Pretty sure that most of you have heard of one of my cities on the mission - Tver. I tend to talk about it a lot. It is a special place.
"There are special experiences in the lives of all of us that touch our souls and make things different forever. One such experience happened in my youth. This experience transformed my life.
I was always active in the Church and progressed through the Aaronic Priesthood. When I was a teenager, Brother Jacob, my teacher, asked that I write down on a card what I had thought about during the sacrament. I took my card and began to write. First on the list was a basketball game we had won the night before. And then came a date after the game, and so went the list. Far removed and certainly not in bold letters was the name of Jesus Christ.
Each Sunday the card was filled out. For a young Aaronic Priesthood holder, the sacrament and sacrament meeting took on a new, expanded, and spiritual meaning. I anxiously looked forward to Sundays and to the opportunity to partake of the sacrament, as understanding the Savior’s Atonement was changing me. Every Sunday to this day, as I partake of the sacrament, I can see my card and review my list. Always on my list now, first of all, is the Savior of mankind."
Anyways, the first councilor there would give a (I kid you not) 10 minute preach session EVERY SUNDAY right before the sacrament about how we need to be thinking of the Savior durning sacrament.
He made such a point of this, that I really can't hear the words "now we will prepare to partake of the sacrament" without thinking of his weekly preach session. It is BURNED into my memory.
And then today, as I was browsing lds.org, I found a talk that was being featured on the front page - What's on your mind during sacrament?. I smiled and immediately thought of Brother Oxyonov in Tver. So I clicked it.
I ended up read the talk by Don R. Clarke and REALLY REALLY liked the activity that his Sunday school teacher did. Check it out:
I was always active in the Church and progressed through the Aaronic Priesthood. When I was a teenager, Brother Jacob, my teacher, asked that I write down on a card what I had thought about during the sacrament. I took my card and began to write. First on the list was a basketball game we had won the night before. And then came a date after the game, and so went the list. Far removed and certainly not in bold letters was the name of Jesus Christ.
Each Sunday the card was filled out. For a young Aaronic Priesthood holder, the sacrament and sacrament meeting took on a new, expanded, and spiritual meaning. I anxiously looked forward to Sundays and to the opportunity to partake of the sacrament, as understanding the Savior’s Atonement was changing me. Every Sunday to this day, as I partake of the sacrament, I can see my card and review my list. Always on my list now, first of all, is the Savior of mankind."
I liked it so much, I set a reminder of my phone to ask "what were you thinking about durning Sacrament?" I plan on making a note for every Sunday and write down what I am thinking about. Hopefully, like he states in his talk, I will be able to say Jesus Christ in big bold letters. I will let you all know how that works out. haha
I hope that I will be able to always have the Savior in big bold letters. I hope that it will not only help me remember Him and His sacrifice for me during the sacrament, but that it will help keep Him in my mind throughout the week.
Love you all!
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