I am always touched by the hymns we sing to prepare to receive the Sacrament in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have sung these songs weekly for all of my life while active in the Church. All of them are burned into my memory and it is a joy to think through them, even when driving in my car.

Despite knowing them so well, the never touch me so much as when being sung just prior to receiving the bread and water that represent he body and blood of the Savior. During that time, as I reflect on the meaning of that sacred ordinance and the loving act that we remember by it, sometimes certain phrases will trigger a sweet feeling.

Last Sunday, as I sat in sacrament meeting, I was already feeling the Spirit when the sacrament hymn began. The hymn was: “In Humility, Our Savior”.

The phrase that touched me and brought me to tears was, “Let me not forget, O Savior…” My heart was convicted at how infrequently I had done that very thing lately. Life gets very busy and I find myself thinking of just about anything but my spiritual life.

I have thought about that all week and have made a greater effort to think about the blessings of the atonement and my very deep and sincere love for the Lord Jesus Christ, my friend and Savior. He has been so close and present all of my life, drawing me to him and giving me hope through the darkest and most dangerous times.

One of my earliest memories is of sitting in a big chair around a table in some kind of outer office. I could faintly hear voices through a wall. I think one of the voices was my mother. I remember looking up and seeing a painting that I knew to be a representation of Jesus. I felt warm, peaceful, and happy. I think about that memory and the feeling I had often.

From that time until now, the thought of Jesus, not just as an image, but as a friend who seems always near, has given me hope that the discouragements and setbacks of any day are fleeting and temporary. Here are some of the things that remembering Jesus does for me:

• It reminds me of the covenants I’ve made with him, both personal and officially through the saving ordinances of the gospel.
• It reminds me that I want to follow him and keep his commandments.
• It helps me feel loved.
• It makes me want to share his love, as I am hopefully doing now.
• It shows me that through the worst of my suffering, someone else has not only suffered more, but has guaranteed that all suffering is temporary if we just believe in and follow Christ.
• It informs me how I ought to love others, even in their weaknesses and struggles.

Something I have noticed since this last Sunday, singing that hymn, was that the part of the hymn that touched me was different from the rest of the hymn. It is the only part of the hymn that was in the first person singular…let me not forget while the rest was in the first person plural, using the words: our, we,  and us.

I suppose it was partially because “me” rhymes with the last syllable of “Galilee,” but it seemed significant to me in its meaning. It this important part of it more personal: “Thou didst bleed and die for me…”