“We Are the Children of the Covenant,” Liahona, Oct. 2024.
Come, Follow Me
We Are the Children of the Covenant
All His Majesty, by Yongsung Kim, courtesy of Havenlight
In 3 Nephi 20–21 we read about the covenants God has made with His children. Jesus Christ taught His disciples in the Americas:
“Ye are of the covenant which the Father made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham: And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
“… Ye are the children of the covenant” (3 Nephi 20:25–26).
President Russell M. Nelson has repeatedly emphasized the importance of remembering this great truth.
What does it mean to be children of the covenant?
Children of the covenant make the same covenants, or sacred promises, with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that They made with Abraham (see Abraham 2:8–11).
In 1843 the Lord told Joseph Smith:
“Abraham received promises concerning his seed, and of the fruit of his loins—from whose loins ye are … ; and as touching Abraham and his seed, … both in the world and out of the world should they continue as innumerable as the stars. …
“This promise is yours also, because ye are of Abraham” (Doctrine and Covenants 132:30–31).
The promised blessings apply to us also. President Nelson taught that the promises include “the right to receive the fulness of the gospel, enjoy the blessings of the priesthood, and qualify for God’s greatest blessing—that of eternal life.”
What if I’m not a descendant of Abraham?
When we are baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we become part of the family of Abraham. We then become “accounted as sons and daughters of Jesus Christ, being His children by obedience to the gospel.”
What does Heavenly Father covenant with His children?
Heavenly Father covenants that through the redemption and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we can return to live with and become like Him. This is the purpose of the plan of salvation. President Nelson taught: “Heavenly Father’s plan for His children allows us to live where and how He lives and ultimately to become more and more like Him. His plan literally makes the richest blessings of all eternity available to us, including the potential for us to become ‘joint-heirs with Christ’ [Romans 8:17].”
Come, Follow Me, by Kolby Larsen, may not be copied
Why do we make covenants with Heavenly Father?
We return to our Heavenly Father by making and keeping covenants. This is what prophets refer to as walking the covenant path. Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained: “We embark upon the path at the gate of baptism. … In the course of the covenant path … , we receive all the ordinances and covenants pertaining to salvation and exaltation.”
What is the new and everlasting covenant?
Another name for the Abrahamic covenant is the new and everlasting covenant. It is new in the sense that it was restored through Joseph Smith as the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is everlasting because it is the same covenant God has made with His children whenever people have been willing to receive it.
Every covenant we make is part of the new and everlasting covenant, including baptism, receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood for men, and the temple endowment and sealing (eternal marriage).