You Are What You Eat

It was a common belief in hunter gatherer societies that by partaking of the animals that they slew, hunters could take on the abilities of their prey as well, the strength of the animal becoming their strength, the animal’s speed becoming their speed, and so on. Christ invites us to engage in a similar process when we partake of the sacrament. We are to partake of the emblems of Christ’s body and His blood, not only as a remembrance of what great things He did for us in performing the Atonement, but also because by partaking of Christ’s flesh and blood, we can take on Christ’s abilities, His powers and His attributes. “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:11). The power of the sacrament is not confined to cleansing and absolving us of our sins when we have truly repented. When we partake of the sacrament and covenant to keep the commandments and always remember our Savior Jesus Christ, we are promised to always have Christ’s spirit to be with us. And not just His spirit, but His abilities, His power, His wisdom, His courage, His Love. Jesus Christ wants us to partake of His flesh and blood so that we may become like Him, act as He would act, with the same compassion and wisdom and grace and power that He has. If it is true that we are what we eat, then the more often and the more fully we partake of the Sacrament, the more and more we will become like that which we ate, even our Savior Jesus Christ. I hope that we truly believe in the full power of the Sacrament and the Atonement and that we will go forth each Sunday filled with the abilities which God giveth, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ.