Nathan gave a talk in church

I love it! I totally love the thumb wrestling part!!! Well played Nay! And totally true!!!

On Sun, Aug 30, 2015 at 12:36 PM, Amy wrote:

Nathan is speaking in church today so I thought I would send you a copy of his talk.

Good afternoon brothers and sisters. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Nathan Hackleman and I am a junior at Papillion La vista South High School. I have two older brothers, Jaren and Seth, and one younger brother named Grant. Jaren was just recently married in the Payson Utah Temple after serving in the Peru Lima West Mission. Seth is currently serving in the Mexico Veracruz Mission. We have been in the Cottonwood Ward for about three years.

I was asked to speak on the Aaronic priesthood’s role in the sacred ordinance of the sacrament. In his October 1998 General Conference talk, Elder Dallin H. Oaks said, “At the conclusion of His ministry, Jesus introduced the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. He broke bread and blessed it and gave it to His disciples, saying, “Take, eat; this is my body”. “This do in remembrance of me”. He took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them, saying, “This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” I really like this because it helps me realize that we just did the exact same ordinance in this chapel. We did the exact same things in the exact same order as Jesus Christ did before he was crucified, and we have the opportunity to do it every single Sunday as long as we strive to keep the commandments.

Recently, I was ordained to the office of a priest. With this, I now have the opportunity to participate in every step of the administration of the sacrament. I would like to expand on the principles taught in Doctrine and Covenants section 107, verse 20 which says, “The power and authority of the lesser, or Aaronic Priesthood, is to hold the keys of the ministering of angels, and to administer in outward ordinances, the letter of the gospel, the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, agreeable to the covenants and commandments.”

One of the outward ordinances mentioned in this scripture is the ordinance of the sacrament. It also mentions the “letter of the gospel,” which makes me think of the sacrament prayer, and how it is one of the only prayers in the church that has to be exact. And then we all know how the covanents we make at baptism relate to the covenants we make when we partake of the sacrament.

I remember when I was young my parents would always interrupt the Hackleman brothers during our Sunday morning thumb wrestling tournaments during sacrament meetings. Even though we had them outnumbered, they still managed to separate us and maintain order. At the time, we didn’t fully comprehend their need to kill such fun, but now that I understand the significance of the sacrament, I understand why they did what they did.

Another way my parents were able to help my brothers and I remember the importance of the sacrament is they would always bring coloring books and snacks to sacrament meeting, but we were not allowed to eat or color until after the sacrament. This helped us realize that we need to be reverent during the sacrament and remember the meaning behind the sacred ordinance.

Sacrament is a sacred ordinance in a sacred place, and we should maintain the same reverence in the chapel that we would in the temple. An example of this can be seen in the reverence shown by the aaronic priesthood in administering the ordinance of the sacrament. Because of the significance of the sacrament, Aaronic priesthood holders need to remain worthy throughout the week to administer the sacrament.

In the May 2006 New Era, there is an article given by Ron Frandsen, that tells a story of a young man who was just ordained to the office of a teacher. This gave him the duty of standing by the doors and welcoming the people coming into the sacrament meeting. On the first Sunday after his ordination, he was thrilled to accept the duty and claim his new post by the doors. Unfortunately he discovered that there were only five deacons there, and sacrament meeting was about to start. The deacon’s president walked over to him and asked him to join them in passing, but the young man waved him off, telling him to ask someone else. The opening hymn came and again the deacon’s president went over and asked the young man the same question, and he received the same answer. Finally, it was time for the sacrament and the young men walked up to the sacrament table with a space where the sixth deacon should be. To the young man’s surprise, the bishop stood and filled in the empty gap. Afterwards, the bishop stood up to the pulpit and said “I hope all of our young men will be willing to fulfill any priesthood assignment given them, even if it seems small or unimportant.” We need to remember that every duty in the sacrament is equal in importance, even if it may not seem that way.

In Joshua 24 verse 15 it says “Choose this day whom ye will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Young men can choose who they will serve throughout their lives, but if they choose the Lord above all, it will help them stay worthy to participate in the administration of the sacrament.

The sacrament is a sacred ordinance. So sacred that it was done by Jesus Christ himself before his crucifixion. We all need to strive to remain worthy to partake of the sacrament, and we all need to remember the reason and purpose behind it.

Bear testimony.