Elder Yates: Do you want to partake?

First, a fun fact that I learned this week! "Beth" is the second letter in the Hebrew language, and means house or place. So, Bethlehem means house of bread!!! Isn't that awesome!

As I went through another week of deep diving into the life of Jesus Christ, I came across John 6:35. It reads "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.".

As I thought about this verse, I wondered to myself if I am coming to him and partaking of that "bread of life"? Now, I would like to pose the same question to y'all! Are you extending your hand and partaking of that bread of life that will lead you to everlasting life?

In Alma 5:34 it says "Yea, he saith: Come unto me and ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life; yea, ye shall eat and drink of the bread and the waters of life freely;". Now this is just yet another witness to me that Jesus Christ is what we should CENTER all of our lives on. Not just read the scriptures, go to church, pray, etc. No, as we are nearing the second coming of our Redeemer, we need to completely surround and center our lives on Jesus Christ!

Comparing those scriptures, some thoughts I had were: We have a choice to come unto the Savior, but He is begging us to come and partake, I also had the thought that as we do partake of the bread and water of life (the sacrament), we are able to do so freely and have more of a spiritual abundance in our lives!

From a recent message on LDS.org, "When you reach for the Sacrament, you reach for the Savior", we read about the woman who reaches for the hem of the Saviors garment. As we think about the faith and the desire to be made whole, use this analogy with the sacrament! Do you have anything in your life that you are feeling guilty about? Anything that you wish you could get rid of? etc...

Well, just like Brent Croxton said, "During the weekly sacrament we, in our need, can touch the hem of the Savior’s garment as our hands and hearts reach to receive the Bread of Life and the Living Water, our Savior, Jesus Christ. We, like the woman, can be made whole."

Finally, I'd like to say something to anyone who is reading this, and feels like they have "gone too far". There is never a place too dark, too deep, or too far away that the light of the Savior can't reach you! And, if you feel like you don't need this saving power in your life, or it is "not for you", then you need to change your mindset, and get to fixing that! Trust me, when He comes again, and He will... You will want to be able to look Him in the eyes and not have any regrets or fears from our past.

I love all of you, and I know that it seems a little harsh, but I am out here serving the Lord, and something I have learned is that we all need to be repenting and asking for help EVERYDAY!

I can testify with all the power on conviction of my heart that our Savior, Jesus Christ, is the only way back to our Heavenly Father! I can testify as a representative of Jesus Christ that the cleansing power of the Sacrament is real, and has healed me! I know that everything I have told you is true, and have only found for myself by reading and praying!

That is my departing challenge, to read about Him! Read and pray! Then, go and find ways you can all become closer to Him, and ways you can be a better disciple of Him!

- Elder Yates