Jesus Teaches How to Remember Him

By Diane L. Mangum

From Joseph Smith Translation, Mark 14:20–25; Luke 22:7–46; John 13:34–35; John 14:18–27.

Jesus and His twelve Apostles climbed the steps to an upstairs room at a home in Jerusalem. Inside they found a table ready for their Passover supper, and they sat down to eat.

Passover was usually a joyful celebration. It was a time to remember past blessings from God. But this was a solemn supper. Jesus knew that His mission on earth would soon be over, and He wanted to teach His Apostles how to remember Him when He was no longer with them.

Jesus blessed some bread, broke it into pieces, and gave it to His Apostles. He told them to eat it to remind them of His body, which He would soon sacrifice for them.

The Savior then took a cup of wine and blessed it. He asked His Apostles to each drink some as they thought about His blood, which would soon be shed so they could repent and be forgiven of their sins. They were to remember the covenant they had made to follow Him.

The Apostles ate the bread and drank the wine and pondered the words of Jesus. This was the first time that members of Jesus’s Church received the sacrament.

As the Apostles ate their Passover meal, Jesus talked to them. He said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you.” He also told them about the Holy Ghost, which would comfort them when He was gone.

Afterwards, the Apostles walked with Jesus to a garden where olive trees grew. The garden was called Gethsemane. Eight Apostles stayed by the entrance, but Peter, James, and John followed Jesus farther into the garden. Jesus asked them to sit and keep watch while He went alone to pray.

With a very heavy heart Jesus knelt to pray to His Father in Heaven. He knew the time had come for Him to fulfill the plan of our Heavenly Father, taking on Himself the sins of each one of us. Jesus knew that He would soon die and be resurrected so we could all be resurrected as well.

Even though it was extremely hard, Jesus said He would do what Heavenly Father wanted Him to do. Lovingly, Jesus suffered so each child of God could be saved. His pain was so great that He sweat drops of blood.

In those hours at Gethsemane and later on the cross, Jesus became our Redeemer. Only Jesus Christ, who was perfect and the Son of God, could save us from our sins. When we take the sacrament, we can remember His sacrifice for us and remember our baptismal covenant to follow Him, just as the Apostles did long ago.