Elder Pearson Elder Martinez Elder Taylor
Covenants and Our Relationship with God
D. Todd Christofferson
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Dear brothers and sisters, as you know, the ancient apostles wrote letters—epistles—to the Saints across the world in their day. Using a different technology, this is our epistle to you today. So I would like to use the salutation that Paul used in his epistles: “Beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.”1
Our messages today center on the covenants of salvation and exaltation. Like you, we’ve taken note of the strong prophetic emphasis on receiving and honoring gospel covenants, an emphasis that is both repeated and urgent.
The members of the Area Presidency will speak about the specific ordinances and covenants of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope you’ll make notes as they speak that you can use at home and in church classes and talks. I have a few introductory remarks about covenants in general—first, the relationship with God and Christ that comes through covenants, and second, the power we receive through divine covenants.
Covenants are, first of all, mutual agreements. Our principal covenantal promise to God is to obey Him in all that He commands and to love and serve Him and our fellow beings. He in turn promises us a place with Him in His kingdom. But a covenant with God is more than agreements alone. It’s about our relationship with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. It’s about feeling and receiving their special love. It’s about a close and enduring relationship that leads to our becoming one with the Father and the Son.
President Russell M. Nelson, who, as you know, has spoken extensively about priesthood ordinances and covenants, taught, “Adam and Eve accepted the ordinance of baptism and began the process of being one with God. They had entered the covenant path. When you and I also enter that path, we have a new way of life. We thereby create a relationship with God that allows Him to bless and change us. The covenant path leads us back to Him. If we let God prevail in our lives, that covenant will lead us closer and closer to Him. All covenants are intended to be binding. They create a relationship with everlasting ties.”2
“Making a covenant with God changes our relationship with Him forever. It blesses us with an extra measure of love and mercy. It affects who we are and how God will help us become what we can become.” 3
Thus, covenants become the means by which we collaborate with God in our own transformation from natural man to saint through the grace and mediation of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. In this process, our relationship with the Father and the Son becomes intimately personal. It becomes a relationship of trust as well as love. We can live with “good cheer,”4 as the Savior said, because we’re bound to Him. He has overcome the world, and with Him, we also will overcome the world.
Of course, even though we gain a special relationship with Deity, we don’t expect to be carried from start to finish along the covenant path. We walk the path, and God walks with us, tailoring His help to our individual needs. this is how we come to know “the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He] has sent.”5 This relationship is the source of unequaled joy.
Second, through covenants, we also have call on the “power of godliness.”6 Said President Nelson, “Every man and every woman who participates in priesthood ordinances and who makes and keeps covenants with God has direct access to the power of God.”7 The power is not in the covenant itself. The power resides in God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. But it is by virtue of our covenant that we have access to Their power to guide us through life. President Nelson has quoted the words of the Savior to the people of Ancient America to the effect that He was sent to bless them in turning “every one” from his or her iniquities. Quote: “And this because ye are the children of the covenant,”8 unquote. Then President Nelson added, “Do you see the significance of this? Those who keep their covenants with God will become a strain of sin-resistant souls! Those who keep their covenants will have the strength to resist the constant influence of the world.”9 Added power to resist the constant influence of the world in our time is exactly what we need.
When I think of the power inherent in covenants with God, I think of our pioneer forebears. The anxiety of the Saints in Nauvoo to obtain the covenants of the house of the Lord is noted in Brigham Young’s journal. On February second, 1846, President Young recorded that he met with the Twelve to discuss their “start westward.” All agreed that it was imperative to start their exodus as early as possible before their enemies could interfere with their plans. The next day, however, Brigham noted, “Notwithstanding that I had announced that we would not attend to the administration of the ordinances, the House of the Lord was thronged all day, the anxiety being so great to receive [the ordinances of the temple].” Trying to persuade the people to move ahead immediately with their departure from Nauvoo, he assured them that more temples would be built and that there would be opportunity to receive temple covenants in the future. He continued, “In this Temple we have been abundantly rewarded, even if we receive no more. I also informed the brethren that I was going to get my wagons started and be off. I walked some distance from the temple, supposing the crowd would disperse, but on returning, I found the house filled to overflowing. Looking upon the multitude and knowing their anxiety as they were thirsting and hungering for the word [their endowment] we continued to work diligently in the House of the Lord.” 10
A sister who was in Nauvoo at that time, Sarah Rich, affirmed, “But many were the blessings we had received in the house of the Lord, which has caused us joy and comfort in the midst of all our sorrows and enabled us to have faith in God, knowing he would guide us and sustain us …. For if it had not been for the faith and knowledge that was bestowed upon us in that temple by the influence and help of the Spirit of the Lord, our journey would have been like one taking a leap in the dark. It would have seemed like walking into the jaws of death. But we had faith in our Heavenly Father, and we put our trust in Him, feeling that we were His chosen people and had embraced His gospel; and instead of sorrow we felt to rejoice that the day of our deliverance had come.”11
Brothers and sisters, this is the heritage we build upon. May God bless you with a close and abiding relationship with Him and our Savior. May His power be made manifest constantly in your life because of your faithfulness in covenant keeping. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
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Russell M. Nelson, “Everlasting Covenant,” Liahona, October 2022, 4–5
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Russell M. Nelson, “Everlasting Covenant,” 10
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Russell M. Nelson, “Everlasting Covenant,” 10
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Russell M. Nelson, “Everlasting Covenant,” 8
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History of the Church, 7:579
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Sarah Rich autobiography, typescript, Church History Library, Salt Lake City, 42–43
The Power of Sacred Covenants
Kevin W. Pearson
Utah Area Presidency
Dear brothers and sisters. We express our love and gratitude for all you are doing to help individuals and families place the Savior and sacred covenants at the center of their lives and to joyfully live the gospel of Jesus Christ. I think I speak for all of us: We thank Thee, oh God, for prophets and apostles who guide us in these latter days. Elder Christofferson, we love and sustain you.
Thank you for your message.
Recently, President Nelson emphasized, quote, “The moral and spiritual power that our people need right now and for the days ahead is the power of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. We gain access to their power by making and keeping covenants with them.” He then added, “Be more intentional in teaching members about the power of making and keeping covenants,”
close quote.
Today, our message concerns the power of sacred covenants and the need to more boldly and intentionally teach them.
The new and everlasting covenant, just addressed by Elder Christofferson, includes, first, the covenant of baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, the oath and covenant of the priesthood, the temple endowment, and the temple sealing.
I will address baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the sacrament. Elder Hugo E. Martinez will discuss the temple endowment, and Elder Brian K. Taylor will discuss the temple sealing. Following the broadcast, we invite you to continue discussing the power of making and keeping sacred covenants and how you can be more intentional in teaching and keeping them.
Our youth and adults will not gain an understanding of sacred covenants if we do not intentionally teach the doctrines of the gospel. They will not embrace what they do not understand. They will not understand if they have not been taught by parents and leaders. President Nelson taught, quote, “Learning to keep covenants begins with helping our children, youth, and adults understand how important it is to keep promises,” close quote. A covenant is a sacred promise with God. He sets the terms of those covenants and expects our commitment— heart and soul—to keep them. He has also taught, quote, “We … increase the Savior’s power in our lives when we make sacred covenants and keep those covenants with precision [and exactness]. Our covenants bind us to Him and give us godly power.”1 “Once we make a covenant with God, we leave neutral ground forever. God will not abandon His relationship with those who have forged such a bond with Him,”2 close quote.
Recently, I attended a stake baptismal service. The service was beautiful, but I was concerned by the messages on baptism and the Holy Ghost. When we are baptized, our sins are not washed away, and the gift of the Holy Ghost is much more than a means of finding lost or misplaced items. Unfortunately, there was no mention of baptism being a sacred covenant with God and no mention of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and His role as Savior and Redeemer. There was no mention of the Holy Ghost being a revelator, the source of testimony, a teacher of eternal truths, and a comforter in times of distress and grief. There was no mention of the essential role of the sacrament in helping us retain a remission of our sins or the cleansing power necessary to return home to God spotless and holy.
Brothers and sisters, we simply must be more intentional and effective in teaching about sacred covenants, even to children. The Savior taught that baptism is necessary for us to enter the kingdom of God. When we are baptized, we witness before God that we have entered into a covenant with Him to take upon ourselves the name of Christ, that we will always remember Him and keep His commandments. As we make this covenant, He promises that He will pour out His Spirit more abundantly upon us. Keeping the covenant of baptism is the first step in binding ourselves to God so the Holy Ghost can cleanse, strengthen, and change our nature for the better.
Experiencing this sanctifying influence is called “spiritual rebirth.” Immersion is symbolic of the death of a person’s past sinful life and of spiritual rebirth. It also is symbolic of death and the Resurrection. All of this is possible because of the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Baptism without the gift of the Holy Ghost would be meaningless. We must be born both of water and of the Spirit to gain access to the celestial kingdom. Again, President Nelson has taught that “In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”3
While waiting for the Savior’s return the second day, the surviving Nephites and Lamanites “prayed for that which they most desired”—the Holy Ghost.4 What can we do to teach the power of the incomparable gift of the Holy Ghost so that our members will plead daily for its influence in their lives?
When the covenant of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost are truly understood, the importance of the sacrament becomes paramount in our lives. As we worthily renew our covenants with determination to take upon ourselves the name of Christ, keep His commandments, and always remember Him, we retain a remission of our sins and qualify to always have the influence of the Holy Ghost with us. These are supernal blessings of infinite worth. Sacrament meeting is a sacred time. If properly understood, no one would intentionally miss partaking of the sacrament and honoring the Sabbath day. It would be unthinkable! Dear bishoprics, we encourage you to prioritize the spiritual elevation of the weekly sacrament meeting service. This is the greatest thing you can do as a bishop to build faith and testimony in the members of your ward.
Brothers and sisters, we call upon you as leaders and parents to be more intentional and effective in teaching the power of making and keeping sacred covenants. Prayerfully studying recent messages from President Russell M. Nelson and other members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve is a good place to start. I testify as we teach and reteach the power of making and keeping sacred covenants, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will increase; access to the special covenant of love and mercy of God, our Eternal Father, will expand; confidence in receiving divine forgiveness and remission of sin will grow; the Holy Ghost will become a guiding, directing, and comforting influence in our lives; and we will find greater joy in living the gospel. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
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Russell M. Nelson, “Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 41
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Russell M. Nelson, “The Everlasting Covenant,” Liahona, Oct. 2022, 5
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Russell M. Nelson, “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 96
Temple Covenants and the Endowment
Elder Hugo E. Martinez
Utah Area Presidency
Dear sisters and brothers, I am very happy to be part of this Utah Area Presidency broadcast for our members and friends. President Russell M. Nelson promised, “Each person who makes covenants in baptismal fonts and in temples—and keeps them—has increased access to the power of Jesus Christ … [to lift] us above the pull of this fallen world.”1 In other words, we can access the power of God, but only when we connect with Him through sacred covenants.
To have access to the power of Jesus Christ blesses our lives as we follow Him and as we serve others in our personal ministries and in Church callings. Elder Dale G. Renlund has taught about the responsibility associated with covenants: “A covenant is a pledge that we should prepare for, clearly understand, and absolutely honor. Making a covenant with God is different than casually making a promise. First, priesthood authority is required. Second, a feeble promise does not have the connecting strength to lift us …. We make a covenant only when we intend to commit ourselves quite exceptionally to fulfilling it. We become covenant children of God and inheritors of His kingdom, especially when we identify ourselves completely with the covenant.”2
When we make choices in life, these covenants help guide us. On the temple ordinances of the endowment, Elder Renlund taught the following on the associated covenants: “The covenant path leads to the ordinances of the temple, such as the temple endowment. The endowment is God’s gift of sacred covenants that connect us more fully to Him. In the endowment, we covenant, first, to strive to keep the commandments of God; second, to repent with a broken heart and contrite spirit; third, to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. We do this by exercising faith in Him, making covenants with God as we receive the ordinances of salvation and exaltation, keeping those covenants throughout our lives, and striving to live the two great commandments to love God and neighbor. We covenant, fourth, to keep the law of chastity and, fifth, to dedicate ourselves and everything the Lord blesses us with to build up His Church.”3
As an Area Presidency, we are concerned with endowed members using the temple garment as instructed. President Dallin H. Oaks taught, “Persons who have been endowed in a temple are responsible to wear a temple garment, an article of clothing not visible because it is worn beneath outer clothing. It reminds endowed members of the sacred covenants they have made and the blessings they have been promised in the holy temple. To achieve those holy purposes we are instructed to wear temple garments continuously, with the only exceptions being those obviously necessary. Because covenants do not ‘take a day off,’ to remove one’s garments can be understood as a disclaimer of the covenant responsibilities and blessings to which they relate. In contrast, persons who wear their garments faithfully and keep their temple covenants continually affirm their role as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.”4
Brothers and sisters, these are serious considerations. We invite all endowed members to wear their garments as instructed in the temple endowment’s first part: the initiatory. As we do, we are promised, “During the initiatory, the member is instructed to wear the temple garment.
The garment is a sacred symbol of Jesus Christ. It is also a reminder of temple covenants. When members keep their covenants, including the sacred privilege to wear the government as instructed, they will have greater access to the Savior’s mercy, protection, strength, and power.”5
It is breathtaking to consider the promised blessings of making and keeping temple covenants. As Elder Renlund said, “By making and keeping temple covenants, we learn more about the Lord’s purposes and receive a fulness of the Holy Ghost. We receive direction for our lives. We mature in our discipleship so that we do not remain perpetual unknowing children. Rather we live with an eternal perspective and are more motivated to serve God and others. We receive increased capacity to fulfill our purposes in mortality. We are protected from evil, and we gain greater power to resist temptation and to repent when we stumble. When we falter, the memory of our covenants with God helps us return to the path. By connecting to God’s power, we … [are] able to go against the flow of the world throughout our lives and into the eternities. Ultimately, our destinies are changed because the covenant path leads to exaltation and eternal life.” 6
In conclusion, dear sisters and brothers, will you be more intentional in preparing individuals to understand the temple endowment and teaching the importance of keeping those temple covenants, including the wearing of the temple garments? I testify that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ delight in blessing us with eternal blessings. In His holy name, even Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
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Russell M. Nelson, “Overcome the world and Find Rest,” Liahona, Nov. 2022, 96, 97
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Dale G. Renlund, “Accessing God’s Power through Covenants,” Liahona, May 2023, 35– 36
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Dale G. Renlund, “Accessing God’s Power through Covenants,” 36
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Dallin H. Oaks, “Covenants and Responsibilities,” Liahona, May 2024, 96–97
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General Handbook: Serving in !e Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 27.2, Gospel Library
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Dale G. Renlund, “Accessing God’s Power through Covenants,” 36
The Great Blessings and Godly Power in the Sealing Ordinance
Brian K. Taylor
Utah Area Presidency
Thank you Elder Christofferson, Elder Pearson, and Elder Martinez. Our dear prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, taught, “The temple lies at the center of strengthening our faith and spiritual fortitude because the Savior and His doctrine are the very heart of the temple. Everything taught in the temple through instruction and through the Spirit increases our understanding of Jesus Christ,” end quote.1 What a blessing to know that all things in the house of the Lord point our souls to Him.
I’m grateful for the privilege to share a few thoughts now about the crowning ordinance we call the sealing. So come with me into this beautiful sealing room and consider the significance and symbolic nature of the holy altar and its central position in the room, highlighted by a magnificent chandelier, directing our view precisely to its center. In this, we see our Savior’s atoning sacrifice as the Lamb of God and understand it as the central and most crucial act in all eternity. Now think of how precious and great the love of our Father in Heaven is to permit a couple, dressed in white, to kneel and join hands in the same exact place right in the center of the altar, and to enter into this order of the priesthood, meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage, to be sealed together forever!
We learn in this celestial setting it is only in and through and because of the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ that eternal families can be formed, saved, redeemed, and one day returned to their exaltation in the presence of the Father. In the 132nd section of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord makes these stunning promises to those who marry by His word and enter into the new and everlasting covenant and remain faithful. Quote, “Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection … and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions,” even to become one day as He is receiving all that He hath including eternal increase, what the Lord calls a “continuation of the seed.”2 While almost incomprehensible, I know these blessings will come and are true because I know who is making the promises.
Our family was blessed to take a tour of the house of the Lord in Layton. Sister Checketts, our angel guide, called it a “private tour,” which was obviously code for “This is a super loud group, the Taylors, and we’d better take them through the back way.” Smiling at our somewhat chaotic yet happy caravan of grandchildren, she was so patient and kind, allowing us a few minutes in one of the sealing rooms to gather around the holy altar and tenderly share our highest hopes to be with each of them someday as they would be sealed for time and all eternity. For our little ones who don’t quite understand what the word “sealing” means, my wife, Jill, teaches that it’s like being gorilla glued together forever as a super happy family. They really liked that, as do I.
Not surprisingly, as soon as the sealing takes place, which my tightly joined hands represent, the adversary expends every vicious effort to break, pull apart, and destroy it. And isn’t it amazing that the same life experiences and challenges— think Nephi and Laman—which can strengthen and make our sealing unbreakable are the same ones which can weaken and tear our sealing bond apart. And the one thing I have learned, which will make all the difference in the outcome, is whether we choose to focus on Jesus Christ and access the strengthening power of God through our covenant connection or not. Oh, how I invite you to make this choice or repent and make the reconnection now!
In a sweet conversation Jill and I had with President Nelson, I asked him,
“What can we do to better support and sustain you in your calling, President?”
With love and tenderness, he looked at me and responded, “Brian, take very good care of Jill.”
In those words, I felt he was inviting me to treat her better, like a princess, a queen. He was inviting me to more fully keep promises I had made years ago as we kneeled across an altar in our sealing in the house of the Lord.
President Nelson then said, “This will sustain me in my calling.”
I extend the same invitation to each husband and ministering brother among us to treat your wives and every one of God’s beloved daughters with greater love and more tender watch care. Imagine the great blessings this will bring. While many of us have received the priceless blessing called the sealing, many continue to anticipate and wait upon the Lord for that great day to be your own. For you I witness that God’s promise of its realization in your lives is sure for He “keepest covenant … unto [His] servants who walk uprightly before [Him], with all [your] hearts.”3 And we know many of you who are faithful and striving with all your hearts.
Again, as a presidency, our invitation to you as parents and leaders is to teach more intentionally and powerfully through word and example of the extraordinary love and godly power we experience through making and keeping sacred covenants, including the crowning sealing covenant. I share this short video clip of our dear prophet, President Nelson, as our finest example of teaching and testifying with great power and authority and I joyfully witness that his words are true. They are all true. In the sacred name of Jesus
Christ, amen
Notes
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Russell M. Nelson, “The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation,” Liahona, Nov. 2021, 93