Mormon Monday: Fasting and the Sacrament

On the first Sunday of every month in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have a church-wide fast where we go without food or water for two meals.

Since I became pregnant with Kevin, I have not been able to fast due to nursing and other factors. Instead of fasting food, I would go without television or sugar during that time period so I could still participate. As Kevin's need for sustenance diminished, I was able to fast one meal, and I was grateful for the opportunity.

Yesterday, for the first time in over two years, I felt that I was capable of fasting two meals again. It was a happy moment for me. Fasting brings a lot of power into our lives.

Elder Shayne M. Bowen in April 2009 said:

What if there were a way to overcome our habits, addictions, and burdens? What if there were a way to gain sufficient confidence in the Lord that you could call down the powers of heaven? What if there were principles you could teach your loved ones that, if applied, would allow them to overcome personal weaknesses and draw closer to God?

As we properly understand and live the law of the fast, these desired blessings can be ours.

“Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?” (Isaiah 58:6).

Our Father will free us from the bands of wickedness, He will lift our heavy burdens, and He will let the oppressed go free. In fact He promises to empower us to break every yoke. What an enabling promise, to have the power to break every yoke!

Proper and consistent fasting can help us overcome sins, bad habits, and addictions. Is there any of us who would not want to be freed from the personal burdens we carry? Fasting allows us to avail ourselves of this cleansing and purifying power.

I have felt that power in my life.

However, as I was sitting in the first meeting at church yesterday, I wasn't feeling so optimistic. My head was beginning to pound, and I was feeling weak. I didn't know if I was going to make it through the whole three hours without eating something. I had already missed breakfast, and it was an hour past lunch time.

We finished singing the sacrament hymn, which is designed to help bring the spirit before we partake of the sacrament.

When we take of the bread and water, we do it in remembrance of our Savior Jesus Christ. The bread represents his body, and the water represents the blood that was shed for us. When we partake of these symbols, we promise the Lord that we will keep His commandments, always remember Him, and take His name upon us. These are the same things that we promise at baptism. In return, the Lord has promised that He will forgive our sins, and that we will have His Spirit to be with us.

The Lord himself instigated the sacrament. It has always been a fundamental part of His church.

I wasn't feeling very good, but after I had partaken of the bread and water, I noticed a remarkable change. I suddenly felt re-energized and my headache subsided! As I contemplated how much better a morsel of bread and a tiny cup of water had made me feel, my mind suddenly made a connection, and I felt enlightened. It wasn't the tiny piece of bread or the water that had changed me. They were only symbols of my Savior. It was my Savior who had actually strengthened me and helped me in that moment.

Often in this life, we are asked to endure difficult things. Sometimes, those things can seem to be beyond our abilities to complete. However, with the assistance of our Savior Jesus Christ, we are capable of doing anything. This is the grace that is talked about in the scriptures.

I thought that I wouldn't be able to fast the full two meals. Right before I took the sacrament, I was thinking about eating some of the snacks we had for Kevin because I was feeling so weak. However, simply by taking the sacrament, I found that I was able to endure the next several hours and overcome my own insufficiency. I found that the simple reminder of my Savior was enough to sustain me and help me be stronger.

Sometimes, all we need is a reminder that someone is there helping us and caring for us. The Savior is always there. All we have to do is turn to him. There is power in the sacrament and in remembering our Savior throughout the week. There is power in fasting. I know those things that we fasted for yesterday will be answered in the way that is best for our family.

I'm so grateful for the lesson that the Spirit taught me yesterday. Too often, I think I'm strong enough to go through this life alone. The thing that I constantly need to remember is that I wasn't meant to walk alone. I was meant to help and be helped by others. We are here together, and as we strive to serve others, we can ALL return to our Father in Heaven.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Mormon Monday: Resurrection,Judgement, and Grace; Part 5 of the Plan of Salvation

I got a bit derailed last week, but this week we're back on track!

Here are the previous parts of my Plan of Salvation series:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4
Part 6

After we die, we exist in the spirit world. Then, once everyone has had a chance to accept or reject the gospel, Christ will return in his glorious second coming. Then, everyone who has died will be resurrected. We believe that our bodies are sacred and that when we die, our spirits and our bodies are separated. Then, during the time after we die and until we are resurrected, we exist solely as a Spirit. 

However, we believe that we were created in the image of God, and that God has a perfect body of flesh and bone. Therefore, because of Christ's atonement, we will all overcome physical death and be reunited with our bodies. However, once this resurrection occurs, our bodies will be perfect. Thus, one aspect of Adam's fall is rectified. 

Then, once everyone has been brought from corruption to perfection, we will be judged by our Heavenly Father, his son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. Our Father wants all of His children to return and to live with him, but He will never force anyone to do anything. Choice is our greatest gift, and He has offered us salvation, if only we will choose to accept it. For those who accept Christ's sacrifice for them and who kept God's commandments to the best of their ability, they will be saved in the last day. 

I think that nowhere is this better expressed then in the book of Alma 11:42-45:

 42 Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death.

 43 The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt.

 44 Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.

 45 Now, behold, I have spoken unto you concerning the death of the mortal body, and also concerning the resurrection of the mortal body. I say unto you that this mortal body is raised to an immortal body, that is from death, even from the first death unto life, that they can die no more; their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided; thus the whole becoming spiritual and immortal, that they can no more see corruption.

I love these versus, because it so clearly explains what will occur when our spirits and bodies are rejoined.

Often people ask if Mormons believe we are saved by grace or by works. Really, we don't believe they are separate. We believe that the definition of grace is "the enabling power of God." This means that through Jesus Christ, we will have to ability to do anything, including obtain perfection. However, God has never allowed his children to sit idly by and let someone else do the work for them. Without the grace of our Savior, NO ONE would get to heaven. However, if we don't allow Christ's grace to work through us and change us, we won't be enough like our Father in Heaven to be able to dwell in His presence. Grace isn't simply saying that we accept Christ and then we're saved. Grace is doing our best and relying upon our Savior. As we do that, his grace (enabling power) will magnify all that we do and allow us to do things that are only possible through our Savior. 

If you want to read an incredible talk about the grace of our Savior, go to this link. It changed the way I thought about grace. 

It is only through the grace of Jesus Christ that anyone is saved. Unfortunately, discussions about grace often come down to semantics. Often, Christians have more in common than we'd like to believe. I don't know very many Christians who really believe that if they accept Christ and then go out and kill someone that they will be saved because they accepted Christ. Most I know, in our faith and out of it, believe that they need to do their best and that their Savior wants them to treat others will love and respect. A true disciple of Christ will be judged on the way that they treat those around them and on who they become. (Matt 25)

 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

 

For my final note to this topic, I'm going to geek-out for a second and quote from one of my favorite television shows. One of my favorite quotes from the Stargate universe goes like this:

“Judge yourself by the intentions of your actions and by the strength with which you faced the challenges which stood in your way. The universe is vast and we are so small. There is really only one thing we can ever truly control--whether we are good or evil.” 

― Oma de Sala

We can't control what this life will throw at us, but we can control how we will react to the challenges that we will face. Every decision we make is important, and the Plan of Salvation is a plan of hope. God will be as merciful as He can be, while still assuring that justice is met. If we will accept the Savior's atonement, the demands of justice will be satisfied. However, if we throw his sacrifice away and treat it as naught, we will have to pay for our own sins, and that is a far less pleasant option.

Next week, I'll talk about the kingdoms of glory that are in store for Heavenly Father's children after they are judged.