The Sacrament Ordinance
As we have reflected upon the first invitation to “Receive Revelation” in our Salem Stake Vision, we have been drawn to the instruction, “We must do everything in our power to qualify for the Holy Ghost and remove anything that offends and denies the power of God in our lives – for without His guidance we will be deceived (D&C 45:57). As we live worthy of and act upon the whisperings of the spirit we grow in faith and qualify more fully to receive the Holy Ghost as our constant companion. (D&C 121:44-45)
To “receive the Holy Ghost” is one of our most important invitations in this mortal estate. The Doctrines of Christ (Repentance and Baptism) is the only way by which this special gift is given – it can come no other way. It is through the Doctrines of Christ (Atonement and Covenants) each week (through the Sacrament) we have the opportunity to participate in one of the most sacred ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - for the express purpose of asking the Father through his Son to “have his spirit to be with us” (D&C 20).
"The ordinance of the sacrament makes the sacrament meeting the most sacred and important meeting in the Church." Dallin H. Oaks – October 2008 – “Sacrament Meeting and the Sacrament”
“Sacrament meeting is the most sacred and holy of all the meetings in the Church.” Quentin L. Cook – April 2010 – “We follow Jesus Christ”
When you really think about one of the primary reasons for the “houses” of the Lord (Temples, Meetinghouses), it is to administer the “ordinances” of the gospel. And it is in the ordinances, that the “power of God is manifest” (D&C 84: 20-21). The chapel within our meetinghouses represents an “ordinance room”. If we fully understood this, we would approach our speech, our actions, our reverence, and our preparation so much more meaningfully.
When we begin to understand the sacred connection between reverence, the sacrament, and revelation we begin to qualify for an endowment of knowledge, power, and protection that we have yet to realize. The prophets have said, “we live far below our privileges”. In regard to reverence, the sacrament, and revelation I believe this is true in the lives of so many latter-day saints.
