In Sacrament meeting, I was once again impressed by the words of the Sacrament Prayer: “Always remember Him…” (Moroni 4:3, 5:12; D&C 20:77, 79)
The Him in these verses refers to our Savior, Jesus Christ. We are urged to always remember our Redeemer and what He has done for us. Remembering Him includes keeping His commandments.
When we think of keeping the commandments, it often feels like it is requiring a constant effort from us. We try, we fail, we try again. Always keeping our guard up.
Keeping the commandments feels like a discouraging, but very necessary experience. And so we soldier on, following the school-master meaning of the law, hoping that obedience will give us the power and ability to “always remember Him.”
But there is another way.
When we come to know the Lord in a personal, intimate way, our love for Him and His love for us changes our hearts. We being to think of Him more and more often in our daily walk through the tasks of our lives. Our hearts and minds are turned to Him and we begin to continually think of Him, before and above all others.
This is the true expression of the counsel to “always remember Him.” We remember Him easily because our love for Him draws us to think of Him continually. When this becomes our reality, keeping His commandments becomes easy. It is our life’s breath.
In this new life, we remember the Lord first, above all others. We reach out to Him in our thoughts, in our imaginations. The affection of our hearts are placed upon Him continually. When this is the case, then the next portion of the sacramental prayers follows as a natural course—we “always have His Spirit to be with [us].”
Only then, when our hearts and minds are turned to Christ, will we have His Spirit with us. Why? Because He will not come where He isn’t invited. We invite Him by desiring to think of Him more than we think of anyone else.
How do you invite the Lord into your daily walk? What rememberances or imaginations allow you to create that personal and intimate relationship with Him? Are there things that help you to “always remember Him”? Things that make remembering Him more difficult? Share your thoughts in the comments.
~Colleen H.
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Sometimes it’s easier for me to remember the things God is currently doing for me, rather than the things He has done in the past. I stop and think of my day and all the blessings I have, and my heart fills with love and gratitude. Even on the bleakest days, there is always a glimmer of light and hope.