The Sacrament of the Lord’s supper, there is no more eloquent sermon than the partaking of this ordinance. What could we possibly add to a perfect, living covenant given to us by the Lord himself? This, a weekly ordinance. Interestingly, there have been over 100,000 weeks since the Lord introduced the sacrament to the original 12 apostles and then shortly thereafter to the Nephites. Lost during the Apostasy, we know the sacrament was again restored with the fullness of the gospel in 1830, just under 10,000 weeks ago.
One Hebrew root to the word “covenant” is baritu, and one translation of the word “baritu” is “to bind or to fetter”. I love that there have been approximately 10,000 opportunities for the modern house of Israel to bind and re-bind themselves to their Savior.
But, at the same time, I’ve wondered what was it like during the weeks and months just after the Savior introduced the Sacrament to the original 12 on both continents, for the first time. It certainly would have been a cultural shock to the saints. I can imagine several of the early Christian Jews and Nephites wrestling with the concept of a new weekly sacrament.
But putting that on the shelf for a moment, they might have further asked, “how can we retire the Passover? This marvelous act, that saved our people from destruction, that helped free us from Egypt. It defines us as a people. The Passover is a cornerstone of our culture. Is not an annual renewal of covenants with the Lord sufficient for this covenant keeping people?
In the theater of my mind, I can hear language like this in hushed tones across the holy land over 100,000 weeks ago. And yet, the Lord need not apologize for remodeling his own covenant house as he moved Israel forward on two continents.
Where would we be today without the Sacrament? That, I cannot answer, but I do know we would be 100,000 weeks behind schedule in preparing for the return of the Savior.
Ironically, we find ourselves in a similar place today. We have all experienced the thrill of President Nelson’s prophetic leadership as he works with the Lord to renovate today’s covenant house. Leading a body of saints back to their Creator. This renovation has required a good deal of housecleaning, where peripheral programs have been demo-ed, and some core elements have been retired to make way for higher and holier practices.
I’d like to share a personal story, 22 years ago, the day before my wife and I were married, we purchased a 100-year-old dilapidated farmhouse in the Maryland countryside, complete with dirt floors, boarded up windows and no kitchen. So, we spent the first year of marriage renovating that old house, that renovation taught us a lot about each other, including a new gratitude for running water, central heat and wood floors. But there was something interesting about that old house. It leaned forward, noticeably. It had a very simple, shallow, hand laid stone foundation, and over time, it had settled. I actually had a dream one night that it simply tipped over. So, it was necessary during the renovation to take extreme efforts to replace the foundation under a portion of the home. It was quite an undertaking!
Now bear with me as I go into some detail. First, we had to build a temporary structural wall to hold up half the home, then the entire rear structure of the home was demolished, exposing the old foundation, which was then removed, new footings dug and poured, a structural wall was poured, the house was leveled with massive jacks, and then then framed, then the temporary wall removed, and then refinished with sheetrock and siding. I’m not trying to bore the room with construction detail, It’s that I’m starting to finally connect the dots with the extraordinary SCOPE of what the Prophet has asked us to do in his October conference address, “The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation”
Quote “We are sparing no effort to give this venerable temple, which had become increasingly vulnerable, a foundation that will withstand the forces of nature into the Millennium. In like manner, it is now time that we each implement extraordinary measures—perhaps measures we have never taken before—to strengthen our personal spiritual foundations. Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures.
It is my understanding that prophets are not allowed to exaggerate, I believe it is considered an occupational hazard. As a seer, he chose those words deliberately.
President Nelson continues, “My dear brothers and sisters, these are the latter days. If you and I are to withstand the forthcoming perils and pressures, it is imperative that we each have a firm spiritual foundation built upon the rock of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. So, I ask each of you, how firm is your foundation? And what reinforcements to your testimony and understanding of the gospel are needed?”
When I pause and remember the discomfort, exhaustion, frustration and effort that went into renovating and restoring that 100 year old house, it took a year of hard work, and the work of others that had tools and skills that I did not have.
President Nelson is asking us to make the same massive efforts to significantly overhaul what has been working fine for us for perhaps a lifetime. That old house of our had been sitting for 100 years on a hand-laid stone foundation. But it was leaning, and if it was given a good shake, it very likely could simply collapse. Because of significant effort, today it is ready for a good shake, a good flood or other test of its structural integrity.
All of our spiritual foundations are up for inspection, renovation and fortification.
How do we start? What do we look for? Perhaps we can start by asking the architect of our lives to reveal the blueprint to our own Extreme Fortifications. This begins by simply accepting one of the many invitations extended over recent years by our prophet and apostles.
Ill share a personal example. I have a mild form of dyslexia, so reading for extended periods equals headaches and eventually a complete loss of content absorption. So my personal study can be a challenge, I am constantly working to improve. 3 years ago, I felt prompted to follow the Prophet’s invitation extended to the Sisters in the 2018 Women’s conference to re-read the Book of Mormon before the end of that year. President Nelson, in that address, encouraged the sisters to mark each verse that referred to the Savior. As I started to follow the Prophet’s advice, the spirit then customized the invitation to what I specifically needed in my own spiritual growth. I was prompted to slow down, not finish by the end of that year, and rather than highlight versus referencing the savior, I was invited to make a separate written record of every unique name and title by which the Savior was personally referenced throughout the Book of Mormon.
This got me excited, I started reading with a new lens to re-discover such familiar scripture. I was surprised when I had quickly recorded over 50 unique titles. Then over time, the list grew to 100 and by the time I reached Moroni 10:34, I had discovered 164 unique, individual, loving references to our Lord and Savior. For the first time, I noticed tender, personal references unique to each prophet author as they testified of their Christ…..The Lamb of God, The Master of the Vineyard, Shepherd over all the earth, The Creator of All Things from the Beginning, He Standing Betwixt Them and Justice, The Great Mediator, My Maker, My Jesus.
It brought to my awareness that this, perhaps, is not the Book of Mormon, but perhaps, the Book of Christ, ghost authored by the Savior himself, through his prophets.
Consider that this may extend beyond scripture, as our homes may be ghost authored by the Savior himself, through each of us. President Nelson taught “oh, how we will need His power in the days ahead.”
Again, President Nelson taught, “…it is now time that we each implement extraordinary measures—perhaps measures we have never taken before—to strengthen our personal spiritual foundations. Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures.”
Now let’s ponder for a moment, lessons learned from prior invitations from President Nelson. It was October 2018 when he introduced the Come Follow Me curriculum, announcing the time had come for a home centered church.
In that conference, the prophet said “The new home-centered, Church-supported integrated curriculum has the potential to unleash the power of families, as each family follows through conscientiously and carefully to transform their home into a sanctuary of faith. I promise that as you diligently work to remodel your home into a center of gospel learning, over time your sabbath days will truly be a delight. Your children will be excited to learn and to live the Savior’s teachings, and the influence of the adversary in your life and in your home will decrease. Changes in your family will be dramatic and sustaining.”
It was December 12, 2019, one year and six weeks later, COVID-19 broke out in Wuhan, China. Will there be something similar that challenges our spiritual foundations this December?
It was 100,000 weeks ago, in the days before the Sacrament, due to life expectancy, an individual could expect to renew their covenants 36 times between the age of 8 and 44 (utilizing the annual Passover). Today, during an average lifetime, we have the opportunity to partake of the Sacrament 3,600 times between the age of accountability and 78. From 36 to 3,600
The challenge presented to us today, is to let the Lord move us forward. In time, with greater wisdom we will look back and see how the Lord, through his Prophet, has multiplied our spiritual capacity by factors of a hundred, or whatever is necessary to overcome the power of the destroyer.
President Nelson concludes with this invitation, “I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation, for the Lord has promised “if thou shalt [seek], thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy…(and) life eternal.
Wow Aaron! I have always loved your talks. They are so meaningful. Thank you so much for sharing this with all of us.