I Can Keep My Covenant

By Sydney S. Reynolds

“I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).

A covenant is a promise or agreement. To covenant with someone means to “come together,” or to be bound together by our promise or agreement. When we make a covenant with Heavenly Father, there are things we do to show we have made those promises.

Baptism is the occasion for one of the first covenants we make with Him. Being baptized shows Him that we want to keep His commandments. We promise to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, to always remember Him, and to keep His commandments. The Lord promises us that we will always have His Spirit to be with us.

When we take the name of Jesus Christ upon ourselves, we are part of His family. We are known as Christians. We are willing “to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places” (Mosiah 18:9). We want to act like Jesus Christ and follow Him.

Jesus has given us guidelines to help us follow Him. He expects us to love each other, to bear one another’s burdens, to mourn with those who are sad, and to comfort those who need comfort. That’s what He did when He was on the earth.

Each day as we choose the right, we are keeping our covenant and growing in faith. Each week when we take the sacrament, we renew the covenant we made at baptism. As we keep the covenant we have made, the Lord’s Spirit will be with us, and one day we will be worthy to go to the temple and make other very important covenants with Heavenly Father.

Instructions

Make a movie of your personal story. Mount page 13 on heavy paper, fill in the blank, and cut around the strips containing the words and the pictures. Choose only one of the baptism pictures to use in your movie; cut along one of the dotted lines to discard the picture you won’t be using. Form one long strip by gluing the strips containing the words and the pictures together. Cut along the dotted lines in the display frame to make two slots. Pull the strip through the display frame to show your story. Glue the left edge of the first frame to the right edge of the last frame to make a continuous reel.

Illustrated by Bethany Scow

My Faith Grows When I Make and Keep Sacred Covenants

Make a Movie of Your Personal Story.

I, _________________ , Covenant with the Lord When …
(write your name)

I Am Baptized

I Take the Sacrament

I Go to the Temple

Sharing Time Ideas

Give each class one of the following questions and scripture references. Have the classes find their scriptures and share the answer to their question with the Primary. Questions and references: Who must be baptized? (John 3:5; 2 Ne. 31:5); Why should I be baptized? (Mark 1:4; Mark 16:16; Matt. 3:15); How should I be baptized? (A of F 1:4; 3 Ne. 11:25–26); When can I be baptized? (D&C 68:25); What do I promise at baptism? (D&C 20:77; Mosiah 18:7–10; Mosiah 21:35). Have an older child (or class) tell about being baptized.
“My Gospel Standards” (see My Achievement Days booklet; Liahona, April 1999, 8–9) can help us be worthy to go to the temple. Write each standard on a separate card. Also write a situation in which each gospel standard can be applied on separate cards. Post each set of cards facing the wall. Have the children turn over one of each set to try to get a match. Post the matches together. Example situations: My friend’s brother likes really loud music, and the words are awful. A girl in my class invited me to a party next Sunday. Sam dropped some money; he’ll probably never miss these two coins. Sing “I Love to See the Temple” (Children’s Songbook, 95; Tambulilit, June 1992, 5).