“Covenant Belonging (excerpts),” New Era, Nov. 2019, 36–37.
Covenant Belonging (excerpts)
Covenant belonging is to make and keep solemn promises to God and each other through sacred ordinances that invite the power of godliness to be manifest in our lives. When we covenant all we are, we can become more than we are. Covenant belonging gives us place, narrative, capacity to become. It produces faith unto life and salvation. …
To belong with God and to walk with each other on His covenant path is to be blessed by covenant belonging.
First, covenant belonging centers in Jesus Christ. … Every good and promised blessing comes to those who remain faithful to the end. …
Along life’s path, we may lose faith in God, but He never loses faith in us. As it were, His porch light is always on. …
Second, the Book of Mormon is evidence we can hold in our hand of covenant belonging. The Book of Mormon is the promised instrument for the gathering of God’s children, prophesied as a new covenant. …
Restored priesthood authority and power to bless all His children is a third dimension of covenant belonging. …
Priesthood can bless literally from cradle to grave—from an infant’s name and blessing to a grave dedication. Priesthood blessings heal, comfort, counsel. …
Finally, the blessings of covenant belonging come when we follow the Lord’s prophet and rejoice in temple-covenant living, including in marriage. Covenant marriage becomes supernal and eternal as we daily choose the happiness of our spouse and family before our own. …
… Everything good and eternal is centered in the living reality of God, our Eternal Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, and His Atonement. …
With us at the beginning, He is with us, in all our covenant belonging, to the end.