Sacrament- August 16, 2015

(Get two sacrament trays)

Hi! My name is Cambrie Martinez. I moved here to Greeley at the end of June with my husband, Jason, and our three daughters. Lenna is nine, Cora is six, and Vada is one. We have been living in Denver for the past seven years. We loved it there and were sad to leave, but we enjoy having our own home with plenty of room for us, and we enjoy living so close to my husband’s family.

Bishop Butler has asked me to share my thoughts about the Sacrament with you today.

Sunday is the most stressful day of my week. With my three independent, active, and stubborn little girls, it is a struggle to get to church on time. It doesn’t matter if it starts at nine in the morning or one in the afternoon. If all three of my children have brushed their teeth and found both of their church shoes, then we are having a really good day. And once we get to church, it is a struggle to be here. The coloring books are boring, the colored pencils spill noisily, children forget to use their whisper voices, and then the baby runs up to the front of the chapel and starts shouting at the congregation. A lot of things go wrong for me on Sundays. But, I come to church anyway and I drag my noisy brood along with me because none of these other things disappoint me as much as missing the Sacrament.

I love getting to church on time and partaking of the Sacrament. I am eager to take the Sacrament and show the Lord, in the way he has appointed, my commitment to the covenants I made when I was baptized. I love giving my nine-year-old daughter the opportunity to renew her baptismal covenants and showing my other two children how important baptismal covenants are. I often whisper to my children right before the sacramental prayers are said that these are the most important prayers we will say all week.

In our mortal state we are subject to both physical and spiritual death. Though our mortal body will eventually die, we are taught in the scriptures and by the prophets that we will be resurrected and receive a perfect body that we can keep forever. The apostle Paul said to the Corinthians:

But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

1 Corinthians 15:20-22

Spiritual death means being cut off from the presence of God. Those who sin are unclean and can never return to Heavenly Father’s presence. But, we all sin. The scriptures and prophets teach that it is possible for us to repent of our sins and be washed clean so we can return to our Heavenly Father. The same apostle Paul said to the Ephesians:

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:1,4-6

Shortly after His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Christ sat with His apostles to partake of the Passover. The Passover was an incredibly significant event for the Jewish people. More than a thousand years before, the Angel of Death had visited Egypt as the last plague. The Lord of the Israelites had commanded each household to slaughter a perfect white lamb, and to mark their doors with its blood. While they partook of the lamb inside their homes that night, the Angel of Death saw their marked doors and passed over them. The lamb represented the promised Messiah, and His blood marked the doors of those who chose to let him rescue them from death.

We know now that the Lord of the Israelites was Christ himself, and it was no coincidence that Christ instituted the sacrament during Passover. When we renew our baptismal covenants by partaking of the sacrament, we mark ourselves as belonging to Christ, and the Angel of Death must pass us by.

In Matthew Chapter 26 we read:

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and brake it, and blessed it, and gave to his disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is in remembrance of my body which I give a ransom for you.

Matthew 26:26

Christ’s body was broken on the cross where He died, but three days later He was resurrected. This is how He saved us from the first death, the death of the body. Our bodies are sacred gifts from God enabling us to do His will and be like Him.

My Grandpa Taylor was a good man. He worked hard his whole life, and the wear and tear showed on his body. At his funeral, I saw him laid out in his casket. It was a beautiful casket; the wood was stained a golden brown, and a mountain scene was etched above him on the inside of the lid, complete with aspen, elk, and mountain streams. He had spent most of his life in the mountains of Wyoming and he loved it there. I saw the juxtaposition of the strong, new wood of his casket and his tired and well-used body. It crossed my mind how sad it was that the lovely casket and the beloved man would be buried in the ground where they would be subject to the corrosion and deterioration that is a part of our mortal world. Then, in my mind’s eye, as a gift from the Holy Ghost, the juxtaposition switched. I imagined my grandfather’s body, strong and whole, bursting forth from the decomposing wood of the casket he would no longer need.

After our deaths, we will be reunited with our bodies, and they will be free from harm, illness, or defect.

(Hold up bread tray)

The sacrament bread is broken, like Christ’s body was, and when we partake of it we show our faith and gratitude for the resurrection of our bodies. This is how he saved us from physical death.

After partaking of the bread, Christ continued:

And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, All of you, drink from it.

For this is in remembrance of my blood of the new testament, which is shed for as many as shall believe on my name, for the remission of their sins.

Matthew 26:27-28

Immediately following the Passover dinner with his apostles, Christ walked with them to the Garden of Gethsemane. Matthew Chapter 26 continues:

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.

[He] began to be sorrowful and very heavy.

Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Matthew 26:36-39

In Gethsemane, while He prayed alone, the Savior was visited by the Spirit of God and made to suffer for the sins of the world. Christ said of his suffering, in a revelation to Joseph Smith:

For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;

But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;

Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—

Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.

Doctrine and Covenants 19:16-19

The emotional and mental stress of this sacrifice was so great that the Savior bled from His pores. This is how He saved us from the second death, the death of the spirit. Spiritual death means to be cut off from the presence of God, as anyone who has ever sinned must be. But, when Christ lived a perfect life, then took upon Himself the punishment for our sins, He earned the right to allow those who have truly repented back into the presence of God.

(Check time, 7 minutes)

Isaiah said:

Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.

He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities:

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall My Righteous Servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities.

Isaiah 53:4-6, 10-11

President Joseph Fielding Smith taught, quote:

His great suffering occurred before He ever went to the cross. It was in the Garden of Gethsemane, so the scriptures tell us, that blood oozed from every pore of His body; and in the extreme agony of His soul, He cried to His Father. Now do not ask me how this was done because I do not know. Nobody knows. All we know is that in some way He took upon Himself that extreme penalty. He took upon Him our transgressions, and paid a price, a price of torment. Think of the Savior carrying the united burden of every individual—torment which caused him to suffer an agony of pain. He cried in His anguish, to His Father, “If it be possible, let this cup pass!” and it could not pass. Close quote.

Teachings of Presidents of the Church, Joseph Fielding Smith, Lesson 3, Page 63

(Hold up water tray)

The sacrament water represents the blood that Christ shed in Gethsemane, and when we partake of it we show our faith and gratitude that we can repent of our sins and again enter the presence of God. This is how He saved us from spiritual death.

In the Book of Mormon we can read about the resurrected Christ teaching the Nephites on the American continent about the Sacrament. In 3 Nephi Chapter 11 it says:

And when the disciples had done this, Jesus said unto them: Blessed are ye for this thing which ye have done, for this is fulfilling my commandments, and this doth witness unto the Father that ye are willing to do that which I have commanded you.

And this shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized in my name; … that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you.

And I give unto you a commandment that ye shall do these things. And if ye shall always do these things blessed are ye, for ye are built upon my rock.

3 Nephi 11:10-12

Christ blessed us with the commandment to partake of the sacrament each Sabbath so we could receive the blessings that come with renewing our covenants with Him.

(Check Time, 9 minutes)

In the New Testament, Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal son. A man’s son takes all his inheritance and squanders it on foolish things. The son finds himself in a sty, hungering for the food meant for pigs. He remembers the comfort and warmth of his father’s house and “comes to himself.” He returns to his father in humility. His father rejoices and celebrates, because he loves his son. In the parable this is a one-time event, but in our real lives, how often do we find ourselves squandering our inheritance? We have been given so many opportunities, but because of our errors we can find ourselves feeling lost and alone, longing to feel the presence of our Heavenly Father. We sin daily. We sin hourly. But, we partake of the sacrament weekly. When we truly repent and renew our covenants with pure intent during the sacrament, we are turning our hearts back to our Heavenly Father, and He rejoices.

Robert D Hales said in his April 2012 conference talk, quote:

I testify that the sacrament gives us an opportunity to come to ourselves and experience “a mighty change” of heart⁵—to remember who we are and what we most desire. As we renew the covenant to keep the commandments, we obtain the companionship of the Holy Ghost to lead us back into our Heavenly Father’s presence. Close quote.

I have always found is baffling that most human beings have the audacity to believe that they deserve second chances. We live in a world where time only moves forward and we clearly cannot undo what has been done. Nothing about our universe suggests that second chances are even possible. Yet, in almost every culture of the world, human beings seek redemption. I seems to me that we must have been taught that redemption was possible before we were born into this world, probably at the feet of our loving Heavenly Father, and that this concept was so important that it was ingrained in us to the point that it became human instinct even after being born to our fallible and mortal state.

We were slaves on the auction block; more powerless than the Africans in the South; more powerless than the conquered peoples in Rome; more powerless than the Israelites in Egypt; because human masters will take away your freedom, your family, and your dignity, but the Law of Natural Consequence would take away your ability to choose good after you have chosen evil. We were purchased in our slavery by our Savior, who paid not what we were worth as slaves, but the highest price that He could pay as a Free Man. He was the only one of Heavenly Father’s children to earn the right to return to His presence, and what did He do then? He freed us, He adopted us, and He asked us to follow him. Then He showed us the path that would lead us to salvation.

Now we are left on the auction block with a decision to make. We can choose to follow Jesus Christ and make him our master of our own free will, or we can stay and wait for another master to come along and purchase us; a master who may or may not treat us kindly, and will not have the power to free us; masters such as, but not limited to, addiction, wealth, reputation, depression, and pride. We as individuals know too well all the different masters that bid for our souls, but we cannot forget that we have already been freed, and no other master can enslave us again unless we choose to allow it.

I bear testimony that Christ has adopted us, and we have taken His name as our own and call ourselves “Christians”, the same way an adopted child shares the last name of his new parents. When we partake of the sacrament as He commanded, we mark our intention to follow Christ as our master, and He marks His intention to redeem us from death, both body and spirit. I encourage you to mark yourselves as often as possible, that the Angel of Death may pass you by, and you may have the Spirit of the Lord to be with you. Our covenants give us power to endure the pains and trials of this world, and I bear testimony that when we follow the commandment to partake of the sacrament we are able to use that power more fully.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.