Linda S. Reeves

 

(black text is the original lyrics; all yellow highlights are things I am commenting on;All blue text are my thoughts and are my opinions only and do not represent the official position of the speaker, author or the church.)

Claim the Blessings of Your Covenants

By Linda S. Reeves
Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency

As we renew and honor our covenants, our part...our burdens can be lightened and we can continually become purified and strengthened.  the Lord's part...Never give up or tire of this process....

Sisters, how wonderful it is to be with you again.

I recently met a woman who was preparing to be baptized. This particular Sunday she arrived at church having walked two miles (3 km) in heavy mud. Already feeling humbled...She immediately went into the restroom, removed her muddy clothes, washed, and put on clean Sunday clothes. In the Relief Society meeting she told of her conversion. clearly, this woman was converted I was touched by her overwhelming desire to be washed clean and pure through repentance and the atoning sacrifice of the Savior and her willingness to give up her “old life” in order to make sacred covenants with our Father in Heaven. She had separated from her boyfriend, was overcoming addictions in order to live the Word of Wisdom, quit her Sunday job,(I wonder how many references to keeping the Sabbath Day holy we'll here this conference... )and lost the friendship of loved ones when she announced her plans to be baptized.This one probably feels like the ultimate sacrifice... She was so anxious to give away all of her sins that she might be washed clean and feel the redeeming love of the Savior. Which always comes when we repent I was inspired that morning by her desire to become both physically and spiritually clean. We have a body and a spirit...both need purifying. 

I always listen to the stories that are told at conference as parables. I pay particular attention to the ones at the beginning of talks, as they are usually placed there to get our attention. The third time I heard her tell this story, this is what came to me....She chose this example to teach us about how we should feel about renewing our covenants. Here is a woman who made great sacrifices to make her baptismal covenants with God the first time. But she never lost that "overwhelming desire" to be clean and pure. It was so important to her to renew those covenants each week that she was willing to "walk two miles in heavy mud" to get to church. Then once there, in humble recognition of the sacredness of that covenant, she washed the mud off and put on clean Sunday clothes, symbolic of the "washing" that would shortly come as she partook of the Sacrament.  She felt anew, each week, the same outpouring of "redeeming love" from the Savior that she felt at baptism, as she committed to give up yet another sin of her "old life" in exchange for a "new" way of being. These sins are of both a physical and spiritual nature.

We know that many of you have made similar sacrifices Almost all good things come by sacrifice as you have felt the witness of the Holy Ghost and have longed to repent, do you "long" to repent? be baptized, and be made clean. Perhaps at no other time do we feel the divine love of the Savior as abundantly as we do when we repent and feel His loving arms outstretched to embrace us and assure us of His love and acceptance.Do not fear repentance. It is the divine gift form a divine Father and Savior wrapped in love and acceptance (think "prodigal son")

A few Sundays ago as I listened to the sacrament prayer, I was moved by the way that the priest pronounced each word with great feeling. Later I called that priest to thank him followed a prompting for helping make the sacrament a deep spiritual experience for me and the congregation. He was not at home, but his mother responded, “Oh, he will be so happy that you called! This was his first time giving the sacrament prayer, and we have been preparing together, talking about the importance of the sacrament and worthily renewing our baptismal covenants with the Savior.” How I love this dear mother for teaching her son about the power of baptismal covenants and how he can help the members of the ward feel that power. You can feel the power of the sacrament prayers by repeating each word with feeling in your mind. If you have a son who is a priest...share this story with them.

Another mother I know of has sat alone at church for a number of years with her four young children. No rebuke here to the ward members that offered her no help which means this  story may be for the single mom who is feeling bitter about that; or thinking she might as well stay home, since no one is getting anything out of church. Seldom able to concentrate on the Savior during the sacrament, she formed a plan. Take personal responsibility for your sacrament worship. Now she tries to spend time each Saturday reviewing her week and thinking about her covenants and what she needs to repent of. “Then,” she says, “no matter what kind of an experience I have with my children on Sunday, I am prepared to partake of the sacrament, renew my covenants, and feel of the cleansing power of the Atonement.” The assumption here is that she would be doing that "reviewing, thinking, repenting" during the sacrament if she could. My guess is that she gets more out of the sacrament now then most members who have no small children to wrestle with. I remember a similar time in my life with 6 children ages 9 to newborn (not single, though..) where just trying to keep them quiet during the sacrament was a full-time job. I too, pondered how I could make the sacrament more meaningful. I decided to memorize the sacrament hymns so that I could keep singing, even though I may be dealing with children. I wrote the words down on index cards and had them out while I folded laundry or did the dishes. That one exercise has blessed me to this day as I often sing the hymns without the book and am able to more fully focus my thoughts while I sing, in preparation for the sacrament. Trials so often lead to solutions that bless our lives in ways we would never know if we did not have them!

Why does the Savior put so much importance upon the sacrament, dear sisters? What importance does this weekly renewal of our baptismal covenants  Someone once said that the sacrament is weekly because the Lord knew we couldn't go more than seven days without sinning play in our lives? Do we recognize the ability of the Savior to completely cleanse us every week as we worthily and thoughtfully partake of the sacrament? There is some pleading here. Are we too casual about this sacred gift? Do you take it "worthily" and "thoughtfully"? The fact that it is weekly can emphasize it's importance, but also lead us to taking it for granted. She is also asking us to think about our testimony of the sacrament. Do you believe in the literal and completely cleansing power of the sacrament the same way you did when you were baptized? President Boyd K. Packer has testified, “That is the promise of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Atonement: … that at the end of [our lives, we] can go through the veil having repented of [our] sins and having been washed clean through the blood of Christ.”¹ Think about this...if you take the sacrament to be cleansed from sin, how is it that you are partaking of it worthily? Don't we usually understand "worthy" to mean "clean"? But righteousness is not perfection. A righteous person is one who continually repents. True, that in the repentance process their are some sins where we are not able to take the sacrament for a time; but most often we approach the ordinance with a humble, contrite heart, with a pledge to do better and a prayer for the grace and gift of the atonement to empower us. Watch this 3 min video by Elder Bednar as he very specifically teaches us how to approach the Sacrament!!!! "How do I prepare to Worthily partake of the Sacrament"?

Our presidency feels great joy as our sisters and their families make and keep covenants, but our hearts ache for those of you who are experiencing great adversity in your lives because of the covenant-breaking of loved ones. The prophet Jacob, brother to Nephi, was charged by the Lord to speak to his brethren concerning the righteous women and children of his day. I testify that his words have been preserved specifically for our day.  I am thinking she is saying this because of the sin of pornography that most often plagues men; and perhaps addictive gaming...He speaks to us as if the Savior Himself were speaking. Jacob was “weighed down with much … anxiety” as he testified to husbands and fathers:

“It grieveth me that I must use so much boldness of speech … before your wives and your children, many of whose feelings are exceedingly tender and chaste and delicate. …

“… The sobbings of their hearts ascend up to God. … Many hearts [have] died, pierced with deep wounds.”² This is a pretty intense description...

To the covenant-keeping women and children of his and our day, Jacob promises:

“Look unto God with firmness of mind, firmness means "securely fixed; not yielding when pressed; fixed and pray unto him with exceeding faith, exceeding means "go beyond the bounds or limits of; superior"and he will console you in your afflictions. … In other words: Keep your eyes on God (as in Peter walking on the water amidst a stormy sea and all that teaches us about "looking"). You will need to exert your mind to stay fixed on Him and not yield to the pressures around you that would have you look away. Pray with faith, beyond what you think you have, and God will comfort you in all your mental or physical trials.

“… Lift up your heads "Look Up!"  (We'll study this talk later...) take conscious responsibility for where you place your attention  and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love.”³ To receive the scriptures is to not just read about God's love, but to feast on it. He always rewards us with more than we can put in!

Sisters, I testify of the strength and power of prayer as we express our deepest pains and desires We all know how to talk about this to others, but share your deepest pains and desires with the Lord, trusting in that communication for strength and power above all others to our Heavenly Father and of the answers that are received as we “feast upon” the scriptures and the words of the living prophets.Believe this is the source of your answers and you will not struggle to read the scriptures or study conference talks anymore:)

Almost three years ago a devastating fire gutted the interior of the beloved, historic tabernacle in Provo, Utah. Its loss was deemed a great tragedy by both the community and Church members. Many wondered, “Why did the Lord let this happen? Surely He could have prevented the fire or stopped its destruction.”

Ten months later, during the October 2011 general conference, there was an audible gasp when President Thomas S. Monson announced that the nearly destroyed tabernacle was to become a holy temple—a house of the Lord! Suddenly we could see what the Lord had always known! He didn’t cause the fire, but He allowed the fire to strip away the interior. He saw the tabernacle as a magnificent temple—a permanent home for making sacred, eternal covenants.⁴If this story doesn't describe a time in your life or someone you know, it soon will. When it does, remember this story and try to see with future eyes the hand of God in the details.

My dear sisters, the Lord allows us to be tried and tested, sometimes to our maximum capacity. We will all have our "Abrahamic Test". Do not be surprised or angry when it comes. God has not abandoned you. He knows what it can do to you and for you. He allows it. Let it do it's refining saving work! We have seen the lives of loved ones—and maybe our own—figuratively burned to the ground and have wondered why a loving and caring Heavenly Father would allow such things to happen. But He does not leave us in the ashes; He stands with open arms, eagerly inviting us to come to Him.  Think back to Sis. Burton's talk about the sheep. The one that would not go was part of the fold; within the safety of the field. But she would not accept the invitation to "come". Why? The reasons could be many: She was hurt by her former master; She felt different from the others; She didn't feel good enough or deserving enough to be with the others; She didn't trust the new master yet; She was angry about being staked down; She didn't want to yield her will yet. When we hear that story, we are to think about how WE are that lamb and not one of the four that went.  He is building our lives into magnificent temples where His Spirit can dwell eternally. This is the desire of my heart. To be so clean and pure that His Spirit can dwell with me always. If I profess that, I must submit to the refining process with my eye fixed on the Savior.

In Doctrine and Covenants 58:3–4, the Lord tells us:

“Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation.

“For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory.”    Understand that while you are "in it" you may not be able to "see". That is why it is so important that you share your burdens with others. They are not "in it" so they can "see" and will be able to offer you comfort and hope that will help you press forward through the mist of darkness.

Sisters, I testify that the Lord has a plan for each of our lives. Believe this to the end of your life! Nothing that happens is a shock or a surprise to Him. He is all-knowing and all-loving. Trust this!  He is eager to help us, to comfort us, and to ease our pain as we rely on the power of the Atonement and honor our covenants. The trials and tribulation that we experience may be the very things that guide us to come unto Him and cling to our covenants so that we might return to His presence and receive all that the Father hath. Parents of wayward children sorrow for the suffering their children experience because of their choices. Understanding that these very trials may be the very thing that guides them back, can ease your pain as you watch them. If the trial is yours, then let it take you to your knees (the easy part) and pray for the gift of charity so that you can turn outward to succor the needs of others (clinging to your covenants) at the very moment when your natural man would have you turn inward and focus on your own pain. (See Elder Bednar's Book"Act in Doctrine"for more understanding of this. My son listened to a talk by him on this subject at the MTC and said it was life-changing!)

This past year I have needed and wanted to feel the love of the Lord more deeply, to receive personal revelation, to better understand my temple covenants, and to have my burdens lightened. Could you identify so specifically what you have needed and wanted this past year? As I have prayed specifically for these blessings, I have felt the Spirit directing me to go to the temple and listen more closely to each word of the blessings pronounced upon me. I testify that as I have listened more intently and tried to exercise my faith, the Lord has been merciful to me and has helped make my burdens light. He has helped me to feel great peace about prayers that have not yet been answered. We bind the Lord to keep His promises when we keep our covenants and exercise our faith.⁵ Come to the temple, dear sisters, and claim your blessings!  She just identified a pattern to follow in trial: 
1.  Identify what it is you most need and want
2.  Pray specifically for those blessings
3.  Recognize the Spirit giving you direction 
4.  Act on that direction in faith, that by following it, the answers will come
5.  Thank the Lord for his mercy when prayers are answered
6.  Accept His peace about prayers not yet answered.
7.  Bind the Lord to keep His promises by keeping your promises in faith
8.  Go to the temple to learn more!

I want to touch upon another way that can instill us with confidence and faith. We sometimes, as women, have a tendency to be very critical of ourselves. During these times we need to seek the Spirit and ask, “Is this what the Lord wants me to think about myself, or is Satan trying to beat me down?” Remember the nature of our Heavenly Father, whose love is perfect and infinite.⁶ He wants to build us up, not tear us down. This is important as we try to discern the voices we hear. Reason with yourself. Don't let emotion dictate truth to you. God has confidence and faith in you. Have it in yourself.

As members of the Church, we may sometimes feel that we need to be part of a “perfect LDS family” This can mean more than a perfectly righteous family; it can mean a perfectly put together family. If there is any "part" of that ideal family picture missing we may feel our family is "imperfect". For example, if there is no spouse, or mom, or dad, or children, or grandparents, etc. we may feel like we don't have the "perfect family"  in order to be accepted by the Lord. We often feel “less-than” or like misfits in the kingdom if we feel we do not fit that picture.Surprise! No such thing as the "perfectly righteous LDS family"! Why do we persist in this belief? There is an "ideal" to be certain and we should strive for it and long for it and work to create it. But in the meantime, we need to learn to share our burdens.This will go a long way in busting through stereotypes and myths. Why don't we trust that others will see helping us as keeping their covenants? Oh, how I can't wait for Zion!  Dear sisters, when all is said and done, what will matter to our Father in Heaven will be how well we have kept our covenants and how much we have tried to follow the example of our Savior, Jesus Christ. No comparing on judgment day. Just personal responsibility. Mercy and forgiveness will be ours to the extent that we showed mercy and forgiveness to others, not whether others showed it to us.

I testify that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. Because of His atoning sacrifice, we can be washed clean weekly as we worthily partake of His sacrament. Baptism every week! I remember how determined I felt right after I was baptized to go as long as I could without sinning. It's similar to how I feel the first of every New Year. I can feel that way each and every Sunday. Would our Sacrament Meetings feel different if we really believed the ordinance of the Sacrament was really as cleansing as baptism? (See opening story) As we renew and honor our covenants, our burdens can be lightened and we can continually become purified and strengthened so that at the end of our lives we will be counted worthy to receive exaltation and eternal life. I testify of these things in the name of our beloved Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. Next time you need your burdens lightened, remember that will happen as you renew and honor your covenants. You now have a better understanding of what that really means....keep learning!

Notes

1. Boyd K. Packer, “The Atonement,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2012, 77.
2. Jacob 2:3, 7, 35.
3. Jacob 3:1–2.
4. See Mosiah 23:21–22.

5. See Doctrine and Covenants 82:10.

6. See Russell M. Nelson, “Divine Love,” Ensign, Feb. 2003, 20–25; Liahona, Feb. 2003, 12–17.

Imperatives

• Desire to become both physically and spiritually clean
• Feel the power of the sacrament prayers by repeating in your mind, each word with great feeling
• Take personal responsibility for your Sacrament worship experience; prepare in advance to repent, renew covenants, and feel the cleansing power of the Atonement
• Believe the Savior can cleanse you weekly through the ordinance of the sacrament if you partake worthily and thoughtfully
• Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray with exceeding faith
• Feast upon the scriptures and words of living prophets
• Rely on the strength and power of prayer; Pour out your deepest pains and desires
• Believe that God is all knowing and all loving
• Rely on the power of the Atonement and your covenants while in your trials and tribulations
• When in trial, follow this pattern:
  1.  Identify what it is you most need and want
  2.  Pray specifically for those blessings
  3.  Recognize the Spirit giving you direction 
  4.  Act on that direction in faith and by follow it; answers will come
  5.  Thank the Lord for his mercy when prayers are answered
  6.  Accept His peace about prayers not yet answered.
  7.  Bind the Lord to keep His promises by keeping your promises in faith
  8.  Go to the temple and claim your blessings!
• When you are being self-critical, seek the Spirit and ask, "IS this what the Lord wants me to think about myself, or is Satan trying to beat me down?"
• Remember the nature of Heavenly Father
• Renew and honor your covenants so your burdens may be light and so you can continually become purified and strengthened
• Don't compare yourself to others

Promises

• As we renew and honor our covenants, our burdens can be lightened and we can continually become purified and strengthened.
•  The Savior has the ability to completely cleanse us every week as we worthily and thoughtfully partake of the sacrament.
• If you repent of your sins and are washed clean through the blood of Christ, the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Atonement promise you that at the end of you life you can go through the veil into the presence of God.
• “Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions."
• Receive the pleasing word of God (scriptures/prophets) and you will feast on his love and receive answers
• The Lord stands with open arms, eagerly inviting you to come to Him. He is building your life into a magnificent temple where His Spirit can dwell eternally.
• "For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh when ye shall be crowned with much glory."
• When you keep your covenants and exercise your faith, you bind the Lord to keep His promises.

 

Doctrinal Insight

• Jacob's words were preserved specifically for our day
• “Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions. 
• To receive the scriptures is to feast on God's love
• The Lord has a plan for each of our lives. Nothing that happens is a shock or a surprise to Him.  He is all-knowing and all-loving. He is eager to help us, to comfort us, and to ease our pain.
• The trials and tribulation we experience may be the very things that guide us to come unto Him and cling to our covenants
• What will matter most is how well you have kept your covenants and how much you have tried to follow the example of our Savior.
  
  
  

Warnings

• Covenant breaking can bring great adversity and heartache into the lives of your loved ones
• The Lord allows us to be tried and tested, sometimes to our maximum capacity