4 And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith.
5 And the church did meet together oft, to fast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls.
6 And they did meet together oft to partake of bread and wine, in remembrance of the Lord Jesus.
(Moroni 6:4-6)
Today, I’m thinking about the blessings I and my family receive from participating in the church. I like the way Moroni describes the role of the church in the passage above: We strengthen and support one another. We participate in religious practices together, such as fasting, prayer, and the sacrament. We nourish one another and lead each other to Christ, who is “the author and the finisher of [our] faith.” Above all, we remember each other.
As Elder D. Todd Christofferson said:
A major reason the Lord has a church is to create a community of Saints that will sustain one another in the “strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life….” Joined in faith, we teach and edify one another and strive to approach the full measure of discipleship…. As the body of Christ, the members of the Church minister to one another in the reality of day-to-day life. All of us are imperfect; we may offend and be offended. We often test one another with our personal idiosyncrasies. In the body of Christ, we have to go beyond concepts and exalted words and have a real “hands-on” experience as we learn to “live together in love” (“Why the Church,” General Conference, October 2015).
Today, I will thank my Heavenly Father for the blessing of belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I will remember how other church members have strengthened and sustained my family in our efforts to become true disciples of Jesus Christ. I will think about what I can do to more fully contribute to the mission of the church: Who can I invite to worship with us? Who can I nourish and how? Who can I remember?