How can I make the sacrament more meaningful to me?
During the sacrament each week, we should examine our lives, ponder the Savior’s Atonement, and consider what we need to do to repent of our sins. We do not need to be perfect in order to partake of the sacrament, but we should have a spirit of humility and repentance in our hearts. The sacrament can become a source of strength and an opportunity to rededicate ourselves to living the gospel.
Prepare yourself spiritually
What do you do to make the sacrament more meaningful? Have you had any experiences with the sacrament that you could share with the youth?
What blessings can the youth receive as they understand the sacred nature of the sacrament? What are some possible distractions for the youth before and during the sacrament? How can they overcome these distractions?
Prayerfully study these scriptures and resources. What can you share with the youth to help them have a more meaningful experience with the sacrament?
Matthew 26:26–28; 3 Nephi 18:1–13 (The Savior institutes the sacrament)
1 Corinthians 11:23–29; 3 Nephi 9:20; D&C 20:37; 59:8–12 (How to prepare to partake of the sacrament worthily)
Peter F. Meurs, “The Sacrament Can Help Us Become Holy,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2016, 85–87
Dale G. Renlund, “That I Might Draw All Men unto Me,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2016, 39–42
Cheryl A. Esplin, “The Sacrament—a Renewal for the Soul,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2014, 12–14
“Sacrament,” True to the Faith (2004), 147–49
Videos: “The Sacrament Helps Us Draw Closer to Jesus Christ,” “Upon My Holy Day—Getting Closer to God”
Teaching in the Savior’s way
Jesus Christ helped those He taught to discover gospel lessons in their own experiences and in the world around them. He spoke of fishing, of childbirth, and of working in the fields. How can you use familiar experiences to help the youth understand principles of the gospel?
Make connections
During the first few minutes of every class, help the youth make connections between what they are learning in various settings (such as personal study, seminary, other Church classes, or experiences with their friends). How can you help them see the relevance of the gospel in daily living? The ideas below might help:
-
Ask the youth to share a time when a teacher effectively taught a gospel principle.
-
Ask the youth to finish the sentence “I can make the sacrament more meaningful to me by .” Invite them to list their answers on the board and add to the list throughout the lesson.
Learn together
Each of the activities below will help the youth learn how to make the sacrament more meaningful to them. Following the inspiration of the Spirit, select one or more that will work best for your class:
-
Invite the youth to think of a time when someone they know did something especially for them. How did it make them feel? To help the youth understand that the Savior completed the Atonement for each of them individually, you might invite them to read together the paragraph beginning with “Whatever our current direction” from Elder Dale G. Renlund’s talk “That I Might Draw All Men unto Me.” What did the woman in the talk come to know? What can the youth do to make the sacrament a more sacred experience? You might give each class member a small card. Then ask class members to list the things they thought about the last time they partook of the sacrament. They could also list some things they want to think about to help them focus on the Savior the next time they partake of the sacrament.
-
Show a picture of the Savior administering the sacrament (see Gospel Art Book, 54). While you read Matthew 26:26–28, ask the youth to look at the picture and imagine what it would have been like to be there. Share ways the sacrament has strengthened your love for the Savior and testimony of the Atonement. Invite the youth to share their testimonies. Encourage the youth to ponder what they have discussed today the next time they partake of the sacrament. What other events from the life of the Savior could they think about during the sacrament?
-
Invite the youth to share their favorite sacrament hymn (if necessary, they can look in the topic index at the back of the hymnbook) and explain why it is meaningful to them. Sing, listen to, or read one or more of these hymns, and read the scriptures listed at the end of each hymn. What do we learn about the sacrament from the hymns? How do hymns help us prepare for the sacrament?
-
Invite each class member to select one of the scriptures in this outline and read it, looking for things the Lord asks us to do to prepare for the sacrament. Ask the youth to share what they find. Why does the Lord want us to prepare for the sacrament in these ways? Invite them to share other things they do to make the sacrament a more meaningful experience or show one of the videos in this outline. Ask the youth to choose something they will do as they prepare to partake of the sacrament next week.
-
Invite the youth to read Elder Peter F. Meurs’s talk “The Sacrament Can Help Us Become Holy” or the story about the Young Women leader in Sister Cheryl A. Esplin’s talk “The Sacrament—a Renewal for the Soul.” 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 the talk they have read.
-
If possible, visit the sacrament table and preparation room as a class. Invite Aaronic Priesthood holders (teachers or priests) or the bishop to explain how the sacrament is prepared and to bear testimony of the sacredness of this ordinance. Invite other class members to share their testimonies and their thoughts about what they can do to treat the sacrament with more reverence.
Ask the youth to share what they learned today. What feelings or impressions do they have? Do they understand how to make the sacrament more meaningful to them? Do they have any additional questions? Would it be worthwhile to spend more time on this topic?
Gospel study skills
Visualizing events in the scriptures. In the first activity in this section, the youth are encouraged to imagine how they would feel or what they would do if they had been present when an event in the scriptures took place. Visualizing the events in the scriptures can help the youth apply the stories to their own lives. Encourage them to do this often in their personal scripture study.
Video: “Personalizing Gospel Doctrines”
Invite to act
Ask the youth what they feel inspired to do because of what they learned today. Encourage them to act on these feelings. Seek the Spirit as you prayerfully consider ways you can follow up.