Why are covenants important in my life?

Prepare Yourself Spiritually

We make covenants when we receive ordinances such as baptism, ordination to the priesthood, and temple ordinances. A covenant is a sacred agreement between God and His children. God sets specific conditions, and He promises to bless us as we obey these conditions. Making and keeping covenants qualifies us to receive the blessings God has promised. When we choose not to keep covenants, we cannot receive the blessings. Our covenants guide the choices we make and help us resist temptation.

Resources to Help You Prepare

These resources are to help you prepare for the “Learn together” section of the meeting.

• Exodus 19:5; Doctrine and Covenants 35:24; 90:24 (Blessings come when we keep covenants)

• Mosiah 5; Alma 53:10–18; 56:5–8 (Examples in the Book of Mormon of people making and keeping covenants)

• Doctrine and Covenants 82:10 (The Lord is bound when we obey)

• David A. Bednar, “Exceeding Great and Precious Promises,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2017, 90–93

• Henry B. Eyring, “Daughters in the Covenant,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2014, 125–28

• Gerrit W. Gong, “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 97–98

• “Covenant,” True to the Faith (2004), 44

• “Walk in His Light” (video)

• “Press Forward” (video)

• Music for youth theme: “Press Forward”

Questions to Ponder before You Teach

How have your covenants influenced your life? What blessings have you received as you have made and kept sacred covenants?

How can you help the young women understand the covenants they have made and will make in the future? How will understanding covenants influence the young women to live more righteously?

What can the young women do to prepare to learn? For example, they could read a talk, watch a video, or study a scripture related to this doctrine.

Teaching in the Savior’s Way

The Savior prepared Himself to teach by spending time alone in prayer and fasting. In private moments, He sought His Father’s guidance (see 3 Nephi 19:19–23). Follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost as you prepare to teach the young women about ordinances and covenants.

Meeting Outline

1. Counsel Together and Share Experiences

Led by a member of the class presidency; approximately 5–10 minutes

Lead a discussion about items such as the following:

• Our class: Who is missing today? What visits do we need to make? Who should we invite to an upcoming activity? Who needs our help and prayers?

• Our responsibilities: What assignments do we need to make? What assignments have we fulfilled? How have we invited others to come unto Christ, and how can we invite others now?

• Our lives: Remind the class of the discussion from the last meeting. What experiences have we had with applying what we learned? What experiences have we had in the past few weeks that strengthened our testimonies of the gospel?

If possible, discuss these items beforehand in a class presidency meeting.

2. Learn Together

Led by a leader or teacher or a member of the class; approximately 25–35 minutes

After studying the above resources and following the inspiration of the Spirit, you may select one or more of the activities below to help class members understand the doctrine.

• Invite the young women to imagine they are trying to help a friend of another faith understand covenants. Invite them to study “Covenant” in True to the Faith or the scriptures listed in this outline and prepare ways to explain covenants to their friend. Invite them to role-play teaching each other. Ask them to include in their explanation reasons why their covenants are important to them.

• Invite the young women to search for the phrase “great and precious promises” in Elder David A. Bednar’s talk “Exceeding Great and Precious Promises.” Ask them to search each paragraph that contains this phrase and find and share at least one thing they learn about God’s “precious promises” to us. Questions like the following might help the class discuss what they learn: What has God promised to us? What “sources of divine help” has God given us to help us remember His promises? How do covenants help us receive His promises?

• Invite the young women to read scriptures (such as those listed in this outline) and list on the board the blessings promised in these scriptures to those who make and keep sacred covenants. Ask the young women how these blessings are fulfilled in our lives (encourage them to share examples). Testify of the blessings you have experienced as you have kept covenants.

• Invite the young women to review President Henry B. Eyring’s talk “Daughters in the Covenant.” Ask them to look for examples of covenant-keeping women and girls in the talk and to write on the board how each sister kept her covenants. What do the young women learn from these sisters? What examples of covenant-keeping women have influenced their lives?

• Read together paragraphs 3–6 in Elder Gerrit W. Gong’s message “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today,” and give the young women a few moments to ponder what his words teach them about covenants. What do our covenants and Jesus Christ’s Atonement “help us hold on” to and “let go” of? When have we felt this power in our lives? What can we do to realize the power of covenants in our lives?

3. Plan to Act

Led by a member of the class presidency; approximately 5–10 minutes

• Ask the young women to discuss any feelings or impressions they had during the meeting. What was meaningful to them? Is there something they can do personally or as a class to apply what they have learned?

• Give the young women a few minutes to record what they will do in the coming weeks to act on their impressions. Invite them to share their ideas.

• Remind the young women that they will have the opportunity to share their experiences at the beginning of the next meeting.