Week 29: The Sacrament

Song: While of These Emblems We Partake (H. 173)

Thought: In the simple and beautiful language of the sacramental prayers those young priests offer, the principal word we hear seems to be remember. In the first and slightly longer prayer offered over the bread, mention is made of a willingness to take upon us the name of the Son of God and to keep the commandments he has given us.
Neither of those phrases is repeated in the blessing on the water, though surely both are assumed and expected. What is stressed in both prayers is that all of this is done in remembrance of Christ. In so participating we witness that we will always remember him, that we may always have his Spirit to be with us (see D&C 20:77, 79). (“This Do in Remembrance of Me” by Jeffrey R. Holland)

Object Lesson: Hand someone a pencil, and ask them to "try to drop it."  Once the person drops the pencil, pick it up and say , "No, maybe my instructions weren't clear.  I said TRY to drop the pencil".  They might act confused, and maybe drop it again if so just repeat the process, but if they hold onto it and do not drop it, then say, "no what I wanted you to do was to TRY and drop it!"  Once the person gets confused or irritated with you, say thank you, and retrieve the pencil.  You can ask another to try the same thing and see if anyone does it any different. When everyone keeps dropping it or holding onto it, tell the the punch line... "There is no such thing as "Try" you either do or you don't." So lets DO what we are asked to do and not give the excuse that "We tried." (Object Lesson from Mormon Share)  We either renew our covenants each week or we don't.  It depends on us.  The sacrament is a wonderful blessing to us.  It gives us the opportunity to become clean each week, as if we were baptized. (Sharing Time Lesson)

Video: The Sacrament Helps Us to Draw Closer to Jesus Christ

Lesson Activity: For younger children consider the following attention activity. Tell the children to listen carefully. If you say something that they should do or think about during the sacrament, they should stand up tall. If you say something they should not do or think about during the sacrament, they should bend over.
Read the following statements one at a time, giving the children time to respond.
1 - Remember that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us. (Stand)
2 - Think about going on a picnic. (Bend)
3 - Remember that Jesus Christ made sick people well. (Stand)
4 - Whisper and talk to your neighbor. (Bend)
5 - Wiggle and move around in your seat. (Bend)
6 - Say a prayer to Heavenly Father. (Stand)
7 - Draw pictures or play with a toy. (Bend)
8 - Remember stories about Jesus Christ. (Stand)
(Sharing Time Lesson)

For older children/adults this activity from Come, Follow Me should help to emphasize how we can make the sacrament more meaningful in our lives.
Invite them to read sections II and III of Elder Dallin H. Oaks’s talk “Sacrament Meeting and the Sacrament” Ask them to look for answers to the question “How can I make the sacrament more meaningful to me?” Invite them to write their answers on the board and share something they plan to do to apply the counsel in these talks.

This Week's Challenge: Challenge your family to focus on the covenant we make to "always remember" the Savior. Discuss with them various ways that we can accomplish this in our daily lives. Challenge them to work hard to implement these things each day this week and then be prepared to take the sacrament on Sunday and renew those covenants.