Covenant Constancy by Dale Renlund, October 2019 General Conference Part 3

Point is to examine the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints viewpoint when Mormonism is sponsored by Mormonism research ministry since 1979 Mormonism research ministry has been dedicated to equipping the body of Christ with answers regarding the Christian faith in a manner that expresses gentleness and respect. And now, your host for today's viewpoint on Mormonism. How important is keeping covenants in the context of Mormonism. Welcome to this additional viewpoint on Mormonism on your host, Bill McKeever, founder and director Mormonism research ministry with me today is Eric Johnson. My colleague at MRM this week we are going over some of the conference messages that were given in October 2019 and we noticed that there was a theme going through many of these talks that had to do with the importance for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to not only make covenants but to keep the covenants that they make. And so we been going through some of these messages.

And yesterday we began looking at Ronald Raz bands talk.

It was titled standing by our promises and covenants, subtitled, I invite you to consider the promises and covenants you make with the Lord and with others with great integrity, knowing that your word is your bond and I think Eric it would be appropriate if someone didn't catch yesterday's show to read that second paragraph of his talk, because there I think he puts everything into perspective. He said the importance of making and keeping promises and covenants weighs heavy on my mind. How important is it to you to keep your word to be trusted to do what you say you will do to strive to honor your sacred covenants to have integrity by living true to our promises to the Lord and to others.

We walked the covenant path back to our father in heaven and we feel his love in our lives and as I mentioned yesterday, this statement alone proves that the LDS church has in fact a works-based theology. Now, if you bring that up to many Latter Day Saints the probably deny it and I've had that happen many times us. Although we do believe that we have to have faith that we do have a doctrine of grace and they do but they do not define those words the same way that we would define them if there's anything that the individual must do in order to receive this salvation or exultation as it's defined Mormonism, then obviously what Jesus did is not enough for that particular member. Let's give Ronald a Raz band credit because he's in line with what his unique standard works teach including the doctrine and covenants, and I meant to say the same with Spencer W. Kimball, who also cites doctrine and covenants section 93 verse one we often times like to use D&C 5842 and 43 and those are good versus I think this is almost as powerful if not, even as powerful when it says every soul who forsake of his sins and cometh onto me and call upon my name and obey my voice and keep with my commandments shall see my face and know that I am notice, forsake if your sins and obey the commandments you keep the commandments in order to get God's favor. D&C 5842 and 43 says the same thing so we must give him credit. He's consistent with what the doctrine and covenants is teaching and it goes right along with Dr. and covenants section 1, verse 32 that you have to repent. Keep the commandments. Then you get the forgiveness so forgiveness is after you meet all these necessary requirements were as the Christian message. Since the first century is you get that forgiveness immediately when you put your faith in what Jesus did on the cross of Calvary. We trust in him to have done all that was necessary to die on our behalf. And when we place our trust in what he did.

His righteousness becomes our righteousness. It's called the doctrine of imputed righteousness basic teaching in the Christian faith that is often ignored in the context of Mormonism. Now in this talk Raz band goes on to say this.

He says the youth theme for this coming year 2020 member. This was given in October 2019 speaks of Nephi's classic promise to go and do from first Nephi, 37 and it came to pass that I Nephi said onto my father.

I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commanded them."

Then he writes although it was uttered long ago. We in the church stand on that promise today makes me think of that passage. It talks about loving God with all her might, mind and strength. Charles Hodge, who was a Christian theologian had something to say about this Hodge lived between 1797 and 1878 and he made this statement that is not only convicting but II think it's absolutely correct. Were he said anything less than loving God constantly with all the heart and hold the soul all the mind and all the strength and our neighbors as ourselves is sin. Think about that. Anything less than loving God constantly with all the heart, soul, mind and strength and our neighbors as ourselves is sin. But let me ask you do you constantly love God with all your heart, all the soul all your mind all your strength and even harder, you loving your neighbor as yourselves. If not, you're involved in sin. Now, first Nephi, 37 says that God is knocking to give you a commandment that you can keep so Latter Day Saints how many of these commandments are you keep in member. It's not just some of them you have to keep all of them. You have the ability to do this, you see, I think what Charles Hodge is doing with that statement is showing us the necessity of going back to the foot of the cross, realizing we come so short in meeting this list of requirements if were going to go by law. We need to be able to do exactly what these verses say, but we can't or I should say rather, we don't and it's the same with the Latter Day Saints but yet they try to appease their lack by thinking well I'm doing my best. But even that is not good enough because as we see here in this paragraph alone it came to pass that I Nephi said in the my father.

I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded but yet how many Latter Day Saints are doing that they're going but they're not doing they're not doing and this is why every week they have to make a promise that they're going to. From that point on, do all the stuff they're supposed to do and then what did they do the very next week. They come back and make the same promise again because they violated the promise that they made previously this talk is all about having integrity and in keeping your word be trusted doing what you will say you will do to strive to honor your sacred covenants and to have integrity but yet the Latter Day Saints that we talk to don't seem to be doing that.

Maybe that's why this talk was so important and on the heart of Ronald Raz band. As he says, at the very beginning. Now I'm not taking away folks. Please understand this were not taken away the valiant effort on the part of Latter Day Saints, a tribe to be the best they can possibly be. But if that is the requirement for exultation. All of them are going to come desperately short Raz band goes on and says to go and do means rising above the ways of the world, receiving and acting on personal revelation living righteously with hope and faith in the future. Making and keeping covenants to follow Jesus Christ and thereby increasing our love for him, the Savior of the world. It's interesting, he says, making an keeping covenants and to keep it consistently as you were supposed to keep it according to what Raz bends trying to get across. He says a covenant is a two-way promise between us and the Lord as members of the church we covenant at baptism to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ, to live as he lived. Well it's not only at baptism do they make this covenant they make it every week when I participate in the sacrament service is what he says the When we partake of the sacrament, we renew that covenant to take upon us his name and make additional promises to improve any goes on and says our daily thoughts and actions, both large and small reflect our commitment to him. His sacred promise in return is quote if ye do always remember me.

You shall have my spirit to be with you and that's their Nephi 18, seven yesterday we were discussing our thoughts, and I was mentioning to you off here how I was thinking about.

Would I be comfortable if I knew every individual around me knew what I was thinking at any particular time know I wouldn't be comfortable but yet he says our daily thoughts and actions, both large and small reflect our commitment to him. I admit I come for short, not just in my actions or even lack of action I come short even in my thoughts, trying to curb the way I even think is difficult is that is drives me again as I mentioned earlier back to the foot of the cross relying more and more on God's grace being given to me more on his mercy. But yet this comes in the context of go and do the Latter Day Saints should be able to according to what Raz band I think is getting across here that their daily thoughts and actions should be corralled in such a way that they would never be embarrassed by what they are thinking. I can only ask the Latter Day Saints.

Would you be comfortable prior to your Sunday morning service, they knew everything that you were thinking would you be comfortable with that. I know I wouldn't be which again tells me that I am tainted by my sin and in need of God's mercy every single day. Consider the What he says.

My question today is do we stand by our promises and covenants or are they sometimes halfhearted commitments casually made and hence easily broken when we say to someone I will pray for you daily. When we commit I will be there to help Willie when we obligate ourselves to pay a debt. Do we when we raise our hands to sustain a fellow member in a new calling, which means to give support due week and I bet there was a lot of people in that audience who were kind of hoping that nobody was looking at them because I'm sure they were guilty of all these things just as all of us are then there's a quote on the next page page 55 recess Pres. Nelson referring to 17th president Russell M. Nelson president Nelson has taught, we increase the Savior's power in our lives when we make sacred covenants and keep those covenants with precision are covenants buying this to him and give us godly power. The covenant itself doesn't really give you power. It's the keeping of the covenant that gives you the power and if you listen carefully to what Nelson is saying there. I would think that most people listening to Raz bends talk when he gets to that citation by Pres. Nelson. They can't help but be under conviction, knowing that they are not keeping their covenants they may keep some some of the easier ones, but what about the hard ones.

Because remember, if you're going to be saved by keeping commandments, you need to keep all of them, not just some of them. Mormonism is all about. Do do do.

But in Christianity.

It's all about done. Jesus paid it all. He finished his talk by saying as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I conclude with an invitation and promise.

First, the invitation, I invite you to consider the promises and covenants that you make with the Lord and with others with great integrity, knowing that your word is your bond. I can only imagine the Lord looking down on every latter-day St. during the sacrament service thinking.

Not one single person down there, probably really means this because they're all going to be here next week saying the same thing over again, thank you for listening.

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