The covenant path is not a simple checklist

 

Are You Still Willing?

By Elder Kevin W. Pearson

The covenant path is not a simple checklist; it is a process of spiritual growth and deepening commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. The central purpose of every commandment, principle, covenant, and ordinance is to build faith and trust in Christ. Our determination to center our lives on Christ, therefore, must be consistent—not conditional, situational, or superficial. We cannot afford to take vacation days or personal time off from our willingness to “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places.”⁷ Discipleship is not cheap, because the companionship of the Holy Ghost is priceless....

Carnal security is seeking for and trusting in worldly things instead of Christ—in other words, looking through a secular lens instead of a spiritual lens. The Holy Ghost gives us the capacity to see “things as they really are, and … as they really will be.”¹¹ Only “by the power of the Holy Ghost [can we] know the truth of all things”¹² and be not deceived. We place Christ at the center of our lives and pledge our willingness to obey His commandments not because we are blind but because we can see....

[The parable of the ten virgins...] This parable is a metaphor for our time. Many leave the Savior and their covenants long before they leave His Church....

The most powerful spiritual influence in the life of a child is the righteous example of loving parents and grandparents who faithfully keep their own sacred covenants. Intentional parents teach their children faith in the Lord Jesus Christ so that they too “may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”¹⁵ Casual and inconsistent covenant keeping leads to spiritual casualty. The spiritual damage is often greatest on our children and grandchildren. Parents and grandparents, are we still willing?

President Russell M. Nelson has warned that “in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”¹⁶ This is a clear and unmistakable warning to trim our lamps and increase our spiritual oil reserves. Are we still willing to follow the living prophets? What is the level of spiritual oil in your lamp? What changes in your personal life would enable you to have the influence of the Holy Ghost more constantly?

Truly Come to Know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ

 "As we set aside time to truly come to know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, we will be better able to become more like Them. And doing so will also help us find meaning and purpose as we go throughout life." 

Mindy Selu, "The Lord's Charge to "Seek Learning," " Liahona, February 2022, pg 28. 

Our Trek

The Trek Continues!

By Elder M. Russell Ballard

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

I have a deep conviction that if we lose our ties to those who have gone before us, including our pioneer forefathers and mothers, we will lose a very precious treasure.

Many of us are on amazing journeys of discovery—leading to personal fulfillment and spiritual enlightenment. Some of us, however, are on a trek that leads to sorrow, sin, anguish, and despair.

In this context, please ask yourself: What is your final destination? Where are your footsteps taking you? And is your journey leading you to that “multiplicity of blessings” the Savior has promised?8

What is Your Purpose?

What is your purpose? You brethren were foreordained in a premortal realm to bear the priesthood (see Alma 13:2–3). And you sisters were chosen before the foundation of the world to bear and care for God’s children; in doing so, you glorify God (see D&C 132:63). Have you sisters considered what it really means to be co-creators with God?

Elder Russell M. Nelson, "What Will You Choose?" Ensign, Jan 2015, 31. 

Trials

President Thomas S. Monson reminds us that “life was never intended to consist of a glut of luxury, be an easy course, or filled only with success. There are those games which we lose, those races in which we finish last, and those promotions which never come. Such experiences provide an opportunity for us to show our determination and to rise above disappointment.”

Thomas S. Monson, “Go For It!” Ensign, May  1989, 44. 

The Vision of Mortality

There’s not any one of you who has done anything that you can’t fix and who can’t have a sense of peace and calm as you continue your sojourn in mortality. I ask Heavenly Father to bless you now that you capture the vision, maybe in a deeper and a more meaningful way than you ever have before, of who you are and what the purpose of your mortal existence is. I ask Heavenly Father to bless you with faith to trust in Him and to call down the blessings of heaven into your lives.

Elder M. Russell Ballard, “Preparing for the Future,” From an address given to young single adults at an April 28, 2011, meeting in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.