconciled to him and then come and offer our gift [see Matthew 5:23–24]. Not come in any kind of hypocrisy, but come with clean hands and pure hearts, and feel to say “O God search me and try me and prove me, and if there is any way of wickedness in me, let it depart, and let me be thy true representative upon the earth, and let me partake of the spirit that dwelleth in Christ, and live in the enjoyment of that upon the earth; that when he comes again I, with my brethren, may meet him with clean hands and pure hearts.”
Thursday, April 30, 2026
I expect this just as much as I expect to eat my supper tonight.
We break bread and eat, and we drink water in the presence of each other every Sabbath day, and we do it in remembrance of the broken body and shed blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; and this we will continue to do until he comes again. When he does come, the Latter-day Saints expect to be among that favored number that will eat and drink with him at his own table in our Father’s kingdom. I expect this just as much as I expect to eat my supper tonight.
Faith in this ordinance [the Sacrament] would necessarily imply that we have faith in Jesus Christ,
It would seem that the coming of the Savior to the world, his suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension to the position he occupies in the eternal world before his Heavenly Father has a great deal to do with our interests and happiness; and hence this continued memorial that we partake of every Sabbath. This sacrament is the fulfillment of the request of Jesus Christ to his disciples. “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.” (1 Corinthians 11:26.) Faith in this ordinance would necessarily imply that we have faith in Jesus Christ, that he is the Only Begotten of the Father, that he came from the heavens to the earth to accomplish a certain purpose which God had designed—even to secure the salvation and exaltation of the human family. All this has a great deal to do with our welfare and happiness here and hereafter. The death of Jesus Christ would not have taken place had it not been necessary. That this ceremony should be instituted to keep that circumstance before the minds of his people, bespeaks its importance.
Tuesday, June 3, 2025
Being born again, comes by the Spirit of God through ordinances....The ordinances of salvation and exaltation administered in the Lord’s restored Church are far more than rituals or symbolic performances. Rather, they constitute authorized channels through which the blessings and powers of heaven can flow into our individual lives.
The Prophet Joseph Smith summarized succinctly the essential role of priesthood ordinances in the gospel of Jesus Christ: “Being born again, comes by the Spirit of God through ordinances.” This penetrating statement emphasizes the roles of both the Holy Ghost and sacred ordinances in the process of spiritual rebirth.
Holy ordinances are central in the Savior’s gospel and in the process of coming unto Him and seeking spiritual rebirth. Ordinances are sacred acts that have spiritual purpose, eternal significance, and are related to God’s laws and statutes. All saving ordinances and the ordinance of the sacrament must be authorized by one who holds the requisite priesthood keys.
The ordinances of salvation and exaltation administered in the Lord’s restored Church are far more than rituals or symbolic performances. Rather, they constitute authorized channels through which the blessings and powers of heaven can flow into our individual lives.
Ordinances received and honored with integrity are essential to obtaining the power of godliness and all of the blessings made available through the Savior’s Atonement.
Friday, May 9, 2025
The Sacrament
The glorious focal point of our services is the blessing and receiving of the sacrament itself, the bread and the water representing the atoning gift of our Lord and the whole purpose of our gathering. This is “a sacred time of spiritual renewal” when we witness anew that we are willing to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ and make again the covenant to always remember the Saviour and keep His commandments.
In some seasons of life, we may approach the sacrament with heavy hearts and overwhelming loads. At other times, we come free and unburdened from cares and troubles. As we listen intently to the blessing of the bread and water and partake of those sacred tokens, we may feel to reflect on the sacrifice of the Saviour, His agonies in Gethsemane, His anguish on the cross, and the sorrows and pains He endured on our behalf. That will be what relieves our souls as we connect our suffering to His. At other times, we will feel to wonder with grateful awe at the “exquisite and sweet” joy of what Jesus’s magnificent gift has made possible in our lives and in our eternities! We will rejoice for what is yet to come—our cherished reunion with our beloved Father and risen Saviour.
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. In the stillness, we can ponder the many ways we have seen the Lord relentlessly pursue us with His wonderful love that week! We can reflect on what it means to “discover the joy of daily repentance.” We can give thanks for the times the Saviour entered into our struggles and our triumphs and the occasions when we felt His grace, forgiveness, and power giving us strength to overcome our hardships and bear our burdens with patience and even good cheer.
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. Whether we shed tears of sorrow or tears of gratitude during the sacrament, let it be in awesome wonder at the good news of the Father’s gift of His Son
Monday, April 14, 2025
I Have Experienced This Power of the Sacramen
I took that piece of bread and that cup of water. This was a time when I needed power from heaven. In the midst of great heartache, exhaustion, and uncertainty, I wondered about this gift that would allow me to draw upon the power from Him that I so desperately needed. Partaking of the sacrament would increase my companionship with the Spirit of the Lord, allowing me to draw upon the gift of God’s power, including the ministering of angels and the Savior’s enabling strength to overcome.
Monday, May 27, 2024
A person cannot willfully sin on Saturday evening and expect that all he or she needs to do is eat a piece of bread and drink a cup of water on Sunday and magically be cleansed.
We are promised that the Holy Ghost will be our constant companion if we approach the sacrament the way a new convert approaches baptism and confirmation
. We are promised that the Holy Ghost will be our constant companion if we approach the sacrament the way a new convert approaches baptism and confirmation, with a broken heart and contrite spirit and a determination to live up to that baptismal covenant. The Holy Ghost blesses us with His sanctifying power so that we can always retain a remission of our sins, week in and week out.
Wednesday, September 20, 2023
I understood clearly in that moment that keeping my covenants must be more than good intentions....willingness is directly proportionate to the amount of time we commit to be in holy places where the influence of the Holy Ghost is present.
As I pondered the significance of those sacred words, the word willing impressed me as never before. A flood of sweet and sacred experiences filled my mind and heart with love and gratitude for the atoning sacrifice of the Savior and His crucial role in the Father’s plan of redemption for my family and me. Then I heard and felt the penetrating words of the prayer on the water: “That they may witness unto thee … that they do always remember him.” I understood clearly in that moment that keeping my covenants must be more than good intentions....The Church is a gathering place for imperfect individuals who love God and who are willing to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. That willingness is rooted in the reality that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. This divine truth can be known only by the power of the Holy Ghost. Therefore, our willingness is directly proportionate to the amount of time we commit to be in holy places where the influence of the Holy Ghost is present.
Friday, June 16, 2023
I’ll never forget Him or His sacrifice for me. I will love and follow Him
I testify that the Lord Jesus Christ will bless you as you remember Him, take His name upon you, and keep His commandments (see Doctrine and Covenants 20:77, 79). He said, “And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you” (3 Nephi 18:7).
I hope that the next time you partake of the bread and water during the sacrament, you will say in your heart: “I’ll never forget Him or His sacrifice for me. I will love and follow Him.” I pray that you will carry this resolve with you throughout your life.
May you move forward with the strength, peace, and joy that come from remembering and following Jesus Christ always.
Tuesday, March 7, 2023
The sacrament prayers are not poems we recite nor anthems we rehearse. They are ordinances
To keep us connected to the central truth of mortality, the Lord proffers us a renewal of covenant almost every week. The sacrament prayers are not poems we recite nor anthems we rehearse. They are ordinances. They are words spoken to Heavenly Father by holders of keys over the very ministering of angels, bearers of the priesthood who implore the heavens that, then and there, the power of the Atonement may cleanse and purify and sanctify lives. Every week miracles happen as young boys stand in the stead of the Savior and present us with the emblems of His Atonement, inviting us to be cleansed of our pain and sorrow and mistakes and sins.
Flashes of Light,STEVEN J. LUND, Young Men General President, September 20, 2022
Tuesday, November 15, 2022
The path to perfection is the covenant path, and Jesus Christ is the center of all ordinances and covenants....I testify that covenant keepers are promised “peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” (Doctrine and Covenants 59:23). I bear witness that as you regularly partake of the Savior’s emblems through the sacrament, you will have His Spirit to guide you on the covenant path and stay faithful to your covenants.
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Pondering the goodness of God and evaluating my life during the sacrament rather than focusing only on failures and flaws helps me put my trust in Him.
Here are some questions you could ask yourself or God during the sacrament:
How did I follow Christ’s example this week?
Whom did I serve?
When did I feel the Spirit this week? Why?
What is a Christlike trait I’m trying to develop? How am I doing?
Is there anything in my life I should pray for help with?
Is there anyone I need to forgive?
What is one problem, big or small, that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ helped me with this week?
Pondering the goodness of God and evaluating my life during the sacrament rather than focusing only on failures and flaws helps me put my trust in Him.
Sunday, March 21, 2021
Have I Humbled Myself Before God...Am I Attentive to the Teachings of His Servants
Have I humbled myself before God?
The first requirement listed in Doctrine and Covenants 20:37 is to humble oneself before God. We do this by accepting and being willing to follow His will as it is written in the scriptures, taught by His servants, or as it comes to us in promptings.
I ask myself if I am fighting God on anything in my life right now. Am I resisting His direction? Am I attentive to the teachings of His servants? If I am not, I make plans to improve and commit to do better as I prepare to partake of the sacrament. God is all-knowing—when I recognize that He can see the big picture for my life, it’s easier to humble myself before Him and trust that He will guide me to what is best.
For The Strength of Youth, How to Always Have the Spirit, March 2021, Paul B. Pieper
Saturday, January 23, 2021
Seated not far away are some who may have wept—outwardly or inwardly—through the entire sacramental hymn and the prayers of those priests
When the sacred hour comes to present our sacrificial gift to the Lord, we do have our own sins and shortcomings to resolve; that’s why we’re there. But we might be more successful in such contrition if we are mindful of the other broken hearts and sorrowing spirits that surround us. Seated not far away are some who may have wept—outwardly or inwardly—through the entire sacramental hymn and the prayers of those priests. Might we silently take note of that and offer our little crust of comfort and our tiny cup of compassion—might we dedicate it to them? or to the weeping, struggling member who is not in the service and, except for some redemptive ministering on our part, won’t be there next week either? or to our brothers and sisters who are not members of the Church at all but are our brothers and sisters? There is no shortage of suffering in this world, inside the Church and out, so look in any direction and you will find someone whose pain seems too heavy to bear and whose heartache seems never to end. One way to “always remember him” would be to join the Great Physician in His never-ending task of lifting the load from those who are burdened and relieving the pain of those who are distraught.
Thursday, April 23, 2020
I Have Made A Covenant
In the mission leadership seminar in June 2019, after partaking of the sacrament, before beginning his formal message, President Russell M. Nelson said: “A thought has occurred to me that my making a covenant today is a lot more important than the message that I have prepared. I made a covenant as I partook of the sacrament that I would be willing to take upon me the name of Jesus Christ and that I am willing to obey His commandments. Often, I hear the expression that we partake of the sacrament to renew covenants made at baptism. While that’s true, it’s much more than that. I’ve made a new covenant. You have made new covenants. … Now in return for which He makes the statement that we will always have His Spirit to be with us. What a blessing!”
October 2019 General Conference, Dale G. Renlund, Unwavering Commitment to Jesus Christ
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Through the Sacrament the Savior Performs His Cleansing Miracle Yet Again
Sunday, October 21, 2018
Repentance is His Plan
In this lifetime curriculum of repentance, the sacrament is the Lord’s designated way of providing continual access to His forgiveness. If we partake with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, He proffers us weekly pardon as we progress from failure to failure along the covenant path. For “notwithstanding their sins, my bowels are filled with compassion towards them.”
Thursday, September 20, 2018
You place the entire congregation under covenant with the Lord
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
It is in the Day to Day that We Build Strong Faith
Quentin L. Cook, Foundations of Faith, April 2017 General Conference