The Nephite sacrament prayers Moroni records for the benefit of the Lamanites—which are identical to those the Church uses today (D&C 20:77, 79)—express the idea that God’s people who eat the bread and drink the wine do so “in remembrance” of the body and blood of Christ, in order that they may witness to God, the Eternal Father, that they are “willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them” (Moroni 4:3; 5:2).
Jesus himself had given the Nephites this ordinance, saying, “This shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized in my name… that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you” (3 Nephi 18:11). The sacrament thus became a renewal ceremony of the covenant they made through the ordinance of baptism to become his people.
Jacob was the first to mention baptism performed among the Nephites (2 Nephi 9:23–24). Nephi explained that in this ordinance his people emulate Jesus’ own baptism: “The voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost” (2 Nephi 31:12–13; cf. 1 Nephi 10:9–10).
Centuries later, Alma the Elder invited a group of Nephites to be baptized at the Waters of Mormon: “As ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—
“Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?” (Mosiah 18:8–10). The covenant of baptism, and its renewal in the sacrament, are thus more than physical ordinances. They signify symbolically our acceptance of Jesus’ sacrifice for sin and our commitment to emulate him in all things. As Jesus remembers his Father in heaven at all times and in all places, so we “always remember” him.
Those who remember Christ retain his name “written always in your hearts” (Mosiah 5:12). They meditate upon “the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures” (Mosiah 4:11). They humble themselves “in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come” (ibid.). They “remember how great things he has done for them” (Mosiah 27:16), delivering them “from death, and from bonds, and from prisons, and from all manner of afflictions” and “out of the hands of their enemies” (Alma 62:50).
As Alma the Younger taught his son Helaman, remembering the Lord encompasses the whole of life: “Let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever. Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day” (Alma 37:36–37).
Those who remember him, the Lord delivers from enemies (Mosiah 23:27; Alma 55:31). Their names are written in the Book of Life (3 Nephi 24:16; cf. Malachi 3:16). Those who don’t remember him, on the other hand, he visits with famine and destruction in order to “stir them up again in remembrance of the Lord their God” (Helaman 11:1–7, 32–34). When they forget to thank him for their prosperity and think upon their riches more than upon the Lord, he curses their riches: “O that we had remembered the Lord our God in the day that he gave us our riches, and then they would not have become slippery that we should lose them; for behold, our riches are gone from us” (Helaman 13:20–23, 33).
When abridging such a dark time in Nephite history, Mormon observes, “We may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their herds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner of precious things of every kind and art; sparing their lives, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; softening the hearts of their enemies that they should not declare wars against them; yea, and in fine, doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet the Holy One—yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity” (Helaman 12:2).
Mormon concludes, “And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him. O how foolish, and how vain, and how evil, and devilish, and how quick to do iniquity, and how slow to do good, are the children of men; yea, how quick to hearken unto the words of the evil one, and to set their hearts upon the vain things of the world! Yea, how quick to be lifted up in pride; yea, how quick to boast, and do all manner of that which is iniquity; and how slow are they to remember the Lord their God, and to give ear unto his counsels, yea, how slow to walk in wisdom’s paths!” (Helaman 12:3–5).
In sum, whereas remembering our Lord brings his Holy Spirit and incalculable blessings, to forget him robs us of more than we can know. If prophet–writers like Mormon bring up so many negatives about the failure of God’s people to remember him, showing how quickly they are distracted from thinking of him, there must be sound reasons for them to remind us. Though King David lived in a less complex era than our own, his words may still inspire us: “I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me” (Psalms 63:6–8).