Area Presidency Message
That They Do Always Remember Him
“That they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.” (D&C 20:79)
In 2015, when President Russell M. Nelson was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he taught us that the best way for the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ and to deepen our conversion to Him and His Church is by Sabbath-day observance, both in our homes and at church.1
Central to this observance is the sacrament. “For Latter-day Saints, sacrament refers to the ordinance of partaking of bread and water in remembrance of Christ’s atoning sacrifice. The broken bread represents His broken flesh; the water represents the blood that He shed to atone for our sins. When worthy Church members take the sacrament, they promise to take upon them the name of Christ, to always remember Him, and to keep His commandments.”2 If we receive the sacrament worthily every Sunday, and strive to keep these three promises that we make, we will be able to progress spiritually along the covenant path that leads to eternal life. We may, at the same time, help others along this path.
I would like to focus on the promise to always remember Him. Many years ago, Nuria and I were taught the restored gospel by two young full-time missionaries who brought the presence of the Holy Ghost into our home. Those are indeed days never to be forgotten. As we entered the waters of baptism, received the gift of the Holy Ghost, and were confirmed as members of His true Church, we started on the Lord’s covenant path. Walking along this path has become the most important thing in our lives, as we focus on becoming an eternal family.
Because we strive to remember Him, we have never voluntarily missed a Sunday without worshiping in Church and in our home. The promised strengthening of our faith in Jesus Christ has now become a reality for which we are grateful every single day. Because we remember Him, the deepening of our conversion has become a process in which absolute truths become absolute certainties in our heart. These two developments have occurred and continue to occur as they began: in our home, supported by the Church. All of this is mediated by Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice, the greatest expression of His love and that of Heavenly Father.
This is the main reason why we obey His commandments and covenants, because of our love for Heavenly Father and for His Son, Jesus Christ. We will thus remember who He and Heavenly Father are. Their living reality will burn brightly in our hearts and in our minds, where there will be true and pure rejoicing. Our path will be straight and undeviating, as long as we remember Him. We will not doubt, and our steps will be firm. We will march on, even in the face of adversity: we will learn eternal doctrine and principles better from adversity and trials. We will be always grateful for what we receive and thankful for what is asked of us. We will love and serve others, beginning with those of our own house, but including all Heavenly Father’s children. We will always remember Him.
In these times of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have learned new ways to remember Him. Our regular meetings and classes now occur in our homes, sometimes via technology. Our ministering one-to-one has become one-call-one. Our study of our Savior in the scriptures happens in our home, with the Come, Follow Me curriculum. Our partaking of the sacrament is predominantly in our homes or the homes of others in small group gatherings. We have not missed a step along the covenant path but have learned new ways to do the will of our Savior and Redeemer, because we remember Him always.
In closing, I am reminded of Elder James E. Faust (1920–2007) who, as a member of the First Presidency, gave one of his many marvelous talks in a BYU devotional, which he titled “Where is the Church?” In his message, he said the following: “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should be in our hearts, and, when it is in our individual hearts, it will also be in our great buildings of worship, in our lovely educational institutions, and in our magnificent temples, as well as in our homes and families.”3
As the Holy Ghost teaches us in our hearts, we will always remember Him. As we do, we can continue forward along the covenant path that leads to eternal life and to eternal families.