Sacrament Talk on Fasting
Given in:
Bainbridge GA ward November 17, 2024
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Intro-
Good morning brothers and sisters. For those who don’t know me, I am Elder Hall. I am from Draper Utah - a town south of Salt Lake City. I have been serving in your ward for couple months now and have met some of the greatest people here.
I want to start by telling you a little bit about my Grandma Kathy. She was a fun grandma- always up for anything. She was funny with her silly dances and unique quirks. Often we would sit in her kitchen perched on a barstool while she made cinnamon toast and we would tell her everything about our lives. She listened to us and made us feel like we were the most important person in the room.
In January 2008, President Hinckley passed away. The church sent out a magazine filled with facts about his life. Whenever I would visit my grandma’s house, she would get that magazine out and we would talk about President Hinckley. She would quiz me about what we read. I think this is when I developed a love for prophets. They were important to her and I loved her, so they became important to me. I still have this magazine today.
Grandma Kathy was different from my other grandparents. It wasn’t necessarily what she DID but it was how she made you feel! Everybody loved my Grandma Kathy. She loved her family and you knew it. She loved the gospel and you knew it. And she loved her Savior.
Several years ago, on a Saturday in May, my entire extended family gathered at my grandma‘s house. My grandpa stood up and told us that Grandma Kathy had been diagnosed with cancer. Metastatic Melanoma stage 4. I was too young to understand what that meant. All I knew was that my grandma was sick. She was only 58 years old. We were all so sad and so scared.
My grandpa then explained that we were going to have a FAMILY FAST the next day. My grandma‘s entire ward was going to join in this fast as well. I remembered him saying “We need a miracle! And we believe in a God of miracles.”
The following day after our fast we gathered at my grandparents church. I remember many crying and hugging each other. Their bishop spoke a few words and we said a prayer to close our special fast.
- Define Fasting
What does it mean to fast?
In the Webster’s dictionary, it says:
to abstain from all or certain foods as in observing a holy day to eat very little or nothing.
In the Bible dictionary, it says:
to abstain from food, to afflict or to humble the soul.
Members of our faith are encouraged to fast on one Sunday each month, usually the first Sunday. On Fast Sundays, members typically go without food and drink for two consecutive meals, or about 24 hours.
II. Purposes of Fasting
But WHY do we Fast?
Fasting has been a practice in the church since ancient times. It was practiced by many ancient prophets like Moses just before he received the 10 Commandments and Elijah when he fasted to turn the hearts of his people. We know even Christ fasted for 40 days in the wilderness.
Today we fast for many different reasons. I wasn’t to share some of those with you today. I love that the scriptures can help us understand HOW and WHY we fast.
- We fast out of obedience and as a way to worship God.
- We fast to express gratitude for things we enjoy.
- In Alma 5 we learn that we can fast to know truth. In verse 46 of Alma 5, Alma told the people
“…Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things (for) myself. And now I do know … that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit;…
- We fast to ask for blessings.
- In Alma 28:4-6 we learn we fast to find comfort
4 And now this was a time that there was a great mourning throughout all the land, among all the people of Nephi—
5 Yea, the cry of widows mourning for their husbands, and also of fathers mourning for their sons, and the daughter for the brother, yea, the brother for the father; and thus the cry of mourning was heard among all of them, mourning for their kindred who had been slain.
6 And now surely this was a sorrowful day .. and a time of much fasting and prayer.
- We fast to receive answers to prayers.
- We learn in Mosiah 27, that just as my family did, we can fast for the healing and help for loved ones. Mosiah assemble the high priests together; to fast, and to pray to the Lord
22 “… that he would open the mouth of Alma, that he might speak, and also that his limbs might receive their strength—that the eyes of the people might be opened to see and know of the goodness and glory of God.
23 And it came to pass after they had fasted and prayed for the space of two days and two nights, the limbs of Alma received their strength, and he stood up and began to speak unto them, bidding them to be of good comfort:
-One of the greatest purposes of fasting can be found in Helaman 3:35.
35 Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God.
Fasting gives us the opportunity to draw closer to our Heavenly Father and our savior Jesus Christ.
III Personal Story
Three months after our family fast for my Grandma Kathy, my extended family gathered together again in my grandparents home. We knew the time my Grandma Kathy had left on this earth was short. None of the medical treatments she received had worked. This time my grandpa stayed sitting in his chair and my GRANDMA stood up to talk and testify to her children and grandchildren.
She reminded us of the day in May when our family gathered to “fast for a miracle.” She thanked us for exercising our Faith and for our willingness to FAST for her. She was weak as she spoke but her message was powerful.
She told us that she understood that we had fasted for a specific miracle but that in the three short months since she was diagnosed, we had actually witnessed MANY miracles. She talked about the earthly angels that had come to help and serve her family. She shared several spiritual experiences our family had had. She talked about the lessons she and several of us had learned. She encouraged us to watch for heavenly angels in the coming days and weeks. She bore her testimony and shared the love she has for her Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and how she felt ready to return to her heavenly home. She challenged us to always pray, rely on the Lord, and to fast OFTEN for miracles because as we do this we draw closer to our Savior.
My Grandma Kathy passed the following Sunday. Our family misses her so much but we will never forget the spirit we felt as she testified of a God of miracles.
Conclusion
I am grateful for the experience I had as a young boy to fast for someone very special to me. I am grateful for the privilege I have to fast often. I have fasted more in the last year than I think I have my entire life. As a missionary, I have fasted for guidance to know who to talk to, what to say, and where to go each day. I have fasted for comfort while being away from my family and home. I have fasted that those we are teaching will recognize truth and have a desire to come unto to Christ and enter the waters of baptism. And I have fasted to express my gratitude when I see miracles. As I have done this, my relationship with God has increased and I draw nearer to my Savior.
I close with a challenge from Elder Russell C Taylor when he said;
“In a sincere fast, we are given an open invitation by the Lord to draw close to him, to open our hearts to him, and to feel his spirit and pure love.
I hope you will take advantage of the opportunity you have to fast once a month or more if needed. I pray you will recognize the blessings that come through fasting and that you will draw closer to your Savior as you do.
I leave this in the name of Jesus Christ amen
️. That's on us. 
