Commenting on the promise that, by partaking of the emblems of the
Sacrament (Eucharist/Lord’s Supper), we may have God’s Spirit to be with us, Fielding
McConkie, Millet, and Top noted the following:
4:3 (5:2). That they may always have his Spirit to be with them] One’s
faithfulness to the covenants made in baptism and renewed with worthy partaking
of the sacrament binds the Lord to his part of the covenant agreement. He has
promised that we may have the influence of the Holy Ghost as a constant companion.
There are many significant spiritual fruits that come to us as the Lord
fulfills this promise to us. The Holy Ghost is a sanctifier, and as a result we
are forgiven of our sins and cleansed by the Holy Spirit through worthy partaking
of the sacrament. “If we have done wrong; if there is a feeling in our souls that
we would like to be forgiven,” Elder Melvin J. Ballard declared, “then the
method to obtain forgiveness is not through rebaptism; it is not to make
confession to man; but it is to repent of our sins, to go to those against whom
we have sinned or transgressed and obtain their forgiveness, and the repair to
the sacrament table where, if we have sincerely repented and put ourselves in
proper condition, we shall be forgiven, and spiritual healing will come to our
souls. It will really enter into our being.” (Improvement Era, October 1919, pp. 1026-27).
In addition to the
cleansing from sin and the spiritual healing that comes by the Holy Ghost,
having the Spirit with us yields other great blessings. If we are true to our
covenants, the Spirit helps us to speak with power (see D&C 88:137), brings
things to our remembrance (see John 14:26), gives us peace and joy (see
Galatians 5:22), teaches and testifies of eternal truths (see John 14:26;
Moroni 10:5), opens up revelations to our minds (see Alma 5:46), shows us all
things that we should do (see 2 Nephi 32:5), strengthens body, mind and spirit
(see Romans 8:26), comforts us in times of sorrow (see Acts 9:31), unfolds to
us the mysteries of the kingdom (see 1 Nephi 10:19), and beings us many other
spiritual blessings. Mortal minds cannot fully comprehend and words cannot
fully explain what great things can come to us if we partake worthily of the
sacrament and merit the Lord’s promise to have his Spirit with us always. (Joseph
Fielding McConkie, Robert L. Millet, and Brent L. Top, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, volume 4: Third Nephi
Through Moroni [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2007], 327)
