Current Lesson No. Fourteen

The Sacrament Can Be a Weekly Individual Celebration of Christmas

Mini Sacrament meetings in the hospital – For the last six months Sue and I have serving with about 30 other couples at the University of Utah Hospital and at the Huntsman Cancer Center.  Our Sunday responsibility is to offer the sacrament to patients, and occasionally give priesthood blessings. There is a 30-minute sacrament meeting at both facilities, but most of the service we give centers around a mini sacrament meeting we hold with patients in their hospital room. 

We begin with a prayer.  Sue then reads the words of a sacrament hymn as I prepare the sacrament.  Occasionally, because of the possibility of infections, I prepare the sacrament in the hall and then “gown up” and go in the room alone to bless the sacramental emblems.  Sometimes the patient can’t have food or water by mouth, so we put the bread and the cup to their lips.  The essential thing is for them to hear the sacramental prayer and personally renew their covenants.

 We may conduct ten mini sacrament meetings on a Sunday morning, and one thing that is unique is that the sacrament is the entire focus of the meeting.  As I give the sacramental prayers those who are participating feel the Holy Spirit and are softened by it.  The reason for this is that the patients are spiritually hungry and desirous to be blessed. 

Taking the name of Christ – By partaking of the sacramental bread we witness to the Father that we are willing to take upon us the name of Christ.  These mini sacrament meetings in the hospital have increased our spiritual hunger, and we are not only willing but very desirous to take the name of Christ.  The Book of Mormon teaches we do that by keeping covenants:

“And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters….There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ” (Mosiah 5:7-8).

The gospel is all about families.  If we keep our baptismal and temple covenants of obedience we will be spiritually begotten, and born of him, and become his sons and his daughters.  In this way a new family relation is established with Christ as our spiritual father, and He becomes the father of our salvation.

To take the name of Christ is to have the nature of Christ – When we are born into a mortal family we are given our family name, and we inherit the traits and characteristics of our parents.  In this way we are identified with our mortal parents by both name and physical appearance. 

King Benjamin admonishes us to take the name of Christ.  This is a symbolic way of teaching about the family relationship that we are invited to have with Christ.  What is meant by taking the name of Christ is that we take upon us his nature, characteristics, and attributes, and thereby become more like Him.  We are His children if we think and act as He would.  We then take upon us the name and nature of Christ by being increasingly more like Him.

“The real Christmas comes to him who has taken Christ into his life” (President Howard W. Hunter, Ensign, December 2005) – When obedience becomes our first and greatest desire we will come to the sacrament table hungry for forgiveness.  Then we will be filled by always having his Spirit to be with us.  Because we have taken Christ into our lives we will celebrate Christmas each week as we renew our covenants by partaking of the sacrament.