One of the most famous conversations in the Book of Mormon is that between Nephi and the angel of the Lord. While telling Nephi about the apostasy, the angel says: “They have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away.” And while we could spend hours talking about the plain and precious truths that have now been restored, I wish to speak in the few minutes I have of the plain and precious covenants, once lost, that have now been lovingly restored by a Father who wishes for our success and happiness.
Indeed, what makes the restoration of these covenants so special is that the power to perform them was restored. And, for the first time in nearly 2,000 years, the Lord was making covenants with His children through His priesthood.
Before I do that, however, I wish to bear my testimony that I know that God the Father and Jesus Christ did, in fact, appear to Joseph Smith, and they did restore their church through him. Most of all, I want you to know that I know the priesthood has been restored. I have a deep testimony of the priesthood—one borne of experience. I felt that sweet comfort of the Spirit when I have been blessed by the priesthood, and I have felt the power of God working within me when I have righteously exercised that priesthood.
The first covenant I wish to speak of is baptism. The beautiful thing about baptism is the peace and warmth of the Spirit we feel when we are baptized, and how that protection of that Spirit is thereafter with us. But there’s another reason why baptism is a plain and precious covenant—because the Lord promises to be with us. President George Q. Cannon said, “When we went forth into the waters of baptism and covenanted with our Father in Heaven to serve Him and keep His commandments, He bound Himself also by covenant that He would never desert us, never leave us to ourselves, never forget us, that in the midst of trials and hardships, when everything was arrayed against us, He would be near unto us and would sustain us.”
It has been my experience that when I have been at my lowest and loneliest times in my life, my Heavenly Father has, through His Spirit, comforted me—and has been my Friend when I most needed a friend.
Next, I’d like to speak about the sacrament. This is our chance to renew our baptismal covenant and remember our Savior. It is our chance to partake of His atonement. For us, His body was torn and broken. It was then laid in a sepulcher and covered by a cloth—much like the bread was in today’s Sacrament. On the third day, He was risen. Job once asked: “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14). Christ answered the question when He said: “Because I live, ye shall live also” (John 14:19). In Gethsemane and on the cross, Christ suffered and bled for the sins of mankind. Later, Christ told Joseph Smith what this suffering was like for Him, when He said: “Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men” (D&C 19:18-19). At that Christ also told us why He performed that sacrifice: “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent” (D&C 19:16). In the wilderness, the ancient Israelites survived on manna—a kind of bread sent from Heaven—and the water that gushed forth from the rock when Moses smote. Just as the ancient Israelites’ physical salvation depended on bread and water, our spiritual salvation depends on how well we live up the covenant we make when we take the bread and water.
Next, I’d like to talk briefly about the endowment. I won’t speak of that actual covenant itself. But I will say this: Nothing can match the peace I feel when, at the end of the session, I have a chance to sit in the Celestial Room and ponder. What a great blessing it is to have temples in our lives.
Finally, I’d like to talk of another temple covenant—the sealing power that was restored to Earth through Elijah. It is by this New and Everlasting covenant that families are made eternal. Of all the covenants restored, this is the sweetest. It was the final priesthood key restored in this dispensation. All other covenants prepare us for this covenant. The plain and precious truths restored in this dispensation all point to this Great Covenant. The family is at the heart of the plan of salvation. Because we are here on Earth to create, build and honor eternal family relationships. If we do that, our family structure cannot be dissolved by death. The family that is our greatest blessing here will be our greatest blessing there.
How grateful I am to have had parents who made and honored this great covenant and who have worked to build an eternal family. My love and gratitude to them will be endless. As will my love and gratitude for a Heavenly Father who loved me and you enough to restore these covenants and His church and allowed us to live in a time when the gospel in its fullness was upon the Earth. Most of all, I am grateful that He loved me enough to send His Son to prepare way for me to return to live with Him. And I am grateful His Son loved us enough to perform the Atonement. I testify that He did and that He lives in Christ’s name. Amen.
