2024 April General Conference, Saturday Morning Session

Covenant Confidence through Jesus Christ

Elder Ulisses Soares
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Main Points

  • When we enter the Lord’s house, we embark on a sacred journey of learning to become higher and holier disciples of Christ. 
  • Confidence before God comes from covenant living
  • The construction of new temples throughout the world serves as a symbol of the expansion of the Lord’s kingdom
  • ‘Holiness to the Lord’ is an invitation to become higher and holier disciples of Christ
  • We are seeking through covenant to becomes confident in the Lord
  • The enemy tries to drive doubt and despair, fear and frustration, heartache and hopelessness deep into our hearts, especially when life is hard, trials are long, or circumstances are difficult.

Gospel Principles taught

 Our Father in Heaven, Jesus Chrsit, Agency, The Atonement, The Lord’s Covenant People, Faith in Christ, Temple Work 

Gospel Doctrine taught

The Atonement of Jesus Christ, Ordinances and Covenants, God the Father, Jehova/Jesus Christ, The Plan of Salvation, The Covenant Path

Scriptures

Exodus 28:36; 39:30; Psalm 93:5, Doctrine and Covenants 14:7; 132:19–20, 24; Hebrews 10:35, 1 Nephi 3:15, 1 Nephi 4:6–38, 1 Nephi 14:14, Doctrine and Covenants 45:32, Doctrine and Covenants 121:45, 

Other Sources

See Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, “bound.”

Related talks: 

Look for Jesus Christ:

  • Testimony of Christ.
    • The Savior desires that we become prepared to understand, with great clarity, exactly how to act as we make covenants with our Heavenly Father in His name. He wants us to be prepared to experience our privileges, promises, and responsibilities; to be prepared to have the spiritual insights and awakenings that we need in this life.
    • God lives, Jesus is our Savior, and this is His restored Church on earth. I reverently declare these truths in the sacred name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.
  • Description of His Teachings.
    • we simply cannot and must not have unkind feelings toward anyone.
  • Description of His Atonement.
    • God and Jesus Christ…promise that we can inherit the gift of eternal life.
    • Covenants made through the power of Jesus Christ make covenant confidence possible
    • “The temple lies at the center of strengthening our faith and spiritual fortitude because the Savior and His doctrine are the very heart of the temple. Everything taught in the temple, through instruction and through the Spirit, increases our understanding of Jesus Christ. His essential ordinances bind us to Him through sacred priesthood covenants. Then, as we keep our covenants, He endows us with His healing, strengthening power. And oh, how we will need His power in the days ahead.”

Inspiring Words & Phrases

  •  [Covenant confidence] confidence is the quiet yet certain assurance of receiving the blessings that God promises for those who keep their covenants and is so needed amid the challenging circumstances of our day.
  • I wondered if sometimes we get lost in the excitement of having new temples in our cities and communities and neglect the holier purpose of the sacred covenants made in the temple.
  • As we make covenants in holiness before God and commit to follow the Savior, we receive the power to change our hearts, renew our spirits, and deepen our relationship with Him. Such an endeavor brings sanctification to our souls and forms a sacred bond with God and Jesus Christ, who promise that we can inherit the gift of eternal life. The result of this sacred journey is that we obtain a holier and higher confidence for our day-to-day lives within our covenants made through Jesus Christ.
  • Those who gain genuine confidence in the covenants made in the house of the Lord through Jesus Christ possess one of the most powerful forces that we can access in this life.
  • I have seen firsthand the Lord’s loving promises and power flowing into the lives of God’s children, strengthening them to face life’s circumstances.
  • My dear friends, if there is one thing we could possess—and one thing we could pass on to our children and grandchildren that would help each in the tests and trials ahead—it would be confidence in the covenants made through Jesus Christ.
  • Preparation isn’t just for those going to the temple for the first time. We all should be perpetually preparing to go to the house of the Lord.
  • “Home centered, Church supported, and temple bound.”
  • Bound is an interesting word in that it means focused on a direction, but it also means fastened to or secured by, resolved and determined, sure. So being temple bound secures us to the Savior, giving us proper direction and stability while ensuring we have covenant confidence through Jesus Christ.

Lists

As we make covenants in holiness & commit to follow the Savior:

  • We receive the power to change our hearts
  • We receive the power to renew our spirits
  • We deepen our relationship with Jesus Christ

This endeavor (the above list):

  • Brings sanctification to our soul
  • Forms a sacred bond with God
  • Forms a sacred bond with Jesus Christ
  • Opens the way for us to inherit the gift of eternal life
  • Enables us to obtain a holier and higher confidence for our day to day lives

Holy and higher confidence for our lives (which we obtain within our covenants which were made through Jesus Christ):

  • This confidence is the pinnacle of our divine connection with God
  • Can help us increase our devotion to Christ
  • Can help us increase our gratitude to Jesus Christ for his atoning sacrifice
  • Fortifies our ability to love others
  • Fortifies our ability to serve others
  • Strengthens our souls to live in an unholy world
  • Empowers us to overcome doubt
  • Empowers us to overcome despair
  • Empowers us to overcome fear
  • Empowers us to overcome frustration
  • Empowers us to overcome heartache
  • Empowers us to overcome hopelessness

We gain confidence through Jesus Christ:

  • through humility
  • By centering our lives on the Savior
  • By living by the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ
  • By receiving the ordinances of salvation and exaltation
  • By honoring the covenants we make with God in His holy house.

Individual worthiness to enter the Lord’s house requires:

  • spiritual preparation
  • A total conversion of mind 
  • A total conversion of heart 
  • Conversion to make us more like the Lord
  • us to be an honest citizen
  • us to be a better example
  • Us to be a holier person

Equations

  • Confidence in the covenants made through Jesus Christ=standing in holy places
  • IF we change our preparation to enter the temple THEN we will change our experience in the temple;
    • IF we change our experience in the temple THEN our lives outside the temple will be transformed;
    • IF our lives are transformed THEN “… shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distill upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.”
  • IF we want the Spirit of the Lord to be unrestrained in our lives THEN we simply cannot and must not have unkind feelings toward anyone.

Invitations/Challenges

  • My dear friends, if there is one thing we could possess—and one thing we could pass on to our children and grandchildren that would help each in the tests and trials ahead—it would be confidence in the covenants made through Jesus Christ. 
  • Preparation isn’t just for those going to the temple for the first time. We all should be perpetually preparing to go to the house of the Lord.
  • All of us should intentionally enhance such binding by having our next appointment scheduled with the Lord in His holy house, whether the temple is near or far away.

Warnings

  • The enemy tries to drive doubt and despair, fear and frustration, heartache and hopelessness deep into our hearts, especially when life is hard, trials are long, or circumstances are difficult. 
  • We also know from the temple that if we want the Spirit of the Lord to be unrestrained in our lives, we simply cannot and must not have unkind feelings toward anyone. Giving place in our hearts or minds for unkind feelings or thoughts will produce unkind words and actions, whether on social media or in our homes, causing the Spirit of the Lord to withdraw from our hearts.

Blessings/Promises

  • I pray that we may be spiritually renewed by the inspired messages from our leaders this weekend and rejoice in what I love to call “covenant confidence through Jesus Christ.” 
  • I know that when the Lord sees even a spark of desire or a flicker of righteous effort in our willingness to center our lives on Him and on the ordinances and covenants we make in His house, He will bless us, in His perfect way, with the miracles and tender mercies we need.
  • When we walk out of the temple, transformed by our hope in the promises of the covenants, armed with power from on high, we take the temple with us into our homes and lives. I assure you that having the spirit of the Lord’s house in us changes us, completely.
  • As we change our preparation to enter the temple, we will change our experience in the temple, which will transform our lives outside of the temple. May this transformation fill us with confidence in our holy covenants made with God through Jesus Christ.

Stories:

  •  Nephi beautifully exemplified the power of this type of covenant confidence through his faithfulness when he faced setbacks and challenges, like getting the plates as commanded by the Lord. Nephi, despite being exceedingly sorrowful for the fear and lack of faith of Laman and Lemuel, remained confident that the Lord would deliver the plates to them. He said unto his brothers, “As the Lord liveth, and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us.” Because of Nephi’s confidence in the Lord’s promises, he was able to accomplish what he had been commanded to do.
  • The story of his wife’s trip to the temple, seeing so many people worshiping in the temple in spite of physical difficulties and personal life circumstances.
  • A bishop I know refers to the oldest class in Primary not as a “Primary” class but as a “temple preparation” class.

Application Ideas

  1. Make an appointment to attend the temple.
  2. As you reflect on your life, are you able to find specific situations, fears or concerns that consistently seem to affect you and your confidence before the Lord? Prayerfully consider how to resolve these things so that Satan cannot use them against you.
  3. Ponder how you might prepare before each time you go to the temple.

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