Christofferson - The Power of Covenants - April 2009

Elder Christofferson starts his talk describing an earthquake that happened in Peru.  One of the branch presidents wives talked about losing everything in the earthquake but was surprisingly optimistic as she spoke that her family was safe, they had the church, they were sealed in the temple, and they have the Lord.  Elder Christofferson says of this optimism:

• We need strong Christians who can persevere against hardship, who can sustain hope through tragedy, who can lift others by their example and their compassion, and who can consistently overcome temptations. We need strong Christians who can make important things happen by their faith and who can defend the truth of Jesus Christ against moral relativism and militant atheism.
  

Elder Christofferson speaks of covenants that we make in our lives.  Those covenants start as we accept the gospel of Jesus Christ and enter the waters of baptism, and continue through our commitments that we make in the temple. Concerning covenants he says:

• A covenant is an agreement between God and man, an accord whose terms are set by God (see Bible Dictionary, “Covenant,” 651). In these divine agreements, God binds Himself to sustain, sanctify, and exalt us in return for our commitment to serve Him and keep His commandments. We enter into covenants by priesthood ordinances, sacred rituals that God has ordained for us to manifest our commitment.
  

Of the covenants we make in the temple he says:

• If we are faithful to the covenants made there, we become inheritors not only of the celestial kingdom but of exaltation, the highest glory within the heavenly kingdom, and we obtain all the divine possibilities God can give (see D&C 132:20 ).
  

He asks us questions and then continues as he answers the questions he shares with us:

• What is it about making and keeping covenants with God that gives us the power to smile through hardships, to convert tribulation into triumph, to “be anxiously engaged in a good cause, … and bring to pass much righteousness” ( D&C 58:27 )?
  

Strengthened by Gifts and Blessings

•  As we walk in obedience to the principles and commandments of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we enjoy a continual flow of blessings promised by God in His covenant with us. Those blessings provide the resources we need to act rather than simply be acted upon as we go through life.
  

Strengthened with Increased Faith

• Our covenants supply strength—they produce the faith necessary to persevere and to do all things that are expedient in the Lord. Our willingness to take upon us the name of Christ and keep His commandments requires a degree of faith, but as we honor our covenants, that faith expands.
  

Strengthened through the “Power of Godliness”

• Our covenant commitment to Him permits our Heavenly Father to let His divine influence, “the power of godliness” ( D&C 84:20 ), flow into our lives. He can do that because by our participation in priesthood ordinances we exercise our agency and elect to receive it. Our participation in those ordinances also demonstrates that we are prepared to accept the additional responsibility that comes with added light and spiritual power.
  
• The gift of the Holy Ghost is part of the new and everlasting covenant. It is an essential part of our baptism, the baptism of the Spirit.
• We have entered into divine covenants, the Holy Ghost is our comforter, our guide, and our companion. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are “the peaceable things of immortal glory; the truth of all things; that which quickeneth all things, which maketh alive all things; that which knoweth all things, and hath all power according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgment” ( Moses 6:61 ). The gifts of the Holy Spirit are testimony, faith, knowledge, wisdom, revelations, miracles, healing, and charity, to name but a few (see D&C 46:13–26 ). It is the Holy Ghost that bears witness of your words when you teach and testify. It is the Holy Ghost that, as you speak in hostile venues, puts into your heart what you should say and fulfills the Lord’s promise that “you shall not be confounded before men” ( D&C 100:5 ). It is the Holy Ghost that reveals how you may clear the next seemingly insurmountable hurdle. It is by the Holy Ghost in you that others may feel the pure love of Christ and receive strength to press forward. It is also the Holy Ghost, in His character as the Holy Spirit of Promise, that confirms the validity and efficacy of your covenants and seals God’s promises upon you. Divine covenants make strong Christians.
  

Elder Christofferson shares his testimony to close:

• I testify that in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is found the priesthood authority to administer the ordinances by which we can enter into binding covenants with our Heavenly Father in the name of His Holy Son. I testify that God will keep His promises to you as you honor your covenants with Him.

The covenants that we make provide strength for us to be better disciples of Jesus Christ.  Making covenants gives us an eternal perspective and enables us to have the spirit with us to strengthen and support us through our trials.  We are blessed to have the truth in our lives.  We are blessed to be able to make and keep sacred covenants with God.