How to Make the Sacrament More Meaningful for Us

I'd like to take a short break from over-analyzing the early war chapters so I can focus on the lesson I'll be giving this Sunday. The lesson is going to be on the Sacrament, specifically on how the Young Men I'll be teaching can help others have a meaningful experience with the Sacrament. I consider this an important topic for the Young Men because administering the Sacrament is one of their main responsibilities. They perform this ordinance every week, and I worry that this duty has become just a routine or a responsibility for them, just as taking the Sacrament tends to become routine and habitual for us. How can we make administering and partaking of the Sacrament a more meaningful experience for ourselves and others?

Thankfully, part of that question will be answered in finding the answer to the other part of the question. One way to help something become meaningful to another person is by showing them how much it means to us. In fact, that may be the only way to make something meaningful for another person; it first has to mean something to us. So, let's tackle that part of the question first. Let's see how we can make the Sacrament more meaningful for us before we try to figure out how to make it meaningful to others.

One way to make the Sacrament more meaningful is to consciously consider what the symbols in the ordinance mean. While administering the Sacrament, Aaronic Priesthood holders break and bless bread and water and distribute it among the congregation, but we're not just handing out light refreshments. The bread and water are meant to represent the body and blood of Christ. They represent His suffering, both on the cross and in the garden of Gethsemane. And that, in turn, reflects the great love He has for each of us, and the vital importance of following His plan and keeping His commandments. He suffered tremendous pain and gave His life so we could repent of our sins and come unto Him. If giving us that opportunity was that important to Him, that should give us some idea of how important it is for us to take that opportunity.

Another element of the Sacrament that can make the experience more meaningful to the Aaronic Priesthood holders I'll be teaching is that they aren't the first people to administer the Sacrament. Jesus Christ was. He administered the Sacrament to his Twelve Disciples, and He administered the Sacrament to the Nephites at least twice when He visited them after His resurrection. The Priesthood is the power and authority to act in God's name, to do the things that He would do if He were on the earth personally. When the Young Men administer the Sacrament, they are literally doing what Jesus Christ Himself would do if He were to visit our Sacrament Meeting. They are figuratively standing in His shoes. They are acting in the name of our Savior. If I can get that point across to them, it'll certainly make them rethink how and why they bless and pass the Sacrament.

And in case that isn't already heavy enough in significance, there are also the covenants to consider. When we take the Sacrament, we testify that we will always remember Jesus Christ, and that we are willing to take His name upon us and keep His commandments. Basically, we are promising to be Christians, not just in the sense of Whom we worship, but in the sense of Whom we are attempting to represent and emulate. We promise that we are going to think about Jesus Christ frequently, and always try to act like Him, and the Aaronic Priesthood holders are instrumental in helping us make this promise. If they take this covenant seriously, they'll be more likely to take their role in administering the Sacrament more seriously, and their demeanor can help us remember to take this covenant seriously as well.

The Sacrament is full of stated and implied meanings for both those who partake it and those who administer it. It is a sacred ordinance, and we should all treat it as sacred, whether we're passing it or partaking of it. The Sacrament is designed to help us remember and think about the Savior, and if we think about the Savior during the Sacrament ordinance, and consider what we're doing and what we've covenanted to do, this ordinance will mean a lot more for us than just taking a mid-meeting snack.