When Joseph Smith was first visited by The Father and Jesus Christ, he was told that the professors of religion of the day had “a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.” They did have some godliness, but what about this power? 2 Tim 3:5 councils us of those, “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” How do they have godliness but deny its' power? The mystery is solved in D&C 84:21, “Without the ordinances thereof, and the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh.” These ordinances spoken of here go hand in hand with making covenants.
According to Merriam-Webster, a covenant is 1) usually a formal, solemn, and binding agreement. 2) a written agreement or promise usually under seal between two or more parties especially for the performance of some action.
But is the meaning of covenant the same biblically? According to bibleproject.com, biblically, “A covenant is a relationship between two partners who make binding promises to each other and work together to reach a common goal. They’re often accompanied by oaths, signs, and ceremonies.” This sounds very close to Webster and aligns well with LDS beliefs. However, according to Pastor John Giarizzo of Grace Covenant Church, “covenants in the Bible do not create a relationship that did not exist before, but formalize a relationship that is already in place… while we have an ongoing, personal relationship with God, we don't make covenants with Him, but live out the implications of the covenants that have been made and are still in force.” He comments that this way of thinking is "tradition", and claims this to be, "historic and orthodox Christianity."
To make things even more muddy, biblestudytools.com states, “In religious and theological circles there has not been agreement on precisely what is to be understood by the biblical term (covenant).”
As much as I have learned about and practiced making and keeping covenants, its meaning and importance can still be somewhat allusive. We know that God has worked with man through covenants from the beginning, so they must be important. In fact, what we know as the Old and New Testaments were anciently known as the Old and New Covenants. The word "covenant" is used almost 300 times in the King James Bible.
President Russell M. Nelson taught, "The covenant path is all about our relationship with God." We understand that covenants we make with God bind us to Him, helps us rely on Him, and more fully allows Him to bless us, just as we would our own children.
There are several covenants we make as members of the church. The baptismal covenant is the first. We covenant to take upon us His name and always remember Him. You might say we promise to become a Christian and all that it entails (Gal 3:27). We are then given the Holy Ghost as our constant companion. Even though I’m sure I was taught that, it was years before I really understood it to any degree. But going even further to understand the reason and nature of covenants helps as well.
When I was still young in Primary, I remember one Sunday we were all being very rambunctious—more than usual. Besides being loud, we were taking turns sneaking to the light switch and turning the lights off and on. There were no windows in the room, so it got pretty dark. Each time the lights came back on, we would look to see who the culprit was and laugh it off. Then one time the lights went off and on as usual, but as we all turned to see who did it, there was nobody even close to that light switch. We immediately all became very quiet. I’m sure you could have heard a pin drop. We all slowly and instinctively went to our seats, sat down and looked to the front towards our teacher. The teacher asked us what we thought just happened. One boy raised his hand and said, “Heavenly Father told us to be reverent.” The class then proceeded in that manner to the end.
I tell this story, not to underline the importance of reverence in the Lords house, or of how thin the veil can be (though they can be important lessons), but to pose the question; how did the relationship between the teacher and the students change at that moment? Obviously the teacher lacked the ability to control her class, but after the light phenomenon she had complete control. We looked to her for guidance, which she gave, but also she could look to us as humble and obedient in every respect. She could trust us to do whatever she asked, whether it be to retrieve something, or to simply listen and learn. In fact I think we could say that her power as a teacher increased in that she had many that would obey her word and she knew it. We not only looked to her for guidance, but we had faith in her words and even honored her and her wisdom. At that moment, we were completely loyal and one with that teacher. This is the type of relationship that our Heavenly Father wants with His children, and it is often through covenants that this is achieved. In this state of humility, loyalty and respect, we are more receptive and progress at a much faster rate.
Loyalty is power in any respect. As we make covenants, we are extended trust that we will be obedient to that covenant. A form of loyalty, which not only elevates us, but in a sense increases power to the one extending it. As more become one in purpose, the greater the force to promote that purpose. This power can be shared with all parties, sometimes sooner and sometimes later, depending on the level of trust.
In some respects, the very moment we make a covenant, we begin to reap the blessings of that covenant as if we always had and always will keep it. To make a common comparison, when we make a promise to make mortgage payments, we then have the power to live in and improve our house any way we please—as if it was paid off.
I think anyone would agree that power is an essential attribute of deity. Understanding better the source of that power can help us to more effectively become more like Them.
In Doctrine and Covenants 29:36 we read, “…behold, the devil was before Adam, for he rebelled against me, saying, Give me thine honor, which is my power.”
Here we learn that His honor is his power, at least in part. Where does He get honor? There are many ways, but as we have faith in, and follow the will of God, this in fact honors Him and in a sense increases His power, which He then shares with us.
As we engage in this process and continually repent, we eventually become a being that is incapable of sin and worthy of all the trust the universe has to offer. Although our sinful past does not qualify us for that trust, the law is satisfied through Christ’s atonement that we qualify for through our obedience to ordinances and covenants. Our sinful past is replaced with Christ’s and trust in us grows as we continue to honor our covenants.*
As we established, the source of His power, at least in part, is in the honor and loyalty given Him by His creations. We are told that all things that are created obey His word—all except for man. Man must learn obedience.
In Mark 4: 37-39 we read, “And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him and say unto him, Master carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, peace, be still. And the wind ceased and there was a great calm… And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
What is it that gave Him power in this situation? It surely was not obedient men. The implication here is that even the very elements obey Him, which could also imply the honor, faith, and love that even the elements have for Him.
Obedience to covenants can give us help in ways we may not have considered. I love the comments on this subject at the April 2021 conference by D. Todd Christopherson.
"The ordinances of the temple and the covenants you make there are key to strengthening your life, your marriage and family, and your ability to resist the attacks of the adversary...
When we are diligently pursuing the covenant path, we quite naturally avoid many “unforced errors.” We sidestep the various forms of addiction. We do not fall into the ditch of dishonest conduct. We cross over the abyss of immorality and infidelity. We bypass the people and things that, even if popular, would jeopardize our physical and spiritual well-being. We avoid the choices that harm or disadvantage others and instead acquire the habits of self-discipline and service.
The covenants God offers to His children do more than guide us. They bind us to Him, and, bound to Him, we can overcome all things."
Keeping in mind this great quote and looking more deeply into the baptismal covenant from the sacrament prayer, "that they do always remember Him, that they may have thy spirit to be with them." We can surmise that if we do not keep this or other covenants, we will not have His spirit to be with us. In this state, we are more susceptible to temptation. Keeping all our covenants keeps us in a safe zone, so to speak.
We are given hints in scripture as to how God uses His power to rule and I think this may be helpful to better understand as well. We know it is not by the priesthood as we are told in D & C 121. In other words, not by demand, not by physical strength, not by anger, but, “by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned. By kindness and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile.” He admonishes us to, “Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God… The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.”
The, “without compulsory means” part is telling here to me. In other words, He does not force us or any element in the universe to obey Him. His word is followed out of love. To me this is power in its most divine sense.
Our father in heaven loves to grant blessings whenever possible. But to randomly do so, especially with no offering on our part may be received with less meaning or gratitude. With a covenant, as we keep it, we are blessed with the promise of that covenant, and we increase as a person. We grow and learn and appreciate to a greater extent than we would without that covenant. As Elder Robert M. Daines has taught, "Covenants are the shape of God's embrace."
The same joy that the Father has He wants for His children. He has given us the gift of covenants, the keeping of which allows the power of God to enter our lives and fill us with love as we work side by side our Father to become godly ourselves.
*Please see The Power of Covenants by Darrel Zeltner here
See a video on an alternate side of covenants here
