A small bit of counsel I picked up somewhere along the way in life that I have held onto helps me focus on the Sacrament. I will pass it along to you to see if it helps you. The ordinance of the Sacrament does not begin with the prayer, it begins with the hymn. In fact, if we view the hymn as a prelude to the prayer it helps us begin to focus and be reverent. This means if I arrive late to the meeting and the Sacrament hymn is being sung I wait out in the foyer until the ordinance is complete.
The trouble with this though is not everyone adheres to it. It’s hard to not feel slightly annoyed when the door swings open and people come in looking for a seat. But then, that becomes my problem and I have to remember why I’m sitting there seeking forgiveness for my judgy self.
The point is if I feel that the Sacrament is my highest form of worship then I should act like it and respect it. This ties in with the Careful versus Casual talk by Becky Craven at the beginning of conference. The chapel is holy ground if we protect it to make it so. This is where we bring our worldly damaged spiritual armor and fix it. Where we replenish our souls. A haven for us to feel edified and strengthened.
But it only works if we are careful to not be too casual in our holy place.
by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
ck's days 