Covenants

Introduce Myself and the Topic

Hello everyone.  For those of you that don’t know me, my name is David Mitchell.  I am here on assignment as a Stake High Councilor.  Allow me to briefly introduce myself.  I live in the Massaponax Ward with my wife, Rachael,  and with 5 of our 6 children.  I have 5 sons from the age of 23 to 9.  And our daughter is 4.  My wife and I grew up in northern Virginia and met in middle school.  Since being married, we have lived in West Virginia and Alabama, and 10 years ago moved back to Virginia and have lived in the Massaponax Ward since.

For the topic I am speaking on, Bishop Hintze a few weeks ago gave me the assignment to speak about Covenants.I don’t think I have anything to say that will be earth shattering to anyone.  But my hope and prayer is I can share a few thoughts that can prompt you to ponder a bit and allow the Spirit to teach you personally the message you need to hear.

 

On Top of the World

I want to start with a story of a recent experience I had.  I took my family a few weeks ago on a trip we had been saving up for years to take.  On that trip I found myself on what seemed to be the top of the world.  Myself, along with my 3 oldest sons, my oldest son’s girlfriend, and a close friend’s 22 year old son made an excursion to the summit of Mauna Kea to watch the sunset.

Mauna Kea is the highest point in Hawaii, just under 14,000 feet high.  In one direction we could see the neighboring island of Maui about 100 miles away.  In another direction we looked down on the clouds which a few hours earlier were high above us and now were about 7,000 feet below us.  Looking to the west, where the sun was setting, beyond the coast line was endless sea.  And the blue of the sea and the blue of the sky merge into one, giving us the sense we were floating in the sky.

It is no wonder this mountain is sacred to the people of Hawaii.  I am thankful and feel privileged for the opportunity to go there.  It truly felt as though we were standing where earth and heaven were connected.  I took several photographs, none fully capturing what we witnessed, just as my words fall short in their description now.  There are some things you simply need to see for yourself to fully understand.

As I was taking in this incredible view, I looked over to my left and about 100 feet away I saw my oldest son, Jacob, on bended knee in front of his girlfriend, Candace, making a proposal of marriage.  My heart became so full to witness such a beautiful moment in such a beautiful place.

In my mind, I immediately thought about the temple.  I thought about the symbolism of a mountain as the temple.  I compared our journey to the top of the mountain and the culminating event for Jacob and Candace there to our path towards the culminating event of the temple and beyond.

In our excursion, the first step was to get on the road that leads to the top.  There is only one road.  When you get on this road, you are already at about 6,600 feet.  You are level, or just below, most of the clouds already.

In my thoughts, this is the part of our journey in the gospel where we are seeking for truth and we take those first steps towards Christ.

Once on that road, with grades of up to 17%, after about just 6 miles, you suddenly find yourself at 9,000 feet.  The clouds are now beneath you.  This is a point where a few important things are done.  And they must be done before you are allowed to go further.  You must stay there for at least 45 minutes to acclimate to the thinner air.  You are encouraged to go on a walk.  On that walk you see an ancient altar the Hawaiians used for hundreds of years as part of their ritual treks up the mountain.  Beyond acclimating our bodies, your equipment is also checked.  You must have 4 wheel drive, you must demonstrate you know how to use it properly.  Your brakes are also checked as the descent will be incredibly grueling on them.  Without meeting all the requirements, you cannot pass the gate that will lead you to the very top another 5,000 feet above you.

In my thoughts, this was like baptism.  We have faith, we have repented, we are interviewed, and now we are ready to enter through the gate of baptism.

As I said, once at the top, where the sea ends and sky begins becomes blurry.  Although standing on ground, you also feel as though you are above the earth, looking down upon it.  The temple, and the covenants we make in it, connect us to Heaven, and give us just a little taste, just a teeny sense, of what Heaven must be like.

 

Covenants Bind Us To God

I have just a few principles I want to talk quickly about.  First is that covenants bind us to God.  And they bind God to us.

Doctrine and Covenants 82:10 reads:

10 I, the Lord, am ^abound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no ^bpromise.

This binding is why we call our agreements with God covenants and not contracts.  In a contract, both parties have conditions that must be met, and both parties can violate those conditions.  Both parties have methods to terminate the contract.  In a earthly covenant, such as with an HOA, the conditions can be one-sided.  One party meets conditions and the other party grants privileges.  You pay your HOA dues and keep your lawn tidy and you get to use the community pool.

In a covenant relationship with God, he sets the terms.  We don’t tell God that if he does something for us that we will then start to be obedient.  We first meet his conditions, and when we do, he is bound to fulfill the promised blessings.

Perhaps, this is better explained in Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21. which reads:

20 There is a ^alaw, irrevocably decreed in ^bheaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all ^cblessings are predicated—

21 And when we obtain any ^ablessing from God, it is by ^bobedience to that law upon which it is predicated.

A covenant relationship with God is not strictly quid quo pro however.  If your motivation to be obedient is to somehow negotiate or make a so-called deposit on your ledger with God for a planned withdrawal later, you are missing the mark.  As Paul has said, “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”  (Romans 3:23). 

Or as King Benjamin says in Mosiah 2:23-24,

23 And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.

24 And secondly, he doth ^arequire that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately ^bbless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever;

Instead, a covenant relationship with God is an opportunity to be partners with him.

 

Keeping Covenants

What does it mean to “keep our covenants” with God?  In President Jean Bingham’s Saturday evening Conference talk last April, she put it this way:

We try to live the gospel in all our interactions. We care for those in need by truly ministering, expressing love through simple service. We share the good news of the gospel with those who need peace and strength and “know not where to find it.”⁵ We work to unite families for eternity on both sides of the veil. And for those who have made covenants in the house of the Lord, as President Russell M. Nelson explained, “Each adult temple patron will wear the sacred garment of the priesthood, [which] … reminds us … to walk on the covenant path each day in a higher and holier way.”⁶ These actions are not just an occasional splurge but are essential to our daily happiness—and eternal joy.

I will also add we keep our covenants when we repent.  And as President Nelson has said, “discover the joy of daily repentance.”  We aren’t perfect, but we press forward.  No matter how far we have strayed from a covenant path, once we take a few steps back towards Christ, we are back on the right path.  Now, when we stray, we sometimes give that path some hurdles and difficulties that could have been prevented.  But no matter where you are, if you start facing Christ and take those first few steps back towards him, you are on the right path.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I ask each of you, what is YOUR next covenant?  What covenant do you need to make, or do you need to keep, to deepen your relationship with the Savior?  I know that as we strive to keep our covenants it allows God to bless us.  Throughout Sister Bingham’s Conference talk, she brings up a multitude of specific blessings.  One that struck me is “the power to discern between truth and error, between right and wrong, amid the confusing and negative voices that bombard us.”  That is a gift we need.

It is my testimony that as I keep my covenants, that the Lord blesses me in tremendous and in extremely merciful ways.  Even through hardships and difficult times, staying on the covenant path has given me the sure footing I needed, and I have been blessed with tender mercies that make the heart full with joy, even while unsure what laid beyond the next step.  I know our Heavenly Father loves us; I know he loves you.  He wants us to be happy; he wants us to have a relationship with him.  It is his work and glory to bring us back to him so we can have Eternal Life.  Covenants are the path he has given us to get us there.

I say these things…. 

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