A few years ago I was afflicted by an unusual cough. After medical consultations and remedies, nothing seemed to work. My body was completely falling apart. I couldn't sleep for four days. Saturday arrived, but there was no relief. I found myself, in the early hours of Sunday morning, pleading with the Lord for His power.
Even so, I had no rest, but a phrase came to my mind: 'I will return to you.'
I knew exactly the context of this phrase. I was sharing with the Saints of the Oeiras Stake in Portugal what an ordinance (Sacrament) was and how 'in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest' (1).
I started by explaining that the Sacrament is an ordinance, an action, an act, but it becomes a different act, it becomes a sacred act.
Why? First, because it represents or rather are symbols of the Savior and his redemptive mission; second, these acts have associated covenants; third, they are administered by the power of the holy priesthood, according to the order of the Son of God, and, lastly, they are associated with the name of Jesus Christ, a name that has power.
I continued explaining that each piece of Bread and Water blessed by the authority of the Holy Priesthood represents the body and blood of Christ. This is a new covenant (2), but individual and very personal.
President Dallin H. Oaks taught: 'because it is broken and torn, each piece of bread is unique, just as the individuals who partake of it are unique. We all have different sins to repent of. We all have different needs to be strengthened through the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom we remember in this ordinance' (3).
Each piece of bread is shared individually and each cup of water is taken individually - it’s an invitation - 'Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world' (4).
Each week we have the opportunity to be His witness. A witness of His name, a name that has power.
When Peter and John healed a 'man lame from his mother's womb' (5), 'the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them,' (6). What was so important that made this rulers of the religious society 'gathered together'? What were they afraid? 'And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?'. Peter replied: 'by the name of Jesus Christ'. So, Peter and John were forbidden, 'not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus' (7).
I had challenged the Oeiras Saints to partake more purposefully of the sacrament, promising that the Lord Jesus would return to help us with His power. Now it was my turn to be challenged to put everything I believed in to the test.
Even with a completely exhausted and aching body, and with no rest from my cough, I decided to partake of the sacrament that Sunday. I knew how to draw power from the sacrament: 'do this in remembrance of me' (8).
In that day I partook of the sacrament with a heart full of gratitude for the Son of God, enveloped in thoughts of His earthly mission. I wished that moment would never end. At the end of the sacrament meeting, I realized I had stopped coughing. It continued like that all day. I fulfilled my service assignments, returned home, and fell into a deep sleep with a testimony of my Savior's name and His redeeming power.
- D&C 84:20
- Luke 22:30
- Dallin H. Oaks, Introdutory Message' (address given at the seminar for new mission presidents, June 25, 2017)
- 3 Nephi 11:14
- Acts 3:1-6
- Acts 4:1
- Acts 4:18.
- Luke 22:19