• Home
  • Blog
  • Blog Archives
    • Post By Speaker >
      • Current First Presidency >
        • Nelson
        • Oaks
        • Eyring
      • Current Quorum of the Twelve >
        • Ballard
        • Holland
        • Uchtdorf
        • Bednar
        • Cook
        • Christofferson
        • Andersen
        • Rasband
        • Stevenson
        • Renlund
        • Gong
        • Soares
      • Previous Apostles and Prophets >
        • Monson
        • Hales
    • Posts By Conference >
      • April 2018 General Conference
      • October 2017 General Conference
      • April 2017 General Conference
      • October 2016 General Conference
      • April 2016 General Conference
    • First Presidency Messages >
      • Thomas S. Monson
      • Henry B. Eyring
      • Dieter F. Uchtdorf
    • Christmas Devotionals >
      • December 2016
    • Bookshelf Plus >
      • Devotional Talks
  • Stories
    • Stories - Apr 2017
    • Stories - Oct 2016
    • Stories - Apr 2016
  • Donate
LDSCONF.BLOG
Follow Us

Christofferson - The Living Bread Which Came Down from Heaven - October 2017

2/7/2018

Comments

 
Elder Christofferson speaks about the need for the Savior in our lives and how we can make the sacrament more meaningful.  He first speaks about the teachings of the Savior when he was on the Earth and how he talked about Him being the bread of life.  The people didn't understand that He was speaking figuratively as they were only focused on their physical hunger.  But Christ was teaching a higher principle.
  • To eat His flesh and drink His blood is a striking way of expressing how completely we must bring the Savior into our life—into our very being—that we may be one.
  • We understand that in sacrificing His flesh and blood, Jesus atoned for our sins and overcame death, both physical and spiritual. Clearly, then, we partake of His flesh and drink His blood when we receive from Him the power and blessings of His Atonement.

Concerning the bread and water of the sacrament, Elder Christofferson shares what we should be thinking about when we partake.
  • The symbolism of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is beautiful to contemplate. The bread and water represent the flesh and blood of Him who is the Bread of Life and the Living Water, poignantly reminding us of the price He paid to redeem us. As the bread is broken, we remember the Savior’s torn flesh. Elder Dallin H. Oaks once observed that “because it is broken and torn, each piece of bread is unique, just as the individuals who partake of it are unique. We all have different sins to repent of. We all have different needs to be strengthened through the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom we remember in this ordinance.” As we drink the water, we think of the blood He shed in Gethsemane and on the cross and its sanctifying power. Knowing that “no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom,” we resolve to be among “those who have washed their garments in [the Savior’s] blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.”

We need to emulate the Savior and the things He did in his life.  The character of Christ should be learned by all of us and we should strive to make our character like His.
  • Figuratively eating His flesh and drinking His blood has a further meaning, and that is to internalize the qualities and character of Christ, putting off the natural man and becoming Saints “through the atonement of Christ the Lord.” As we partake of the sacramental bread and water each week, we would do well to consider how fully and completely we must incorporate His character and the pattern of His sinless life into our life and being.
  • We cannot be content to remain as we are but must be moving constantly toward “the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”

One way the sacrament helps us is that it reminds us to constantly have the Savior in our thoughts.  Daily, we need to make the Savior part of our lives in all areas of our lives.  All of our actions and activities should help encourage the companionship of the Holy Ghost.
  • If we yearn to dwell in Christ and have Him dwell in us, then holiness is what we seek, in both body and spirit. We seek it in the temple, whereon is inscribed “Holiness to the Lord.” We seek it in our marriages, families, and homes. We seek it each week as we delight in the Lord’s holy day. We seek it even in the details of daily living: our speech, our dress, our thoughts. As President Thomas S. Monson has stated, “We are the product of all we read, all we view, all we hear and all we think.” We seek holiness as we take up our cross daily.

I learned something from this next paragraph.  "Holiness to the Lord" which is on each temple use to be a kind of rallying cry to the early saints.  It was written on all sorts of things and used to remind us of the constant focus on the Savior we need in our lives.
  • Zechariah prophesied that in the day of the Lord’s millennial reign, even the bells of the horses would bear the inscription “Holiness unto the Lord.” In that spirit, the pioneer Saints in these valleys affixed that reminder, “Holiness to the Lord,” on seemingly common or mundane things as well as those more directly associated with religious practice. It was inscribed on sacrament cups and plates and printed on certificates of ordination of Seventies and on a Relief Society banner. “Holiness to the Lord” also appeared over the display windows of Zion’s Cooperative Mercantile Institution, the ZCMI department store. It was found on the head of a hammer and on a drum. “Holiness to the Lord” was cast on the metal doorknobs of President Brigham Young’s home. These references to holiness in seemingly unusual or unexpected places may seem incongruous, but they suggest just how pervasive and constant our focus on holiness needs to be.

The sacrament is a reminder to make our lives like the Savior and to make His attributes ours.
  • Partaking of the Savior’s flesh and drinking His blood means to put out of our lives anything inconsistent with a Christlike character and to make His attributes our own.

Elder Christofferson concludes by encouraging us to go to the Savior for understanding of what we can do better in our lives to be more like Him.  We are not alone in our discipleship and the Savior will encourage us and teach us what we need to do to be better disciples of Christ.
  • God will show us our flaws and failings, but He will also help us turn weakness into strength. If we sincerely ask, “What lack I yet?” He will not leave us to guess, but in love He will answer for the sake of our happiness. And He will give us hope.

There have been several great talks recently about the Sacrament and what we can learn from it.  This talk reminds me that the purpose of the sacrament is to help build us to be more like the Savior.  As we have the Savior constantly in our minds and hearts, we will make decisions like He would make.  We will think better things since there will be little room for the things of the world.  Our ultimate goal is to be more like the Savior and the sacrament makes that possible through encouraging our devoted discipleship.
Comments

    Our Mission

    Wherefore we search the prophets... and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken. (Jacob 4:6)

    Upcoming Blogs:

    Oaks - October 2000
         The Challenge to Become
    Oaks - April 2001
         Focus and Priorities
    Oaks - October 2001
         Sharing the Gospel
    Oaks - April 2002
         The Gospel in Our Lives
    Soares - October 2005
         "Feed My Sheep"
    Picture
    Google
    Custom Search

    Categories

    All
    Aburto
    Alonso
    Andersen
    April 1975
    April 1976
    April 1979
    April 1980
    April 1981
    April 1983
    April 1985
    April 1986
    April 1987
    April 1988
    April 1989
    April 1990
    April 1991
    April 1992
    April 1993
    April 1994
    April 1995
    April 1996
    April 1997
    April 1998
    April 1999
    April 2000
    April 2001
    April 2002
    April-2003
    April-2004
    April 2005
    April 2006
    April 2007
    April 2008
    April 2009
    April 2010
    April 2011
    April 2012
    April 2013
    April 2014
    April 2015
    April 2016
    April 2017
    April 2018
    Ardern
    Arnold
    Ashton
    Ballard
    Bangerter
    Bassett
    Bednar
    Bingham
    Bookshelf Plus
    Bragg
    Brough
    Burton
    Bytheway
    Callister
    Carl B. Cook
    Causse
    Choi
    Christensen
    Christmas Devotional
    Christofferson
    Clayton
    Clayton-W
    Cook
    Cordon
    Cornish
    Costa
    Curtis
    Davies
    December 2016
    De Feo
    Duncan
    Dunn
    Durham
    Durrant
    Echo Hawk
    Ellis
    Esplin
    Eubank
    Evans
    Eyring
    First Presidency Message
    Godoy
    Gong
    Grow
    Guest Blogger: @pattypooh67
    Haleck
    Hales
    Hallstrom
    Holland
    Holmes
    Hoyos
    January 2017
    Johnson
    Jones
    Kearon
    Koch
    Marriott
    Maynes
    Mazzagardi
    McConkie
    Meurs
    Monson
    Nattress
    Nelson
    Oaks
    October 1975
    October 1976
    October 1978
    October 1980
    October 1981
    October 1983
    October 1984
    October 1985
    October 1986
    October 1987
    October 1988
    October 1989
    October 1990
    October 1991
    October 1992
    October 1993
    October 1994
    October 1995
    October 1996
    October 1997
    October 1998
    October 1999
    October 2000
    October 2001
    October 2002
    October 2003
    October 2004
    October 2005
    October 2006
    October 2007
    October 2008
    October 2009
    October 2010
    October 2011
    October 2012
    October 2013
    October 2014
    October 2015
    October 2016
    October 2017
    October 2018
    Oscarson
    Owen
    Palmer
    Parrella
    Pingree
    Rasband
    Reeves
    Renlund
    Richards
    Robbins
    Sabin
    Schmutz
    Snow
    Soares
    Stephens
    Stevenson
    Su'a
    Taylor
    The Living Christ
    Uceda
    Uchtdorf
    VCordon
    Waddell
    Wakolo
    Wilson
    Worldwide Devotional
    Yamashita
    Zivic
    Zwick

    Archives

    April 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016

    Contact Us

    Contact SuperScriptures at SuperScriptures@gmail.com

    RSS Feed

    Visit our sponsors
    Missionary Care Packages by Called2Serve.com
    Freshly baked cookies, cinnamon rolls, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, candy, and much more. Create your own missionary care package including a free letter or greeting card. Free MTC and discounted FedEx delivery.
Home
About
Contact