Covenants for Priesthood Holders

I have been meaning to write this post for a while now and I am finally here with the last set of covenants - those made by priesthood holders.

The Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood:

Priesthood holders covenant to:

• Receive in good faith and with honest intent both the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods (see D&C 84:33).
• Magnify callings by fulfilling all responsibilities associated with the priesthood offices they are called to.
• Teach the word of God and labor with all their might to advance the Lord’s purposes (see Jacob 1:19).
• Obtain a knowledge of the gospel (see D&C 107:31).
• Give service by comforting and strengthening the Saints of God (see Mosiah 18:8–9).
• Be obedient and “give diligent heed to the words of eternal life” (D&C 84:43).
• Listen to and follow revelation from the Lord. “Live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God” (v. 44). See also Elder Carlos E. Asay, in Conference Report, Oct. 1985, 56–58; or Ensign, Nov. 1985, 43–44.

Worthy priesthood holders receive these promises:

1. Be “sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies” (D&C 84:33).
2. “Become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham” (v. 34).
3. Become members of “the church and kingdom, and the elect of God” (v. 34).
4. Receive the Father’s kingdom and “all that my Father hath shall be given unto him” (v. 38).
5. Receive of the Father’s fulness and glory and become “gods, even the sons of God” (D&C 76:58).
6. Are warned that anyone who rejects this covenant and “altogether turneth therefrom, shall not have forgiveness of sins in this world nor in the world to come” (D&C 84:41). President Marion G. Romney of the First Presidency made the following comment about D&C 84:41: “I don’t think he is talking here necessarily about the unpardonable sin, but I am saying that those of us who receive this priesthood and understand what it is about and fail to magnify our callings will lose something we cannot recover hereafter” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1974, 116; or Ensign, May 1974, 80).

My Other Posts on Covenants:

Covenants for All Members: It's Time for a Review
Temple Covenants

A Blessing from the Priesthood and a Week at Girl's Camp

I posted this experience previously but I thought it would fit nicely with this post. My husband and I had just moved into a new ward. We had only been married for about 4 months or so. We were excited to start our family and to be living in a new place. We quickly received callings. I was called as the Assistant Camp Director for the Young Women. I was excited by the calling. A few weeks after moving into the ward and receiving our callings I got pregnant and I became quite sick.

I was put in charge of doing all of the shopping for our week long excursion with the Laurels. It was to be a long shopping trip. I was just in the beginning stages of sickness but I remember it took all of my will power to handle rows and rows of foods and smells while in the midst of excited and squeally teenage girls, all the while trying to keep my stomach where it should be. That afternoon was exhausting.

Things only got worse. I got sicker as time went on and as girl's camp drew nearer. I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it and if I did I wasn't sure if I would be any help while we were there. I was not very far along so I wanted to keep the news to myself but because of the circumstances I ended up telling the YW's President and the Camp Director that I was pregnant and sick. Telling them helped a lot and I ended up deciding that I was going to go, sick or not. I felt like I was supposed to.

The morning we were to leave I asked my husband for a blessing. Before I walked out the door to my week long girl's camp and pregnancy adventure I had already lost-my-cookies three times. I just knew it was going to be a long week.

Something extraordinary happened that week. I felt better that week than I had in a long time. I only threw up once the whole week. I had more energy. I had a better appetite. I could keep almost everything down. I felt amazing...well amazing for that point in pregnancy. I still had a few moments here and there. I still stayed in bed a little longer in the mornings. I still munched on things quite often. I didn't join the other's on the hike or playing kickball. But...I was there and was okay. The difference was night and day.

On the way home from our adventure the car had to be stopped and I had to step out and the fun began once again. When we made it back to our town I went straight for the bushes and the fun began again. When I got home the fun continued for several more months. I was blessed that week by the power of the priesthood to be filled with the strength, health, and peace I needed to fulfill my calling and to enjoy it.

I know that the priesthood is real. I know that we all can receive the blessings that priesthood has to offer. I know that throughout that week the Power of Priesthood took a great role. I was blessed with strength and health. I was blessed to be able to receive those things for a time by the priesthood.

I am so grateful to have a worthy and loving priesthood holder in my home and to be surrounded by many other great men who hold the priesthood. The blessings of the priesthood can strengthen, uplift, and bless us all. We can receive comfort, guidance, and healing from the priesthood. We are blessed with sacred ordinances because of the priesthood. The priesthood is the power of God on the earth today. It is real. I know that we all have access to the blessings of the priesthood and that through our faith those blessings can strengthen and direct us in our lives.

Temple Covenants

Well, it is time that I come back and give one of my follow up posts to Covenants for All Members: It's Time for a Review (you can read about the covenants that all Church members make at this post). I thought it was fitting to post about the covenants we make in temples after my last post.

Again I hope that sharing these covenants will serve as a review to all of us. Elder Ballard's words truly show how important this is, “A periodic review of the covenants we have made with the Lord will help us with our priorities and with balance in our lives. This review will help us see where we need to repent and change our lives to ensure that we are worthy of the promises that accompany our covenants and sacred ordinances. Working out our own salvation requires good planning and a deliberate, valiant effort” (Ensign, May 1987, 14).

Again the list of covenants and promised blessings comes from the Eternal Marriage Student Manual.

Temple Endowment -

We covenant to:

“Observe the law of strict virtue and chastity, to be charitable, benevolent, tolerant and pure; to devote both talent and material means to the spread of truth and the uplifting of the race; to maintain devotion to the cause of truth; and to seek in every way to contribute to the great preparation that the earth may be made ready to receive her King,—the Lord Jesus Christ” (James E. Talmage, House of the Lord, 84).

Blessings Promised:

1. “With the taking of each covenant and the assuming of each obligation a promised blessing is pronounced, contingent upon the faithful observance of the conditions” (Talmage, House of the Lord, 84).
2. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that the endowment was designed to give us “a comprehensive view of our condition and true relation to God” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 324), “to prepare the disciples for their missions unto the world” (p. 274), to prevent us from being “overcome by these evils” (p. 259), and to enable us “to secure the fullness of those blessings which have been prepared for the Church of the Firstborn” (p. 237).
3. President Gordon B. Hinckley in the dedicatory prayer of the Vernal Utah Temple said, “We pray that Thou wilt visit it, and may Thy Holy Spirit dwell here to sanctify it and make it holy unto all who enter its portals” (“We Thank Thee for This Sacred Structure,” Church News, 8 Nov. 1997, 4). Through the temple endowment, we may seek “a fulness of the Holy Ghost” (D&C 109:15). Temple ordinances are seen as a means for receiving inspiration and instruction through the Holy Spirit and for preparing to return to God’s presence.


Celestial Marriage -

Couples who promise to abide the law of celestial marriage:

• Covenant in pure love to remain faithful to each other and to God through all eternity.
• Covenant to confine their intimate affections and sexual relations to each other.
• Commit to live in ways that contribute to happy and successful family life.
• Covenant “to ‘be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth’ (Gen. 1:28). A primary purpose of temple marriage in this life is to grow and mature in sharing God’s creative work in raising a family in righteousness. Parents enter into a partnership with God by participating in the procreation of mortal bodies, which house the spirit children of God” (in Ludlow, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 2:859).

Blessings Promised:

1. Husbands and wives will receive eternal life in the world to come, the glory of the celestial kingdom (see D&C 88:4; Moses 6:59).
2. They shall become gods with all power and “shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers” (D&C 132:19).
3. They shall obtain exaltation in the highest degree of the celestial glory (see D&C 131:1–4).
4. They will come to know God the Father and Jesus Christ (see D&C 132:48–50).

Covenants for All Members: It's Time for a Review

A while back I read over Elder Christofferson's conference talk, The Power of Covenants. What a powerful message. Among many things it got me thinking that I may not actually know, by heart, all of the covenants I have made and I realized that it can be pretty hard to keep a promise when I am not exactly sure what promises I have made. It was a wake up call.

I then remembered that there was some type of list of covenants in the Eternal Marriage Manual and so I headed there for a refresher course and came across this quote that again assured me that this search was a necessary one:

Elder Ballard said, “A periodic review of the covenants we have made with the Lord will help us with our priorities and with balance in our lives. This review will help us see where we need to repent and change our lives to ensure that we are worthy of the promises that accompany our covenants and sacred ordinances. Working out our own salvation requires good planning and a deliberate, valiant effort” (Ensign, May 1987, 14).

Elder Ballard is very clear here that we must review the covenants we make so that we can have balance and so that we can repent and change. And I really liked his last line where he says that we need to have good planning and a diliberate, valiant effort. It made me realize that the making and keeping of covenants isn't as simple as I may have made it out to be. I need to review, plan, and valiantly act. And the real kicker I discovered was that I need to know.

So here is a list of the covenants and promises that all members of the church make and should try to keep (later posts will focus on temple covenants and priesthood covenants):

Baptism -

We covenant to:

• Come into the fold of God.
• Take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ.
• Stand as a witness for Jesus Christ.
• Always keep the commandments.
• Bear one another’s burdens.
• Manifest a determination to serve God unto the end.
• Manifest by works that we have repented of our sins.
• Prepare to receive the Holy Ghost for the complete remission of sins.

Blessings Promised:

1. We qualify for membership in Christ’s Church.
2. If we are worthy, the Lord promises to:
• Pour out His Spirit upon us.
• Redeem us from our sins.
• Raise us up in the First Resurrection.
• Give us eternal life.

See 2 Nephi 31:17–21; Mosiah 18:8–10; D&C 20:37; Articles of Faith 1:4.

Gift of the Holy Ghost –

Covenants we make with God:

In order to qualify for the gift of the Holy Ghost we must fulfill the covenants of baptism, continue in humility and faith, and otherwise be worthy of the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost (see Articles of Faith 1:4).

Blessings Promised:

1. We are confirmed as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
2. We receive the right or privilege to enjoy the continual companionship of the Holy Ghost. We can receive inspiration, divine manifestations, spiritual gifts, and direction from the Holy Ghost continually. We also receive blessings by receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost as the Holy Ghost bears witness of Jesus Christ and of divine truths, provides spiritual guidance and warnings, and enables us to discern right and wrong.
3. We are sanctified or cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost and are born of God as we continue faithfully. Through this baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, individual hearts and desires are cleansed
and spirits are made pure. Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost is the culmination of the process of repentance and baptism (see 2 Nephi 31:13, 17; 3 Nephi 27:20).
4. We know the gift of the Holy Ghost is the key to all of the spiritual gifts found in the Church, including the gifts of prophecy and revelation, healing, speaking in tongues, and translating and interpreting tongues.

Sacrament -

We Covenant to:

• Renew our baptismal covenants.
• Recommit to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, always remember Him, and keep His commandments. Partaking of the sacrament is a time for personal introspection, repentance, and rededication.

Blessings Promised:

1. The Lord forgives sins we repent of.
2. The Lord promises that we may always have His Spirit to be with us.

See 3 Nephi 18:28–29; Moroni 4–5; D&C 20:75–79; 27:2; 46:4.

Let us come to know and review the covenants we have made. Let us plan well and delibaretly act on the covenants we have made. Let us remember the blessing and power that our covenants can bring.