Jesus Cometh and Taketh Bread

In the last general conference, Elder Gong spoke about some of the appearances of the Savior to His disciples shortly after the resurrection. He recounted, “The Gospel of Mark testifies Jesus appeared three times on that Easter Day but was not recognized at first. ‘He appeared first to Mary Magdalene,’ who initially supposed Jesus to be the gardener. Next, Jesus appeared ‘unto two of them, as they walked.’ These two disciples on the road to Emmaus ultimately knew Him in the ‘breaking of bread.’ Third, Jesus ‘appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat.’ ‘Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith[,] … Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.’ To show He was not a spirit, Jesus ate ‘a piece of … broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.’” In two of these appearances, the Savior chose to eat with His disciples. This happened again when some of the apostles are on the Sea of Galilee. After calling them off the water, Jesus said to them on the shore, “Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise” (John 21:12-13). So why did He spend so much time eating as a resurrected being? One reason clearly was to show that His body was real and that He was not a Spirit. Another reason may simply be that it was a way to spend time with them and show His love and devotion to them—they were not forgotten just because His mortal life was over. When He visited the Nephites, He likewise ate with them as a part of the ordinance of the sacrament, and perhaps that is the most important reason: “And when the disciples had come with bread and wine, he took of the bread and brake and blessed it; and he gave unto the disciples and commanded that they should eat. And when they had eaten and were filled, he commanded that they should give unto the multitude” (3 Nephi 18:3-4). I think He chose to eat with His disciples in all these instances to stress the importance of the sacrament in remembering Him—they were to remember Him when they ate and drank, especially in the ordinance of the sacrament. In our dispensation He suggested that He would one future day also drink with us: “Behold, this is wisdom in me; wherefore, marvel not, for the hour cometh that I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you on the earth, and with Moroni, whom I have sent unto you to reveal the Book of Mormon, containing the fulness of my everlasting gospel” (Doctrine and Covenants 27:5). He will someday again drink (and likely eat) in what will likely be the greatest sacrament meeting ever. And so we should continue now to focus on eating and drinking in the sacrament as we prepare for that day when He will personally be there.

            In his talk, Elder Gong also related a story that President Oaks had told him decades before. He said, “When I was a new freshman at Brigham Young University and President Oaks was the new president of Brigham Young University, we spoke together on a panel for parents and prospective students. As I waited nervously for the program to begin, President Oaks leaned over to assure me. With a warm smile, he said he was wearing a red tie because he was celebrating his 40th birthday and was feeling old. To me, as a new freshman, 40 did seem pretty old! President Oaks then told me a story. I still remember the principle. Opening a large chest filled with coins, a grandfather invited his grandchildren to collect all the coins they could. Excited, the grandchildren gathered handfuls of the more plentiful but less valuable coins, such as pennies, nickels, and dimes. However, one granddaughter carefully chose only a few coins. Her grandfather asked why. She replied, ‘Grandpa, all my coins are gold pieces.’” Elder Gong connected this story with the “Good, Better, Best” message of President Oaks in which the prophet taught that we should strive to use our time not just for good things, but for the very best. Sometimes our lives might feel like the experience of the grandchildren frantically gathering as many coins as they can, not stopping to consider what they are actually worth. But it’s not the quantity of coins that matters most; it is their value. Elder Gong commented, “[President Oaks] chooses the best spiritual part.” In our lives we must learn to discern what is most important for us to give our time to, especially in spiritual matters. And our hands don’t have to be full of coins—our time doesn’t have to be maxed out with activities—in order to have that which is of most value. Surely one of those things that constitute the “best spiritual part” is the sacrament that we partake of each week in remembrance of Him. Elder Gong summarized, “As He breaks and bleseses the sacramental bread, His ordinances and covenants can help us know Him. As we walk by faith with Him, abiding in Him, and He in us, we come to know He lives. His Easter promises are real.”