Keeping Covenants

I was asked to speak in church today and the following is the main body of my address if you are interested in reading.

I would like to read part of Lehi’s account of his dream of the Tree of Life. This account is one of the most profound yet simple to understand of all analogies concerning God, life, and our existence and cannot be pondered enough. Elder Jeffery R. Holland says it is “a great parable of life, an extended allegory of hope versus fear, of light versus darkness, of salvation versus destruction” (General Conference October 2009).

Lehi states:

“For behold, methought I saw in my dream, a dark and dreary wilderness. And it came to pass that I saw a man, and he was dressed in a white robe; and he came and stood before me. And it came to pass that he spake unto me, and bade me follow him. And it came to pass that as I followed him I beheld myself that I was in a dark and dreary waste. And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies. And it came to pass after I had prayed unto the Lord I beheld a large and spacious field. And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy. And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen. And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy.” (1Nephi 8:4-12)

This passage helps to explain why as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we do what we do. We have seen a “tree, whose fruit is desirable to make one happy," and we are going forward to partake of it. This is a figurative tree like one you might see in a dream, as Lehi did, but the affect on our resolve and belief is not figurative. We can liken the seeing of a “tree” to what Alma inquires of the people of the church during one of his great discourses asking if they have “experienced a change of heart” or “felt to sing the song of redeeming love” (Alma 5:26). If we have lost sight of this “tree," have weakened our changed heart, or forgotten how to sing the song of redemption then we need to be reminded again and humble ourselves. And as Alma continues:

“Behold, he (God) sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you. Yea, he saith: Come unto me and ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life; yea, ye shall eat and drink of the bread and the waters of life freely.” (Alma 5:33-34)

I would like to stress that in Lehi’s dream the fruit’s desire was and is to make one happy. This fruit, as Nephi describes it later, is representative of the Love of God. Therefore, God is the one who desires us to be happy. It is Jesus Christ who is the True Vine from which the True Fruit grows and all that is a product of that Tree is focused on making him or her who partakes of it happy. Thus, when Lehi partakes of the fruit he is filled with joy and he calls it “most sweet”. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf states, “Heavenly Father’s love for His children is the core message of the plan of happiness” (General Conference address October 2009).

As the vision continues Lehi describes:

“And I beheld a rod of iron, and it extended along the bank of the river, and led to the tree by which I stood. And I saw numberless concourses of people, many of whom were pressing forward, that they might obtain the path which led unto the tree by which I stood. And it came to pass that they did come forth, and commence in the path which led to the tree. And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost. I saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree.” (1Nephi 8:19, 21-23, 30)

Please make note that the mist of darkness falls upon all people, everybody, and everywhere. The mist of darkness in the dream represents “the temptations of the devil, which blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men and leadeth them away into broad roads, that they perish and are lost” (1 Nephi 12:17). These temptations, like the mist, are all around us and they come to us all. In the dream, those who are able to escape the mist of darkness and come to the Tree of Life are those who caught hold of the iron rod and didn’t let go. I think it is worth mentioning that these individuals upon reaching the Tree of Life fell down. In my mind I picture them being exhausted from just having finished a very difficult and extensive journey.

Nephi later describes the rod of iron to be the Word of God. I would like to be a little more specific and for my purposes describe the rod of iron as being the covenants that we enter into with God from the day we are baptized, until we enter into the temple, and beyond. It might even be suggested that our first covenants with God didn’t start with baptism but were made even before we came to earth as President Spencer W. Kimball states:

“We made vows, solemn vows, in the heavens before we came to this mortal life. … We have made covenants. We made them before we accepted our position here on the earth. … We committed ourselves to our Heavenly Father, that if He would send us to the earth and give us bodies and give to us the priceless opportunities that earth life afforded, we would keep our lives clean and would marry in the holy temple and would rear a family and teach them righteousness. This was a solemn oath, a solemn promise” (“‘Be Ye Therefore Perfect’ ” [devotional address, Salt Lake Institute of Religion, 10 Jan. 1975], p. 2).

Based upon the dream that Lehi had and the significance of the rod of iron that led the people to the Tree of Life, in our time and for us the covenants that we make are as important and will in fact, if we are true and faithful, lead us to the Tree of Life as well. The covenants that we enter into throughout our lives are so very important and will guide, sustain, and enable us to return to God. Once we enter into a covenant with God it is ever present with us. Baptism is the gate by which we must enter to return to God’s presence and each covenant that we make thereafter brings us one step closer to God.

Just like those who struggled in the dream through the mist of darkness, we too must struggle against the temptations of the devil to stay pure and uphold our end of each covenant we make. And when we do reach our goal we will be exhausted because it is hard and we have put forth much effort to continually hold to the rod of iron and keep our covenants. For God said that “we will prove them herewith to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” (Abraham 3:25).

Sister Ann Dibb of the Young Women’s General Presidency shared the following discussion she had with her father, President Monson. “One evening I was feeling a bit discouraged and said, ‘Oh, Dad, the blessings we experience as members of the Church and the promised blessings of the temple are so good, if we will only reach out and choose to accept them.’ He responded without hesitation, ‘Ann, they are everything’” (General Conference address October 2009). It is my witness that they indeed are everything. The covenants we make are not meaningless actions that denote we are part of a church or religion, nor are they just to remind and reconstitute us to the prescribed path. Entering into and keeping our covenants are in fact what allows us to prove to God that we will do all that is required at his hand.

Making and keeping covenants takes a desire to enter into the path, humility to do all that God asks, faith in the power and authority of God, hope in the promised blessings, and charity which Moroni states is “bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that we may become the sons and daughters of God” (Moroni 7:48).

Each Sunday we participate in an ordinance which gives us the opportunity to be reminded of our covenants and with whom we have made them. The Sacrament is a time to remember Jesus Christ. When we administer and partake of the sacrament Christ states, “it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do always remember me" (3 Nephi 18:7). The Sacrament is most sacred and should be administered with devotion and love for Jesus Christ. Those who partake of the sacrament should ponder upon the Savior and his power and authority to save. It should be an opportunity to tighten our grip on the iron rod and to weigh carefully the steps ahead and to ensure we stay shielded from the mist of darkness as we continue on the path toward the Tree of Life.

Jesus Christ is central and necessary to each and every covenant we make with God. He is our advocate “who is pleading our cause before the Father” (D&C 45:3). Without Christ we are left to ourselves or to the devil. The iron rod in Lehi’s dream led straight through the mist of darkness to the Tree of Life which is representative of Jesus Christ. When Nephi is being shown the dream of his father by the Spirit of the Lord he is shown the Tree of Life and after recognizing it as the same tree that his father saw he asks to know the interpretation thereof. The Spirit of the Lord tells Nephi to look and Nephi sees the baby Jesus being born of Mary. An angel comes to Nephi and says:

“Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw? And Nephi answered saying, Yea, it is the love of God which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men. Wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things. And the angel spake saying, Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.” (1 Nephi 11)

Nephi continues to be guided by the angel and sees the life of Jesus Christ and the condescension of God. Just as the iron rod led the people in Lehi’s dream to the Tree of Life, the covenants we make will lead us to Jesus Christ and to an understanding of His great condescension unto the children of man.

At baptism we are choosing to become a disciple of Jesus Christ and to live and serve as he did. Last year while I was sitting in a hotel room I was reading the Book of Mormon and came upon a verse of scripture in 3 Nephi 18 which states, “hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up – that which ye have seen me do.” I paused in my reading at that point and felt an overwhelming desire to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. That all of my choices which have guided me to follow Christ throughout my life have been worth all the effort and that I should continue seeking the Lord and to do his will. This verse expresses to me not only what my effort should be as Christ’s disciple but also what kind of Master Jesus is. He is the one who lived the perfect life and he is the one who “trod the wine press alone” (Isaiah 63:3) and through his actions has set an example of love and humility. By being his disciple I too strive to love and be humble.

President Uchtdorf in his conference address last October asked the question, “How do we become true disciples of Jesus Christ?” His response is a quote from the Savior; “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” President Uchtdorf continues by telling the story of when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment is and his reply was “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:37-39). President Uchtdorf continues:

“Love is the defining characteristic of a disciple of Christ. … No, God does not need us to love Him. But oh, how we need to love God! For what we love determines what we seek. What we seek determines what we think and do. What we think and do determines who we are—and who we will become. …When we truly understand what it means to love as Jesus Christ loves us, the confusion clears and our priorities align. Our walk as disciples of Christ becomes more joyful. Our lives take on new meaning. Our relationship with our Heavenly Father becomes more profound. Obedience becomes a joy rather than a burden. … Love is the guiding light that illuminates the disciple’s path and fills our daily walk with life, meaning, and wonder. Love is the measure of our faith, the inspiration for our obedience, and the true altitude of our discipleship. Love is the way of the disciple.” (General Conference address October 2009)