Regarding the administration of the Sacrament, Gordon B. Hinckley taught,
“The priest at the sacrament table places all in the congregation under sacred covenant. The offering of the prayer is not a ritual to be thoughtlessly spoken. It is, rather, the voicing of an obligation and a promise. Cleanliness of hands, as well as purity of heart, should be taught to the priests who officiate at the sacrament table.”
“Reverence and Morality”
April 1987 General Conference
Priesthood Session
As I was reviewing a talk by President Hinckley entitled, “Reverence and Morality,” I came across this invitation:
“I wish that every father in the Church would make this a matter of discussion with his family at the next family home evening and occasionally in family home evenings thereafter. The subject for discussion might be something like this: “What each of us can do to improve the spirit of our sacrament meetings.” Wonderful things will happen if this is done.” (April 1987 General Conference)
This is something that I have thought about with our children, but I am grateful for the prophetic reinforcement. With a younger child, I see it valuable to teach very early how sacred and important the sacrament is. I want to start early by bringing my children to the chapel on a week day, dressed up for Sunday and have a chat where we discuss good and appropriate behavior.
Sure we’ll likely still have outburst here or there, a bad day or two now and then, but The expectation can begin early with a context of why, that will allow them to begin earlier to reverence, even enjoy, the sacrament.
Gordon B. Hinckley taught,
“Socializing is an important aspect of our program as a church. We encourage the cultivation of friends with happy conversations among our people. However, these should take place in the foyer, and when we enter the chapel we should understand that we are in sacred precincts.”
“Reverence and Morality”
April 1987 General Conference
Priesthood Session
Boyd K. Packer taught,
“For the past several years we have watched patterns of reverence and irreverence in the Church. While many are to be highly commended, we are drifting. We have reason to be deeply concerned. The world grows increasingly noisy. Clothing and grooming and conduct are looser and sloppier and more disheveled. Raucous music, with obscene lyrics blasted through amplifiers…these things are gaining wide acceptance and influence over our youth…This trend to more noise, more excitement, more contention, less restraint, less dignity, less formality is not coincidental nor innocent nor harmless. The first order issued by a commander mounting a military invasion is the jamming of the channels of communication of those he intends to conquer. Irreverence suits the purposes of the adversary by obstructing the delicate channels of revelation in both mind and spirit.”
Conference Report, Oct. 1991, pp. 26-30
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