Remember the Power of Covenants in Our Lives

Thank you very much for that—that is awesome. The Spirit is so strong. Brothers and sisters, it is a pleasure to be with you. I would like to express my feelings as Sister Hinckley did when she spoke in a panel at a Women’s Conference Devotional, she said: “First of all, I’m just absolutely overwhelmed with the number of people here. Don’t you folks have anything to do?”⁷ I loved her humor. Go watch it, she is hilarious.
I am overwhelmed and humbled by this opportunity. I have been here at Ensign since last May. Given my experience in higher education outside of the Church Education System, I can tell you it has been a great experience! Students, you have a great school. I am amazed by your examples as capable and trusted disciples of Jesus Christ. The faculty and staff are “ALL IN” with the mission to help you and themselves become more capable and trusted disciples of Jesus Christ. I appreciate the music, testimonies, and messages from all the devotionals. It is truly a blessing every week. I did not go to a Church institution, and I feel like I am playing catch up. You truly are blessed to have this type of education. I thank President Kusch and anyone else who was involved in allowing me to present a message today. They took a HUGE risk in letting me speak!
Today I want to share a message concerning our sacred covenants. Specifically, our ability to recognize the POWER of those covenants in our lives.
To start, I wish to quote President Nelson. He said recently “Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again. We will see miraculous indications that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory. But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”
“My beloved brothers and sisters, I plead with you to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation.”¹

While I love this quote and it is mentioned often, I think we miss out on the rest of his message that he gave that day. I feel quite guilty at times, and maybe for good reason, when I hear it because it says we need to have the “constant influence” of the holy ghost. How is that possible? Have you ever felt this way? Do you wonder if you have the constant influence of the Holy Ghost? If not, how do you get it?
On closer inspection of the message from our dear prophet and listening to others speak on this subject I realized that President Nelson gives us the steps to ensure we have that “constant influence of the Holy Ghost”¹ and he attributes it to the same pattern and steps that Joseph Smith used. Let me share these with you now and please take note of where you lack.

1. “What wisdom do you lack? What do you feel an urgent need to know or understand? (In other words, what questions do you have?)”¹
2. “Find a quiet place where you can regularly go.“¹
3. “Humble yourself before God! Pour out your heart to your Heavenly Father…Turn to Him for answers, comfort, concerns, fears, weakness, the very longings of your heart. And then LISTEN! Write the thoughts that come to your mind. Record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take.”¹
4. “Repeat this process day after day, month after month, year after year, you will grow into the principle of revelation.”¹

Let’s start with step one: What wisdom do you lack? What do you feel an urgent need to know or understand?
As a young boy I was enamored with sports. I lived and dreamed of sports daily. I still have my childhood writing assignments from elementary school where I described the Utah Jazz winning an NBA championship. Of course, they never did. I know, I am still holding out hope. As a consequence of this infatuation, I unfortunately developed a reading problem. All the reading I ever did was from the weekly statistics in the newspaper or reading Sports Illustrated magazine at the library. I know, I am also old enough to remember reading actual magazines! That was my social media.
When I began junior high school, I was tested to determine my reading level. To my mother’s surprise, not mine, I was a 7^th grader with a 3^rd grade reading level. She was not pleased with me, as you might imagine. She immediately set up and paid for a weekly tutor where I was assigned books like Treasure Island, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and many other classics. At first, I resisted but eventually found a love for these wonderful books. I realized that I had been missing out! This love of reading developed, and I eventually increased to the correct reading level by the time I was in 12^th grade. This love led me to the discovery of my testimony of the Book of Mormon. Sometimes we do not know we are missing out until we explore and realize how much we lack. Maybe you can ask yourself this question. What are you missing out on? The nature and character of our Heavenly Father is clear concerning questions. “Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you”². Ask yourself, do I wait for answers to find me, or do I seek them? Have I asked for myself? Do I take accountability for my learning?
One of the most powerful examples for me during this process of increasing my reading level was not the books I read, but the mother who spent hours sitting in a parked car every week for many years waiting for me to finish my tutoring. I knew she took learning seriously. In fact, she took it so seriously that she sacrificed her time to make sure I knew it too. Her example of Christlike love taught me to reach out and discover for myself what I was missing. I am so grateful for loving, nurturing mothers and women! I will always remember the power of covenants when I think of her! I am sure she is listening to this so I will say, “Thanks Mom! You too Dad!”
Number two, “Find a quiet place where you can regularly go.”
Everyone needs to find a quiet place. Where is yours? Do you have one? Do you have a variety of places? The Temple is a great place, but you cannot be there all the time. Have you found a place that is accessible all the time? At times mine is not even a place, it is music, or the scriptures, messages, or art. Sometimes I pray in my car as I drive. The point I wish to emphasize is that you and I must find a place that we can go to at any moment that we need it. I have found profound power in covenants when I am in my quiet places. That of course is his promise that he makes with us “that they may always have his Spirit to be with them”³!
Step three, “Humble yourself before God! Pour out your heart to your Heavenly Father…Turn to Him for answers, comfort, concerns, fears, weakness, the very longings of your heart. And then LISTEN! Write the thoughts that come to your mind. Record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take.”
I would like to give you an assignment to take with you today. Are you listening? I want you to find three people that you deeply trust. A parent, spouse, friend, or leader. I would suggest at least one of them be your spouse if you are married. I want you to ask each of them these three questions.
“What is it like to communicate with me?”
“What are my strengths in my communication with you?”
“What would you like me to do better when I communicate with you?”
When you ask these questions, you should not respond or talk at all, just LISTEN. Record the words from each person on a device and then transcribe their words on paper and compare the responses. You will find common themes and it will provide the correction you need in your life, which in turn will humble you and reveal your pride. We all must develop a willingness to receive and give corrections. Most of all, ask your Heavenly Father these same questions, then ponder and record your thoughts. Pour out your heart to him. He will provide you with the necessary corrections that man cannot see. I promise you will feel a burden lifted as you discover more about yourself.
Number four, “Repeat this process day after day, month after month, year after year, you will “grow into the principle of revelation.”
Can you look back on your life up to this point and recognize the power of covenants in your life? Can you tell when that power has been activated? It took me too long to realize and trust how that power guided and continues to guide my life and the lives of others. I am still working on this myself. Let me share a few stories and see if you can tell when the power of covenants was activated as well as the lifelong blessing of receiving revelation.
In February of 1846 the Prophet Brigham Young was anxious to go west and flee persecution in Nauvoo. Ordinances of the temple had just begun, and many had received them. Here are his words.
“Notwithstanding that I had announced that we would not attend to the administration of the ordinances, the House of the Lord was thronged all day, the anxiety being so great to receive, as if the brethren would have us stay here and continue the endowments until our way would be hedged up, and our enemies would intercept us. But I informed the brethren that this was not wise, and that we should build more Temples, and have further opportunities to receive the blessings of the Lord, as soon as the saints were prepared to receive them. In this Temple we have been abundantly rewarded, if we receive no more. I also informed the brethren that I was going to get my wagons started and be off. I walked some distance from the Temple supposing the crowd would disperse, but on returning I found the house filled to overflowing.
“Looking upon the multitude and knowing their anxiety, as they were thirsting and hungering for the word, we continued to work diligently in the House of the Lord. Two hundred and ninety-five persons received ordinances”⁴
As result of President Brigham Young’s recognition of covenants, Sarah Rich, a pioneer of that era, recounted the following:
“But many were the blessings we had received in the house of the Lord, which has caused us joy and comfort in the midst of all our sorrows, and enabled us to have faith in God, knowing he would guide us and sustain us… For if it had not been for the faith and knowledge that was bestowed upon us in that temple by the influence and help of the Spirit of the Lord, our journey would have been like one taking a leap in the dark” Sarah DeArmon Pea Rich autobiography, 1885-1893.
What a wonderful story of covenant power! I hope we all regard our sacred covenants in such a way. That power carried my family, as well as many others, to this great valley. How could they do it without that power?
Another story from my own heritage and coincidentally in Nauvoo Illinois is the story called “Ben’s Gift” and was written by Howard Driggs concerning his father Benjamin Woodbury Driggs Sr. Here is his story.
“Young Benjamin Woodbury Driggs was approaching his 7th birthday as the Latter-Day Saints were preparing to make their exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois. He had been begging his father Shadrach, who managed one of the larger wagon shops in Nauvoo, to build him a small wagon just like the big ones that were being manufactured around the city. He promised to run all the errands for his mother, and so his persistence paid off. When he woke up the morning of his birthday, there he beheld, to the joy of his heart, a freshly painted little wagon! With the help of his father, they fashioned a harness that would allow his dog Bones to pull the wagon with young Ben inside. Soon he was seen scurrying around town and running errands for his mom. One day as he and the wagon were flying through town, he stopped for a few minutes to observe the workers cutting the stones for the new temple. He was impressed by the skill as they fashioned each stone with a hammer and chisel. As he was watching them, the attention of the workers focused on Ben and his wagon. Hmm…the foreman thought, having a wagon that size would really help them transport their tools around the construction site. “Say, young man, would you consider donating your wagon to the Lord’s temple? We can be faster workers if we had the use of your little wagon.”
Ben was shocked. They were asking him to give up the one thing he held dear – his new wagon. He urged Bones forward and quickly sped off to home. Unknown to Ben the temple foreman was well acquainted with his father. Later that day, his father arrived home from work and shared the request with Eliza his wife. What should they do? They decided to explain that all of God’s followers will at times be required to do hard things. To give up something we like for the greater good of others was an attribute we should all strive for. After explaining this to the 7-year-old, they said, “Tonight when you say your prayers, ask Heavenly Father what you should do. He will answer your prayers.” As young Ben retired for the night, he did pray, and early the next morning, he tearfully, along with his dad, delivered his wagon to the construction site.”
“Thank you, Laddy!” the foreman exclaimed, “I doubt anyone has given more to the temple than you! God bless you!” ⁶
I do not know if Ben recognized the power of covenants, but because his story has been inspirational to my family we have benefited from his example. Do you notice the sacred respect and understanding that they had regarding the power of covenants?
One last story from my own personal life.
In October of 2019, my wife and I welcomed our third daughter Mauri. She was born with a genetic abnormality which affects many functions on one side of her body. She had a narrow airway, abnormal jaw, as well as kidney and spinal issues. She was not able to eat like a normal baby and required a feeding tube which ran through her nose and later her stomach. Within the first two months she was equipped with tracheostomy amongst a variety of other devices to monitor her health. This was a very difficult time for my wife as she was tasked with her care most days. For myself, I felt incredibly anxious, fearful, and concerned. I worried about treatment, future social interactions, and overall lifetime care she would need from us and others. I remember distinctly coming home to be with my older children while Mauri went in for surgery on her jaw. I was overcome by the whole experience. I collapsed to my knees in our living room and pleaded with my Heavenly Father to help me endure this trial. I was overcome by peace and comfort as I prayed. I felt the assurance that He was aware of my situation and would help us. I felt my Savior’s love concerning this precious child I had in my care and her bright future.
Since that time Mauri has grown to the age of five. She is full of light, personality, and love. While she still has a long journey of difficult trials, I know my Heavenly Father is watching over us. She is an angel in our home. My covenant relationship with my Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ are the power I rely on to get me through.
I testify that our Heavenly Father knows each of us. Through his Spirit we can be protected from temptation. If we falter, I testify that He will heal us through the gift of repentance. I testify that He is performing miracles in my life. He knows what we need. If we exercise faith, hope, and charity He will help us keep and maintain the “constant influence of the Holy Ghost”. We must reach out, seek him, repent, and keep the commandments. The power of covenants is Jesus Christ! May we remember our sacred covenants and keep our relationship strong with Him. Remember Him! I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Sources
¹Russell M. Nelson, “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives”, April 2018
²Doctrine and Covenants, 4:7
³Doctrine and Covenants, 20:77,79
⁴History of the Church, 7:579
⁵Sarah Rich autobiography, typescript, Church History Library, Salt Lake City, 42–43
⁶Howard R. Driggs, Ben the Wagon Boy, Stevens & Wallis SLC, (1944), p. 9”
⁷Wives and Daughters of the First Presidency, April 30, 1999