One evening a man called his five sheep to come into the shelter for the night. His family watched with great interest as he simply called, “Come on,” and immediately all five heads lifted and turned in his direction. Four sheep broke into a run toward him. With loving kindness he gently patted each of the four on the head. The sheep knew his voice and loved him.
But the fifth sheep didn’t come running. She was a large ewe that a few weeks earlier had been given away by her owner, who reported that she was wild, wayward, and always leading the other sheep astray. The new owner accepted the sheep and staked her in his own field for a few days so she would learn to stay put. He patiently taught her to love him and the other sheep until eventually she had only a short rope around her neck but was no longer staked down.
That evening as his family watched, the man approached the ewe, which stood at the edge of the field, and again he gently said, “Come on. You aren’t tied down anymore. You are free.” Then lovingly he reached out, placed his hand on her head, and walked back with her and the other sheep toward the shelter.1
In the spirit of that story, I pray that the Holy Ghost will help us learn together tonight about covenant keeping. Making and keeping covenants means choosing to bind ourselves to our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. It is committing to follow the Savior. It is trusting Him and desiring to show our gratitude for the price He paid to set us free through the infinite gift of the Atonement.
Why Make and Keep Covenants?
- Covenant keeping strengthens, empowers, and protects.
- Keeping covenants is essential for true happiness.
- Keeping our covenants demonstrates our love for the Savior and our Father in Heaven.
As we keep our covenants, we also receive courage and strength to help us bear one another’s burdens.
Elder Richard G. Scott observed, “One of the greatest blessings we can offer to the world is the power of a Christ-centered home where the gospel is taught, covenants are kept, and love abounds.”11 What are some ways we can create such a home to prepare our children to make and keep temple covenants?
- We can discover together what it means to be worthy of a temple recommend.
- We can discover together how to listen to the Holy Ghost.
- We can discover together how to learn through the use of symbols, beginning with the sacred symbols of baptism and the sacrament.
- We can discover together why the body is sacred.
- We can discover the plan of happiness in the scriptures.
- We can learn the stories of our ancestors together, research family history, index, and perform vicarious temple work for deceased loved ones.
- We can discover together the meaning of terms such as endowment, ordinance, sealing, priesthood, keys, and other words related to temple worship.
- We can teach that we go to the temple to make covenants with Heavenly Father—we return home to keep them!
One Sunday a young sister joyfully exclaimed, “I get to take the sacrament today!” When was the last time we rejoiced in that privilege? And how do we demonstrate it? We do this by always remembering the Savior and always keeping His commandments, which include keeping His Sabbath day holy. We do it by always remembering Him as we always have our personal and family prayers, daily scripture study, and weekly family home evenings. And when we get distracted or casual with these important things, we repent and begin again.
Why was the Savior willing to keep His covenant with the Father and fulfill His divine mission to atone for the sins of the world? It was His love for His Father and His love for us. Why was the Father willing to allow His Only Begotten and perfect Son to suffer pain beyond description to bear the sins, heartaches, sicknesses, and infirmities of the world and all that is unfair in this life? We find the answer in these words: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.”
Tonight I invite each of us to evaluate how much we love the Savior, using as a measure how joyfully we keep our covenants. The Savior said, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
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