Remember

"And now, O man, remember, and perish not." (Mosiah 4:30) It would be
difficult to overstate the importance of the word remember" in the standard
works. Remember is used 352 times in the scriptures. When its variants are
counted, that number jumps to more than 550.
The root of remember is to keep in mind or to be mindful. It has the sense of
being "concerned about" and is related to the word "tradition." The Oxford
English Dictionary defines remember as "to retain in, or recall to, the
memory; to bear in mind; to recollect." Remember also means "to think of or
to recall the memory of something with some kind of feeling or intention."
Remember can also mean "to have mind of and mention someone in prayer."
Importantly, remember can mean to commemorate or "to preserve in
memory by some solemnity or celebration." Remember is often used in
connection with covenants between God and man. After the flood, God set a
"bow in the cloud" as a "token of a covenant" to not again destroy the earth
by water and "that I may remember the everlasting covenant between me
and every living creature on the earth.
We are to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy "as a perpetual
covenant ... between (God) and the children of Israel forever" (Exodus 31:1617).
When Abraham entered the promised land of Canaan, he built an altar to
commemorate the Lord's appearance to him and the renewal of the
covenant the Lord made with him (Genesis 12:6-8).
President Spencer W. Kimball taught that remember may be the most
important word in the dictionary: "When you look in the dictionary for the
most important word, do you know what it is? It could be remember.'
Because all of (us) have made covenants ... our greatest need is to
remember. That is why everyone goes to sacrament meeting every Sabbath
day to take the sacrament and listen to the priests pray that (we) 'may
always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given
(us).' ... 'Remember' is the word." While it is true that we renew our
baptismal covenants when we take the sacrament, the sacrament prayers
are in themselves covenantal. As President Kimball noted, central to the
purpose of the sacrament is remembrance: "this do in remembrance of me."
Remember is used in two senses in the sacrament prayers. First, in the
commemorative sense. We are to eat and drink the physical substances to
specifically remember the body and blood of the Savior.
Second, we are also commanded, among other things, to "always remember
Him." Thus, while the symbols help focus our immediate attention, we are
also called to "have a memory of something with some kind of feeling or

intention." If we fulfill our part of this covenant, he promises we will have his
spirit to be with us.