Have you ever been in danger of losing your life?
Three images come to mind when I think of those who may have faced death. The first is a person who is trapped in a burning building. I can’t imagine the terror one would feel as the smoke envelopes you, the heat presses on you, and the thoughts of an agonizing death consume you. Secondly, there is the image of mountain climbers who scale a steep cliff. One slip and they will go careening down the chasm, their lives flashing before their eyes in seconds. The last is one of sacrifice—when a beloved soldier is stranded in enemy territory, injured and alone, with no sign of rescue. All three scenarios paint a picture of an immediate sense of life vs. death. The danger of losing one’s life is very real.
Now think of those who’ve been in these situations, and who were lucky enough to be saved—a fallen mountain climber, a person trapped in a blazing building, a wounded soldier on the battle ground. Imagine how rescue would change their lives forever—they undoubtedly would look at the one who saved them with a new reverence and awe, knowing they could never repay him. But they would always remember him.
Every one of us goes through heartache and near death—in a spiritual sense—only to be saved and renewed each week when we take the sacrament. In essence, our lives are saved through the Atonement of Christ each week as we are cleansed body and soul. The gift of the Atonement is ours to partake of. The physical act of accepting into our bodies the bread and water is a symbolic remembrance and a spiritual cleansing. It is a gift we cannot give to ourselves and yet it is the one gift needed to pass through this life into eternal life with our loving heavenly parents. How sacred a gift it is. How blessed we are to be worthy each week to partake of it. How important we must be to our heavenly parents to have sacrificed their only begotten son for us. How wondrous an act our Savior, Jesus Christ, performed in order to make it possible. We only need to have faith in him and repent of our old ways. His only request of us is to remember Him, to bear witness of him, and to keep his commandments that we may have his spirit to be with us.
Partaking of the sacrament is our first line of defense against the adversary each week. It is the basis for developing and strengthening faith in Jesus Christ and it gives us pause to consider these questions—who is this man who would do this for us? Why did he love us so much that he would die for us? Why does he offer this gift weekly? How important are we to him that we would merit such love?
Remembering the Grand Council in Heaven
In order to facilitate God’s eternal plan, a pure and perfect savior was required to overcome sin and death. Jesus Christ was the only one good enough to do so. I’ve witnessed some of the most virtuous people—both in and out of my faith—perform daily acts of kindness that far exceed the standards of the everyday man—indeed we have all witnessed some very Christ-like people in our lives. But none can compare to the perfect love Jesus emulated, even before he was born. No, there was no other good enough to pay the price of sin.
Why did he volunteer? My guess is, because of his desire to keep the family together. Technically, he didn’t have to do this. He could have been born, lived his perfect life, and then return to heaven unscathed by the impending sufferings. But he wanted the family—his eternal family, meaning you and me—to remain together with our heavenly parents. To him, it would not be heaven without us. His love for us was that great.
Remembering the first sacrament: Christ’s last days
Quintin L. Cook, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said, “The final two days of the Savior’s mortal ministry prior to his death on Calvary are profoundly significant and in some ways beyond comprehension. So much of what is essential to our eternal destiny occurred on Thursday and then Friday when Christ was crucified. The last supper was commenced Thursday evening. Ordinances and doctrines of great significance were initiated at the last supper. The Savior introduced the ordinance of the Sacrament. He took bread, blessed and broke it, and passed it to his disciples, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me.”( Luke 22:19.) Then he took the cup, said a blessing of thanks, and passed it to those gathered, saying, “This cup is the new testament in my blood which is shed for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:28.) In this manner, the Savior instituted the Sacrament.”
Elder Cook goes on to state, “Jesus also instituted the Sacrament when he visited the Nephites (shortly after His ascension—the Nephites were a tribe of people in the Americas, recorded in the Book of Mormon.) He taught the Sacrament shall be given “unto the people of my church, unto all those who shall believe and be baptized in my name.” (3 Ne 18:5.) “…This is fulfilling my commandments, and this doth witness unto the Father that ye are willing to do that which I have commanded you.” (3 Ne 18:10.) “And if ye do always remember me, ye shall have my spirit to be with you.” (3 Ne 18:11.)”
There have been time when I haven’t felt worthy of the Atonement. I’ve felt I couldn’t possibly deserve the gift He gave me. I’ve hesitated to take the bread and water, thinking I was undeserving of it. But gifts aren’t given out of merit. They are given out of love. It is absurd for any of us to question the Lord’s level of strength, His will power, His authority as the Savior of all mankind—why then would we question His love for us? Why do we think, “I don’t matter.” We do matter—we were the object of his strength in the Garden of Gethsemane. While we don’t know all the thoughts He had during His suffering, imagine this—imagine He may have been thinking, “I’m doing this for the family—I won’t give up because they need me—I love them too much to give up.” Is that too hard to imagine? After all, if you were in a position to risk your life for your family, wouldn’t you muster up the courage to do so because you valued the other person’s life over your own? Magnify that my millions and you may have an idea of the thought process that kept Christ focused and on target. He did it because someone mattered to Him—and that someone was you.
Fall into his arms again
Morning Devotional: To read more of Nanette’s work, click here.
The world is in turmoil—we see it overseas and on our city streets. We see corruption in politics and in the workplace daily. Our own homes are often battle grounds of the spirit. We spend each week fighting the adversary for our soul. Indeed, we feel the spiritual pains of life like the heat of a burning building that threatens to consume our spirit, or the despair of falling into the darkness of a bottomless pit, or the agony of shrapnel wounds as we lay abandoned by our loved ones. But each week, every seven days, for the rest of our lives, we can be healed, cleansed, and saved. The fire that threatens our fortitude can be quenched. There is a way out of darkness. Someone will come to our rescue behind enemy lines. That someone is the Savior. When we partake of the sacrament and renew our covenants and promises to Him, we allow Him to be our Savior, week after week, until we can literally fall in His open arms again when we return to heaven.
Nanette O'Neal loves the gospel and is very happy to share her testimony on LDS Blogs. She is a convert to the church and still feels the spirit burn strong within her heart. She graduated from Mason Gross School of the Arts with a degree in music education and has taught children and adults in the private and public sphere for over twenty years. Nanette continues to study the gospel and the art of writing. She writes weekly inspirational articles on her blog and is currently working on an LDS fantasy novel series, A Doorway Back to Forever. You can find her at NanetteONeal.blogspot.com. Nanette has a wonderful husband, talented son, and three beautiful dogs.
