Audience: Chancellor Ward
Location: Fredericksburg, Virginia, United States of America
Date: 16 July 2023
Introduce Myself and the Topic
Hello everyone. For those of you that don’t know me, my name is David Mitchell. I am here today to speak on assignment as a Stake High Councilor. Allow me to briefly introduce myself. We have lived in the Massaponax for about 11 years. I live with my wife Rachael, and with 5 of our 6 children. I have 5 sons from the age of 24 to 10. And our daughter is 5. 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 now back in Virginia.
For the topic I am speaking on, I was asked 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 an experience I had last summer. Last summer our family took 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 and then to stargaze.
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 about 7,000 feet 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 merged 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 appreciate.
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, Candice, 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 and covenants. 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 Candice there to our path towards the culminating event of the temple and beyond. Although a very imperfect analogy, thinking of some of the comparisons of our journey to the covenant path was enlightening to me.
In our excursion, the first step was to get on the road that leads to the top. There is only one road for tourists to take. 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 your 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 about today. 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. Although we often define a covenant as a “two-way promise”, that doesn’t fully describe the arrangement.
I have a little bit of experience with 2 types of earthly covenants. Although not quite the same as a spiritual covenant we make with God, knowing about man-made covenants can help teach us about our covenant relationship with God.
One example is often when a business takes out a loan, in addition to the loan agreement, or contract, the bank may also add covenants. These are conditions made by the bank and imposed on the business, usually related to keeping certain financial ratios healthy, such as your debt to equity ratio, or the amount of total cash and other current or liquid assets you maintain.
The only side that can violate these covenants is you.
There are a few purposes of these covenants. The bank knows that if you stay within the bounds set by the covenants, that a business is more likely to be healthy, and more likely to be able to repay the loan. It helps align the bank’s and business’s interests together. It also gives the banks mechanisms to protect their investment.
Another example is when you move into a home with an established Home Owners Association. You must immediately abide by the covenants of the HOA. These conditions are one-sided. The homeowner meets conditions and the HOA 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 also sets the terms. We do not tell God that if HE does something for US that THEN 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;
What God wants from us, is for us to see that our covenant relationship with God is an opportunity to be partners with him.
Keeping Covenants
Another experience I had from last summer was preparing for the Stake Young Men camp. The planning and preparation for this event was an extremely stressful experience. I found myself unable to sleep, my mind racing through all the logistics. Camp occupied and dominated my thoughts, time, and energy. At one point, I finally came to the conclusion that I had given everything I could give, but it was still not enough. Although I had often prayed to God for his help in this endeavor, I now begged for his help. I humbly offered what I had done so far, acknowledged it was not enough, but all I was able to give, and pled for him to make possible what I couldn’t. I went to sleep in peace for the first time in several weeks.
The next day, I suddenly had new ideas. I had solutions come to mind. But, more importantly, I had a few people call me, text me, and email me offering their help. There are people throughout the Stake that made last year’s camp possible. The Lord answers prayers. And thank God that good and righteous men were living lives that the Spirit could speak to them and that they acted on the Spirit’s promptings to contact me.
I was thinking about all of this last Father’s Day. I remember sitting in the cultural hall eating some pie and contemplating the blessings God had given me. What also came to mind was President Jean Bingham’s Saturday evening Conference talk entitled “Covenants with God Strengthen, Protect, and Prepare Us for Eternal Glory”.
I felt a deep consolation that I was keeping my covenants with God, and in return he made things possible I could not do on my own.
And in the very time that I was feeling a bit of confidence that I was doing everything right, at least in that moment and in one particular sphere, I was quickly humbled again. To my surprise, a member of the ward walked into the room that I had no expected to see. At the time, he was between some treatments for cancer and working on his overall strength and fitness to prepare for the next round. The last time I had checked in on him he was still mostly confined to his bed. You see, I was his assigned ministering brother, and seeing him made me realize that while I was focused on what I had though of as important things, I had lost sight of even more important ones.
Alma the Elder describes part of the covenant we make at baptism. In Mosiah 18:8-9:
8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are adesirous to come into the bfold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;
9 Yea, and are awilling to mourn with those that bmourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as cwitnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the dfirst resurrection, that ye may have eternal life–
The purpose of our baptismal covenant is to comfort, support, and love each other. I never made a covenant to put on a successful summer camp.
I have often wondered, what does it mean to “keep our covenants” with God? The experiences I had last summer renewed that question for me. In President Jean Bingham’s Conference talk, she put it this way. She says to keep covenants,
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 the 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 avoided. 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.
President Bingham also describes the blessings of keeping covenants, as well as the dangers for not:
There is nothing more important to our eternal progress than keeping our covenants with God. When our temple covenants are in force, we can trust in a joyful reunion with loved ones on the other side of the veil. That child or parent or spouse who has left mortality is hoping with all his or her heart that you will be true to the covenants that bind you together. If we disregard or treat lightly our covenants with God, we are putting those eternal ties in danger. Now is the time to repent, repair, and try again.
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.
In my mind, beyond all the numerous and various blessings God has promised us by keeping his commandments and keeping our covenants, it is the binding of us to God, and the binding of us with our families, that is the ultimate blessing of eternal consequence.
It is my testimony that as I have kept my covenants, that the Lord has blessed 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 makes my 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….