“That We May Always Remember Him,” Liahona, June 2023.
That We May Always Remember Him
I testify that the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost blesses us as we worthily partake of the sacrament and strive to live the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Photograph by Jerry Garns
After the Savior and the Twelve Apostles gathered for their final meal together, Jesus told them, “I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer” (Luke 22:15).
With eleven of the Twelve, Jesus soon departed for the Garden of Gethsemane and took upon Himself the sins of the world. He also endured a mock trial and was compelled to carry His cross to Golgotha. But before His great suffering in the garden and on the cross, the Savior prepared His disciples for the individual challenges and adversities each of them ultimately would bear.
“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
“And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
“For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:26–28).
Then, in one of His final teachings in mortality, He explained:
“It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. …
“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come” (John 16:7, 13).
The Last Supper, by Simon Dewey
“What a Blessing!”
After partaking of the sacrament during a recent mission leadership seminar, President Russell M. Nelson remarked: “A thought has occurred to me that my making a covenant today is a lot more important than the message that I have prepared. I made a covenant as I partook of the sacrament that I would be willing to take upon me the name of Jesus Christ and that I am willing to obey His commandments. Often, I hear the expression that we partake of the sacrament to renew covenants made at baptism. While that’s true, it’s much more than that. I’ve made a new covenant. You have made new covenants. … Now in return … [the Lord] makes the statement that we will always have His Spirit to be with us. What a blessing!”1
In the sacrament prayers, priesthood holders ask the Father “to bless and sanctify” the bread and the water, that we may eat and drink “in remembrance of” the body and the blood of His Son. Each of us witnesses that we are willing to take upon us the name of His Son. We act upon and strengthen that witness by always remembering Him and keeping His commandments. (See Doctrine and Covenants 20:77, 79.)
For the Lord’s latter-day disciples, the ordinance of the sacrament requires much more than repeated and routine participation and casual commitment.
Photograph by Robert Casey
“We personally ponder the Atonement of Jesus Christ,” said President Nelson. “We reflect upon the significance of His suffering at Gethsemane and His Crucifixion on Calvary. At this time, each of us is to ‘examine himself’ (1 Corinthians 11:28) and reflect upon personal covenants made with the Lord. At this time, we meditate upon the sacred things of God.”2
The acts of eating and drinking the sacramental emblems do not remit sins. But as we prayerfully and sincerely prepare and worthily participate in the ordinance, we examine our actions and the desires of our hearts and embrace the Lord’s invitation to repent (see Moses 5:8). When we offer the sacrifice He requires—a broken heart and a contrite spirit (see 3 Nephi 9:20)—we are promised that we may always have His Spirit to be with us. And by the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost as our constant companion, we can obtain and always retain a remission of our sins (see Moroni 6:4).
Our sacred responsibility is to develop holy habits that invite the Spirit of the Lord to be with us at all times—habits such as honoring covenants, obeying the commandments, repenting, forgiving, searching the scriptures, serving, and worshipping at home, at church, and in the temple.
The Savior’s disciples in the Book of Mormon exemplified an additional holy habit: “They did pray for that which they most desired; and they desired that the Holy Ghost should be given unto them” (3 Nephi 19:9).
Our Light, by Dan Wilson
The Key to Remembering
Like the disciples of old, we also can pray earnestly and consistently for the Holy Ghost and His associated blessings. The Savior has promised: “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, … shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26; emphasis added).
Importantly, the companionship of the Holy Ghost helps us always remember Jesus Christ—His sacrifice, His gospel, His promises to us, His love for us, and the covenants that yoke us to and with Him.
President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, has taught:
“The key to the remembering that brings and maintains testimony is receiving the Holy Ghost as a companion. It is the Holy Ghost who helps us see what God has done for us. It is the Holy Ghost who can help those we serve to see what God has done for them. …
“It is the Holy Ghost who testifies that Jesus Christ is the Beloved Son of a Heavenly Father who loves us and wants us to have eternal life with Him in families.”3
And it is the Holy Ghost who helps us to spiritually press forward in a darkening world. In this age of viruses and vaccines, physical disease is not our only threat.
“Spiritual diseases of epidemic proportion sweep over the world. We are not able to curb them. But we can prevent our youth [and ourselves] from being infected by them,” taught President Boyd K. Packer (1924–2015), President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Increased knowledge and a testimony of the gospel, along with the companionship of the Holy Ghost, he added, are like a vaccine that can inoculate us against wickedness and deceit.
“In [means] ‘to be within’ and oculate means ‘eye to see,’” President Packer said. “We place an eye within [us]—the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost [see Doctrine and Covenants 121:26].”4
That eye will guide, direct, comfort, and protect us. For Latter-day Saints, who have received the gift of the Holy Ghost, guidance from the Spirit can and should be ongoing and not a rare event. The promise to the Lord’s covenant people, after all, is that we “may always have his Spirit to be with [us]” (Doctrine and Covenants 20:77; emphasis added).
Promised Blessings
Remembering what the Lord has done for us, participating in the ordinance of the sacrament, and always having His Spirit to be with us truly are magnificent blessings. I testify that promised blessings will flow into our lives as we prepare for and worthily partake of the sacrament each week and thereby strengthen our covenant connection with the Savior.