- Because we have made covenants with God, he said, “our greatest need is to remember” them.
- My message is an invitation, even a plea, to remember. Here are three suggestions about what you could remember each week when you partake of the sacred emblems of the sacrament. I hope they are helpful to you, as they have been to me.
REMEMBER JESUS CHRIST
- Remember the Savior. Remember who He was while on earth, how He spoke to others, and how He showed kindness in His acts. Remember whom He spent time with and what He taught. The Savior “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38). He visited the sick. He was committed to doing His Father’s will.
- Most of all, we can remember the great price He paid, out of His love for us, to remove the stain of our sins. As we remember Him, our desire to follow Him will grow. We will want to be a little kinder, more forgiving, and more willing to seek the will of God and do it.
REMEMBER WHAT YOU NEED TO DO BETTER
- It’s hard to think of the Savior—His purity and perfection—without also thinking of how flawed and imperfect we are in comparison. We have made covenants to obey His commandments, yet we frequently fall short of this high standard. But the Savior knew this would happen, which is why He gave us the ordinance of the sacrament.
- Come to the sacrament with a repentant heart. As you do so, you will obtain forgiveness of sins and you will not stray from the path leading back to God.
REMEMBER THE PROGRESS YOU ARE MAKING
- As you examine your life during the ordinance of the sacrament, I hope your thoughts center not only on things you have done wrong but also on things you have done right—moments when you have felt that Heavenly Father and the Savior were pleased with you. You may even take a moment during the sacrament to ask God to help you see these things. If you do, I promise you will feel something. You will feel hope.
- When I have done this, the Spirit has reassured me that while I’m still far from perfect, I’m better today than I was yesterday. And this gives me confidence that, because of the Savior, I can be even better tomorrow.
President Eyring assures us that the Lord will not forget us and the although we struggle sometimes to "always" remember, the Savior never has a problem with "always" remembering us.
- No matter how well you keep your promise to always remember Him, He always remembers you.
- The Savior knows your challenges. He knows what it is like to have the cares of life press upon you. He knows how urgently you need the blessing that comes from always remembering Him and obeying Him.
Finally, President Eyring reminds us that the Savior personally invites us the sacrament table weekly to challenge us to renew our commitment to always remember Him.
- So He welcomes you back to the sacrament table each week, once again offering you the chance to witness before Him that you will always remember Him.
I love the focus on the sacraments prayers lately in our blog. We talked this week about taking upon us the name of Christ and now we are talking about always remembering Him. I am going to try to focus more on the words of the sacrament prayers in the coming weeks. I hope that I can find greater spiritual strength through my deeper understanding of what I am covenanting to do with my life. I am glad we have the sacrament weekly to remind us just how important remembering is to our spiritual lives.