Sacrament Attendance 26 January 2014

“Lift up your heart and rejoice, for the hour of your mission is come; and your tongue shall be loosed, and you shall declare glad tidings of great joy unto this generation” (Doctrine and Covenants 31:3).

Following the Sacrament ordinance, two to three members of the Church give talks. Sometimes the topic is assigned and other times members are free to choose their own topic. Either way we want to make sure that we prepare in a way to invite the Spirit to the meeting, and center our meeting on the Savior. Personally I have a Sacrament talk topic come to me well in advance of ever being asked to speak. And I find that shortly after having received the topic I’m asked to speak. I have found that having a Sacrament topic in my mind and pondering helps me prepare for when I am asked to talk. So if you were asked to talk in Sacrament do you know what you would speak on? Will you have sufficient time to ponder and prepare? Pondering a topic in advance of being asked will help you prepare in the needed time. When speaking I try to focus on speaking loudly and clearly to ensure everyone can hear what I am saying. There are several things that I do to prepare and those along with other suggestions are mentioned in resources online. Here are some comments that I saw. Feel free to comment on the post and share some of the things that help you prepare a Sacrament talk.

For members of the Church, speaking in sacrament meeting is not an uncommon occurrence. Even young people are often asked to speak. It’s part of the culture. “It doesn't have to be dry,” said Sister Witt. “To begin with, don’t describe the process of how you were asked to give a talk by the bishop, and don’t tell everyone the topic you've been asked to speak on.” (lds.org)

The following 8 tips are from ldsliving.com.

1. Give Yourself Time: Use your scripture study during the days or weeks leading up to your talk to study about the topic. References such as the Bible Dictionary or Topical Guide can be great helps, as are talks from general authorities on the subject. It always helps me to create a master list of scriptures, quotes, stories, and examples that I may want to include in the talk.

2. Decide on the Main Idea of Your Talk: Narrow in on the main idea or point you want to come across.  It might even help to brainstorm a title for your talk. For example, general authorities’ talks usually aren’t titled just “Revelation” or “Conversion,” but rather “How to Obtain Revelation and Inspiration for Your Personal Life” or “Conversion to His Gospel through His Church.”

3. Think About Your Audience: Ponder and pray about the people you will be speaking to and think about their needs and how you can address them. Seek inspiration through study and prayer as to what this specific group of people needs to hear.

4. Create an Outline: Just like writing an essay, it’s important to determine the main points you want to hit in your talk. The points should all tie in to the main topic, and ideally should all build upon each other. Think about what questions your audience could have and how you can address them as you outline your points.

5. Weave in Scriptures, Quotes, and Examples: Look at your master list and decide where to plug in different scriptures, quotes, and examples. Make sure that you have a good balance of all three to add variety to your talk. Have you ever noticed how the congregation perks up when the speaker is about to tell a story? President Monson is a master at weaving in stories with doctrine.Read more about how you can follow his example and do the same effectively here.

6. Use Humor: Using humor is okay, as long as it doesn't distract from the doctrine. Notice how Elder Holland included humor in his talk from October 2012 General Conference when he said, “What a bright prospect that is—downing another quart of pickle juice every time anyone around you has a happy moment!” He let the congregation have a quick breather, but he immediately moved on to the doctrine.

7. Testify: Testimony meeting shouldn't be the only meeting where we hear testimony. Throughout your talk, testify of the principles you are teaching. The conclusion of your talk is a good place to testify of what you talked about and share how you have changed as a result of studying and living this topic.

8. Pray: Don’t forget to pray throughout the whole process. Pray for the people you will be speaking to and that you will be inspired to say what they need to hear. Pray that the Spirit will guide you to what you need to say and help you say it in an effective manner. Pray that you will be confident and peaceful as you give your talk.

Sacrament Attendance - January 19, 2014

Have you ever woken up on Sunday and debated whether or not to go to Church? Have you ever thought about why Satan is working so hard to keep you from attending Sacrament? What do you think about while the Sacrament is being passed? What does the Sacrament mean to you? These questions may be some of several you’ve often asked yourself.

Growing up, one member’s behavior stood out to me during the passing of the Sacrament. This person kept their arms folded the entire time with their head bowed in a state of reverence seemingly pondering the Savior and his sacrifice or reflecting on their sins and gratitude for the Atonement. This is how I modeled my behavior during the passing of the Sacrament or at least until I had kids. Now I try to maintain my reverence along with teaching my kids to be reverent and reflect on the Savior.

Let’s highlight some content from the teachings of Joseph Fielding Smith: Chapter 6: The Significance of the Sacrament. Click here to read the complete chapter

 “We have been called upon to commemorate this great event [the Atonement of Jesus Christ] and to keep it in mind constantly. For this purpose we are called together once each week to partake of these emblems, witnessing that we do remember our Lord, that we are willing to take upon us his name and that we will keep his commandments. This covenant we are called upon to renew each week, and we cannot retain the Spirit of the Lord if we do not consistently comply with this commandment. If we love the Lord we will be present at these meetings in the spirit of worship and prayer, remembering the Lord and the covenant we are to renew each week through this sacrament as he has required it of us…It is our duty to carefully and thoughtfully consider the nature of [the sacrament] prayers when we hear them offered in our meetings. There are four very important things we covenant to do each time we partake of these emblems, and in partaking, there is the token that we subscribe fully to the obligations, and thus they become binding upon us. These are as follows:

1. We eat in remembrance of the body of Jesus Christ, promising that we will always remember His wounded body slain upon the cross.

2. We drink in remembrance of the blood which was shed for the sins of the world, which atoned for the transgression of Adam, and which frees us from our own sins on condition of our true repentance.

3. We covenant that we will be willing to take upon us the name of the Son and always remember Him. In keeping this covenant we promise that we will be called by His name and never do anything that would bring shame or reproach upon that name.

4. We covenant that we will keep His commandments which He has given us; not one commandment, but that we will be willing to “live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.” [D&C 84:44.]

 If we will do these things then we are promised the continual guidance of the Holy Ghost, and if we will not do these things we will not have that guidance.”