Thursday, January 29, 2009

Sacrament and such

Jacob 5:41
"And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard wept, and said unto the servant; What could I have done more for my vineyard?"

Institute tonight was wonderful, as always. The discussion was on the sacrament, more specifically Elder Oak's as well as Elder Holldans talks on it. It really helped me gain a deeper perspective on how significant the sacrament is, and that it's not just a weekly routine, but an important, sacred, individual event, no matter how often we may partake of it. I find it enlightening that an apostle of God dubbed it the single most important and significant meeting out of every meeting that the church holds. WOW. There are so many different meetings, classes, conferences, etc. But the sacrament meeting is the #1 most significant. That really struck home with me. Maybe I should practice a bit more on the hymns each week, particularly the sacrament hymns.

Another thought that was presented that made me start to ponder was the following. "Every ordinance of the gospel focuses in one way or another on the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ." Every single one? There must be far more to the atonement than meets the eye if that's the case. Everything in the gospel hinges on the atonement, points to the atonement, testifies of the atonement, and its importance and significance. And the sacrament is how we partake of the atonement each week. It's how we renew our baptismal covenants. It's how we re-live the feelings we had when we got baptised, every week.

If that is the most important part of the most important meeting we have in the church, shouldn't that also be the most important part of our week? Shouldn't we be constantly preparing to take the sacrament in the way we prepared to get baptised? Isn't that what the sacrament prayers are all about? Remembering Him? Taking upon us His name? Keeping His commandments? If the act of taking the sacrament is so significant, shouldn't we constantly be thinking about the covenants that it renews? Weekly, Daily, Hourly?

It's a lot to think about, and it can be a life-changing thought process if we let it be. This is something I'm going to have to ponder on, and pray about.

*Thinks about tomorrow*

Utah! Here I come!

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