The Sacrament Can Help Us Become Holy

I invite all of us to consider five ways to increase the impact and power of our regular participation in the sacred ordinance of the sacrament, an ordinance that can help us become holy.

1. Prepare in Advance
2. Arrive Early
3. Sing and Learn from the Words of the Sacrament Hymn
4. Spiritually Participate in the Sacrament Prayers
5. Ponder and Remember Him as the Sacrament Emblems Are Passed

Our sacrament experience can be enhanced when we arrive well before the meeting and ponder as the prelude music is played.

President Boyd K. Packer taught: “Prelude music, reverently played, is nourishment for the spirit. It invites inspiration.” “This is not a time,” President Russell M. Nelson explained, “for conversation or transmission of messages but a period of prayerful meditation as leaders and members prepare spiritually for the sacrament.”

The {sacrament} prayers introduce the covenants with the phrase “that they are willing.” This phrase has so much potential power for us. Are we willing to serve and participate? Are we willing to change? Are we willing to address our weaknesses? Are we willing to reach out and bless others? Are we willing to trust the Savior?
As the promises are stated and as we partake, we confirm in our hearts that we are willing to:

• Take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ.
• Strive to keep all of His commandments.
• Always remember Him.

As we consider our sacrament experience, we might ask ourselves:

• What will I do this week to better prepare for the sacrament?
• Could I contribute more to the reverence and revelation that can accompany the beginning of sacrament meeting?
• What doctrine was taught in the sacrament hymn?
• What did I hear and feel as I listened to the sacrament prayers?
• What did I think about as the sacrament was passed?

Elder David A. Bednar taught: “The ordinance of the sacrament is a holy and repeated invitation to repent sincerely and to be renewed spiritually. The act of partaking of the sacrament, in and of itself, does not remit sins. But as we prepare conscientiously and participate in this holy ordinance with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then the promise is that we may always have the Spirit of the Lord to be with us. And by the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost as our constant companion, we can always retain a remission of our sins.”