I gave a talk in church today. The last talk I gave was in 2014.
We almost didn't make it to church because of the heavy snowfall. Mostly, we almost didn't make it home from church, because the snow continued and the roads were terrible. But we managed and now Danny and the kids are outside shoveling the driveway and building snowmen while I find a moment to write.
Sometimes when you give a talk, you end up saying things a bit differently than how you had originally planned. I am going to include my notes here as the normal writing. I'll italicize the parts of my notes which I did not read or say. The things that are in bold are the things which I ended up saying that were not in my original talk's notes. This is from memory, so there will be errors. The things that are in red that are in bold are the things I wished I would have said, but didn't.
***
Hello brothers and sisters, my name is Kate Challis. I'm going to talk to you today about keeping to the "covenant path."
Our stake president, President Morales, spoke about keeping to the covenant path in our last stake conference; in fact, that was the major theme of the entire conference. Therefore, you can tell that this theme or idea is relevant, not just to the church as a whole, but to us here in Ankeny, in the Rock Creek Ward.
There is a website online which was developed by a professor at BYU where you can look up words and phrases from all the texts of every general conference of the church from 1850 to October 2018, the most recent general conference. I decided to look up the phrase "covenant path."
I found that there are:
61 total references to “covenant path”
3 in 2000’s
58 in 2010’s
Elaine S Dalton was the first to use this phrase in general conference in 2007.
8 in 2013
6 in 2014
3 in 2015, including once by our current prophet and president of the church, President Nelson
2 in 2016
3 in 2017, including President Nelson
11 in 2018, again, including President Nelson
What we can see from this data is that the phrase "covenant path" has been trending sharply upward in the recent decades, and has been only really used recently. Well, unless it was used in the 1830's or 1840's which weren't included in this data, but it seems unlikely. This phrase is intended to speak to us.
I then decided to look up just the word "covenant."
The term “covenant” has been uttered in every decade of general conference. The least amount it was said was in the 1860’s, when it was "only" used 97 times.
In the 2010’s, “covenant” was used 415 times.
63 x in 2018.
You can learn about the meaning of a word by studying the company it keeps. A collocate is a word that frequently appears nearby another word. The top 20 most frequent collocates of the word “covenant” from all the text of general conference talks from 1850-October 2018 can be categorized broadly like this:
What kind of covenant is it?
everlasting 633x
new 415x
sacred 84x
marriage 322x
baptism 89x
baptismal 53x
What do you do with a covenant, or what does a covenant do?
made 387x
entered 172x
keep 141x
enter 119x
broken 101x
born 77x
abide 67x
belongeth 66x
hath 70x
Whose covenant is it?
mine 78x
mediator 59x
Other words that mean “covenant”:
oath 254x
covenant 94x
path 63x
We can see that covenants have always been an important part of the restored church of Jesus Christ, and that the trend has been or seems to be to talk about them or reference them more as time has gone by, at least in general conference.
I'm not sure exactly what that means but I think it has to do with language that is relevant to us now. When I think of a "path", I think of a journey. I'm either going one direction or another, but motion is always implied. I am walking on a journey that has a destination. It is not so much like the metaphor of stepping stones, which could be used to describe ordinances, like baptism, confirmation, if you're a man : ordination to the priesthood, and finally temple covenants. Those are important covenants that we make, but actually, the word covenant is more general.
This is a quote directly from gospel topics, which you can find on the gospel library app (or here) "A covenant is a sacred agreement between God and a person or group of people. God sets specific conditions, and He promises to bless us as we obey those conditions."
I think this is much more generally applicable and refers to more things than just ordinances. It is inclusive of people who are not members of the restored church who also make promises to God. It also includes people who keep their end of a covenant even if they do not know or believe that they are so doing. For example, we are promised that if we obey the word of wisdom which includes avoiding drinking alcoholic beverages, smoking, or doing drugs, we will receive health in the navel and marrow to the bones and find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, and will run and not be weary, and walk and not faint. These promises are surely given to everybody who obeys, regardless of the status of their faith. See Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-22.
Another example of a covenant that many people make, but might not know that they are making, is marriage. Secular marriage is valuable, and there is power in striving to keep the solemn vow made to another human. God sees these vows, too. He values these vows, and blesses those who strive to uphold them, and to do and live according to what they believe is right, because he loves all of his children and wants us to be like him. God does not have to merely "strive" to do what is right, he literally always does what is right; of course it makes sense that he would value and appreciate people who strive, in their own way, with their own knowledge and resources, to do what they personally believe is right.
The metaphor of a path is more general about movement towards a destination. Jesus Christ walked along the covenant path, and we are to follow him.
I'm glad that Daniel mentioned that quote from President Nelson when he first became the president of the church; I had read it but didn't know how to incorporate it into my talk. He gave his first address to the church from within the temple. I think that was in part to signal to the church the symbolic importance of covenants in our lives.
In the April 2017 general conference, President Nelson gave a talk called:
Russell M. Nelson
In this talk he mentioned the idea of the "covenant path." He said something that surprised me, which was that the first step is simply to
1. learn about him.
This brings to mind the importance of missionary work. It is much easier to walk along a path if you know that it exists!
“Let the scriptural citations about Jesus Christ in the Topical Guide become their personal core curriculum.”
This is a continued quote from President Nelson:
I gave that challenge because I had already accepted it myself. I read and underlined every verse cited about Jesus Christ, as listed under the main heading and the 57 subtitles in the Topical Guide.11 When I finished that exciting exercise, my wife asked me what impact it had on me. I told her, “I am a different man!”
I felt a renewed devotion to Him as I read again in the Book of Mormon the Savior’s own statement about His mission in mortality. He declared:
“I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.
“And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross.”12
As Latter-day Saints, we refer to His mission as the Atonement of Jesus Christ, which made resurrection a reality for all and made eternal life possible for those who repent of their sins and receive and keep essential ordinances and covenants.
It is doctrinally incomplete to speak of the Lord’s atoning sacrifice by shortcut phrases, such as “the Atonement” or “the enabling power of the Atonement” or “applying the Atonement” or “being strengthened by the Atonement.” These expressions present a real risk of misdirecting faith by treating the event as if it had living existence and capabilities independent of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
Recently I learned of a fearless young Laurel. She was invited to participate in a statewide competition for her high school on the same evening she had committed to participate in a stake Relief Society meeting. When she realized the conflict and explained to competition officials that she would need to leave the competition early to attend an important meeting, she was told she would be disqualified if she did so.
What did this latter-day Laurel do? She kept her commitment to participate in the Relief Society meeting. As promised, she was disqualified from the statewide competition. When asked about her decision, she replied simply,
“Well, the Church is more important, isn’t it?”
Faith in Jesus Christ propels us to do things we otherwise would not do. Faith that motivates us to action gives us more access to His power.
You have to understand that President Nelson is an extremely intelligent man. He speaks multiple languages. He basically helped invent open heart surgery. He is a well-known, well respected surgeon. He is also a gospel scholar, and if he thinks it is worthwhile to spend time really reading and studying the scriptures, shouldn't we, too?
It is really interesting to me the emphasis he places on deeply studying and thinking about the words we choose to use. It makes me think that this relatively new phrase "covenant path" is significant, and significantly relevant - and if so, I should do what I can to study how and why.
In 2017 he was 92 years old. If a 92 year old man could study the scriptures and then say, "I'm a new man!" then don't you think it's likely that we, too, would get something valuable out of studying the scriptures? Do we think we are somehow better than him?
The second general step, or series of steps that we must continually take on the covenant path which President Nelson mentions is repentance.
2. repent
This is an abbreviated quote from here:
When we sin we are like the foolish man who jumped from the plane. No matter what we do on our own, only a crash landing awaits us. We have no power to reverse the course.
Rescue is possible only because the Lord provides a parachute—the Atonement. If we have faith in Jesus Christ and repent (i.e., pull the ripcord), then the protective and saving powers of the Atonement are unleashed on our behalf and we can land unharmed.
Another crucial point on the covenant path is the ordinance of baptism.
3. baptized
If you have been reading in the Come, Follow Me curriculum, you will know that in the past few weeks we have been learning a lot about John the Baptist and how he prepared the way for Jesus Christ's mortal mission on the earth. He baptized Jesus Christ even though Jesus Christ is God, and did not need to be baptized for the remission of his sins. He did, however, need to be baptized - in part, to be a perfect example for us of how to walk along the covenant path.
Jesus Christ taught that baptism is essential to the salvation of all who have lived on earth (see John 3:5).
He was baptized even though he did not sin. When children are baptized, it is also not for the remission of sins. It is to make a covenant.
The baptismal covenant is to do these things:
- take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ
- always remember him Jesus Christ
- keep his Jesus Christ's commandments
- serve him Jesus Christ to the end
Every week when we come to church, we hear this covenant repeated word for word with exactness during the words of the sacrament prayer. I think it's interesting that sometimes the words have to be repeated, if, for example, they weren't said exactly correctly. I've been in a ward where it had to be repeated 10 times. I don't hold the priesthood, so I have never had to do that, but I can imagine how that might feel - but even so, the covenant is so significant and important that it has to be done correctly.
Many people, however, have died without being baptized. Others were baptized without proper authority. Because God is merciful, He has prepared a way for all people to receive the blessings of baptism.
In fact, this is the way by which the majority of God's children on the earth will receive the opportunity to make this specific covenant with God. It is a blessing to be able to do the proxy temple work for our ancestors so that they can continue their journey on the covenant path.
By performing proxy baptisms in behalf of those who have died, Church members offer these blessings to deceased ancestors. Individuals can then choose to accept or reject what has been done in their behalf.
Jesus Christ said, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). Even Jesus Christ Himself was baptized (see Matthew 3:13-17).Many people have lived on the earth who never heard of the gospel of Jesus Christ and who were not baptized. Others lived without fully understanding the importance of the ordinance of baptism. Still others were baptized, but without proper authority.Because He is a loving God, the Lord does not damn those people who, through no fault of their own, never had the opportunity for baptism. He has therefore authorized baptisms to be performed by proxy for them. A living person, often a descendant who has become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is baptized in behalf of a deceased person. This work is done by Church members in temples throughout the world.
Some people have misunderstood that when baptisms for the dead are performed, deceased persons are baptized into the Church against their will. This is not the case. Each individual has agency, or the right to choose. The validity of a baptism for the dead depends on the deceased person accepting it and choosing to accept and follow the Savior while residing in the spirit world. The names of deceased persons are not added to the membership records of the Church.
The New Testament indicates that baptisms for the dead were done during the time of the Apostle Paul (see 1 Corinthians 15:29). This ordinance was restored with the establishment of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
4. Receive the holy ghost
When you reach up for the Lord’s power in your life with the same intensity that a drowning person has when grasping and gasping for air, power from Jesus Christ will be yours. When the Savior knows you truly want to reach up to Him—when He can feel that the greatest desire of your heart is to draw His power into your life—you will be led by the Holy Ghost to know exactly what you should do.
Next steps:
If you are a man, prepare to serve in the priesthood.
Steps:
Prepare for temple ordinances.
Temples are literally houses of the Lord. We must be living worthily to enter these holy places of worship.
In the temple, we make covenants to become more like our Heavenly Father.
The temple ordinances use symbolism to teach us about the plan of salvation and the central role of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in that plan.
By keeping temple covenants, we can receive all of the blessings Heavenly Father wants to give His children.
In the temple, we have the opportunity to help our deceased ancestors receive the blessings of exaltation.
“The ordinances of the temple and the covenants you make there,” President Nelson said in his January 16 address, “are key to strengthening your life, your marriage and family, and your ability to resist the attacks of the adversary. Your worship in the temple and your service there for your ancestors will bless you with increased personal revelation and peace and will fortify your commitment to stay on the covenant path.”
We read from the account in Mosiah that these waters of Mormon were “beautiful … to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer” (verse 30). Likewise, we can cherish the temple as the place where we entered into sacred covenants and received saving ordinances.
Even our youth, though not yet old enough to receive their own endowment, can experience the sacredness and beauty of the temple as they participate more frequently and fully than ever in the performance of baptisms for the dead.
The last thing I want to mention is that in urging us to stay on the covenant path, President Nelson was mindful of those who have strayed from it.
“If you have stepped off the path,” he said, “may I invite you, with all the hope in my heart, to please come back! Whatever your concerns, whatever your challenges, there is a place for you in this, the Lord’s Church. You and generations yet unborn will be blessed by your actions now to return to the covenant path.”
Who are the covenant people of the Lamb? This is from a blog post I wrote here.
To what extent is it possible for people who are not members of the Lord's restored church to make covenants with him and follow him? I am not sure about that. I don't think we have a monopoly on striving to follow God.
I do think my church is literally the only church on the earth today to have the correct authority from God to administer specific ordinances like baptism. Ordinances are covenants. So...
...so temple work is really important.
The church will continue to change. The power standing ahead of the church will not. Jesus Christ is leading the church. The “covenant path” is a metaphor for our journey to return home. Jesus Christ walked the covenant path himself.
I know that Jesus Christ walked the covenant path and set the example for me. I know that I should do everything that I can to help make it possible for my ancestors to make and receive covenants via proxy temple work. I know that Jesus Christ is real, that the atonement is real, and that I am blessed by doing my best to make and keep my covenants and stay on the covenant path. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Good job kate.
ReplyDelete