Stake Conference talk by President Sean Lanier – Saturday Evening Session – January 13, 2018
Brothers and Sisters, it is a great honor to be with you tonight. We have been spiritually fed tonight. As a Stake Presidency we love you, we are grateful for all the countless hours of service that you provide in your wards, in your families, and in our community. It is a humbling experience to address you. I pray that the Lord’s spirit may be with us tonight as I share a few remarks with you.
I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am grateful for the church in my life. I know that the Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. I testify that He lives. That this is his work. I have come to the point in my life, where I do not believe much in coincidences. The more I see the gospel in action, the more I come to understand the great purposes of a divine creator and loving Heavenly Father, who wants to give us every opportunity to come closer to him, the more I understand the lengths that He will go to to provide us with the opportunities we need to grow.
Our Father in Heaven does this by putting opportunities in our path where we must make decisions that will enable us to be more like him. But the choice is always ours. He has given us agency and He will not take that agency away. He cannot. For if He were to take away our agency in any manner, it would destroy what he is helping us to become. His work and His glory, is to bring to pass our immortality and our eternal life (Moses 1:39). If we are to grow to become like him, so we can inherit all that he has, we must learn to do what he does. We must commit to be like he is.
In the early morning of June 27th, 1844, a mob of about 200 men, with painted faces, surrounded the small jail known as Carthage. The Prophet Joseph, his Brother Hyrum, Williard Richards and John Taylor were in the upstairs room, imprisoned by false charges and the testimony of traitors. Joseph seemed to sense the inevitable. Others with him, were more hopeful.
Records indicate that it all happened in less than two minutes. Wicked men rushed upstairs, charged the door, and fired a volley of at least 36 shots. Hyrum was killed almost immediately. John Taylor took four shots, but survived. Williard Richards miraculously received no wounds. Joseph, already likely hit, made his way to the small and awkward window, and somehow made it outside, falling to the ground. Once on the ground he was again shot and eventually received four bullets before he died.
Many that day thought the church would end. That the death of Joseph Smith, meant the end of the church. Little did they understand that the Lord works through covenants. That the Lord had promised that this was the final Restoration. (D & C 13)
How do we handle our trials and setbacks that befall us?
How incredibly difficult it must have been for the saints, who had endured so much, persevered for so long, and when finally they thought they had found some safety, some refuge, in their beautiful city of Nauvoo, the prophet was taken from them. They were well in to the building of their new temple, a place where they would make additional covenants with their Heavenly Father. How did they react? How would we react?
While some had endured all they could endure, many found strength in the promised covenants of the temple.
After the prophet’s death, the urgency to complete the temple increased tenfold. While there was turmoil and confusion that surrounded Joseph Smith’s death, the saints knew that they would need to eventually leave their beloved Nauvoo and head west. But they also knew that they needed to make more covenants before this perilous journey. They needed the temple. They needed their covenants.
Work continued and intensified on the temple. Several members of the Quorum of the Twelve actually lived in the temple, sleeping only for a few hours each day so they could continue the construction work. Rooms in the temple were dedicated as they were completed to hasten the work. Once complete, the work in the temple went into full force, just as the trials from the world outside intensified. In order to allow as many saints as possible the opportunity to receive their endowment prior to their trek west, the temple was often opened until 3:00 am in the morning. Prior to the saints starting their difficult trek, almost 6,000 saints received their endowments. The saints knew that they needed the covenant of the endowment in order be prepared for the trials that would await them as they headed west.
As Brigham Young prepared the saints to cross the plains and head to Utah, he received a revelation that would become Doctrine and Covenants Section 136, giving instruction on the organization of the camp of Israel. In verse 2 it reads
“Let all the people of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and those who journey with them, be organized into companies, with a covenant and a promise to keep all the commandments and statutes of the Lord our God.”
Why are covenants so important?
Why, when persecution mounted, and time was of the essence, were the saints willing to wait to complete the temple in Nauvoo, and thereby make these sacred covenants in the temple?
Doctrine & Covenants 136:4
“And this shall be our covenant – that we will walk in all the ordinances of the Lord.”
Brothers and Sisters, we are a covenant people. With the restoration of the gospel came the restoration of a true understanding of covenants. We do more than just believe. We are a people who make covenants. The Lord’s people have always been a people who make covenants. The question is, do we honor them?
Abraham promised to obey all of God’s Commandments, and was promised by the Lord that his descendants would carry the message of the gospel to the world, and bear the Priesthood to all Nations.
Noah also promised to obey all of God’s commandments, and was promised that the world would never again be destroyed by flood. (Genesis 9:8-11)
King Benjamin taught his people with such power that they were all willing to enter into a covenant to “do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he shall command us, all the remainder of our days.” (Mosiah 5:5)
The people of Ammon covenanted that they would never take up their weapons of war again, as a symbol of their faith.
Where ever we see people righteously striving to be like our Heavenly Father and our Savior, we see people who make covenants.
Covenants with our Heavenly Father have been part of our mortal existence from the very beginning. The covenants Abraham made transcend millennia. We are literally part of the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant today.
Covenants are established by the Lord. He sets the terms and conditions, and always lives up to His end of the deal. But it is important to understand why the Lord uses Covenants. Our Heavenly Father does not have us make covenants for his benefit. He has us make covenants, for ours. By making sacred covenants, we bind ourselves to his will.
Covenants allow us to progress spiritually, even if they don’t allow us to progress temporally. But usually they do both.
Abraham, Noah, the people of Ammon, all had temporal as well as spiritual blessings associated with their covenants. But they had to have the faith and commitment necessary to live up to their spiritual covenants in order for the temporal blessings to be manifest.
Covenants help us clearly understand what we need to know and do, in order to return to our Father in Heaven.
Covenants help establish clear expectations. They help us be more committed to our Heavenly Father and his purposes. Covenants help us remember who we are, why we are here, and what we need to do to return home.
The blessings that our Heavenly Father has promised us through the various covenants that we make are immeasurable. He always blesses us beyond anything we could possibly do for him. As our Father, who gives us every good gift, (James 1:17), we cannot ever truly repay him. With every covenant we make, there are two parts to the promise, ours and the Lords. We often remember the Lord’s promised blessings. But do we remember what we have promised to do?
Are we as focused on our responsibility, our share, our portion of our sacred covenants, as we are the blessings that await us? Are we doing all we can to make sure we are living up to our end of the deal?
Covenants from the Lord are almost always associated with ordinances. And ordinances usually involve symbols or tokens. Why? To help us remember. To provide instruction. And we learn by repetition, if we repeat it in the form of worship.
The Baptismal Covenant was explained most succinctly in the Book of Mormon. As Alma preached at the Waters of Mormon, he clearly explained what the covenant would be. Through baptism the Lord provides us the opportunity to be “redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that we may have eternal life”
We promise that we will
-“…bear one another’s burdens”
-“…mourn with those that mourn”
-“…comfort those that stand in need of comfort”
-“…stand as a witness of God at all times, and in all things, and in all places.”
Are we living up to our end of this covenant?
Do we have any doubt, that the Lord will live up to his?
Do we mourn with those that mourn? Comfort those that need comfort?
Can we be called upon to be a witness of God at all times, in all things, in all places?
When we partake of the Sacrament each week, do we do so passively, or are we serious in our effort to renew these sacred covenants? Are we involved in worship during the Sacrament? Or are we going through the motions?
If we are passive in the keeping of our covenants, then we cannot expect the Lord to be active with his blessings.
Brothers and Sisters, as a people we are under covenant. We have made the commitment. Do we take that commitment as seriously as we should? As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we have the New and Everlasting Covenant. This New and Everlasting Covenant is the “sum total of all gospel covenants and obligations.” These covenants are not to be taken lightly. (Doctrines of Salvation 1:156)
The covenants we make, whether at age 8, 12, 18, or later in life, are sacred. From the baptismal fount to the alters in the temple, our covenants have the great power to keep us safe, both in this life, and in the life to come. If we think the covenants we make are only for blessings in the next life, we are missing the mark. Covenants made and kept, bless us now, and bless again in the next life.
As we know a covenant is a sacred promise that we make with our Heavenly Father. We do this at certain times in our lives. When we are baptized, we make an eternal commitment that we “will always remember him.”
When we partake of the Sacrament, we renew that covenant, and are promised to “always have his spirit to be with us.” (D & C 20:76)
Sabbath Day Observance was given as a covenant from the foundation of the world. The Lord promised Jeremiah that keeping the Sabbath would save the people of Judah (Jeremiah 17).
Tithing is a covenant that brings temporal and spiritual blessings.
The Word of Wisdom is a covenant that brings blessings of health and strength. (D & C 89).
The temple includes covenants that lead to exaltation.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
“…the more faithful and devoted a person is, the more the covenants of the Lord he is enabled to receive.” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 167)
It often seems to me that on occasions when members of the church may flounder, loose their focus, or struggle with their faith, it starts by not taking their covenants seriously.
Are doing enough to teach members the importance of their covenants? Are we teaching the importance of covenants to our children?
I beseech you brethren and sisters, to contemplate, the blessings of the covenants that you have made, if you will strive to keep them. And contemplate the blessings that await us if we are faithful. None of us are perfect, and our Savior and Heavenly Father are patient, they love us, and are quick to forgive. Though we do not have all the answers, if we will do all we can to remember and keep our covenants, all will be well.
We all have experienced difficulties in life. That is part of the program. Some more than others to be sure. Many of us worry about loved ones, family, friends, even children, who may seem lost or have gone astray.
Our hearts may often ache for those we love, who at this time seem to have rejected the teachings of the gospel. We grieve over what might have been. We hurt when they hurt but they can’t see the reason for their struggle. Our hearts yearn for answers to help those we love find their way back. Many of us pray daily that those we love will soften their hearts, humble their will, and find a way back.
Sometimes those answers come, sometimes they do not.
However, no matter how far from the truth they may seem now, do they know where you stand? Do they know that we take our covenants seriously? Can we accurately be accused of standing as a witness of God, at all times, in all things, and in all places? Or do we let their crisis of faith, become ours?
A kite may fly high above the ground, and is supported not just by the force of the wind that drives it up, but also by the string that keeps it grounded. Without the string the kite loses direction and balance, and will quickly become unstable and will fall. Like a kite, do we use our covenants to stay grounded? Or are we restless and easily swayed by the winds that surround us?
Elder Boyd K. Packer
“We cannot overemphasize the value of temple marriage, the binding ties of the sealing ordinance, and the standards of worthiness required of them. When parents keep the covenants they have made at the altar of the temple, their children will be forever bound to them.” (“Our Moral Environment” – April 1992 General Conference)
President Brigham Young
“Let the father and mother, who are members of this Church and Kingdom, take a righteous course, and strive with all their might never to do a wrong, but to do good all their lives; if they have one child or one hundred children, if they conduct themselves towards them as they should, binding them to the Lord by their faith and prayers, I care not where those children go, they are bound up to their parents by an everlasting tie, and no power of earth or hell can separate them from their parents in eternity; they will return again to the fountain from whence they sprang.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols., 2:90–91.)
Brothers and Sisters, can we imagine any greater blessing?
Elder Richard G. Scott taught
“…to reach a goal never before attained, one must do things never before done.” (21 Principles, p. 18 – Richard G. Scott)
When we find ourselves doubting…
When we question our capabilities…
When we worry about the future, or fear for our children…
When we feel uncertain, lost, or confused
When we grieve…
If we feel anxious for our future…
In good times, and in bad…
Look to your covenants, and recommit. If you feel something is lacking in your faith, or if there is an unanswered question, examine your commitment to your covenants, and ask,
How can I more deeply be committed to my covenants?
How can I show my commitment to my Savior?
What more can I do, to make sure I’m on the covenant path?
I testify that as we make our covenants a part of our daily lives, the Lord will bless us in ways we can not imagine. I testify that he will accomplish his purposes for us, if we commit to follow his plan for us. I testify that through making and keeping our covenants with our Savior the Lord will open the windows of heaven. Our covenants are not restrictive. Our covenants keep us safe. Our covenants enable us to become like God.
If we seek more out of the gospel, we must commit to do more in the gospel.
Blessings await us, but they will not come without a strong commitment to our covenants, and an increasing desire to magnify that commitment.
King Benjamin, at the end of his address Mosiah 5:15
“Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. Amen.”:
Doctrine and Covenants 35:24
Revelation given to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon
”Keep all the commandments and covenants by which ye are bound; and I will cause the heavens to shake for your good, and Satan shall tremble and Zion shall rejoice upon the hills and flourish;”
Brothers and Sisters. The time will come when we will all face trials and difficulties comparable to that of the early saints in Nauvoo. We may not need to pull a hand cart across the plains, or abandon our homes. We may not need to … But the world will continue to spin around us more and more out of control. Turmoil, anger, hatred, and temptations will continue to be placed before us to hedge up our way.
How do we find safety? Where can we find peace?
In our covenants. They are real. They are true. They are not just words and symbols. Our covenants require action and commitment, not just vocalization. If we are faithful to our covenants, and hold on to them as the precious symbols of our faith, the Lord will honor our commitment, and will “cause the heavens to shake for our good.” (D & C 35:24).
I testify. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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