A Covenant Relationship with God

We make covenants with God when we participate in saving ordinances. Our covenants bind us to God,¹ and provide the way for us to know what God expects of us. When we make covenants with God, we enter into a covenant relationship with him, which gives us the opportunity to receive significant blessings.

By making covenants we make promises and commit ourselves to follow him, but the blessings that God offers us are significantly greater than we could ever achieve without God’s covenants.²

What is a covenant?

The Bible Dictionary defines a covenant as “an agreement between persons (1 Sam. 23:18) or nations (1 Sam. 11:1); more often between God and man; but in this latter case it is important to notice that the two parties to the agreement do not stand in the relation of independent and equal contractors. God in His good pleasure fixes the terms, which man accepts. The same word is sometimes rendered ‘testament.'”³

A covenant is often compared to a contract, which is “an agreement between parties, creating mutual obligations that are enforceable by law.”⁴ Parties will enter into a contract because it creates a relationship that provides a benefit. The primary elements of a contract are offer, acceptance, and consideration.⁵ One party makes an offer, the other party accepts, and each party must give “consideration,” which means each party must give something. The “consideration” is what makes a contract different from a gift. For example, in a rental agreement, one party receives rights to a piece of property, and the other party gets some type of payment. Both give something, and both receive something.

A contract creates a binding relationship between the contracting parties, and that contract governs the terms of that relationship. Parties enter into contracts because they receive a benefit out of that relationship that they could not receive without the contract. But a contract also imposes obligations, requiring the parties to comply with the terms. They enter into the contract and comply with the obligations because they believe that the benefits outweigh the required cost.

A covenant between an individual and God is similar to a contract, in that it creates a relationship that allows us to receive benefits that we could never obtain unless we entered into that covenant. But unlike a contract, there is no negotiation. God offers the terms, and we can either accept or reject those terms. However, there is no need to negotiate, because the terms that God offers us provide greater blessings than we have a right to receive. King Benjamin explained how our Heavenly Father blesses us more than we can ever repay:

“[I]f ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

“And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

“And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him. And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever.”⁶

The covenants we enter into with God require us to make promises, but when we keep those promises, God blesses us more than we deserve. In other words, a covenant with God is largely one-sided: we get tremendous blessings, and he simply obtains joy in blessing us.

God has always used covenants to offer blessings

The scriptures demonstrate that God has always used covenants as a way for us to create a relationship with him. When Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden as a result of the Fall, “they heard the voice of the Lord from the way toward the Garden of Eden, speaking unto them, and they saw him not; for they were shut out from his presence. And he gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord.”⁷ This may seem like God just gave them commandments, but the scriptures demonstrate that this was the beginning of covenants:

“And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.

“And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth. Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore.

“And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son, saying: I am the Only Begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and forever, that as thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even as many as will.”⁸

This demonstrates the covenant relationship: God asks us to do certain things, and he offers us tremendous blessings if we keep our promises. In this example, he asked Adam and Eve to keep his commandments, to offer sacrifices, to do all that they did in the name of the Son, and to repent and call upon God in the name of the Son. If they kept their promises, God promised them that they could be “redeemed,” which “refers to the Atonement of Jesus Christ and to deliverance from sin. Jesus’ Atonement redeems all mankind from physical death. Through His Atonement, those who have faith in Him and who repent are also redeemed from spiritual death.”⁹

One of the challenges that we face in this life is exercising faith and trusting in God. It may seem that he asks a lot of us, and sometimes the promised blessings require faith because we may not immediately see that blessing. The greatest blessing that he offers us will require some time before its fulfillment, as salvation “is the greatest of all the gifts of God; for there is no gift greater than the gift of salvation.”¹⁰

The Abrahamic Covenant

The Abrahamic Covenant benefits all of us. It was a covenant made between God and Abraham, and is the primary covenant upon which we can rely to seek blessings from God:

“And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. . . . [M]y covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. . . . And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.”¹¹

President Russell M. Nelson has summarized the promised blessings contained in the Abrahamic Covenant: “Jesus the Christ would be born through Abraham’s lineage. Abraham’s posterity would be numerous, entitled to an eternal increase, and also entitled to bear the priesthood. Abraham would become a father of many nations. Certain lands would be inherited by his posterity. All nations of the earth would be blessed by his seed. And that covenant would be everlasting—even through ‘a thousand generations.'”¹²

Those promises are extended to us, but we have to enter into covenants with God to receive those blessings. President Nelson explained how we become entitled to receive the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant:

“Children of the covenant have the right to receive His doctrine and to know the plan of salvation. They claim it by making covenants of sacred significance. Brigham Young said: ‘All Latter-day Saints enter the new and everlasting covenant when they enter this Church. … They enter the new and everlasting covenant to sustain the Kingdom of God.’ They keep the covenant by obedience to His commandments.

“At baptism we covenant to serve the Lord and keep His commandments. When we partake of the sacrament, we renew that covenant and declare our willingness to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ. Thereby we are adopted as His sons and daughters and are known as brothers and sisters. He is the father of our new life. Ultimately, in the holy temple, we may become joint heirs to the blessings of an eternal family, as once promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their posterity. Thus, celestial marriage is the covenant of exaltation.”¹³

The Abrahamic Covenant is extended to all who are willing to enter into covenants with God by baptism, and then progress along the “covenant path,” which Elder D. Todd Christofferson has described as “the one path that leads to the celestial kingdom of God. We embark upon the path at the gate of baptism and then ‘press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men [the two great commandments] … to the end.’ In the course of the covenant path (which, by the way, extends beyond mortality), we receive all the ordinances and covenants pertaining to salvation and exaltation.”¹⁴ In other words, baptism is the beginning of the path, but we make additional covenants as we progress along that path. With each covenant we bind ourselves tighter to God, making additional promises, and thereby we allow him to bestow upon us greater blessings, all of which are described in the Abrahamic Covenant.

Why does God want us to enter into covenants?

Why does God use covenants? Why doesn’t he just teach us and ask us to keep his commandments? To understand the “why,” we must look to the plan of salvation (see my prior posts “The Plan of Salvation” and “Interludes – Avoiding Myopia” for a discussion about why locating doctrines within the plan of salvation can help us understand the “why”).

The ability to become like God

In the gospel topics essay titled, “Becoming Like God,” the doctrine of eternal progression is discussed, and concludes as follows: “All human beings are children of loving heavenly parents and possess seeds of divinity within them. In His infinite love, God invites His children to cultivate their eternal potential by the grace of God, through the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. The doctrine of humans’ eternal potential to become like their Heavenly Father is central to the gospel of Jesus Christ and inspires love, hope, and gratitude in the hearts of faithful Latter-day Saints.”¹⁵

The ability to learn, progress, and reach our full potential is impossible without the grace and mercy offered through the atonement of Jesus Christ. But it also requires work on our part. The Fall and our mortality provide us the opportunity to have those learning experiences. We are able to make mistakes without the dire consequences that befell Satan and his followers when they openly rebelled against God. (See my prior post on The Fall). So in this mortal existence, we are asked to walk by faith, and we are required to learn line upon line, precept upon precept.¹⁶ Even the Savior himself grew and progressed in this life, as Luke records that Jesus “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.”¹⁷

Obviously, if we want the chance to become like God, we have to learn. This learning process doesn’t end in this life, as this life is primarily a probationary period.¹⁸ But we certainly must take advantage of our opportunities in this life, for “behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.”¹⁹ And so, God has told us to “seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.”²⁰

So if God is perfect, and has all knowledge and all power, isn’t it reasonble to think that he would prescribe the way to become like him? And that way is only “in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.”²¹

God uses covenants to teach us

Covenants provide a way for God to teach us. As we walk along the covenant path, as we grow and progress, as did the Savior, we gain knowledge, preparing us to make additional covenants, and we receive additional commandments: “Yea, blessed are they whose feet stand upon the land of Zion, who have obeyed my gospel; for they shall receive for their reward the good things of the earth, and it shall bring forth in its strength. And they shall also be crowned with blessings from above, yea, and with commandments not a few, and with revelations in their time—they that are faithful and diligent before me.”²²

That scripture has always been interesting to me, as it relates receiving commandments with receiving blessings. And not only to receive blessings, but to be “crowned” with blessings, “and with commandments not a few.” Based on that sentence structure, I believe it could be said that if we are faithful, we will be “crowned with commandments not a few.” How could commandments be a blessing? Because “[t]here is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.”²³ The more we know those laws, the more ability we have to gain blessings by obeying those laws. And God gives us those laws as we make covenants with him.

Example: understanding natural laws helps us gain power

As the God of the universe, God has all power, and has given natural laws, as well as commandments. One of those natural laws is gravity, which has been defined as “the universal force of attraction acting between all matter. . . . [I]t controls the trajectories of bodies in the solar system and elsewhere in the universe and the structures and evolution of stars, galaxies, and the whole cosmos. On Earth all bodies have a weight, or downward force of gravity, proportional to their mass, which Earth’s mass exerts on them.”²⁴

It could be simply said that it is because of gravity that things fall. The law of gravity cannot be broken, and yet, by learning about other laws, flight has become possible. These other laws include air pressure (“air is a physical substance which has weight,”)²⁵ and the laws of motion. Understanding these laws helped inventors realize that there are forces in addition to gravity that could make flight possible: lift (an upward force), drag (a backward force), weight (a downward force, or gravity), and thrust (a forward force).²⁶

Gravity makes things fall, but airplanes can fly. That flight does not violate the natural law of gravity. But by understanding other laws, scientists were able to develop a way to take advantage of those laws and create a device that can fly.

Flight is an example of how gaining a greater knowledge of laws can give us greater power. Gravity could be seen as a restriction, and many talk about the commandments as restrictions. But as we learn about the laws of God, we gain greater power. As we make covenants with God, and as he teaches us about his laws, we have a greater capacity to grow, develop, progress, and move closer to becoming like him.

Agency

Because we have our agency, God gives us the opportunity to make covenants if we want to choose to follow him.

The prophet Alma gave a famous sermon about conversion. He said, “have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?”²⁷ At the end of this sermon, he made two different invitations:

“I speak by way of command unto you that belong to the church; and unto those who do not belong to the church I speak by way of invitation, saying: Come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also may be partakers of the fruit of the tree of life.”²⁸ Why would he “command” those who belonged to the church, but he merely “invited” those who did not belong to the church? I believe it is quite simply because those who belonged to the church had made covenants to keep God’s commandments, and by so doing they implicitly recognized the authority of God’s chosen servants by being willing to enter into those covenants. But those who were not members had not yet made such a covenant, and so they were not bound with a covenant to keep those same commandments.

That may raise some questions about why we should make a covenant with God. Wouldn’t it be better to remain undbound and free to do whatever we want? But God’s greatest promises are reserved for those who enter into covenants with him. Just as with the example of flight, God’s laws cannot be broken. We may choose to not follow them, but there will be natural consequences. So by entering into covenants with God, and gaining greater knowledge, we are able to exercise our agency to gain greater power by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.

What covenants does God ask us to make?

We make covenants by ordinances. The True to the Faith booklet distinguishes between ordinances that include covenants, and ordinances that are performed without covenants:

“In the Church, an ordinance is a sacred, formal act performed by the authority of the priesthood. Some ordinances are essential to our exaltation. These ordinances are called saving ordinances. They include baptism, confirmation, ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood (for men), the temple endowment, and the marriage sealing. With each of these ordinances, we enter into solemn covenants with the Lord.

“Other ordinances, such as naming and blessing children, consecrating oil, and administering to the sick and afflicted, are also performed by priesthood authority. While they are not essential to our salvation, they are important for our comfort, guidance, and encouragement.”²⁹

These ordinances require proper priesthood keys and authority:

“The exercise of priesthood authority in the Church is governed by those who hold priesthood keys (see D&C 65:2; 124:123). Those who hold priesthood keys have the right to preside over and direct the Church within a jurisdiction. For example, a bishop holds priesthood keys that enable him to preside in his ward. Therefore, when a child in that ward is prepared to be baptized, the person baptizing the child must receive authorization from the bishop.

“Jesus Christ holds all the keys of the priesthood. He has given His Apostles the keys that are necessary for governing His Church. Only the senior Apostle, the President of the Church, may use (or authorize another person to use) these keys for governing the entire Church (see D&C 43:1–4; 81:2; 132:7).”³⁰

Do you know what covenants you made in each of the saving ordinances you received? If you have been baptized, or been through the temple, do you know what promises you made? Do you feel a covenant relationship with God? Do you feel an obligation to keep your promises? If we want to receive the promised blessings we must understand our obligations.

Baptism: “When you were baptized, you entered into a covenant with God. You promised to take upon yourself the name of Jesus Christ, keep His commandments, and serve Him to the end (see Mosiah 18:8–10; D&C 20:37). You renew this covenant each time you partake of the sacrament (see 20:77, 79).”³¹

Confirmation: After baptism, we are confirmed members of the Church, and the priesthood holder performing the ordinance must say “‘receive the Holy Ghost’ (not ‘receive the gift of the Holy Ghost’).”³² Elder David A. Bednar has taught, “The simplicity of this ordinance may cause us to overlook its significance. These four words—’Receive the Holy Ghost’—are not a passive pronouncement; rather, they constitute a priesthood injunction—an authoritative admonition to act and not simply to be acted upon (see 2 Nephi 2:26). The Holy Ghost does not become operative in our lives merely because hands are placed upon our heads and those four important words are spoken. As we receive this ordinance, each of us accepts a sacred and ongoing responsibility to desire, to seek, to work, and to so live that we indeed ‘receive the Holy Ghost’ and its attendant spiritual gifts.”³³

Melchizedek Priesthood: “When a man receives the Melchizedek Priesthood, he enters into the oath and covenant of the priesthood. He covenants to be faithful, magnify his calling, ‘give diligent heed to the words of eternal life,’ and ‘live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.’ Those who keep this covenant will be sanctified by the Spirit and receive ‘all that [the] Father hath.’ (See D&C 84:33–44).”³⁴

Temple Endowment: “The word endowment means ‘gift,’ and the temple endowment truly is a gift from God. The ordinance consists of a series of instructions and includes covenants we make to live righteously and comply with the requirements of the gospel. The endowment helps us focus on the Savior, His role in our Heavenly Father’s plan, and our commitment to follow Him.”³⁵ “During the endowment ordinance, you will be invited to make certain covenants with God. These covenants are: Law of Obedience, which includes striving to keep God’s commandments; Law of Sacrifice, which means doing all we can to support the Lord’s work and repenting with a broken heart and contrite spirit; Law of the Gospel, which is the higher law that He taught while He was on the earth; Law of Chastity, which means that we have sexual relations only with the person to whom we are legally and lawfully wedded according to God’s law; Law of Consecration, which means dedicating our time, talents, and everything with which the Lord has blessed us to building up Jesus Christ’s Church on the earth.”³⁶

Celestial Marriage: “A husband and wife who are sealed in the temple make sacred covenants with the Lord and with each other. These covenants assure them that their relationship will continue after this life if they are true to their commitments. They know that nothing, not even death, can separate them. Those who are married should consider their union as their most cherished earthly relationship. After all, a spouse is the only person other than the Lord whom we are commanded to love with all our heart (Doctrine and Covenants 42:22).”³⁷

Stay on the covenant path

President Russell M. Nelson has often talked about the blessings of covenants. He has encouraged us to “keep on the covenant path. Your commitment to follow the Savior by making covenants with Him and then keeping those covenants will open the door to every spiritual blessing and privilege available to men, women, and children everywhere.”³⁸

President Nelson has taught that “[w]e also increase the Savior’s power in our lives when we make sacred covenants and keep those covenants with precision. Our covenants bind us to Him and give us godly power. As faithful disciples, we repent and follow Him into the waters of baptism. We walk along the covenant path to receive other essential ordinances. And gratefully, God’s plan provides for those blessings to be extended to ancestors who died without an opportunity to obtain them during their mortal lives. Covenant-keeping men and women seek for ways to keep themselves unspotted from the world so there will be nothing blocking their access to the Savior’s power.”³⁹

Covenants provide for a relationship with God in which we can receive significant blessings, but only if we keep the covenants we have made. The Savior said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”⁴⁰ Yes, his covenants will require that we take upon ourselves obligations, but those obligations are easy and light, particularly considering the significant blessings he gives to those who strive to keep their covenants.

References

1. Matthew 11:28-30. ↩︎
2. Mosiah 2:21-25. ↩︎
3. Bible Dictionary, “Covenant,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bd/covenant?lang=eng&id=title1#title1. ↩︎
4. Legal Information Institute, “Contract,” https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/contract. ↩︎
5. Legal Information Institute, “Contract.” ↩︎
6. Mosiah 2:20-24. ↩︎
7. Moses 5:4-5. ↩︎
8. Moses 5:6-9. ↩︎
9. Guide to the Scriptures, “Redeem, Redeemed, Redemption,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/gs/redeem-redeemed-redemption?lang=eng&id=p1#p1. ↩︎
10. Doctrine and Covenants 6:13. ↩︎
11. Genesis 17:1-10. ↩︎
12. Elder Russell M. Nelson, “Covenants,” Ensign, November 2011, 87, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2011/11/sunday-afternoon-session/covenants?lang=eng&id=p11-p16#p11. ↩︎
13. Nelson, “Covenants,” 88. ↩︎
14. Elder D. Todd Christofferson, “Why the Covenant Path,” Liahona, May 2021, 116, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/liahona/2021/05/54christofferson?lang=eng&id=p4#p4. ↩︎
15. Gospel Topics Essays, “Becoming Like God,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/becoming-like-god?lang=eng&id=p32#p32. ↩︎
16. 2 Nephi 28:30. ↩︎
17. Luke 2:52. ↩︎
18. 2 Nephi 2:21. ↩︎
19. Alma 34:32. ↩︎
20. Doctrine and Covenants 88:118. ↩︎
21. Mosiah 3:18. ↩︎
22. Doctrine and Covenants 59:3-4. ↩︎
23. Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21. ↩︎
24. Cook, A. H. , Nordtvedt, . Kenneth L. and Faller, . James E.. “gravity.” Encyclopedia Britannica, December 15, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/science/gravity-physics. ↩︎
25. NASA website, “Dynamics of Flight,” https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/UEET/StudentSite/dynamicsofflight.html. ↩︎
26. NASA, “Dynamics of Flight.” ↩︎
27. Alma 5:14. ↩︎
28. Alma 5:62. ↩︎
29. True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference, “Ordinances,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2004, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/true-to-the-faith/ordinances?lang=eng&id=title1#title1. ↩︎
30. True to the Faith, “Priesthood,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/true-to-the-faith/priesthood?lang=eng&id=p13-p14#p13. ↩︎
31. True to the Faith, “Baptism,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/true-to-the-faith/baptism?lang=eng&id=p11#p11. ↩︎
32. General Handbook: Serving in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 18.8.2, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/general-handbook/18-priesthood-ordinances-and-blessings?lang=eng&id=p100#p100. ↩︎
33. Elder David A. Bednar, “Receive the Holy Ghost,” Ensign, November, 2010, 95, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2010/11/sunday-afternoon-session/receive-the-holy-ghost?lang=eng&id=p18#p18. ↩︎
34. True to the Faith, “Melchizedek Priesthood,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/true-to-the-faith/melchizedek-priesthood?lang=eng&id=p6#p6. ↩︎
35. True to the Faith, “Temples,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/true-to-the-faith/temples?lang=eng&id=p4#p4. ↩︎
36. Temples.churchofjesuschrist.org, “About the Temple Endowment,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/temples/what-is-temple-endowment?lang=eng. ↩︎
37. Temples.churchofjesuschrist.org, “About Temple Sealings,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/temples/what-happens-in-a-temple-sealing?lang=eng. ↩︎
38. President Russell M. Nelson, “As We Go Forward Together,” Ensign, April 2018, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2018/04/as-we-go-forward-together?lang=eng&id=p12#p12. ↩︎
39. President Russell M. Nelson, “Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives,” Ensign, May 2017, 41, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2017/05/saturday-morning-session/drawing-the-power-of-jesus-christ-into-our-lives?lang=eng&id=p23#p23. ↩︎
40. Matthew 11:28-30. ↩︎