Covenant Ministering

Thursday night, as I was pondering President Nelson's prophetic invitation for us to fast this Sunday, I found myself in Mosiah 18.

You know the chapter--where Alma sets forth the covenant of baptism.

I pondered on that covenant each of us has made:

Willing to bear one another's burdens--

Willing to mourn with those who mourn--

Standing as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places.

Then, as I continued to read, I wondered why I had never before connected THE specific blessing that comes with this type of covenant ministering. . .

It is that God "may pour out (pour out!) His Spirit more abundantly upon [me]!"

POUR, To flow; to issue forth in a stream, or continued succession of parts; to move or rush, as a current.

Covenant Ministering allows God to pour out His Spirit

more abundantly

upon me and upon those to whom I minister.

"Verily this is a mission for a season, which I give unto you. Wherefore, labor ye in my vineyard. Call upon the inhabitants of the earth, and bear record, and prepare the way for the commandments and revelations which are to come. Now, behold this is wisdom; whoso readeth, let him understand and receive also; For unto him that receiveth it shall be given more abundantly, even power." D&C 71:3-6

Book of Mormon Reading: Alma 52-53

Covenant keepers are true to God at all times, in all things, and in all places.

Covenant keepers keep God's commandments and walk uprightly before Him.

Covenant keepers are strengthened by those who keep their covenants.

Covenant keepers walk the covenant path and invite others to do the same.

Book of Mormon Reading: Alma 43-46

The difference between fighting the Lamanites, Zoramites/Amalekites, and Nephites was this:

The Lamanites had swords, cimeters, stones, and slings.

The Zoramites/Amalekites had swords, cimeters, stones, slings, and clothing.

The Nephites had swords, cimeters, stones, slings, breastplates, arm shields, head plates, and thick clothing.

But most significantly, the Nephites had taken upon the the most important piece of battle armor. They had taken upon them the name of Christ.

Book of Mormon Reading: Mosiah 4-7

Because I chose to be baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I willingly enter into a covenant which makes me a daughter of Christ.

Thus, I am a daughter of God.

And I am a daughter of Christ.

In this context, I am born again.

Born again because I have willingly accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior by taking upon me His name and having covenanted to keep His commandments.

At all times.

In all things.

And in all places.

I'm not always perfect at it. But I am trying to do better one day at a time.

Book of Mormon Reading: Mosiah 1-2

There's a good reason that we believe that the Bible is the word of God as far as it is translated correctly (Article of Faith 1:8).

Some years ago, a family member of mine bought a Book of Mormon study guide book to help her along the way in understanding the Book of Mormon better. Along the way, she found herself upset at reading these words from King Benjamin:

And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you (Mosiah 2:22).

The word require bothered her a lot. I mean a lot! Because somehow, in the translation of her studies, require meant to "to demand," and how dare, she thought, that the Lord demand her to keep His commandments?

Interestingly, the meaning of the word require has changed over the years. In its beginnings, require came from the Old French word requerre which means to "seek, procure; beg, ask, petition;" the "re" part meaning repeatedly.

And while I do see God making strict His commands, I also see Him with His arms stretched out still.

Beckoning.

Calling.

Asking.

All He seeks of me is to keep His commandments, because His commandments keep me on the covenant path.

And the covenant path is what leads to His life. Even eternal life.

Book of Mormon Reading: Jacob 1-4

The writings of Jacob teach me that the word of God is not always about feeling peace and joy and love.

Although His word can and does heal the wounded soul, the harried mind, the heavy heart, His word can also be filled with rebuke, with chastisement, and with wrath for those who have made covenants with Him and have not kept His word.

Sometimes, as a parent, as a teacher, as a friend, as a saint of God, I have to share the word of God with those around me and it isn't always comfortable. Especially, when I am required to invite others to come to Him in a way that may seem too strict or too churchy.

Sometimes, as a parent, as a teacher, as a friend, and as a saint of God, others have to share His word with me and it's not comfortable because they need to chastise me for not doing as He has asked.

But I am learning that "the Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us plainly, for the salvation of our souls" (Jacob 4:13).

And when I learn to listen to and follow that Spirit in the way that God has intended for me, truly His words that are spoke and received are for the salvation of my soul.

Book of Mormon Reading: 2 Nephi 2-3

God is a God of covenants.

Making a covenant with God means I want to be on His side of the line. It means I want to keep His rules of the game. It means I love His will more than I love mine.

And God allows us to enter into His covenants because He is good.

He is merciful.

He is faithful.

Book of Mormon Reading: 1 Nephi 6-10

I love that as individuals read the same words in the Book of Mormon, each person will glean different doctrines and principles according to current situations, circumstances, and challenges.

And I LOVE that the Book of Mormon, right off, introduces us to a family. A family who is trying to do the right having some challenges along the way. A family who has members struggling to do what the Lord has asked and other family members who don't.

Today as I read in 1 Nephi 8, I recognized that the covenant path must also be equipped with the word of God. In other words, no word of God, no covenant path.

Thoughts about the Beatitudes

Blessedness: a well-spring of real joy, flowing from the inside out 

vs. 

Fortunate: lucky, lucky, lucky me.

Which got me thinking, if the Sermon on the Mount read something more like this: 

Fortunate are the Poor in Spirit or Fortunate are the Peacemakers or Fortunate are They who are Persecuted . . . I have a pretty good feeling I wouldn't feel very fortunate at all.

I would just be terribly, terribly unlucky.

* * * 

The Beatitudes and My Baptismal Covenant

I'm discovering that the Beatitudes are not just a well-known list of blessings promised by the Savior. They are also a powerful reminder of my baptismal covenants.

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

For all my life I have thought “the kingdom of heaven” is the place where I hope to go one day. You know, back to heaven, after I die.

And then, this week, I realized that the definition of the, "kingdom of heaven” is the code word for “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” And the purpose of the Church is to prepare its members to live forever in the celestial kingdom or kingdom of heaven. Even the scriptures sometimes call the Church the "kingdom of heaven," meaning that the Church is the kingdom of heaven on earth.

And today, I understand more clearly why we are commanded to meet to together oft. Because when I come to ready to partake the sacrament with a poor spirit, coupled with a broken heart, I can be, for a short moment each week, a part of the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

The scriptures are replete with examples of those who mourned. In fact, current events are headlined with the mourning of the sick, the sad, the dying, the lost. And I am learning that the dawning of each new day brings mourning.

The word mourn comes from an Old English word murnan, meaning ""to mourn, bemoan, long after." But even older than Old English, it comes from the PIE root *(s)mer - "to remember." 

Mourning, then, is not only a way to grieve, it is a way to remember. Perhaps a powerful way to remember our covenants. Because mourning is something we covenanted to do when we were baptized. We covenanted to be willing to mourn with those who mourn and comfort those who stand in need of comfort.

Thirteen years ago, the day before Mother's Day, the 2 year old son of a dear friend of mine was killed in a tractor accident. The next day she had the lesson in Relief Society. And much to the surprise of all of us, she showed up and gave her lesson.

I remember she had us all stand in a circle, holding hands. I don't remember what she said, but I remember how I felt as we wept and mourned together. And because of that one Mother's Day Mourning, there is not a Mother's Day that goes by that I don't remember my dear friend, her son and God's great plan of happiness.

There is comfort knowing that families can be together forever.

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

I’m going to be honest, I don't have a pure heart. As much as I try,  most of the time it is filled with its share of impurities.

I am learning that I cannot purify my heart all by myself. A pure heart requires receiving God’s pure love. And understanding how to receive His pure love into my impure heart began the day I was baptized.

First of all, God’s love is not envious, puffed up, or easily provoked. His love thinks no evil and rejoices not in iniquity.

In addition, God's love suffers long. It is kind. It rejoices in truth. It bears and hopes and endures all things.

And most importantly, God's love never fails.

Not ever.

Once we are baptized, the gate back to the kingdom of heaven (the actual place we can go when we die) is opened. And on that path, we are to "press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men" (2 Nephi 31:20).

Which brings me back to why I need to be poor in Spirit, why I need to mourn with those who mourn, and why I must pray to be filled with His love - those actions are part of the covenant I have made.

And His blessing comes when He bestowed His pure love on me - purifying me - even as He is pure, so that when He shall appear, I could be like Him and see Him like He is . . .

and sit down with Him forever, in the kingdom of heaven (Moroni 7:48).

Family Home Evening - Covenants and Ordinances

Our children learned about covenants and ordinances on Sunday.  As we had a family discussion,our children could readily define what a covenant is, but it took a while to be able to define and better understand what an ordinance is.

So, I drew this picture and here is the summary of our discussion.  (To be honest, it wasn't much better with a crayon, but it illustrates our discussion.)

Heavenly Father's Plan
We lived with our Heavenly Father before we were born.  Before we came to earth Heavenly Father created a plan.  That plan, if followed, would help us return and live with Him again.  That plan included keeping His commandments and making and keeping covenants.

What is a covenant?
A covenant is like a contract or a promise.  Instead of being between two people, it is a sacred promise between God and you and me!  God sets the conditions or the rules of the covenant.  We promise to obey the conditions.  As we obey, we are blessed.  When we disobey we cannot receive the blessings that can be ours.

What is an ordinance?
An ordinance is the way we to say to Heavenly Father, I want to make a covenant!! On earth, when two people enter a contract they usually sign have an important document, witnessed by someone with legal authority.  In the gospel of Jesus Christ, we don't sign a document to say we are making a covenant.  Instead, individuals perform a special sacred act, usually during a ceremony.  These ordinances must be performed by the authority of the priesthood. An ordinance is like signing a contract with our Heavenly Father.  Ordinances also come with set prayers. These prayers must be said exactly - word for word - for they are the covenants the Lord has made for us!

Baptism and Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost - The First Ordinances of the Gospel
The very first covenant we make with God is the covenant of Baptism by immersion.  It is the first ordinance we perform in order to make it back to our Heavenly Father's home.  In the scriptures it tell us that baptism is the GATE which opens up to the path that leads to eternal life.  This is followed by the ordinance of receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

The Sacrament
Each week we partake of the sacrament.  The sacrament is an ordinance.  We must partake of it weekly in order to return to our Heavenly Father. The sacrament reminds us that we have covenanted to 1) take upon us the name of Jesus Christ, 2) that we will remember Him and 3) that we will keep His commandments.  If we do our part, we are promised that the Holy Ghost will always be with us.

The Temple
Keeping our baptismal covenants prepares us to enter into the temple, or the House of the Lord.  In the temple we make additional covenants.  The covenant of eternal marriage is the highest of all the covenants we make in the temple.

Enduring to the End
After we have made our covenants, the most important thing we can do is LIVE them.  We must live them every day - until the very end of our lives - even when things in life get hard.

Celestial Glory
This is where Heavenly Father and Jesus dwell.  This is the place from where God's love emanates and where families are forever.  Making and keeping sacred covenants - by having sacred, saving ordinances performed - qualify us to live here forever and ever.

Visiting Teaching is NOT about me!

Last week my companion set up a visiting teaching appointment for this morning at 11:30 with a sister I have never met.  My companion has been her visiting teacher for a while.

The appointment was on my fridge calendar so I wouldn't forget.

And I remembered all week about visiting teaching - and even into yesterday.

But my early morning schedule changed and I completely forgot about visiting teaching because, you know, I got caught up in other stuff that was also pressing and also important.

So at exactly 11:18, as I was strategically planning my afternoon, the Spirit intervened and gently, yet emphatically reminded me that I had a visting teaching appointment.

Phew! I thought to myself. Now I won't look so bad on my first visit.

Well, just for the record, that is NOT what I should have been thinking nanoseconds after the Spirit had reminded me so tenderly of my covenant duty!

And because of my abundance of pride, I was immediately chastized!

For I learned the reason the Spirit reminded me of my visiting teaching appointment - It was NOT because God wanted me to look good . . .

It was because He wanted the sister to whom I have been assigned to know how much He loves her.

Sunday Afternoon Session of General Conference in Six Words

Truth seeker. Gospel teacher. Covenant keeper.

What six words describe what you learned during the Sunday afternoon session of General Conference??

Taking Upon Us the Name of Christ

The prophet Alma, in Alma 7:11-13, teaches that the Savior,

"shall go forth, suffering pains and ^aafflictions and ^btemptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will ^ctake upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him ^adeath, that he may ^bloose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to ^csuccor his people according to their infirmities. Now the Spirit ^aknoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the ^bflesh that he might ^ctake upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me."

And what does Father ask us in return?  He asks us to covenant "to take upon [us] the name of [His] Son and always remember Him and keep His commandments that [we] may ALWAYS have His Spirit to be with Him" (Moroni 4:3).

Wow!

Christ took upon Him:

* the pains and the sicknesses of His people

* death

* our infirmities

* our sins

We covenant to:

* take upon us His name

I don't know about you, but it looks like we got the better end of the deal - no matter how terrible our end of the deal may seem.