Celebrating Covenants ~ Part One

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately three minutes to read from start to finish.

What is your definition and understanding of "covenants" ? Do you remember the covenants that you have made throughout your life so far? How have you celebrated your covenants that you have made in your life so far?

This post focuses on a April 1995 General Conference talk and it is called, "Celebrating Covenants" by Sister Bonnie D. Parkin. This post is part one. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk and I hope you would be able to learn something new while you are reading this post.

Sister Parkin mentioned the following, "... Have covenants renewed your life? Do you celebrate them? ...

So often we talk of making and keeping covenants, but exactly what are they?

At baptism, we demonstrate that we “are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; … mourn with those that mourn; … comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and … stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places” (Mosiah 18:8–9). And that’s just the beginning! In the temple, we further covenant to be obedient, to sacrifice, to keep ourselves worthily pure, to contribute to the spreading of truth, to be chaste, to pray, to live the gospel, and to be forever faithful.

Father in Heaven knows us as individuals. The covenants we make with Him are performed one on one. President Howard W. Hunter noted: “... We bless babies one at a time, even if they are twins or triplets. We baptize and confirm children one at a time. We take the sacrament, are ordained to the priesthood, or move through the ordinances of the temple as individuals - as one person developing a [personal] relationship with our Father in Heaven. … Heaven’s emphasis is on each individual, on every single person” These individual commitments made directly with our Heavenly Father are things to celebrate. ... I wonder why our covenants so often feel more like obligations than privileges.

"Ordinances and Covenants help us remember WHO
WE ARE." - James E. Faust.

How did you feel the last time you partook of the sacrament? Did you ponder those covenants made in fonts and within temples? The sacrament enables us to renew our covenants. Thus, if we keep those covenants with honor and exactness, we can feel as fresh and as pure as we did when we were first baptized. We can feel as committed to a temple sealing as we did as a new bride or groom. ... Covenants keep us new.

Do those covenants change the actions of our daily lives? They should. Even though it may be a struggle to keep them. We hear of Saints who hold on to their covenants even against great odds and in so doing find renewal and peace not just in the life to come, but in this life. Because, just like covenant breaking, covenant keeping becomes habit forming.

We have all been victims of evil and unrighteousness, pain and suffering. ... There are both stormy seas and calm waters in life. But as Ether tells us, “Hope cometh of faith, [and] maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God” (Ether 12:4)."

Covenants anchor us to solid ground, which, amidst the storms, makes our promises not only meaningful for eternity but vital for today. Have your covenants moved you to sing the song of redeeming love?"

Stay Tuned until next time.