As the Twelve Apostles were eating, Jesus, the Paschal Lamb Himself, took bread, blessed it, broke it, and then gave it to His disciples (see Matthew 26:26). The sacrificial lamb prepared for the Last Supper was an essential part of the annual Passover feast. The ordinance of the sacrament will continue at least until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, when our Savior will partake of the sacrament with His Saints (see 1 Corinthians 11:26 D&C 27:5–14). Here the old law, the Mosaic law, would be fulfilled, as the new covenant-even a higher law-would be instituted. “After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me” ( 1 Corinthians 11:23–25). “And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: Paul reminded the Saints that the sacrament had been instituted at a pivotal point in the meridian of time as Jesus sat at the Feast of the Passover with His Twelve Apostles. Careful attention is given in a dignified manner to the preparation, blessing, and passing of the sacrament. It is a holy and sacred ordinance to be administered in a prescribed way by worthy priesthood holders and partaken of by worthy Latter-day Saints. The sacrament represents the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In those moments, as we come to church prepared to partake, we follow Paul’s counsel to the Saints in the Roman province of Corinth: “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup” ( 1 Corinthians 11:28). Those carved words are still impressed upon my mind each Sunday as the sacrament is being passed: “This do in remembrance of me.”Īs the Lord’s covenant people, we arrive at our sacrament meetings a few minutes early to show reverence and to ponder this sacred ordinance. In that little branch, members of the Aaronic Priesthood, in both dress and demeanor, reminded the Saints of our Savior’s instructions regarding this most meaningful and sacred ordinance. Many years ago as a young missionary in Canada, I was impressed with a scripture that a craftsman had skillfully carved onto the front of the sacrament table of the branch in Montreal: “This do in remembrance of me” ( Luke 22:19).
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