"Covenant Confidence through Jesus Christ"

Last updated on July 28th, 2024 at 12:32 am

General Conference Applied

S3 E14 – Sunday, July 21, 2024 | “Covenant Confidence through Jesus Christ” by Elder Ulisses Soares; April 2024 General Conference

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Podcast Episode Outline

Introduction

Doctrine: Covenants: “All saving ordinances of the priesthood are accompanied by covenants. A covenant is a sacred agreement between God and man. God gives the conditions for the covenant, and we agree to do what He asks us to do. God then promises us certain blessings for our obedience. The sacrament allows us to renew the covenants we have made with the Lord.”

Principle: The Lord’s Covenant People: “When we are baptized into the Church, we enter into the covenant the Lord made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (see Galatians 3:26–29). If we are obedient, we inherit the blessings of that covenant. We have the right to receive help and guidance from the Holy Ghost. Worthy males have the right to hold the priesthood. Families can receive the blessings of the priesthood. We can gain eternal life in the celestial kingdom. There are no greater blessings than these.”

Christlike Attribute: Hope: “As you center your hope in Christ, you have the assurance that all things will work together for your good (see Doctrine and Covenants 90:24). This assurance helps you persevere with faith when you face trials. It can also help you grow from trials and develop spiritual resilience and strength. Hope in Christ provides an anchor for your soul (see Ether 12:4). Hope gives you confidence that God will magnify your diligent, righteous efforts (see Doctrine and Covenants 123:17).”

“Covenant Confidence”

“This confidence is the quiet yet certain assurance of receiving the blessings that God promises for those who keep their covenants and is so needed amid the challenging circumstances of our day. …

“Dear brothers and sisters, those who gain genuine confidence in the covenants made in the house of the Lord through Jesus Christ possess one of the most powerful forces that we can access in this life. …

“I have seen firsthand the Lord’s loving promises and power flowing into the lives of God’s children, strengthening them to face life’s circumstances. The other day my wife came home after her worship in the temple and told me how deeply touched she was by what she experienced there. As she entered the house of the Lord, she saw a man in a wheelchair moving very slowly and a woman walking with great difficulty using a cane, both courageously coming to worship the Lord in His house. As my wife walked into the initiatory area, she saw a sweet sister who was missing one arm—and had only part of another arm—beautifully and celestially performing any tasks she was given.

“As my wife and I talked about that experience, we concluded that only pure and heartfelt confidence in the eternal promises God provides through the holy covenants made with Him in His house could cause those marvelous disciples of Christ to leave their homes on that very freezing day, despite their personal life circumstances.”
“What Do We Mean When We Say the Church Is True?“, Elder J. Devn Cornish, June 2024 Liahona:
- “So what do we mean when we say the Church is true if we don’t mean that it’s perfect? …
  
  “We mean that those who receive the saving ordinances and keep the associated covenants, repenting sincerely as required, positively will be exalted in the celestial kingdom of God.”
Church News Podcast Episode 190: As Church releases 13 new hymns, leaders discuss ongoing hymnbook project and sacred music:
- [Brooke Hirst – Hymnbook Committee Secretary] “‘His Eye Is on the Sparrow’ is internally what we call a ‘borrowed hymn,’ which means it’s a hymn that’s existed for a long time, we just haven’t had it in our collection, but other Christian denominations are singing it in their congregations. So we’re really excited to be singing it along with them. This is one of my favorite new hymns, and I actually brought a little story. I’m just going to read a paragraph for you about the history of this hymn.
  
  “It was written by an author, her name is Civilla D. Martin: ‘Early in the spring of 1905, my husband and I were sojourning in Elmira, New York. We contracted a deep friendship [with] a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle — true saints of God. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nigh 20 years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheelchair. Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them. One day while we were visiting with the Doolittles, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it. Mrs. Doolittle’s response was simple: ‘His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.”
  
  “I love that story. And when I sing that song now, I think of that, of people, not just that specific story, but people that I know that have hard circumstances but that are some of the happiest, most cheerful, joyful people that I know because they have a testimony of Jesus Christ, and they believe in a Heavenly Father who loves them and cares for them. … I love ‘His Eye Is on the Sparrow.'”
“Answers to Prayer“, Elder Brook P. Hales, April 2019 General Conference:
- “Sister Patricia Parkinson was born with normal eyesight, but at age seven she began to go blind. At age nine, Pat began attending the Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind in Ogden, Utah, some 90 miles (145 km) from her home, necessitating her boarding at the school—which included all of the homesickness that a nine-year-old could possibly experience.
  
  “By age 11, she had completely lost her eyesight. Pat returned home permanently at age 15 to attend her local high school. She went on to college and graduated with an undergraduate degree in communication disorders and psychology, and after a heroic struggle against doubting university admissions officials, she entered graduate school and completed a master’s degree in speech language pathology. Pat now works with 53 elementary school students and supervises four speech-language technicians in her school district. She owns her own home and her own automobile, which friends and family members drive when Pat needs transportation.
  
  “At age 10, Pat was scheduled to have yet another medical procedure to address her diminishing eyesight. Her parents had always told her exactly what was going to happen in terms of her medical care, but for some reason they didn’t tell her about this particular procedure. When her parents did tell her that the procedure had been scheduled, Pat, in the words of her mother, ‘was a mess.’ Pat ran to the other room but came back later and said to her parents with some indignation, ‘Let me tell you what. I know it, God knows it, and you might as well know it too. I am going to be blind the rest of my life!’
  
  “Several years ago, Pat traveled to California to visit family members who were living there. While she was outside with her three-year-old nephew, he said to her, ‘Aunt Pat, why don’t you just ask Heavenly Father to give you new eyes? Because if you ask Heavenly Father, He will give you whatever you want. You just have to ask Him.’
  
  “Pat said she was taken aback by the question but responded, ‘Well, sometimes Heavenly Father doesn’t work like that. Sometimes He needs you to learn something, and so He doesn’t give you everything you want. Sometimes you have to wait. Heavenly Father and the Savior know best what is good for us and what we need. So They aren’t going to grant you everything you want in the moment you want it.’
  
  “I’ve known Pat for many years and recently told her that I admired the fact that she is always positive and happy. She responded, ‘Well, you have not been at home with me, have you? I have my moments. I’ve had rather severe bouts of depression, and I’ve cried a lot.’ However, she added, ‘From the time I started losing my sight, it was strange, but I knew that Heavenly Father and the Savior were with my family and me. We handled it the best way we could, and in my opinion, we handled it the right way. I have ended up being a successful enough person, and generally I have been a happy person. I remember His hand being in everything. To those who ask me if I am angry because I am blind, I respond, ‘Who would I be angry with? Heavenly Father is in this with me; I am not alone. He is with me all the time.””
“Admonitions for the Priesthood of God“, President Harold B. Lee, October 1972 General Conference:
- “Elder Gordon B. Hinckley told a story after going into Vietnam that to me was a great lesson. There was a young man, as I remember it, who was in the military service in Vietnam and who joined the Church and was now about to go back to his home country in Southeast Asia.
  
  “Brother Hinckley said to him, ‘What is it going to do to you when you get back home now that you have joined the Church?’
  
  “‘Oh,’ said the youth, ‘I will be cast out. My family will disown me. I will have difficulty in school. I will have no military rank.’
  
  “Elder Hinckley then asked, ‘Isn’t that a pretty big price to pay?’
  
  “And this young man looked at Elder Hinckley and said, ‘Well, the gospel is true, isn’t it?’
  
  “That was a soul-searching question for Brother Hinckley, who replied: ‘Yes, my boy, with all my soul, the gospel is true.’
  
  “And then this young man said, ‘Well, what else matters then?’
  
  “Brethren of the priesthood, if the gospel of Jesus Christ is true—and it is true—what else matters? The Lord may bless us with that rock-bottom testimony that will guide us through all the perils of life if we will just continue to say to ourselves, ‘Because I know that the gospel is true, nothing else matters.'”
“‘Come, Follow Me’“, President Russell M. Nelson, April 2019 General Conference:
- “As many of you know, our family experienced a tender separation three months ago when our daughter Wendy departed from this mortal life. In the final days of her battle with cancer, I was blessed with the opportunity to have our farewell daddy-daughter conversation.
  
  “I held her hands and told her how much I loved her and how grateful I was to be her father. I said: ‘You married in the temple and faithfully honored your covenants. You and your husband welcomed seven children into your home and raised them to be devout disciples of Jesus Christ, valiant Church members, and contributing citizens. And they have chosen spouses of that same caliber. Your daddy is very, very proud of you. You have brought me much joy!’
  
  “She quietly responded, ‘Thank you, Daddy.’
  
  “It was a tender, tearful moment for us. During her 67 years, we worked together, sang together, and often skied together. But that evening, we talked of things that matter most, such as covenants, ordinances, obedience, faith, family, fidelity, love, and eternal life.
  
  “We miss our daughter greatly. However, because of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, we do not worry about her. As we continue to honor our covenants with God, we live in anticipation of our being with her again. Meanwhile, we’re serving the Lord here and she is serving Him there—in paradise.”

What is the speaker inviting me to do, and how might I consider taking action?

“How do we gain such confidence through Jesus Christ? It comes through humility, centering our lives on the Savior, living by the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, receiving the ordinances of salvation and exaltation, and honoring the covenants we make with God in His holy house.

“In his closing remarks at the October 2019 general conference, our dear prophet reminded us about an important step in achieving covenant confidence, saying: ‘Individual worthiness to enter the Lord’s house requires much individual spiritual preparation. … Individual worthiness requires a total conversion of mind and heart to be more like the Lord, to be an honest citizen, to be a better example, and to be a holier person.’ Therefore, if we change our preparation to enter the temple, we will change our experience in the temple, which will transform our lives outside of the temple.” -Elder Soares

Invitations

1: “Preparation isn’t just for those going to the temple for the first time. We all should be perpetually preparing to go to the house of the Lord. One stake I know has adopted the motto ‘Home centered, Church supported, and temple bound.’ Bound is an interesting word in that it means focused on a direction, but it also means fastened to or secured by, resolved and determined, sure. So being temple bound secures us to the Savior, giving us proper direction and stability while ensuring we have covenant confidence through Jesus Christ. Therefore, all of us should intentionally enhance such binding by having our next appointment scheduled with the Lord in His holy house, whether the temple is near or far away.” (“Change our preparation to enter the temple”)

Live your life as if you’re going to the house of the Lord each day.
“A bishop I know refers to the oldest class in Primary not as a ‘Primary’ class but as a ‘temple preparation’ class. In January the bishop has the class members and their teachers come to his office, where they talk about how they will spend the entire year preparing to enter the temple. The bishop takes time to go through the applicable temple recommend interview questions, which are then included in their Primary lessons. He invites the children to be prepared so that when they come to the bishop’s office in one year, they will be confident, covenant confident, ready to receive a temple recommend and enter the Lord’s house. This year the bishop had four young girls who were so excited, prepared, and confident to go to the temple that they wanted the bishop to print their recommends on New Year’s Day at 12:01 a.m.” -Elder Soares
“The Savior desires that we become prepared to understand, with great clarity, exactly how to act as we make covenants with our Heavenly Father in His name. He wants us to be prepared to experience our privileges, promises, and responsibilities; to be prepared to have the spiritual insights and awakenings that we need in this life.” -Elder Soares
When we are preparing for something, we act differently: Jazz music and the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.
Alma 31:21-23 – “[21] Now the place was called by them Rameumptom, which, being interpreted, is the holy stand. [22] Now, from this stand they did offer up, every man, the selfsame prayer unto God, thanking their God that they were chosen of him, and that he did not lead them away after the tradition of their brethren, and that their hearts were not stolen away to believe in things to come, which they knew nothing about. [23] Now, after the people had all offered up thanks after this manner, they returned to their homes, never speaking of their God again until they had assembled themselves together again to the holy stand, to offer up thanks after their manner.”
- 7/19/2024: How often do we attend the temple, but never think about our experience again? Rather than our temple experiences building upon each other, they become disjointed, singular experiences.
- “Are You Capturing Your Spiritual Experiences?“, Gabrielle Shiozawa, April 2023 Liahona: “A thought occurred to me one day.
  
  “What if I recorded my spiritual experiences like I recorded life on social media? What if I documented moments when I recognized God’s hand in my life? …
  
  “I spend so much time capturing my life and being afraid I’ll forget some life experience that is important to me. But what would be way worse than losing the memory of a waterfall hike or a good time with a friend would be losing the memory of how much God loves me and has blessed me throughout my life.
  
  “So along with filling out my gratitude journal to capture my spiritual moments, I started keeping a list of times I felt the Spirit. Some of these experiences include:
  
  “Reading a profound Liahona article
  “Having a spiritual conversation with my aunt
  “Enjoying a beautiful midnight rainstorm
  
  “Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught: ‘Embrace your sacred memories. Believe them. Write them down. Share them with your family. Trust that they come to you from your Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son. Let them bring patience to your doubts and understanding to your difficulties. I promise you that as you willingly acknowledge and carefully treasure the spiritually defining events in your life, more and more will come to you. Heavenly Father knows you and loves you!’
  
  “If you’re struggling to feel or to remember your spiritual experiences and want to see God’s hand in your life more clearly, consider creating a list of moments you feel the Spirit each day. Doing so will help you understand how He speaks to you. And when it’s appropriate, don’t forget to share your experiences with friends and family so they can also ‘have glad tidings of great joy’ (Alma 13:22).”

2: “We also know from the temple that if we want the Spirit of the Lord to be unrestrained in our lives, we simply cannot and must not have unkind feelings toward anyone. Giving place in our hearts or minds for unkind feelings or thoughts will produce unkind words and actions, whether on social media or in our homes, causing the Spirit of the Lord to withdraw from our hearts. Therefore, please cast not away your confidence, but rather, let your confidence wax strong.” (“Change our experience in the temple”)

If you want to experience covenant confidence, then don’t offend the Spirit of the Lord.
“‘Be Still, and Know That I Am God’“, Elder David A. Bednar, April 2024 General Conference:
- “The temple is another holy place specifically set apart for worshipping and serving God and learning eternal truths. We think, act, and dress differently in the house of the Lord from any other places that we may frequent. In His holy house, if we will, we can be still and know that God is our Heavenly Father, we are His children, and Jesus Christ is our Savior.
  
  “The principal purposes of sacred time and holy places are exactly the same: to repeatedly focus our attention upon Heavenly Father and His plan, the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement, the edifying power of the Holy Ghost, and the promises associated with the sacred ordinances and covenants of the Savior’s restored gospel.
  
  “Today I repeat a principle I previously have emphasized. Our homes should be the ultimate combination of both sacred time and holy place wherein individuals and families can ‘be still’ and know that God is our Heavenly Father, we are His children, and Jesus Christ is our Savior. Leaving our homes to worship on the Sabbath and in the house of the Lord certainly is essential. But only as we return to our homes with the spiritual perspective and strength obtained in those holy places and activities can we then sustain our focus upon the primary purposes of mortal life and overcome the temptations so prevalent in our fallen world.
  
  “Our ongoing Sabbath, temple, and home experiences should fortify us with the power of the Holy Ghost, with an ongoing and stronger covenant connection to the Father and the Son, and with ‘a perfect brightness of hope’ in God’s eternal promises.
  
  “As home and Church are gathered together in one in Christ, we may be troubled on every side, but we will not be distressed in our minds and hearts. We may be perplexed by our circumstances and challenges, but we will not be in despair. We may be persecuted, but we will also recognize that we are never alone. We can receive spiritual strength to become and remain firm, steadfast, and true.”
Christlike Attribute: Hope: “As you center your hope in Christ, you have the assurance that all things will work together for your good (see Doctrine and Covenants 90:24). This assurance helps you persevere with faith when you face trials. It can also help you grow from trials and develop spiritual resilience and strength. Hope in Christ provides an anchor for your soul (see Ether 12:4). Hope gives you confidence that God will magnify your diligent, righteous efforts (see Doctrine and Covenants 123:17).”

3: “My dear friends, if there is one thing we could possess—and one thing we could pass on to our children and grandchildren that would help each in the tests and trials ahead—it would be confidence in the covenants made through Jesus Christ.” (“Transform our lives outside of the temple”)

Your posterity will be blessed beyond comprehension if you pay the price now to develop covenant confidence.
“The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives” by William Stixrud PhD and Ned Johnson:
- “A recent study showed that, other than showing your child love and affection, managing your own stress is the best thing you can do to be an effective parent. …
  
  “Just as our kids mirror our stress, they can also mirror our calm. You probably know calm people – those who always project an aura of wellbeing and are able to maintain a sense of control while accepting the messiness in the world around them. They are the ones you want to call in a crisis, or whose presence you crave when you’re feeling edgy, because they somehow help level you out. Without preaching, without even doing much of anything, these people communicate calm and confidence to those around them and help others develop a similar sense of balance in their own lives. …
  
  “Much of the work involved in providing a non-anxious presence for your kid begins with you. …
  
  “Commit to your own stress management. In a survey conducted in the late 1990s, children and teenagers said that they wanted, above all, even more than spending more time with their parents, was for their parents to be happier and less stressed. And this was in a period before ubiquitous smartphones when the pace of life wasn’t as manic as it is today.”
“The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics” by Daniel James Brown:
- “When asked how he accounted for his varsity’s success this year, [Al Ulbrickson] went straight to the heart of the matter: ‘Every man in the boat had absolute confidence in every one of his mates … Why they won cannot be attributed to individuals … Heartfelt cooperation all spring was responsible for the victory.’ …
  
  “In the last desperate few hundred meters of the race, in the searing pain and bewildering noise of that final furious sprint, there had come a singular moment when Joe realized with startling clarity that there was nothing more he could do to win the race, beyond what he was already doing. Except for one thing. He could finally abandon all doubt, trust absolutely without reservation that he and the boy in front of him and the boys behind him would all do precisely what they needed to do at precisely the instant they needed to do it. He had known in that instant that there could be no hesitation, no shred of indecision. He had had no choice but to throw himself into each stroke as if he were throwing himself off of a cliff into a void, with unquestioned faith that the others would be there to save him from catching the whole weight of the shell on his blade. And he had done it. Over and over, forty-four times per minute, he had hurled himself blindly into his future, not just believing but knowing that the other boys would be there for him, all of them, moment by precious moment.”
“Heart of the Matter: What 100 Years of Living Have Taught Me” by President Russell M. Nelson:
- “Our challenge is to start today to increase our faith. … Our opportunity is to exercise the kind of faith that will help us accomplish the impossible, whatever that may entail. …
  
  “Faith takes work. Receiving revelation takes work. But ‘every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.’ So ask, and then ask again.
  
  “God knows what will help our faith grow. Ask Him, and then ask again. …
  
  “Faith is the power that enables us, who feel so unlikely, to accomplish the impossible. Faith is the power that helps each of us conquer our individual challenges and do the work the Lord requires us to do.“

Take Action

How will you take action on the invitations extended in this General Conference address?

Conclusion

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