Teachings of the Presidents of
the Church – Joseph Fielding Smith
What/when was the first sacrament? The
Last Supper
1 Corinthians 11:23-28:
23 For I have received of the Lord
that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was
betrayed took abread:
24 And when he had given thanks, he
brake it, and said, Take, eat:
this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in aremembrance of me.
25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had
supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft
as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
26 For as often as ye eat this abread, and drink this cup, ye do bshew the Lord’scdeath till he come.
27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat
this abread, and drink this cup of the Lord,bunworthily, shall cbe dguilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man aexamine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink ofthat cup.
President Joseph Fielding Smith taught:
“In
my judgment the sacrament meeting is the most sacred, the most holy, of all the
meetings of the Church. When I reflect upon the gathering of the
Savior and his apostles on that memorable night when he introduced the
sacrament; when I think of that solemn occasion my heart is filled with
wonderment and my feelings are touched. I consider that gathering
one of the most solemn and wonderful since the beginning of time.
“There
the Savior taught them of his coming sacrifice, which in their bewilderment
they could not understand. He plainly told them of his death and
that his blood should be shed, and this was said in the very hour of his agony
for the sins of the world. It was a very solemn occasion; there the
sacrament was instituted, and the disciples were commanded to meet together
often and commemorate the death and sufferings of Jesus Christ, for his
sacrifice was for the redemption of the world.”
President Smith reminds us that,
“There
isn’t one of us I take it that hasn’t done something wrong and then been sorry
and wished we hadn’t. Then our consciences strike us and we have
been very, very miserable. Have you gone through that
experience? I have….But here we have the Son of God carrying the
burden of my transgressions and your transgressions….His greatest torment was
not he nails in his hands or in his feet, as bad as they were, but the torment
of mind in some way that is not clear to me. But he carried the
burden – our burden. I added something to it; so did you. So
did everybody else. He took it upon himself to pay the price that I
might escape – that you might escape – the punishment on the conditions that we
will receive his gospel and be true and faithful to it.”
What are the covenants we make when we
partake of the sacrament?
1. Always
remember the Savior;
2. Take
His name upon us;
3. Obey
the commandments; and
4. Act
as witnesses of Jesus Christ.
Question to ponder: What are
some of the ways we can prepare for the sacrament? What do we think
about during the sacrament prayer(s)? What do we do to remember the
Savior during the passing/partaking of the sacrament?
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