(The following is taken from an address I gave at a sacrament meeting in 2009.)
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Receiving gospel ordinances establishes covenants with God, which are then ratified through service to our fellows.
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Every ordinance, or sacred ritual, is accompanied by an equally important covenant that is made between the person receiving the ordinance and God. The Lord promises us that the ordinance is another step in our journey toward eternal life and all the blessings associated with it. Since we know that the Lord cannot tell a lie, the promise of future blessings from Him is indeed a great blessing in and of itself, if we will keep His commandments. What are some of these commandments? They parallel the first principles and ordinances of the gospel: Have faith in Jesus Christ, repent continually using Christ’s atonement, and follow Him by being baptized of water, and then of fire and the Spirit, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end with cheerful humility in our hearts. These concepts are all very much interconnected; one cannot pick and choose that which he will follow.
“And now I give unto you a commandment to beware concerning yourselves, to give diligent heed to the words of eternal life. For you shall live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God. For the word of the Lord is truth.”
Doctrine and Covenants 84: 43-45
In order to enter into the covenants that if kept, secure us as disciples of the Lord, we must receive the ordinances that are associated with keeping the commandments that are in accordance with the provisions set out in those covenants. By receiving an ordinance, one enters a covenant which is authenticated by acts of service.
According to one Bible Dictionary’s definition, a covenant “Sometimes denotes an agreement between persons or nations; more often between God and man; but in this latter case it is important to notice that the two parties to the agreement do not stand in the relation of independent and equal contractors. God in his good pleasure fixes the terms, which man accepts. The gospel is so arranged that principles and ordinances are received by covenant, placing the recipient under strong obligation and responsibility to honor the commitment.”
To accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to enter into a covenant with Deity. We agree to do those things that we can do, and God agrees to do the things that we could never do for ourselves.
Is the thirsty man traveling through the desert saved alone by his effort to reach the distant oasis? No, there has to be an oasis there in the first place. All amount of effort on his part would be in vain if there was no water for him to reach. Without his efforts, however, he would surely die, even as if there was no water to be had. No amount of distant water would save the man if he were unwilling to seek after it, “for we know that it is by grace that [we] are saved, after all [we] can do.” (2 Nephi 25:23) “I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you … with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants. And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments.” (Mosiah 2:21-22)
“Serving is an art practiced by the Supreme Being himself. God serves man, but he’s not a servant of man.” (From Miramax's Life is Beautiful, 1997)
As heirs of the fruits of the Abrahamic covenant, we are given the opportunity to be the Lord’s covenant people. Among other things, this means that we are blessed with the bulk of His earthly work. Since we know that the Lord desires to bless his children for their righteousness, when we serve others we are on the Lord’s errand and are doing His work. King Benjamin reminds us that, “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” (Mosiah 2:17)
By being baptized, we covenant to take upon ourselves the name of Christ. By joining His flock, we covenant to follow in His footsteps and do what He would have us do. Alma teaches that a servant’s attitude is requisite to receiving the ordinance of baptism by saying, “And now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called His people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort.” (Mosiah 18: 8-9)
The Savior tells us, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13: 34-35) “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” (John 14: 21)
Blessings associated with holding priesthood are returned by using that authority to uplift and bless the lives of others at every available opportunity, and by recognizing and accepting the notion that holding this power is a sacred privilege and keeping ourselves worthy is our solemn responsibility.
“Whoso is faithful unto the obtaining of these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies. And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood. Therefore, all those who receive the priesthood, receive this oath and covenant of my Father, which [the Father] cannot break, neither can it be moved. But whoso breaketh this covenant after he hath received it, and altogether turneth therefrom, shall not have forgiveness of sins in this world nor in the world to come.”
Doctrine and Covenants 84: 33, 39-41
Blessings of peace given through receiving gospel knowledge are returned by actively searching out those who would be benefited by the knowledge and by offering all around us the opportunity to accept or reject the gospel message.
“At some moment in the world to come, everyone you met in this life will know what you know now. They will know that the only way to live forever in association with our families and in the presence of our Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ, is to enter into the gate by baptism at the hands of those with authority from God. They will know that the only way families can be together forever is to accept and keep sacred covenants offered in the Temples of God on this earth. They will know that you knew. And they will remember whether you offered them what someone had offered you.”
Henry B. Eyring
Blessings of power and knowledge given in the temple are returned by returning to the temple to allow those who died without knowledge of the gospel to enter into these covenants. They cannot be perfected without us, and we cannot be perfected without them.
Blessings given by enjoying a celestial marriage are returned by raising children in light and truth and giving our best effort to guide them back to their Heavenly Father.
To accept a calling in the Church is to enter into a covenant. In this case, one makes a covenant with God and also with those that will be influenced by their stewardship.
“Let every man learn his duty, and act in the office in which he is appointed, in all diligence. He that is slothful shall not be counted worthy to stand.”
Doc. & Cov. 107: 99-100
When we are all on the other side, we will not be judged by what we had in this life, but by what we did with what we had. Some of us are blessed with more opportunities than others. This makes our Father’s plan fair. Each of was created individually with unique talents and tendencies, and each of us can impart unique aspects of our attitudes toward service to our common cause of visiting the fatherless and widows in their affliction, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, mourning with those that mourn, comforting those that stand in need of comfort, and standing as witnesses of God at all times and in all things.
“Inasmuch as ye have done unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
Matthew 25:40
We need to be willing to follow the Lord no matter which way we think the path should go. We need to be willing to change, to expand our minds, to repent. Repentance is to turn from our own selfish ways and open our minds to the Lord’s will. By being depressed and dragged down by the weight of our sins, our thoughts become selfish as we struggle to think of anything but ourselves. Also, by neglecting our duty to “deny [ourselves] of all ungodliness,” (Moroni 10:32) and wallowing in sin, we can deny others the blessings that otherwise would have been granted because of our ability to listen to the promptings of the Spirit as the result of our clear conscience.
Happiness is a choice, not the result of circumstance. If we walk around with our heads facing the ground, we will fail to see the upcoming turns in the road and end up in the ditch or on other paths. Therefore, it is important for us to “walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith [we] have covenanted.” (Doctrine and Covenants 90:24)
Since service is doing those things for another that they cannot do for themselves, acts of service are always merciful. The Savior teaches in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”(Matthew 5:7) Elsewhere the Lord says, “But blessed are they who have kept the covenant and observed the commandment, for they shall obtain mercy.” (Doctrine and Covenants 54:6)
By putting these scriptures together, we learn that to be merciful, in other words, to offer service, is the fulfillment of commandment and contributes to the keeping of a sacred covenant.
The Apostle Paul taught that “The love of money is the root of all evil.” (1 Timothy 6:10) If this is true, then selfishness is the soil that nourishes such obsessions and allows the roots to grow. I feel confident in venturing to say that one hundred percent of evil acts occur because someone was selfish. To lose oneself in the service of others is to find the true path to eternal joy.
The Lord tells us, “For behold, this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39) This, the ultimate of the Lord’s goals, is entirely based on unselfish service. Since we are to emulate the Savior’s example in thought, word, and deed, we need to realize that it should be our goal to ensure the well-being of our fellow man. Ours is the opportunity to give of our time and talents to establishing and forwarding the cause of Zion.
If we don’t share the benefits of our covenants with others, we can fail to realize the profound promises made to us in those covenants.
“And every one that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit cometh unto God, even the Father. And the Father teacheth him of the covenant which he has renewed and confirmed upon you, which is confirmed upon you … not for your sakes only, but for the sake of the whole world. And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received--Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation.”
Doctrine and Covenants 84: 47-48, 54-55
Let me emphasize that it is not enough to merely enter into covenants; the objective is to faithfully endure after the covenant has been sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise.
The gospel that we live is a gospel of selflessness. It is also a gospel of action. The Savior created this earth; he knows where all the gold and gems are. The wind and the seas obey him. All the forces of the elements are at his disposal. He could have lived a very comfortable life. Instead, He “[did] come down from heaven among the children of men, and [dwelt] in a tabernacle of clay, and [went] forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases. And he [did] cast out devils. And lo, he [did] suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great [was] his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people. And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name; and even after all this they [did] consider him a man, and [said] that he hath a devil, and [did] scourge him, and [did] crucify him. And he [did] rise the third day from the dead; and behold, he standeth to judge the world; and behold, all these things are done that a righteous judgment might come upon the children of men.” (Mosiah 3:5-7, 9-10)
What the Savior has done for us was for our personal benefit. What we can do to serve each other in turn is for everyone’s benefit. May we all experience a renewal of our testimonies, that we may not take lightly the things we have received, that we may more fully grasp the eternal nature and implications of the covenants that we have entered, and that we may all be more profitable servants by putting forth an added determination to serve one another with greater humility is my desire.
