"Lest We Forget"

Rudyard Kipling was a celebrated British writer and poet who lived in the 19th century. One of his most famous works was a poem entitled, "Recessional", the 2nd stanza of which proclaimed:

"The tumult and the shouting dies;
The captains and the kings depart:
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget - lest we forget!"

This poem was written in the late 1800's towards the final days of the reign of Queen Victoria when it was becoming apparent that Europe's colonial influence was waning and that the end of Great Britain as a world superpower was near. It was a hymn to God imploring Him to remember those who wielded the sword of power even after their glory days had ended. This occurrence had some common threads with another event that transpired two thousand years ago.

It was in another time, in another place, in another season. Another period was ending but in a much greater scale. Unlike Queen Victoria's reign, unlike the end of England's might, this event would change, not only the political course of human history, but the divine destiny of mankind, an event where that familiar refrain would have been so fitting..."Lest we forget - lest we forget!"

The setting was Jerusalem. The season was called, "The Passover", a feast rich in symbolism pointing to the events that would eventually attend the forthcoming sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God. In an upper room chamber that was prepared for the occasion, Jesus Christ, knowing that the end of his mortal ministry was at hand, assembled his apostles and instituted the ordinance of the sacrament thus ending the law of animal sacrifice. In Matthew 26:26-29, we read: "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat, this is my body. And he took the cup and made thanks and gave it to them saying, Drink ye all of it: For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." The agony of Gethsemane and the suffering at Golgotha followed that upper room experience as the precious blood of the Savior and Redeemer was shed to atone for the sins of the world. With those hours of agony, those moments of untold anguish that culminated in his ignominious death on the cross came his gift of incalculable value to all of us, the gift of eternal life, an ultimate expression of his immeasurable love, pure, deep, unconditional. His atoning sacrifice paved the way for all of us to return to Heavenly Father on the condition of our repentance. Without it, this gift, paid for with the precious blood of the very Son of God would be for naught. Without repentance, the law of mercy cannot prevail and we cannot be saved from suffering, the inevitable consequence of sin. In D&C 19:16-18. it is stated, "For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent, they must suffer, even as I. Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit - and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink."

The atonement and the ordinance of the sacrament, are directly connected. Lest we forget the Lord's atoning sacrifice, each Sabbath day, we gather to commemorate that long ago ordinance that embodies the two-way promise we made in the waters of baptism as recorded in the scriptures. Alma reminded us that we covenanted with the Lord to - come unto the fold of God; bear one another's burden; stand as witnesses of God at all times and in al places, and that we will serve God and keep his commandments. Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone stated: "It is essential that we renew our covenants by partaking of the sacrament. When we do this with a sincere heart, with real intent, forsaking our sins and renewing our commitment to God, the Lord provides a way whereby sins can be forgiven from week to week. Simply eating the bread and drinking the water will not bring that forgiveness. We must prepare and then partake with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. The spiritual preparation we make to partake of the sacrament is essential to receiving a remission of our sins."

"Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice, an humble and a contrite heart." What does it mean to have a broken heart and a contrite spirit? In Mormon Doctrine, we read: "To have a broken heart and a contrite spirit is to be broken down with deep sorrow for sin, to be humbly and thoroughly penitent, to have attained sincere and purposeful repentance. To the unrepentant who partakes of the sacrament, the Lord has explicity said: "Whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to his soul" (3 Nephi 18:29). As we worthily partake of the sacrament, we will become more aware of the things we need to improve on and the Lord's unfailing guidance, when sought, will strengthen us. When we come to him in prayer and with the earnest desire to change for the better, his love and forgiveness are promised blessings.

Our obedience to his commandments is the Lord's yardstick that measures how much we love him. In John 14:23, he said, "If a man love me, he will keep my words>" And yet, knowing the weakness of the human side in all of us and fully aware of the challenges we have in our daily lives, the Lord invites us to partake of the sacrament weekly - lest we forget!

As the sacrament hymn is sung, as the words of the sacrament prayers are said, as we bow our head in humble acknowledgement of our sins, and as we search our repentant soul and seek the Lord's forgiveness, may we remember. May we remember those agonizing moments in the Garden of Gethsemane when the son of God bled at every pore for the sins of the world. May we remember the scourges on his back, the bite of the thorns on his brow, the weight of the cross on his back, the verbal and physical abuse that he meekly endured from his accusers, the nails that pierced his hands and feet, and his death on the cross so that you and I may return in glory to the Father. May we remember that day, 2,000 years ago when the heavens wept and the earth trembled as the Son of God gave his life to atone for our sins. May we remember that he paid for all; he suffered for all. With all my heart and soul, these truths I know. As we partake of the sacrament and renew our baptismal covenants, may we be blessed with the quiet assurance from the Spirit that we can improve our lives and come closer to the Father if we but live the best we can and obey his commandments. I know without an iota of doubt that he lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that he is my Savior and Redeemer. I pray that when the cares of the world become too heavy on our shoulders and threaten to pull us away from those truths we have come to know and cherish, our anguished soul will echo a prayer from some immortal verse: "Lord God of hosts, be with us yet; Lest we forget - lest we forget!"