Latest / ToddTalks--Spirit By Design: Your Weekly Survival Guide / Making And Keeping Covenants Is How You Grow Stronger Spiritually

Transcript

Making And Keeping Covenants Is How You Grow Stronger Spiritually · ToddTalks--Spirit By Design: Your Weekly Survival Guide

• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Let me ask you a question.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: What if one of the most powerful ways to become spiritually stronger isn't simply learning more about Jesus Christ, but making and keeping promises with him.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: That's what we're going to do today.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to talk about covenants.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: This is Todd Talks, Spirit by Design, where I help you design the spiritual life that you desire to help you be prepared for the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: So let's talk about covenants.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Because I think sometimes we hear the word covenant and it sounds complicated.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: It sounds like church language, something theological, something connected to baptism or the temple that we don't necessarily think about every day.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: But what if covenants are actually one of God's greatest systems for developing spiritual strength?
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: Let's think about physical fitness.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: You don't become physically strong because you once walked into a gym.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: You become strong because you repeatedly put your body through stress, the right kind of stress.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Tear the muscles, you recover, you eat correctly, and you train consistently.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: And over time, your muscles grow, your capacity changes, your abilities grow and improve.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Spiritual fitness works in pretty much the same way.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: God gives us commandments, Christ gives us grace.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: The priesthood provides ordinances, and through covenants, we voluntarily bind ourselves to Jesus Christ and invite his power into our lives.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: President Russell M.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Nelson taught that the moral and spiritual power we need comes from God the Father and Jesus Christ, and that we gain access to their power by making and keeping covenants with them.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: So, what is a covenant?
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Covenants are not just promises we make to God, they are a two-way street.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: They're a two-way promise.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: They're a pathway through which God promises to bless bless, strengthen, and sanctify and transform us.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: And we promise to do certain things in reading in order for Him to be able to do that.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's a two-way street.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Today I want to look at four things: the Abrahamic covenant, the baptismal covenant, temple covenants, and why keeping covenants increases our spiritual fitness.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: By the end of this, I want to look at our covenants differently.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: Not as a list of things God is asking us to give up, but as a system he has designed to help us become the person he knows that we can become.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: So part one, what is a covenant?
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: That's the foundation.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Father Todd D.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: Car Christofferson taught a covenant is an agreement between God and man, an accord whose terms are set by God.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's important.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: He sets the terms.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: The covenant isn't simply God, I'll do whatever I want and you bless me.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: God sets the terms, and Alder Castopherson taught that what God does in return, he binds himself to sustain, sanctify, and exalt us as we commit to serve him and keep his commandments.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: Think about that.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: God isn't looking for opportunities to catch us breaking the rules.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: He's trying to create a relationship with us in which his power can change you.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: It can change me.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's why covenants matter.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: The covenant creates the connection.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: The connection creates access.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: The access creates power.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: DNC 84, where it explains a lot of this, the Lord teaches that through priesthood ordinances the power of godliness is manifest.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: And the power of godliness is God's power helping us become more like Him.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: That is spiritual fitness.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: In ancient days, our father Abraham received a covenant from the Lord, the Abrahamic covenant.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: Abraham wanted something.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: He wasn't merely looking for worldly success.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: In Abraham 1 2, it says he sought for the blessings of the fathers and desired to be one who possessed righteousness.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: God entered into a covenant with Abraham, and the promises were extraordinary.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: His prosperity would become numerous, his descendants would receive the gospel, they would have priesthood blessings, and most importantly, through Abraham's seed, all the families of the earth would be blessed.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's a little bit bigger than God is going to bless me.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: The Abrahamic covenant says, God will bless you so that you can become a blessing to other people.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's a different way to think about spirituality.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: God doesn't strengthen you just for your own comfort.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: He strengthens you for your mission.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: He gives you truth so you can share truth.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: He gives you spiritual strength so you can strengthen your family and all those around you.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: He gives you testimony so you can testify.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: He gives you priesthood ordinances so his power can operate in your life and the lives of those around you.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: Abraham 2.11 teaches that through Abraham's seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: The best part is you don't have to be a litheral seed, a literal descendant of Abraham, to receive the blessings of this covenant.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: The church teaches that those who accept the gospel and were baptized become Abraham's seed by covenant and can receive the promised blessings through faithfulness.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: So when you make covenants with God, you aren't just joining a church.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: You're stepping into a divine family, you're stepping into a divine responsibility.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: You're saying, God bless me and use me, please, to bless somebody else.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: Through the baptismal covenant, we join the church.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Baptism.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: In Mosaiah 18, it gives us a beautiful description of what we're actually agreeing to.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Alma asks whether people are willing to bear one another's burdens, mourn with those that mourn, comfort those that stand in need of comfort, stand as a witness of God, and serve Him and keep His commandments.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: And then Alma says they have entered into a covenant with God.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: Notice something.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: Let me repeat that.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's about who you become or are becoming.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: That's spiritual conditioning back into the fitness, right?
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: Every time you choose compassion over selfishness, you're training your spirit.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: Every time you choose integrity over convenience, you're training yourself.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Every time you pray when you don't feel like it, you're training yourself.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Every time you forgive when the natural man wants revenge, you're training your spirit.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Every time you choose Christ when the world offers something easier, guess what?
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: You're still training.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: The covenant isn't merely something you sign up for, it's something that shapes you, molds you, changes you.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: What happens when an athlete misses a workout?
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: They don't say, Well, I guess I'm not an athlete anymore.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: They get back to training.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: What happens when you make a mistake spiritually?
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: You repent.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: And every week we have the sacrament to remind us.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: DNC 2077 describes the sacrament as a time when we witness our willingness to take upon ourselves the name of Christ, always remember him, and keep his commandments.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: So every Sunday we're saying to the Lord, I'm still in, I'm still choosing Christ, I'm still willing to remember him, I'm willing to take his name upon me, and I'm repenting.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: Because of the atonement of Jesus Christ, repentance is always part of the covenant path.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: We're not perfect, so we're gonna sin, we're gonna make mistakes, we repent.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: And because of the atonement, atonement, our spiritual fitness, it's not about perfection, it's about growth.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's about our ability to recover.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: You fall, you repent, you get back up, you keep moving, and you become stronger.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: Now, in the temple, we make covenants, and we have to be careful here when we're talking about temple ordinances and covenants because those things that happen in the temple are sacred, and we don't discuss them much outside of the temple.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: The principles of the covenants that we make in the temple deepen our relationship with God.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: We receive priesthood ordinances associated with these covenants.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: The church teaches that temple covenants involve living the laws of the gospel, ordinances of the priesthood are connected with receiving God's power, obeying the law of chastity, consecrating ourselves and our lives to the building up of the kingdom of the Lord.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord says, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: Then he explains that without these ordinances, the power of godliness is unable to be manifest in the flesh.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: That matters because God doesn't merely want us to believe in him, he wants us to become like him.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: I know a lot of people don't teach this, but I like to emphasize he wants us to become like him, just like a father wants his child to become better and to become like him.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: God wants the same thing for us because you are God's son or daughter.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: And becoming like God requires power beyond our own.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: That's what the atonement of Jesus Christ provides.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: The atonement, the covenants we make, give us access to Christ's power.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: The covenant doesn't contain the power, Christ does.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: The covenant creates a relationship through which we can receive his power.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: Elder Dietog Christopherson taught that our covenant commitment permits Heavenly Father to let the divine influence, the power of godliness, flow into our lives because we exercise our agency and we elect to receive that.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: God doesn't force spiritual strength upon us.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: We choose it.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: We choose Christ, we choose his ordinances, we choose his commandments, we choose repentance, we choose covenant faithfulness.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: The purpose of coming to this earth was to learn to choose right from wrong.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's the reason we're here.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: Through these choices, we become increasingly capable of receiving his power.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: President Nelson taught that those who make and keep covenants in baptism in the temple have increased access to the power of Jesus Christ.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: And as you increase your access, you increase your capacity, you grow your spiritual fitness.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: Because spiritual strength is not accidental.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: So here are five ways to keep building your physical fitness.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: Your spiritual fitness, not your physical fitness.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: One, covenants increase your spiritual endurance.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: Physical endurance means you can keep going when your body wants to stop.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: Spiritual endurance means you can keep believing when life gets hard.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm pretty sure life gets hard.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: You can keep praying when heaven feels quiet.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: You can keep obeying when obedience seems inconvenient.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: You can keep loving when you're hurt.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: You can keep serving when nobody notices.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: The covenant gives you a reason to keep going.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Two covenants increase your resistance to temptation.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: President Nelson taught that those who keep their covenants can become more resistant to the influence of the world.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: The goal isn't merely I need to avoid sin.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: The goal is I want to become the kind of person who has less appetite for sin.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's a transformation.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: That's growth, spiritual growth.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: A spiritually fit person doesn't simply have a longer list of rules, they develop a stronger desire for Christ and their heart changes.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: Their spiritual immune system becomes stronger.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: Covenants number three, covenants increase your spiritual capacity.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: An airplane has limits.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: Weight, fuel, altitude, weather, performance.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: Pilots don't change those limits by wishing they were different.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: They train, understand the airplane, they prepare, develop judgment, and increase their capability to stay within those limits.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: Spiritual life is similar.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: God doesn't simply want to give you easier weather.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: He wants to increase your capacity to fly through difficult weather.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's what covenant keeping does, it builds your spiritual capacity.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: 4.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: Covenants turn blessings into responsibilities.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: God promised Abraham tremendous blessings, but Abraham's covenant wasn't receive everything and enjoy it.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: It was become a blessing to others.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: That's what mature spirituality looks like.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: Eventually you stop asking, what am I getting from it?
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: And start asking, who am I helping?
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: Who is becoming stronger because I am living the gospel?
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: Is your marriage stronger?
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: Your family stronger?
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: Are your children seeing Christ in you?
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: Are your coworkers experiencing more patience from you?
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: Are people around you more hopeful because you're around them?
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: That is covenant living.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: Number five, covenants anchor your identity.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: The world tells you who you should be.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: Instagram, Facebook, everything tells you who you should become.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: Your career, your income, your appearance, your accomplishments, your failures, your popularity, your politics, your social status, all of that.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: But covenants answer a deeper question.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: Whose are you?
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: I belong to Christ.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: I've taken his name.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: I promise to remember him.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: I have promised to serve him.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because I've entered into sacred covenants with God, that identity becomes an anchor, holding me in a place in the turbulent world.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: And when the world gets chaotic, anchors matter.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I think we need to understand what it means to keep a covenant.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't mean you're perfect.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: It means you're oriented towards Christ.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: You fall, you turn back.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: You sin, you repent.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: You get distracted, you remember.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: You become spiritually weak, you return to the source of strength.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's why President Nelson taught about spiritual strength as something that requires persistent, rigorous spiritual work.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: Spiritual fitness requires repetition.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: Prayer, scriptures, repentance, sacrament, serving others, temple worship, forgiveness, obedience, remembering your covenants again and again and again.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's not punishment, it's training, just like physical training.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: You have to repeatedly go after and do the things that you know will help improve your fitness, spiritual as well as physical.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: If you want a stronger marriage, covenant living matters.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because covenants teach you to sacrifice, to forgive, to serve, to keep promises, to put someone else's welfare ahead of your own comfort.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: If you want a stronger family, covenant living matters because children don't need parents who teach gospel principles.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: Children need parents who live gospel covenant principles.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: They need to see repentance, see forgiveness, see service, see prayer.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: They need to see parents who put God first.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: They need to see someone who keeps promises even when keeping them is difficult.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: Your covenant faithfulness may become one of the greatest spiritual inheritances you ever give your children.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: So ask yourself, how spiritually fit am I?
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_00: Don't ask how religious am I?
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: How much do I know?
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: How long have I been a member?
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: But ask, how much spiritual fitness, how much capacity have I developed?
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: When temptations come, can I resist?
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: When disappointment comes, can I remain faithful?
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: When someone hurts me, can I forgive?
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: That's spiritual fitness.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: When the world says something is acceptable, can I still hear the voice of the spirit?
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: When I make a mistake, can I repent without giving up?
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: That is spiritual fitness.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: And covenants are one of God's primary systems for developing it.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe we should stop thinking about the covenant path as a road filled with restrictions, and maybe, just maybe, we should see it as a path of increasing spiritual capacity.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: Baptism begins the journey, sacrament continually brings us back to Christ.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: The Abrahamic covenant gives us identity, promises, and responsibility.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: The temple deepens our covenant relationship with God, and keeping those covenants gives us increased access to the power of Jesus Christ.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: When we keep temple covenants, we receive greater access to the Lord's strengthening power and protection from the buffetings of the world.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: That is what taught to us by President Nelson.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: It means you become stronger.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: The storms are gonna hit, but you're stronger in the storms.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: Temptations are gonna come, but you're stronger against the temptations.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: Grief may still come, but you're stronger and can work through the grief.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: You will have responsibilities, and you're stronger and able to manage those responsibilities.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: God isn't trying to build a life where nothing difficult happens.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: He's trying to build a person who can become like him and his son, who can withstand difficulties.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: Remember the commitment you make in your covenants.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: Ask yourself, what did I promise and what has God promised me?
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: Where am I becoming stronger because I'm keeping that covenant?
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: Where am I spiritually out of shape?
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's prayer, maybe it's patience, maybe it's purity, maybe it's forgiveness, maybe you don't serve enough.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's scripture study is slacked off.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's temple worship.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's simply remembering Jesus Christ throughout the day.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever it is, don't beat yourself up.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: Train.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: Repent, return, remember, keep going.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: Because you're not trying to earn God's love.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: He loves you regardless of what you're doing.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: You're learning how to receive his power.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_00: You're learning how to become more like Jesus Christ and build spiritual muscle.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: You're increasing your spiritual capacity and becoming spiritually fit.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's what covenants are really about.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: They connect us to Christ so his power can change us.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Todd, and this is Todd Talk Spirit by Design.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: Keep changing, keep growing, and keep your covenants.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: Because the goal isn't simply to survive this life, it's to become the kind of person who is prepared to live with God.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: And on that note, send this to your friends, give five star reviews, subscribe, and have a blessed day.