Dianella Single Adult Institute : 3 Nephi 18-19

This week we focused our attention on the Sacrament ...

We started off with a reflection on a talk given in Greenmount Ward by Bro Carl Bosch, in which he spoke about the Sacrament as being a "navigator"for his life. He spoke about pondering "what" and "how" he had lived his life during the previous week. He said that he spent time understanding the Atonement and his relationship to the Saviour; and that he ended by saying that the Sacrament was a time to "think about, feel about and do something about" our relationship with the Saviour.

As Bishop Dean Davies has said: “The sacrament ordinance affords every Church member the opportunity to ponder his or her life in advance, to consider the actions or nonactions that may need to be repented of, and then to partake of the bread and water as sacred emblems in remembrance of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, a witness of His Atonement. If we partake with sincerity and in humility, we renew eternal covenants, are cleansed and sanctified, and receive the promise that we will have His Spirit to be with us always.”

Speaking about the significance of the Sacrament to us as individuals, Elder Holland has

said: "Perhaps we do not always attach that kind of meaning to our weekly sacramental service. How “sacred” and how “holy” is it? Do we see it as our passover, remembrance of our safety and deliverance and redemption?"

Elder Holland continues to speak about the ordinance, saying "It should be a powerful, reverent, reflective moment. It should encourage spiritual feelings and impressions. As such it should not be rushed. It is not something to “get over” so that the real purpose of a sacrament meeting can be pursued. This is the real purpose of the meeting. And everything that is said or sung or prayed in those services should be consistent with the grandeur of this sacred ordinance."

As a class we spent some time in reflection, considering what the ordinance of the Sacrament meant to us individually, how we could use it as a "navigator", and what we could do to be ready to receive spiritual feelings and impressions. Spend some time reading and reflecting on some of the resources below, and see what they can add to your thoughts about how to make Sacrament time more meaningful and significant.

in closing, some thoughts from Elder Hamula remind us of some things we can contemplate during this ordinance ...

With torn and broken bread, we signify that we remember the physical body of Jesus Christ—a body that was buffeted with pains, afflictions, and temptations of every kind, a body that bore a burden of anguish sufficient to bleed at every pore, a body whose flesh was torn and whose heart was broken in crucifixion. We signify our belief that while that same body was laid to rest in death, it was raised again to life from the grave, never again to know disease, decay, or death. And in taking the bread to ourselves, we acknowledge that, like Christ’s mortal body, our bodies will be released from the bonds of death, rise triumphantly from the grave, and be restored to our eternal spirits.

With a small cup of water, we signify that we remember the blood Jesus spilled and the spiritual suffering He endured for all mankind. We remember the agony that caused great drops of blood to fall in Gethsemane. We remember the bruising and scourging He endured at the hands of His captors. We remember the blood He spilled from His hands, feet, and side while at Calvary. And we remember His personal reflection on His suffering: “How sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.” In taking the water to ourselves, we acknowledge that His blood and suffering atoned for our sins and that He will remit our sins as we embrace and accept the principles and ordinances of His gospel.