3
Nephi 3:8
Why Make and Keep Covenants?
“Covenant keeping
strengthens, empowers and protects. Keeping covenants is essential
for true happiness. Keeping our covenants demonstrates our love for
the Savior and our Father in Heaven.”—Sister Linda K. Burton,
“The
Power, Joy, and Love of Covenant Keeping”
What
8 And
behold, I aswear unto
you, if ye will do this, with an oath, ye shall not be destroyed; but
if ye will not do this, I swear unto you with an oath, that on the
morrow month I will command that my armies shall come down against
you, and they shall not stay their hand and shall spare not, but
shall slay you, and shall let fall the sword upon you even until ye
shall become extinct.
Why
the
type of swearing that is referred to in this verse is an oath or a
pledge. Satan copies the Lord in this practice of pledging
obedience. The other type of swearing is profanity using the Lord's
name in vain.
An
oath is a covenant. We should be covenant keepers with the Lord.
Pattern
Oath
See
also Conspiracy ; Covenants ; Pledge ; Priesthood,
Oath and Covenant ; Promise ; Secret
Combinations ; Swearing ; Vow
Hel.
1:11
11
And he went unto those that sent him, and they all entered into a
covenant, yea, swearing by
their everlasting Maker, that they would tell no man that Kishkumen
had murdered Pahoran.
Ether
8:14 (13–14)
13
And it came to pass that Akish gathered in unto the house of Jared
all his kinsfolk, and said unto them: Will ye swear unto me that ye
will be faithful unto me in the thing which I shall desire of
you?
14 And it came to pass that they all sware unto him, by the God of heaven, and also by the heavens, and also by the earth, and by their heads, that whoso should vary from the assistance which Akish desired should lose his head; and whoso should divulge whatsoever thing Akish made known unto them, the same should lose his life.
14 And it came to pass that they all sware unto him, by the God of heaven, and also by the heavens, and also by the earth, and by their heads, that whoso should vary from the assistance which Akish desired should lose his head; and whoso should divulge whatsoever thing Akish made known unto them, the same should lose his life.
Gen.
24:3
3
And I will make thee swear by
the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou
shalt not take
a wife unto
my son of the daughters of the Canaanites,
among whom I dwell:
Swearing, Swear, Sware, Sworn
Conference
By
Linda K. Burton Relief
Society General President
Elder
Jeffrey R. Holland explained that “a covenant is a binding
spiritual contract, a solemn promise to God our Father that we will
live and think and act in a certain way—the way of His Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ. In return, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost promise
us the full splendor of eternal life.”2 In
that binding contract, the Lord sets the terms and we agree to keep
them. Making and keeping our covenants is an expression of our
commitment to become like the Savior.3 The
ideal is to strive for the attitude best expressed in a few phrases
of a favorite hymn: “I’ll go where you want
me to go. … I’ll say what you want
me to say. … I’ll be what you want
me to be.”4
Nephi
saw in vision the significant blessings the Lord bestows upon
covenant keepers: “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the
power of the Lamb of God, that it descended … upon the covenant
people of the Lord, … and they were armed with righteousness and
with the power of
God
in great glory.”5
I
recently met a dear new friend. She testified that after she had
received her temple endowment, she felt strengthened with the power
to resist temptations she had previously struggled with.
As
we keep our covenants, we also receive courage and strength to help
us bear one another’s burdens. A heartbroken sister had a son who
was experiencing a difficult mortal challenge. Because of her faith
in her Relief Society sisters as covenant keepers, she courageously
invited them to fast and pray for her son. Another sister expressed
how she wished she had asked for similar prayers from her sisters.
Years before, her own son was struggling. She wished she had invited
them to help her family bear this burden. The Savior said, “By this
shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to
another.”6
We
know that the Lord always rejoices “in the soul that
repenteth,”9 but
we desire above all to have our children follow the counsel of
President Henry B. Eyring to “start early and be steady” in
making and keeping covenants.10 Not
long ago a thought-provoking and sincere question was raised in a
council of priesthood and auxiliary leaders: do we really expect
eight-year-olds to keep their covenants? As we counseled together, it
was suggested that one way to prepare children to make and keep
sacred baptismal covenants is to help them learn to make and keep a
simple promise.
Faithful
parents are entitled to know how to best teach to meet the needs of
their children. As parents seek and act on personal revelation,
counsel together, minister and teach the simple principles of the
gospel, they will have power to strengthen and protect their
families. Other family members can also help. My cute grandpa taught
us the importance of keeping promises through a simple song. It went
something like this: “Before you make a promise, consider well its
importance. Then when made, engrave it upon your heart. Engrave it
upon your heart.” That little song was taught with love,
conviction, and power because Grandpa engraved his own promises on
his heart.
2.
Keeping covenants is essential for true happiness.
President
Thomas S. Monson taught, “Sacred covenants are to be revered
by us, and faithfulness to them is a requirement for
happiness.”14In 2 Nephi
we read, “And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of
happiness.”15 Earlier
in this same chapter we learn that Nephi and his people had just
built a temple. Surely they were joyful covenant keepers! And in Alma
we read, “But behold there never was a happier time among the
people of Nephi, since the days of Nephi, than in the days of
Moroni.”16 Why?
Again we learn in a previous verse that they “were faithful in
keeping the commandments of the Lord.”17 Covenant
keepers are commandment keepers!
3.
Keeping our covenants demonstrates our love for the Savior and our
Father in Heaven.
Of
all the reasons we ought to be more diligent in our covenant keeping,
this reason is more compelling than all—love. A verse in the Old
Testament is one that touches my heart as we consider the principle
of love. Who of us is not moved by Jacob and Rachel’s biblical love
story as we read, “And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and
they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to
her”?21 Sisters,
do we keep our covenants with that kind of deep and devoted love?
“If
we fully appreciated the many blessings which are ours through the
redemption made for us, there is nothing that the Lord could ask of
us that we would not anxiously and willingly do.”23 According
to this statement by President Joseph Fielding Smith, covenant
keeping is one way to express our love for the incomprehensible,
infinite Atonement of our Savior and Redeemer and the perfect love of
our Father in Heaven
Apply
continued
from Sister Burton's talk above
- We can teach that we go to the temple to make covenants with Heavenly Father—we return home to keep them!12”
Hymns
270-I'll
Go where You Want Me To Go
Children
161-I
Pledge Myself To Love the Right
D&C
25:13 13 Wherefore, alift
up thy
heart and brejoice,
and cleave unto the covenants which thou hast made.
hast made.
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