Keeping My Covenants

I have sworn by myself,
the word is gone out of my mouth
in righteousness,
and shall not return,
That unto me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear
(Isaiah 45:23).

Yea, every knee shall bow,
and every tongue confess before him
(Mosiah 27:31).

For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord,
every knee shall bow to me, and
every tongue shall confess to God
(Romans 14:11).

"Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ." This phrase - based on scriptural references - is committed to my memory. I love the imagery invoked by the phrase - the feeling of humility, the sense of being ready to worship the Master and be taught by Him. I can picture myself falling to my knees at the Savior's feet at His Second Coming. I can see myself worship the Lord as He ushers in His millennial reign. I can visualize the mass of humanity accepting Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God.

What I didn't imagine until recently is that this phrase applies to the here-and-now just as readily as to some distant day. Today I can kneel and pray to the Father in Jesus' name. Today I can worship the Lord in my thoughts, in my words, in my actions. Today I can "[choose] that good part" (Luke 10:42) and "always remember Him" (D&C 20:77, 79). As I bow my knee and confess with my tongue that Jesus is the Christ, He will bless me with His spirit - and He will help me to keep the covenants I have made with Him.

"Because of the Covenant"(Mosiah 5:7-8)

And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.

And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives.

The message of the second chapter of 21 Days Closer to Christ by Emily Freeman is "Covenant." As I've been pondering this theme over the past week or so, the topic of "covenants" has presented itself to me several times.

• Last Friday, I participated in a sealing session at the temple, and the sealer referenced a scripture in the Doctrine & Covenants.

  Verily I say unto you, blessed are you for receiving mine everlasting covenant, even the fulness of my gospel, sent forth unto the children of men, that they might have life and be made partakers of the glories which are to be revealed in the last days, as it was written by the prophets and apostles in days of old (D&C 66:2).

  The point of the scripture (at least one of its points) is that the term "everlasting covenant" means the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Beyond that, though, I love the "why" as explained in this verse, that is, the reason that we make and keep covenants is so we can have life (and have it fully)!
• The lesson in the women's meeting at church on Sunday referenced an address by Elder Russell M. Nelson from General Conference in October 2011. The title of that talk is "Covenants." Here is a passage I particularly like:

  When we realize that we are children of the covenant, we know who we are and what God expects of us. His law is written in our hearts. He is our God and we are His people. Committed children of the covenant remain steadfast, even in the midst of adversity.

  Interestingly, those ideas correlate to some of what I've been thinking about as I've read Ann Voskamp's beautiful book about experiencing God's grace through gratitude One Thousand Gifts.
• In Sunday School - which I taught - we discussed the "knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God" (1 Nephi 1:1) that comes to us as we recognize the hand of the Lord in our daily lives. One of the scriptures we read was 1 Nephi 14:14.

  And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.

  What great blessings can be ours if we keep our covenants!
• In 2 Nephi 3:4, we find the sentence "And great were the covenants of the Lord which he made unto Joseph." We recently read this chapter aloud together as a family, and I was reading when we got to this verse. As I read, my voice voice began to waver, and my eyes filled with tears. (My family is used to that kind of reaction from me!) What this sentence had brought to memory was the song "Close Every Door" from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. That song is my favorite song in one of my most favorite musicals - and my favorite line is "children of Israel are never alone." Truly, the covenant people of the Lord are never alone!

"Come Unto Me"(Matthew 11:28-30)

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

I am reading two books right now that I hope will help me to expand my personal experience with Jesus Christ in 2012. The first is 21 Days Closer to Christ by Emily Freeman, which I plan to read over 21 weeks (instead of days). The second is Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver, which includes a 12-week companion Bible study. The message of the opening chapters of both books is the same. "Come."

Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him (Mark 1:16-18, emphasis added).


Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?

He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour (John 1:38-39, emphasis added).


Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God (Moroni 10:32, emphasis added).

Like Jesus' friend Martha, I often find myself "careful and troubled about many things" (Luke 10:41). I must remember "but one thing is needful" (Luke 10:42). I can forsake my "nets" - time constraints, daily chores, work demands, worldly pursuits, and feelings of inadequacy and fear - and choose "that good part, which shall not be taken away from [me]" (Luke 10:42). I can "come and see"!

Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me (D&C 19:23).

A Mother's Faith(Alma 56:46-48)

This passage from the Book of Mormon made me weepy as I read it last night:

For as I had ever called them my sons (for they were all of them very young) even so they said unto me: Father, behold our God is with, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth; we would not slay our brethren if they would let us alone; therefore let us go, lest they should overpower the army of Antipus.

Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.

And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying, We do not doubt our mothers knew it.

I hope that my children do not doubt that I know!

Where Do I Find the Word of God?(Jacob 7:10-12)

And I said unto him: Believest thou the scriptures? And he said, Yea.

And I said unto him: Then ye do not understand them; for they truly testify of Christ. Behold, I say unto you that none of the prophets have written nor prophesied, save they have spoken concerning this Christ.

And this is not all - it has been made manifest unto me, for I have heard and seen: and it also has been made manifest unto me by the power of the Holy Ghost.

In his encounter with the wicked Sherem, the prophet Jacob testified that a witness of Jesus Christ - His word - is found not only in the scriptures but also in the words of prophets and in the power of the Holy Ghost. My feasting upon His word must include all three:

• The holy scriptures contain the word of God as recorded by His servants in days past.


• Living prophets bear witness of Jesus Christ today, including during the semi-annual General Conference of the Church.


• The Holy Ghost, which can be our constant companion (see D&C 121:46), teaches the truth of all things (see Moroni 10:5) and tells us all things we should do (see 2 Nephi 32:3).

He's Got My Back(3 Nephi 20:42)

"For ye shall not go out with haste nor go by flight;
for the Lord will go before you, and
the God of Israel shall be your rearward."

An Attitude of Gratitude(Alma 34:38)

"Live in thanksgiving daily."
Consider the account of the loaves and the fishes in Matthew 15 (with emphasis):

32 ¶ Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
33 And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
34 And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
36 And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.
38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.

Jesus gave thanks - and a miracle followed! "Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things" (D&C 59:7).

Spiritual Preparation(Alma 48:7)

Now it came to pass that while Amalickiah had thus been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, Moroni, on the other hand, had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God.

What does it mean to be spiritual prepared? How can I prepare my mind to be faithful?

Are Mormons Christian?(Alma 46:15)

And those who did belong to the church were faithful; yea, all those who were true believers in Christ took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or Christians as they were called, because of their belief in Christ who should come.

As in the time of Captain Moroni (estimated to be about 70 B.C.), those who belong to the Mormon church today, who are true believers in Christ, gladly take upon themselves the name of Christ, or Christian! As stated in the prayer on the bread of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper (the Eucharist or Holy Communion):

O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen. (D&C 20:77; emphasis mine.)

Spiritually Begotten of Christ(Mosiah 5:7)

And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.

What are covenants? What does it mean to be spiritually begotten of Christ? How are our hearts changed through Him? What does it mean to be His son or daughter?

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The Wise Woman Built Her HouseUpon a Rock (Helaman 5:12)

Helaman counseled his sons Nephi and Lehi:

And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall (Helaman 5:12).

Jesus taught this same concept during His ministry:

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it (Matthew 7:24-27).

He affirmed the importance of building on His rock - and helped define what that means - in latter-day revelation:

Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.

Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.

Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven (D&C 6:34, 36-37).