1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:21,840 Hey there everybody, welcome back to another episode of Redeemed Through His Blood. 2 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:26,280 I'm Scott Durfey, joined as always by our teacher, brother David Durfee. 3 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:27,280 How are you, Dave? 4 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:32,280 Hello, Scott. It's good to be with you. 5 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:38,480 You say the title of our podcast, Redeemed Through His Blood. 6 00:00:38,480 --> 00:00:45,840 Today's podcast, I think, may have something of the essence of the entire course in it 7 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:54,840 in regards to making and keeping covenants, having them sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise, 8 00:00:54,840 --> 00:01:00,760 a little bit of a follow-up on our discussion of the gift of the Holy Ghost and having the 9 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:04,360 Spirit to be with us and how to receive revelation. 10 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:10,320 And today we want to talk about ordinance and covenants. 11 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:15,800 But before we do, it was fun to be with you and the family at our big family reunion. 12 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:18,480 Yeah, that was a great time. 13 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:20,840 We have a great family. 14 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:29,880 You know, and since we got together last week, I had a new grandchild in my family, 15 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:30,880 number 15. 16 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:31,880 I didn't know. 17 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:32,880 Congratulations, Scott. 18 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:33,880 Wow. 19 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:38,240 Dakota and his sweet wife, Samantha, had another little boy. 20 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:40,240 They have three little boys now. 21 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:41,240 Way to go. 22 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:43,280 And this one's named Haas Durfee. 23 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:44,520 That's awesome. 24 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:45,520 Yeah. 25 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:46,840 Wow, that's really sweet. 26 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:48,640 Yeah, it's kind of cool. 27 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:50,080 Got a lot to live up to. 28 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:51,360 Yes, he does. 29 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:53,120 Yes, he does. 30 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:54,120 He's up to the task. 31 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:55,120 A lot of pressure on him. 32 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:56,120 I know that. 33 00:01:56,120 --> 00:02:02,120 Yeah, he's up to the task, though, this little guy. 34 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:04,360 Those two have the most beautiful little boys. 35 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:07,000 They all little cookie cutter little boys. 36 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:08,400 They're going to be big. 37 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:15,040 Yeah, this one, you know, I think he'll be a linebacker probably at BYU or University 38 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:17,280 of Utah or something like that. 39 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:24,440 Anyway, yeah, you know, that's the joy, though, you know, the we have those joys and you know, 40 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:28,400 there's there's families that don't quite have the same blessings and I'm grateful for 41 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:29,840 the blessings that we do have. 42 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:35,760 I'm associated with another family who's gone through just a tragedy, absolute tragedy 43 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:36,760 over the last week. 44 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:44,080 They've had a daughter that adopted from Russia and with that came a whole bunch of conditional 45 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:46,000 challenges and so on. 46 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:55,720 Anyway, long story short, she ended up dying by overdose the other night and has just left 47 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:58,640 a bunch of super, super sad people. 48 00:02:58,640 --> 00:03:04,280 That's the child of the adopted daughter. 49 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:09,000 No, the the the adopted daughter's the one died. 50 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:12,200 Yeah, she has a 13 year old or so child. 51 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:14,200 Yeah, who's also struggling. 52 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:21,560 And there's just been all kinds of struggles and trials in that family, you know, and Dave, 53 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:25,280 Deb and I were talking about it last night as we were remembering and thinking about 54 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:32,000 this this poor sweet family that we love so much and and how, you know, as we have read 55 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:39,400 through and as we've done the podcast again this time, there's just so much comfort that 56 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:44,120 comes even in that, you know, even in the wake of that deep, deep tragedy, you know, 57 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:49,960 is because of our understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and its infinite, infinite 58 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:54,960 powers and its infinite reach and right and how because we know in Doctrine and Covenants 59 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:58,480 4615 that will be judged according to our conditions. 60 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:03,760 You know, we can't judge the conditions that that person is doing his mercies. 61 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:04,960 Exactly. 62 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:09,960 According to the conditions of the children of men, that's Doctrine and Covenants 4615. 63 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:17,120 And you know, because of that, there's just there's comfort, you know, in which it's really 64 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:22,520 cool because, you know, you think of the tragedies that we face and we do all of us have to face 65 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:25,440 tragedy of some sort in our life. 66 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:27,960 I can't imagine for my tragedies. 67 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:32,240 I can't, I guess, imagine because I see it around me, but I can't imagine the absence 68 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:37,720 of the hope of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in something like that because of that hope. 69 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:42,880 I know, I know that that sweet girl will be taken unto him. 70 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:45,080 Perfect brightness of hope. 71 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:53,560 You know, you know, Scott, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we've said this so many times 72 00:04:53,560 --> 00:05:04,640 over our podcast, but it is so infinite and so intimate that in the end, all the iniquities 73 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:10,440 and inequities of life will be made right. 74 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:17,520 All the unfairness of life will be made right. 75 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:24,920 All of that is covered by the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Atonement of Jesus Christ 76 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:34,280 and our Savior is the center, Scott, of all the covenant, the new and everlasting covenant 77 00:05:34,280 --> 00:05:45,360 and all the covenants, ordinances that we make in the gospel and in the restored gospel. 78 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:50,880 Since you were talking about adoption, there's a story that Stephen Robinson tells in his 79 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:53,480 book, Following Christ. 80 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:59,680 And I just want to read this and it's just a short page. 81 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:05,800 If a page can be short, several years ago, some friends of mine adopted an older child 82 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:10,560 from the third world who had lived a very difficult life before coming to the United 83 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:13,040 States for a long time. 84 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:20,120 Their greatest frustration in dealing with their new daughter was her crippling insecurity. 85 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:22,880 She couldn't believe she was safe. 86 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:32,320 She paid slavish, obsessive attention to every word her new parents uttered. 87 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:37,720 For fear she would make a mistake and be sent back. 88 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:44,080 She was so terrified of what her parents might do if she weren't good enough or if she weren't 89 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:50,240 perfect enough that she could not for a long time enter into any relationship of love and 90 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:54,800 trust that they desired to have with her. 91 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:59,600 Think about this in terms of our covenant relationship with God. 92 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:01,720 They couldn't make suggestions. 93 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:06,180 They couldn't even make suggestions for her improvement or constructively criticize or 94 00:07:06,180 --> 00:07:10,080 show any kind of irritation or impatience with her. 95 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:15,040 Whatever without sending the poor girl into a panic, tearfully begging for forgiveness 96 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,400 and for just one more chance. 97 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:21,840 It was heart wrenching to witness. 98 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:28,360 Over and over they tried to reassure her that she could have all the chances she needed. 99 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:33,920 There was no end of chances that their decision to adopt her was eternal. 100 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:39,680 It was irrevocable and no longer open to reevaluation. 101 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:47,480 She was part of their family now and need not fear she would ever be sent away. 102 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:50,480 Please trust us they would plead. 103 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:52,720 Have faith in us. 104 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:59,040 Don't you know that only you can break the bond that now holds us together? 105 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:02,560 It will never be severed on our side. 106 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:06,280 Your place with us is secure. 107 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:11,200 As long as you want to stay, this is your home. 108 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:17,240 But still it took years for her to fully realize that she wasn't even, that she wasn't 109 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:25,160 being evaluated for possible deportation every time she made a mistake or messed up. 110 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:28,360 Well spiritually some of us are just like her. 111 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:31,320 This is still Brother Stephen Robinson. 112 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:37,600 We've been so traumatized by our experiences in a fallen world that we have a hard time 113 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:44,840 accepting the love of God and believing we could possibly have a place in his holy family. 114 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:51,960 Any recipients of his love and already adopted as his sons and daughters through covenants. 115 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:57,480 Some of us are still trying to earn his affection and get into the family. 116 00:08:57,480 --> 00:09:04,480 Our inability to accept his merciful gifts and tender mercies gets in the way of a better 117 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:07,320 relationship we might have with God. 118 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:18,320 If we only knew our proper place in his covenantal love and in his kingdom and then progressed 119 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:20,920 from there. 120 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:28,080 I think there are so many members still in the church who still feel like they're trying 121 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:32,000 to prove themselves as being worthy of the family. 122 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:38,120 When they've already made covenants, when they're in the family, full pledge. 123 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:49,720 Now granted none of us are equal in our adherence to commandments, keeping commandments or honoring 124 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:51,600 sacred covenants. 125 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:54,880 But we're all in the family if we're in the covenant. 126 00:09:54,880 --> 00:10:02,240 As long as we don't sever it, as long as we don't do anything bad enough to have us removed, 127 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:04,000 right? 128 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:11,520 As long as we're not the prodigal who leaves and even then if he comes back, he will be 129 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:15,120 received into the family with a great celebration. 130 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:18,080 I mean Scott, I just think there's so much. 131 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:24,840 It's so sad to me that there's so much insecurity and doubt about where people stand. 132 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:33,760 With God, when they are covenant members of his, not just his church, but his kingdom. 133 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:43,200 So I hope that in our discussion today, we can help individuals and families to understand 134 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:52,240 their, not just their worth as sons and daughters of God, but to understand their value to him 135 00:10:52,240 --> 00:11:00,800 being in the covenant and what all of that means, especially as it is sealed, all covenants, 136 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:04,000 as they are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. 137 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:13,520 I love how you point out and draw attention to that there's still so many of us that are 138 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:16,680 trying to earn our way into the family to get there. 139 00:11:16,680 --> 00:11:24,240 I love in doctrine and covenant section 132, this is in verse 19, it's towards the middle 140 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:25,240 of verse 19. 141 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:28,040 It's talking about a revelation on celestial marriage. 142 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:29,040 That's exactly right. 143 00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:33,800 And it's talking about how do we maintain that covenantal relationship? 144 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:39,400 It's how do we qualify to keep that covenantal relationship alive in our lives? 145 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:41,560 And so I'm just going to read part of it in part. 146 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:45,960 It says, then shall it be written in the book, Lam's book of life? 147 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:47,080 It shall be written in there. 148 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:50,040 They are sealing our covenantal process, right? 149 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:55,000 As it's sealed up by the Holy Spirit of promise, that he shall commit no murder whereby to 150 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:56,920 shed innocent blood. 151 00:11:56,920 --> 00:12:01,920 And if ye abide my covenant and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall 152 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:07,280 be done unto them and all things whatsoever my servant have put upon them. 153 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:13,720 That's a pretty tall, I mean, that's a pretty broad, you know, swath there, you know, hey, 154 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:16,040 just don't kill anybody, right? 155 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:20,960 Now, now I know, you know, and that's an oversimplification and I don't want to. 156 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:25,920 That may allude more to not just being in the covenant, Scott, and you're probably going 157 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:29,360 to say this, but also having your calling election made sure. 158 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:30,360 Right, yeah. 159 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:34,000 You know, when you have your calling election made sure, and I don't know if we'll get 160 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:38,200 into that in this podcast, but when you have your calling election made sure and you receive 161 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:45,240 the second Comforter and the second Annointing and all of that, which those who are talking 162 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:46,800 about it don't know what they're talking about. 163 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:51,080 And those who know what they're talking about, they ain't talking about it. 164 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:55,280 So I don't, you know, there's not a lot, I'm more that we can say about it. 165 00:12:55,280 --> 00:13:01,480 No, once an individual has received those promises and been sealed up by the Holy Spirit 166 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:08,120 of promise, that's, that is about as sure as you 167 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:09,120 can get. 168 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:16,400 And the only way you get out of it is, is by doing the most grievous things possible. 169 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:17,640 But we don't think that. 170 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:18,640 I know. 171 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:23,760 So, you know, and even those of us who haven't had our calling election made sure or haven't 172 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:30,840 received all those promised, you know, celestial blessings yet, being in the covenant, being 173 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:36,840 in the baptismal covenant, being sons and daughters of Jesus Christ. 174 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:39,560 Scott, we're adopted by Jesus Christ. 175 00:13:39,560 --> 00:13:46,400 He's our Heavenly Father in the sense that, well, I should say he's our spiritual Father 176 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:51,120 in the sense that he purchased us with his blood. 177 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:53,480 He's not our, he's not our Heavenly Father. 178 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:59,640 He's not this Father of our spirits, but he is our spiritual Father and the Father of 179 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:00,840 our salvation. 180 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:08,440 So in a real literal sense, as all goes back to Mosiah 5.7, we become the children of Christ 181 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:14,440 when we enter the covenant and receive the ordinance of baptism. 182 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:20,840 As adopted sons and daughters of Jesus Christ, Scott, he's not giving up on us easily. 183 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:21,840 No. 184 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:25,140 It's really hard to get out of that covenant. 185 00:14:25,140 --> 00:14:27,800 And he's not going to remove us. 186 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:35,840 We will remove ourselves because he is never going to give up on us in that covenant. 187 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:41,840 And then when we further receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, receive that ordinance and 188 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:49,320 that covenant, you know, there are five ordinances and covenants of salvation and exaltation, 189 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:53,200 Scott, if you're in the church. 190 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:58,880 And one of them is baptism, right? 191 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:03,440 Confirmation, receive the Holy Ghost and confirmation. 192 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:09,480 If you're a man to receive the priesthood and if you're a sister to be able to exercise 193 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:15,360 priesthood authority by receiving callings and those, those kinds of opportunities that 194 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:19,400 come to us in the church. 195 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:24,800 The other is our endowment, which includes the initiatory to be washed and anointed and 196 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:25,800 endowed. 197 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:26,880 That's number four. 198 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:32,280 And number five is to be sealed for time and for all eternity. 199 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:38,240 Those are the five ordinances and covenants of salvation and exaltation. 200 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:48,800 And all of those need to be sealed, confirmed, made sure by the Holy Spirit of promise. 201 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:53,840 So let's talk just a little bit more about the Holy Spirit of promise and then we'll 202 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:56,960 move into the ordinance and covenants in a little more detail. 203 00:15:56,960 --> 00:16:03,800 I'm really glad you want to do that because yesterday I had a quite a wonderful experience 204 00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:07,600 doing a little study on the Holy Spirit of promise. 205 00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:09,800 And it changed me. 206 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:13,560 It changed me in a couple of important ways, I think. 207 00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:17,520 You know, so for example, if you don't mind, I think I'll just share my experience with 208 00:16:17,520 --> 00:16:18,520 it. 209 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:23,680 There's a couple of places in scripture where we really get exposed to the Holy Spirit of 210 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:28,400 promise and one of those places is in Doctrine and Covenants section 88 verses three through 211 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:29,400 four. 212 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:30,400 So I'm going to read that. 213 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:35,040 Wherefore, I now send upon you another comforter. 214 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:37,560 And I love that word, another comforter. 215 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:43,520 And this is going to have pertinence to what my experience was when I come back to that. 216 00:16:43,520 --> 00:16:46,320 And let me just give a little context to this, right? 217 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:49,440 So section 88 is called the Olive Leaf. 218 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:50,440 OK. 219 00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:51,520 This revelation. 220 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:58,960 It was really, it was an amazing revelation of comfort and peace and assurance to the 221 00:16:58,960 --> 00:16:59,960 church. 222 00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:02,560 Joseph Smith had called the elders home. 223 00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:08,400 They were having kind of a mission conference, a church conference. 224 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:10,080 And he received this revelation. 225 00:17:10,080 --> 00:17:16,280 So when you say that I've given unto you another comforter, he's not talking about 226 00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:19,760 apostles and prophets here, Scott. 227 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:25,480 He's talking about the church in general and those who have made and who are keeping 228 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:30,720 covenants and establishing the restored gospel. 229 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:34,520 I love having you with me to do this stuff. 230 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:38,080 When we went a couple of years ago, this is for our listeners. 231 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:39,960 I'm not talking to you right now, David. 232 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:45,800 But when we went with our listeners a couple of years ago to Nauvoo, I just. 233 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:48,240 You said when we went with our listeners, when we went with our friends. 234 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:49,720 When we went with our family and friends, I'm sorry. 235 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:50,720 Yeah. 236 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:51,720 Yeah. 237 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:55,560 A couple of years ago to Nauvoo, Dave took us on a church history tour. 238 00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:57,640 We'll probably put another one of those together soon. 239 00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:00,000 If you're interested, let me know. 240 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:06,240 But to be able to follow David around and just get these little tiny insights, you know, 241 00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:10,760 that are important, that add texture and context and just bring this alive. 242 00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:11,760 I love that. 243 00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:12,760 Thank you. 244 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:14,840 So, wherefore, I now send. 245 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:20,280 This is verse three upon you another comforter, even upon you, my friends, that it may abide 246 00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:22,680 in your hearts, even the Holy Spirit of promise. 247 00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:23,880 And that's important now. 248 00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:28,600 He's used the word comforter and he's used the word Holy, the title, Holy Spirit of 249 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:29,600 promise. 250 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:32,040 And these are both roles of the Holy Ghost. 251 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:35,440 Going back to the scripture, which other comforter is the same that I promised unto 252 00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:38,440 my disciples as recorded in the testimony of John. 253 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:43,280 Remember when John said, I give unto you a comforter, which is the Holy Ghost who shall 254 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:45,520 bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever. 255 00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:47,240 I've said unto you. 256 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:51,760 And so, you know, and then in verse four here in 88, the comforter is the promise which 257 00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:57,320 I give unto you of eternal life, even the glory of the celestial kingdom. 258 00:18:57,320 --> 00:19:00,240 So the comforter, the Holy Spirit of promise. 259 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:05,840 And then that's how we take on the completion of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, which qualifies 260 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:09,320 us for that being able to move into the celestial kingdom. 261 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:11,400 Now here's my thoughts on that. 262 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:14,840 I've always kind of subconsciously thought of the Holy Spirit of promise. 263 00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:16,000 I've known what it is. 264 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:19,680 You know, I was having a conversation last night with a member of Alcoholics Anonymous 265 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:22,840 that I was doing some step works with and I was sharing my experience about the Holy 266 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:27,520 Spirit of promise and this person said, I've never heard that title before, that work before. 267 00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:28,520 But I've known about that. 268 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:32,400 You know, we had a little experience getting to share that too. 269 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:37,160 But you know, I learned about when I was going to Rick's College in 1982, I took a missionary 270 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:43,880 prep class and I really got to my first real exposure, maybe, of the Holy Spirit of promise. 271 00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:46,280 And I got to understand it a little bit there. 272 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:50,320 But you know, as I led my life, David, we know the Holy Spirit of promise. 273 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:53,360 We know its role is to go back into ratify. 274 00:19:53,360 --> 00:19:54,720 It has a ratifying role. 275 00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:58,360 I heard I would have beddwn our speak on the Holy Spirit of promise recently and talking 276 00:19:58,360 --> 00:20:03,200 about how the power is a ratification power that the Holy Spirit of promise does ratify 277 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:04,200 what? 278 00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:07,040 Ratify our covenants, which we're going to talk about here in just a minute. 279 00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:13,080 But, you know, when you live a life that's largely incongruent, like I was, the thought 280 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:18,040 of an auditor, right, that's what the Holy Spirit kind of became to me was an auditor 281 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:24,880 or a referee or, you know, or something like that, something that was looking for looking 282 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:30,520 for where I was making mistakes so that it could condemn me, right. 283 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:32,880 And so, you know, that thought really is kind of condemning. 284 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:39,280 And then so if it's condemning, then it really kind of creates another self-created example 285 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:43,880 of, you know, what a piece of garbage I am, you know, if I have that view. 286 00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:49,080 Well, understanding this, and I, you know, and I've, I think I've come to consensus or 287 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:51,200 come to grips with this over the years. 288 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:55,960 But when I see the Holy Spirit of promise as the Comforter, which we just read, right, 289 00:20:55,960 --> 00:21:02,520 that takes on a whole new empowering and loving role in my relationship with him, right. 290 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:06,320 By qualifying for the blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, I've been repenting in a 291 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:08,120 new way, right. 292 00:21:08,120 --> 00:21:12,920 I've begun to feel the kind of comforting and soul-consoling companionship of the Holy 293 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:15,520 Ghost, right. 294 00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:21,120 And if that's the case, there's no way that he can be both, which is what I saw him before, 295 00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:25,320 kind of on scrupulosity patrol, right. 296 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:33,080 He's not on scrupulosity patrol as much as he is just to be our Comforter. 297 00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:34,600 So he can't be both at once. 298 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:40,400 If he's a Comforter, then his role of the Holy Spirit of promise should also be comforting. 299 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:45,520 And so as I see that now, what I see is he's, you know, we talk about Jesus Christ being 300 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:47,360 our advocate with the Father. 301 00:21:47,360 --> 00:21:52,600 The Holy Spirit kind of has that same role in this regard, in that it's through his 302 00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:58,440 comfort that he goes, helps me qualify, we've talked about, is through the, he's the administrator 303 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:00,840 of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in my life. 304 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:06,320 And so through his comfort and through his direction and guidance, that can be a Comfortable, 305 00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:12,080 that can be a comforting experience instead of, I gotta watch my P's and Q's experience, 306 00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:16,840 which we do, which we do, I'm not saying we shouldn't, but it takes on a different meaning, 307 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:18,880 a different context for me. 308 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:27,480 Well, thank you, Scott, you know, so I'm thinking of Dr. and Comments section 84, 19 through 309 00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:29,240 22. 310 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:38,120 And Dr. and Comments section 84, Scott says that in the ordinances thereof, the power 311 00:22:38,120 --> 00:22:40,440 of godliness is manifest. 312 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:42,200 I think that's verse 21. 313 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:43,200 21. 314 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:49,200 In the ordinances thereof, speaking really of the temple, that they are contemplating 315 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:56,600 building, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest. 316 00:22:56,600 --> 00:23:02,120 Well, skip forward to the dedication of the Kirtland temple in Dr. and Comments section 317 00:23:02,120 --> 00:23:04,400 109. 318 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:12,440 In the dedicatory prayer, Joseph Smith says that in this house, they may receive a fullness 319 00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:19,800 of the Holy Ghost, a fullness of the Holy Ghost. 320 00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:24,400 The Holy Ghost, Scott, is the messenger and the administrator, the Atonement of Jesus 321 00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:30,840 Christ, and it is the power of godliness that is manifest into our life by and through 322 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:38,920 the Holy Ghost, which is nothing more than the atonement and power of Jesus Christ in 323 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:40,800 our life, Scott. 324 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:47,240 That's really what the power of godliness is, is the atonement of Jesus Christ administered 325 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:53,040 into our lives through the fullness of the Holy Ghost. 326 00:23:53,040 --> 00:24:00,640 When we make, when we receive ordinances and we make covenants, and I probably have told 327 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:08,160 this story about with Brother Matthews in my home in Minnesota, when I told Brother Matthews 328 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:13,720 who wrote the Bible dictionary in a discussion we were having late one evening, he was staying 329 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:18,720 with us in our home for a week and I said, I've come to conclusion, Brother Matthews, 330 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:25,200 that whenever we faithfully receive any ordinance of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the atonement 331 00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:29,800 of Jesus Christ is applied in our life. 332 00:24:29,800 --> 00:24:33,280 He sat there for a minute and I could tell he was really thinking about what I said 333 00:24:33,280 --> 00:24:39,240 and he said, repeat that please, and I said, whenever we faithfully participate in any 334 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:44,720 ordinance of the gospel, the atonement of Jesus Christ is applied in our life, either 335 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:49,200 as a giver of the ordinance or a receiver of the ordinance. 336 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:51,600 Didn't even write it down. 337 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:53,560 Well, he said, you got a pencil, David? 338 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:54,560 Yeah. 339 00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:55,560 He said pencil. 340 00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:56,560 Yeah. 341 00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:57,880 So I went and got a pen. 342 00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:01,920 I love that because I think there's a lesson for us there. 343 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:03,400 We talked about personal revelation. 344 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:09,320 It was a profound lesson for me, Scott, this man who'd written the Bible dictionary and 345 00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:12,560 he said they're pondering this, then he says, let me write it down. 346 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:16,160 So he wrote it down and there's power in that. 347 00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:20,920 And so he wrote it down and he sat there and he looked at it and he studied it from, it 348 00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:27,360 must have been a couple of minutes and he looked up at me and he said, thank you, David, 349 00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:31,080 that was worth coming to Minnesota for. 350 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:34,240 I believe that's true. 351 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:36,160 Said I believe that's true. 352 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:43,800 And I've concluded that it's true to Scott that whenever we participate in any ordinance 353 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:50,440 of the gospel, which are associated with covenants, when we faithfully participate in 354 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:55,840 any ordinance, the gospel is a giver of the ordinance or is a receiver of the ordinance, 355 00:25:55,840 --> 00:26:07,040 the atonement of Jesus Christ or the power of godliness is manifest in our life through 356 00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:12,400 the fullness, the blessings, the gift of the Holy Ghost. 357 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:14,200 That's how it works. 358 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:21,840 Now when we receive those ordinances, if we have faithfully received them and they are 359 00:26:21,840 --> 00:26:28,400 ratified by the gift of the Holy Ghost, we can say we have received the Holy Spirit of 360 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:36,320 promise that it's been sealed, that it's that it's that blessing that ordinance has been 361 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:46,800 accepted by God and to our benefit and blessing forever and ever as long as we are faithful. 362 00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:51,400 Being faithful doesn't mean that you're sinless. 363 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:55,280 Being faithful does not mean that you're sinless. 364 00:26:55,280 --> 00:27:00,880 You cannot be sinless in this life. 365 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:08,000 Being faithful, you know, in fact, this is also in brother Robinson's book on following 366 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:15,360 Christ, the word, the word faith Scott in the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament 367 00:27:15,360 --> 00:27:18,920 in the Hebrew. 368 00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:28,400 It doesn't have much to do with with mental assurance or mental conviction or belief. 369 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:37,240 So many people, I think, just synonymously think that think of faith as being belief. 370 00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:43,040 But that's not the way the Hebrew prophets spoke about faith. 371 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:48,320 Faith and being faithful is not just believing. 372 00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:50,720 It is so much more than that. 373 00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:55,120 It is the real word for it. 374 00:27:55,120 --> 00:28:07,080 The Hebrew, the primitive root word is a man or a man, a man, which means to support, 375 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:12,040 to have conviction, to be carried by. 376 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:14,720 You know, it's a verb. 377 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:22,200 It's a really strong verb, which means that God will support us, that he will carry us, 378 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:32,560 that to be faithful means that we will be found in the covenant with him, not just that 379 00:28:32,560 --> 00:28:34,880 we'll always believe in him. 380 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:42,080 Granted, if we're faithful, we're going to believe, but faithful is a much stronger word 381 00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:46,960 than just belief or believing in something. 382 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:52,920 So when we are faithful, it doesn't mean that we're going to be perfect or that we're going 383 00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:53,920 to be sinless. 384 00:28:53,920 --> 00:29:00,480 It means really that we're going to rely on him and be supported by him. 385 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:06,480 And we're going to do the best we can to support him in his work and to be involved in his 386 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:07,760 work. 387 00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:12,160 That's what it means to be faithful, not perfect or sinless. 388 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:18,960 So when we're in the covenant, Scott, we have this special relationship. 389 00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:27,920 I remember being with someone in my family who I love, and we were sitting in a car and 390 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:32,560 we were talking about the gospel of Jesus Christ and we were talking about the importance 391 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:38,120 of the temple and the importance of the ordinances and covenants in the temple. 392 00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:46,880 And I said to this dear child of mine, you know, making and keeping covenants is not 393 00:29:46,880 --> 00:29:50,160 another checklist. 394 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:58,040 It's not about a list of things that you should do or not do. 395 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:07,440 Making and keeping a covenant has everything to do with the heart and your relationship 396 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:09,800 with deity. 397 00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:17,520 That's what it's about, Scott, is having a relationship with deity and being bound by 398 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:23,000 them, to them, them being bound to us, not just us to them. 399 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:28,080 But when we make a covenant with God, he becomes bound to us. 400 00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:29,080 He becomes bound. 401 00:30:29,080 --> 00:30:30,080 Right? 402 00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:34,240 Dr. N. N. comes in section 82, verse 10. 403 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:36,360 He's bound. 404 00:30:36,360 --> 00:30:39,440 He's connected to us. 405 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:42,800 Through him we are justified, through his righteousness. 406 00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:51,720 In fact, I want to read that scripture, Scott, in 2 Nephi 2, verse 3, this is Lehi to his 407 00:30:51,720 --> 00:30:54,640 son, to his sons. 408 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:57,760 Why don't you start with verse 1? 409 00:30:57,760 --> 00:30:59,760 And now, Jacob, I speak unto you. 410 00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:00,760 Yeah, to Jacob. 411 00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:04,520 Thou art my firstborn in the days of my tribulation and the wilderness. 412 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:09,280 And behold, in thy childhood thou hast suffered afflictions and much sorrow because of the 413 00:31:09,280 --> 00:31:10,960 rudeness of thy brethren. 414 00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:16,240 Nevertheless, Jacob, my firstborn in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God, and he 415 00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:20,960 shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain. 416 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:23,160 This is because he's in a covenant. 417 00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:29,080 You've got to think about Jacob is in a covenant and his afflictions will be consecrated for 418 00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:34,160 his gain because of this covenantal relationship that he's in. 419 00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:36,160 And then read the rest. 420 00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:43,960 Wherefore, thy soul shall be blessed and thou shall dwell safely with thy brother Nephi, 421 00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:47,880 and thy days shall be spent in the service of thy God. 422 00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:54,640 Wherefore I know that thou art redeemed because of the righteousness of thy Redeemer, for 423 00:31:54,640 --> 00:32:02,640 thou hast beheld that in the fullness of time he cometh to bring salvation unto men. 424 00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:07,640 So Lehi tells Jacob, who's pretty young at this point, right? 425 00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:10,560 He's probably a teenager. 426 00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:15,640 You believe telling your teenager that he's saved, that he's redeemed. 427 00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:18,640 I mean, most members of the church aren't even sure if they're saved or redeemed. 428 00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:21,480 I sometimes get the feeling. 429 00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:26,600 And then Lehi's telling his son, Jacob, that he's saved or redeemed, not because of his 430 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:30,520 righteousness, the righteousness of thy Redeemer. 431 00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:36,680 But because of the righteousness of his Redeemer, because, because, God, he's in a covenant relationship 432 00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:38,360 with him. 433 00:32:38,360 --> 00:32:41,560 Because of the covenant, Lehi can say that. 434 00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:46,760 Because you are in the covenant relationship, the new and everlasting covenant relationship, 435 00:32:46,760 --> 00:32:50,760 which we'll talk more about later, the new and everlasting covenant, because you are 436 00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:58,560 tied to the covenant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, you are redeemed. 437 00:32:58,560 --> 00:33:04,400 I hope our listeners feel like they're redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ. 438 00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:06,600 It's not some future event. 439 00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:13,440 If we're in a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ, we are redeemed. 440 00:33:13,440 --> 00:33:14,980 We are justified. 441 00:33:14,980 --> 00:33:21,680 We call ourselves saints, which means that we're sanctified by the Holy Ghost. 442 00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:26,960 Sanctified means to be made pure, but the word saints comes from sanctified. 443 00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:34,960 We are redeemed, Scott, and that's because of this covenant relationship that we're in. 444 00:33:34,960 --> 00:33:44,160 President Nelson trained general authorities, I think it was the last day of March 2022 before 445 00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:49,320 General Conference, March 31st, 2022. 446 00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:56,800 And that talks, I'm sure it was somewhat edited, was put in the Lea Honah magazine in 447 00:33:56,800 --> 00:34:01,000 October of 2022, six months later. 448 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:08,120 And I really recommend all of our listeners really study this talk by President Nelson. 449 00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:11,640 It's really not a talk, it's training for general authorities. 450 00:34:11,640 --> 00:34:17,360 Training for general authorities on what a covenant is and the importance of making 451 00:34:17,360 --> 00:34:20,160 and keeping covenants. 452 00:34:20,160 --> 00:34:25,880 The everlasting covenant by President Russell M. Nelson, and it's in the Lea Honah, October 453 00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:29,560 2022. 454 00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:31,480 So not even a year ago. 455 00:34:31,480 --> 00:34:38,560 And it's interesting to me, I think sometimes I make the mistake in my life, I think, Scott, 456 00:34:38,560 --> 00:34:44,520 of I'm really trying to get down the conference reports and I really listen and study conference 457 00:34:44,520 --> 00:34:50,240 reports, but sometimes I'm not as good at reading the church magazines. 458 00:34:50,240 --> 00:34:58,400 And it's kind of interesting to me that he chose to have this printed in a church magazine. 459 00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:03,920 And I think that's, that should, I don't know, raise all of our awareness about the importance 460 00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:07,120 of church magazines and reading and studying those. 461 00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:13,080 And I, apparently they feel strong enough about it, the brethren, that they're going 462 00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:15,680 to make that available to all members of the church. 463 00:35:15,680 --> 00:35:24,120 Yeah, for free, and so this is in the Lea Honah, and he talks about how important it 464 00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:26,720 is to have a covenant relationship. 465 00:35:26,720 --> 00:35:32,880 And this is what he shares with us, which I think is really profound. 466 00:35:32,880 --> 00:35:40,520 He says, a special love, and we receive a special love and mercy when we make a covenant with 467 00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:43,400 God. 468 00:35:43,400 --> 00:35:49,320 When we make a covenant with God, we leave neutral ground forever. 469 00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:56,560 God will not abandon his relationship with those who have forged such a bond with him. 470 00:35:56,560 --> 00:36:03,920 In fact, all those who have made a covenant with God have access to a special kind of 471 00:36:03,920 --> 00:36:06,760 love and mercy. 472 00:36:06,760 --> 00:36:12,480 In the Hebrew language, the language of the Old Testament, in the Hebrew language, that 473 00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:23,320 covenantal love is called Hased, Hased, which has no English equivalent. 474 00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:29,000 There's no, nothing in our English language that is equivalent. 475 00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:35,560 Translators of the King James Version of the Bible must have really struggled how to render 476 00:36:35,560 --> 00:36:38,880 Hased in English. 477 00:36:38,880 --> 00:36:42,880 They often chose the word loving kindness. 478 00:36:42,880 --> 00:36:45,400 Oh, wow, yeah. 479 00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:46,400 Loving kindness. 480 00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:52,240 I studied this, that word again this morning, loving kindness. 481 00:36:52,240 --> 00:36:57,200 This captures much, but not the entire meaning of Hased. 482 00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:03,480 Other translations were also rendered such as mercy and goodness, sometimes just love, 483 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:04,640 sometimes just kindness. 484 00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:13,640 Hased is a unique term describing a covenant relationship in which both parties are bound 485 00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:21,360 to be loyal and faithful to each other. 486 00:37:21,360 --> 00:37:24,120 Heavenly Father is loyal to us, God. 487 00:37:24,120 --> 00:37:29,240 He is so loyal to us because we have this covenant relationship. 488 00:37:29,240 --> 00:37:32,280 We're bound to him and he's bound to us. 489 00:37:32,280 --> 00:37:35,520 But sometimes we just think of that as being a one-way thing. 490 00:37:35,520 --> 00:37:39,680 We often just think, oh, I got to stay connected to him. 491 00:37:39,680 --> 00:37:43,920 The truth is, he's connected with us. 492 00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:46,480 I have to be bound to him. 493 00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:50,240 He is bound to us. 494 00:37:50,240 --> 00:37:56,000 When we make and keep covenant, Scott, it goes both ways. 495 00:37:56,000 --> 00:37:59,960 And he's a lot, I know he's a lot more loyal than I am. 496 00:37:59,960 --> 00:38:07,400 And because I can't be sinless in a fallen world, he is sinless. 497 00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:13,240 I can't be perfect here in mortality, but he is perfect and he keeps these covenants 498 00:38:13,240 --> 00:38:17,360 perfectly, which I can't do. 499 00:38:17,360 --> 00:38:24,600 But because I'm in this covenant, I know that I am redeemed and that if I'll just not give 500 00:38:24,600 --> 00:38:33,840 up, if I will continue in the doctrine of Christ, faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, 501 00:38:33,840 --> 00:38:38,800 baptism, holy ghost, indoor to the end, which I think means partake of the sacrament. 502 00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:43,560 President Elton has said, indoor to the end means continue to participate in the ordinances 503 00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:44,800 of the gospel. 504 00:38:44,800 --> 00:38:51,920 So if I just continue to be worthy enough to partake of the sacrament, I'm in the covenant. 505 00:38:51,920 --> 00:38:53,120 I'm on the path. 506 00:38:53,120 --> 00:38:54,200 I'm not only in the path. 507 00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:56,120 I'm in the kingdom. 508 00:38:56,120 --> 00:38:58,880 I mean, I'm in. 509 00:38:58,880 --> 00:39:02,520 I'm not only on, but I'm in. 510 00:39:02,520 --> 00:39:04,200 I'm in the family, Scott. 511 00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:06,120 I'm not just on a path. 512 00:39:06,120 --> 00:39:09,360 I'm in the family. 513 00:39:09,360 --> 00:39:10,480 That's different. 514 00:39:10,480 --> 00:39:13,200 And that's how I choose to see it. 515 00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:22,600 And when we're in his family, oh man, we don't have to act like adopted child from a third 516 00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:28,440 world country, you know, who's so insecure that anytime we make a mistake, we think we're 517 00:39:28,440 --> 00:39:30,440 going to be kicked out. 518 00:39:30,440 --> 00:39:32,440 That's not how this works. 519 00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:34,840 That's not the gospel of Jesus Christ. 520 00:39:34,840 --> 00:39:37,080 That's not the plan of redemption. 521 00:39:37,080 --> 00:39:39,600 He is, he is there for us. 522 00:39:39,600 --> 00:39:42,920 Jesus Christ is there for us. 523 00:39:42,920 --> 00:39:49,840 Now there's a difference in our relationship in making and keeping baptismal covenants versus 524 00:39:49,840 --> 00:39:53,520 making and keeping temple covenants. 525 00:39:53,520 --> 00:40:00,520 And first of all, when we participate in baptism and we renew our baptismal covenants when 526 00:40:00,520 --> 00:40:06,080 we partake of the sacrament, we, we say in the sacramental prayers, right, we make a 527 00:40:06,080 --> 00:40:14,080 covenant that we are willing to take upon ourselves his name. 528 00:40:14,080 --> 00:40:19,080 Well, we did that when we were baptized. 529 00:40:19,080 --> 00:40:24,320 We took upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ and we became the adopted sons and daughters 530 00:40:24,320 --> 00:40:27,400 of Jesus Christ. 531 00:40:27,400 --> 00:40:30,000 Spirit children, right? 532 00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:37,820 But when we make this covenant, when we partake of the sacrament, that we will, that we are 533 00:40:37,820 --> 00:40:46,080 willing to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, it's talking about the temple. 534 00:40:46,080 --> 00:40:52,400 It's talking about going to the temple and there taking upon ourselves again the name 535 00:40:52,400 --> 00:41:01,160 of Jesus Christ, but in a more profound, deeper sense, more significant, where we become joint 536 00:41:01,160 --> 00:41:08,800 heirs with Jesus Christ, where he's no longer just our, our father, but he now be, we now 537 00:41:08,800 --> 00:41:12,040 become joint heirs with him. 538 00:41:12,040 --> 00:41:17,480 Like my wife's main name was Terry, Wendell B. Terry. 539 00:41:17,480 --> 00:41:18,480 You knew him. 540 00:41:18,480 --> 00:41:19,480 You worked with him. 541 00:41:19,480 --> 00:41:22,120 What a amazing man, right? 542 00:41:22,120 --> 00:41:23,120 Absolutely. 543 00:41:23,120 --> 00:41:25,720 And what, what a good man. 544 00:41:25,720 --> 00:41:32,320 And my wife carried that name with honor and reverence because of what Wendell Terry had 545 00:41:32,320 --> 00:41:34,000 done with his name. 546 00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:37,000 And she was so proud to be a Terry. 547 00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:46,000 But when we became married and she took upon herself my name and we became joint heirs 548 00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:47,000 with Christ. 549 00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:55,360 When we nailed across that alder, Scott in the Salt Lake temple on May night, sorry, 550 00:41:55,360 --> 00:42:00,160 May 19th, her birthday on December 19th. 551 00:42:00,160 --> 00:42:03,840 I won't tell you what year could it'll date me because you can't remember it. 552 00:42:03,840 --> 00:42:05,480 I remember it. 553 00:42:05,480 --> 00:42:09,400 I absolutely remember it December 19th, 1975. 554 00:42:09,400 --> 00:42:15,960 Anyway, six months after my mission, when we nailed across that alder and we received 555 00:42:15,960 --> 00:42:23,200 each other and she took my name and we became joint heirs with Jesus Christ. 556 00:42:23,200 --> 00:42:31,160 Scott, it's, it's, it's a different relationship versus having using the name of your father 557 00:42:31,160 --> 00:42:39,320 mercy using the name of the bridegroom and Jesus Christ is the ultimate bridegroom. 558 00:42:39,320 --> 00:42:45,520 And when we go to the temple, we become his bride. 559 00:42:45,520 --> 00:42:46,520 Yeah. 560 00:42:46,520 --> 00:42:54,160 We become, we take upon ourselves his name, not now as an adopted son or daughter, but 561 00:42:54,160 --> 00:42:57,840 as a joint heir. 562 00:42:57,840 --> 00:43:09,600 Scott, that relationship is not broken easily unless we go run off as described in the book 563 00:43:09,600 --> 00:43:13,200 of Hosea, Hosea in the Old Testament. 564 00:43:13,200 --> 00:43:18,920 We run off and we go whoring, whoring after other gods. 565 00:43:18,920 --> 00:43:22,600 That's the only way we break that relationship, Scott. 566 00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:32,200 When we are bound to him, when we are married to Christ, when we are joint heirs with him. 567 00:43:32,200 --> 00:43:33,840 And I love that scripture, right? 568 00:43:33,840 --> 00:43:39,880 In in Romans chapter eight, it talks about being joint heirs with Christ. 569 00:43:39,880 --> 00:43:44,080 And by the way, the early Christian father, Scott knew all about these temple covenants. 570 00:43:44,080 --> 00:43:45,080 Yeah. 571 00:43:45,080 --> 00:43:46,320 They knew all about them. 572 00:43:46,320 --> 00:43:47,320 Yeah. 573 00:43:47,320 --> 00:43:50,160 And they were engaged in them and they had received them. 574 00:43:50,160 --> 00:43:56,760 But when we become a joint heir with Christ, you can't get out of that relationship easily. 575 00:43:56,760 --> 00:44:00,040 I mean, you are bound to him. 576 00:44:00,040 --> 00:44:03,040 He is bound to us. 577 00:44:03,040 --> 00:44:14,560 And I just the this, this new term that President Nelson is introducing us to has said is this 578 00:44:14,560 --> 00:44:25,640 special covenantal love and grace and mercy and loving kindness that you can't give, you 579 00:44:25,640 --> 00:44:30,720 can't get by not being in a covenant relationship with him. 580 00:44:30,720 --> 00:44:38,280 So as members of the church, we should be so, so, so, so grateful for the covenants, 581 00:44:38,280 --> 00:44:45,920 blessings, power, strength that we receive by being members of his restored church and 582 00:44:45,920 --> 00:44:46,920 gospel. 583 00:44:46,920 --> 00:44:52,360 I want to take just a second and maybe put a little more emphasis or focus, spend maybe 584 00:44:52,360 --> 00:44:57,600 just a minute or two more of time on this idea that he's loyal to us. 585 00:44:57,600 --> 00:45:03,280 You know, because I think that I think that deserves some attention because here's why. 586 00:45:03,280 --> 00:45:08,840 I know that I, for one, and if this has been my experience, then surely it's been others 587 00:45:08,840 --> 00:45:13,120 experience, but I think it's quite prevalent throughout the church that, you know, we believe 588 00:45:13,120 --> 00:45:14,880 that we need to earn, which we do. 589 00:45:14,880 --> 00:45:19,800 You know, we just we need we believe that I just got all like the like the adopted third 590 00:45:19,800 --> 00:45:23,760 world child in the story that you started with, right? 591 00:45:23,760 --> 00:45:28,640 And every time we make a mistake, I think that I have in the past, not now, but in the 592 00:45:28,640 --> 00:45:31,080 past have thought, always mad at me. 593 00:45:31,080 --> 00:45:33,880 Oh, I've got to I've got to go crawling back. 594 00:45:33,880 --> 00:45:37,880 I've got to do my penance or whatever the case is. 595 00:45:37,880 --> 00:45:42,440 But but to think of this and it makes sense, you know, because if we go to Moses in the 596 00:45:42,440 --> 00:45:49,560 Pearl of Great Price, chapter one, verse 39, we learned that my work and my glory is to 597 00:45:49,560 --> 00:45:53,080 bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. 598 00:45:53,080 --> 00:45:58,040 And when we think and when we when we put that in distill that and talk about exactly 599 00:45:58,040 --> 00:46:03,760 what is immortality and eternal life of man mean, we know that eternal life in that context, 600 00:46:03,760 --> 00:46:05,400 in that context. 601 00:46:05,400 --> 00:46:11,040 In fact, in most scriptural context, eternal life means that we are joined earths with 602 00:46:11,040 --> 00:46:14,720 Christ, right, that we do receive that exaltation. 603 00:46:14,720 --> 00:46:20,280 So if that's his work and his glory is to bring that to pass, why wouldn't he be loyal 604 00:46:20,280 --> 00:46:21,280 to us? 605 00:46:21,280 --> 00:46:23,000 Why wouldn't he be on our side? 606 00:46:23,000 --> 00:46:30,480 Why wouldn't he be encouraging and and coaxing even and helping us along? 607 00:46:30,480 --> 00:46:35,160 And of course, we've been given those instruments of grace through the Holy Ghost, through repentance, 608 00:46:35,160 --> 00:46:38,200 through the temple, through all the things that we've talked about so far. 609 00:46:38,200 --> 00:46:42,240 But I think that it's important and I'm going to invite our listeners and I'm going to accept 610 00:46:42,240 --> 00:46:43,560 my own invitation on this. 611 00:46:43,560 --> 00:46:51,320 I hope that we can contemplate in what ways, in what ways do I feel Heavenly Father's loyalty 612 00:46:51,320 --> 00:46:53,280 towards me? 613 00:46:53,280 --> 00:46:54,400 And how does that show up? 614 00:46:54,400 --> 00:46:56,560 How does that manifest itself in its life? 615 00:46:56,560 --> 00:46:59,440 What graces am I experiencing? 616 00:46:59,440 --> 00:47:03,200 Even in my difficulties, I shared with you a pretty difficult experience that I know 617 00:47:03,200 --> 00:47:08,680 of family and it's affecting our family that's going on because of the death of a sister, 618 00:47:08,680 --> 00:47:14,520 a child, a loved one, a mom, a tragedy. 619 00:47:14,520 --> 00:47:21,440 And as I'm going through that, I can feel if I look for it and if I align myself the 620 00:47:21,440 --> 00:47:26,440 way that we've talked about aligning ourselves throughout the podcast, if I can align myself 621 00:47:26,440 --> 00:47:31,440 with my Heavenly Father's spirit, the spirit of the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit of promise 622 00:47:31,440 --> 00:47:37,400 here, then I can feel His loyalty, then I can feel that embracing, then I can feel those 623 00:47:37,400 --> 00:47:43,520 proverbial spiritual arms wrap around me and say, hey, come on, man, we can do this together. 624 00:47:43,520 --> 00:47:44,520 It's okay. 625 00:47:44,520 --> 00:47:50,440 We can just continue to move forward through anything. 626 00:47:50,440 --> 00:47:57,280 And I think that loyalty as it shows up from Heavenly Father and I hate to use, personify 627 00:47:57,280 --> 00:48:03,040 almost those kinds of human emotions or words to deity, but that's my point of reference. 628 00:48:03,040 --> 00:48:09,240 If I can feel that loyalty towards me, if I can, Deb's the primary president and I know 629 00:48:09,240 --> 00:48:13,240 that they're preparing for our primary program, which will be coming up. 630 00:48:13,240 --> 00:48:18,120 And I know that the theme is, I will remember him and he will remember me. 631 00:48:18,120 --> 00:48:19,120 Yeah. 632 00:48:19,120 --> 00:48:20,120 You know. 633 00:48:20,120 --> 00:48:21,120 He never forgets us. 634 00:48:21,120 --> 00:48:22,120 Yeah. 635 00:48:22,120 --> 00:48:23,640 We were always before him. 636 00:48:23,640 --> 00:48:25,680 Oh, Scott, that's good. 637 00:48:25,680 --> 00:48:33,440 You know, Elder Hayfn, Bruce Hayfn used to say, we, in his book called The Broken Heart, 638 00:48:33,440 --> 00:48:38,480 we like to sing the song, Who's on the Lord's Side Who? 639 00:48:38,480 --> 00:48:46,320 But we don't have a him in the church that, where we sing, the Lord is on our side. 640 00:48:46,320 --> 00:48:50,320 You know, that's what we should be more focused on. 641 00:48:50,320 --> 00:48:54,400 You know, we need to be on the Lord's side and we need to be about his business. 642 00:48:54,400 --> 00:48:59,160 And we've been called and many of us set apart and we need to be striving. 643 00:48:59,160 --> 00:49:03,280 That's the key word, I think, is striving, right? 644 00:49:03,280 --> 00:49:08,120 But Scott, the Lord is on our side. 645 00:49:08,120 --> 00:49:09,640 We talk about being prepared. 646 00:49:09,640 --> 00:49:11,560 If you're prepared, you shall not fear. 647 00:49:11,560 --> 00:49:14,400 So we talk about, we need to be prepared. 648 00:49:14,400 --> 00:49:16,840 The truth is, Scott, Dr. Inc. 649 00:49:16,840 --> 00:49:20,000 Section 78 is an interesting read. 650 00:49:20,000 --> 00:49:24,600 Those who want to take on that challenge, count how many times the word prepared is 651 00:49:24,600 --> 00:49:25,600 in Dr. Inc. 652 00:49:25,600 --> 00:49:33,920 Section 78 and see how many, how many of those prepareds, how many relate to us as individuals 653 00:49:33,920 --> 00:49:37,760 and how many of those relate to God. 654 00:49:37,760 --> 00:49:43,920 Does the scripture say more often, more often than telling us to prepare ourselves? 655 00:49:43,920 --> 00:49:51,880 The scriptures more often say, I have prepared a way for you. 656 00:49:51,880 --> 00:49:58,040 That's what it means to be in the covenant, is not just us preparing, but that God has 657 00:49:58,040 --> 00:50:04,000 already prepared a way for us. 658 00:50:04,000 --> 00:50:12,240 That's, I find that to be so strengthening, reassuring, motivating. 659 00:50:12,240 --> 00:50:19,440 When I know that instead of me, just sometimes, you know, in my weakness, when I feel like 660 00:50:19,440 --> 00:50:30,720 I'm working my guts out to try to be good or try to help or try to be, you know, a servant 661 00:50:30,720 --> 00:50:36,920 of God, which I've done nothing compared to those who established the gospel and the 662 00:50:36,920 --> 00:50:38,480 restoration in these latter days. 663 00:50:38,480 --> 00:50:45,000 I've been thinking about them and what got them through all of their afflictions. 664 00:50:45,000 --> 00:50:51,960 Orson Spencer, for example, Scott, wow, he suffered so much when they left Nauvoo. 665 00:50:51,960 --> 00:50:56,280 His wife died, his child had already been died and buried in Nauvoo. 666 00:50:56,280 --> 00:51:01,680 He takes his wife from Iowa back to Nauvoo to bury her next to her child, who had buried 667 00:51:01,680 --> 00:51:03,560 a few months before. 668 00:51:03,560 --> 00:51:06,480 Then he's called on a mission to go east. 669 00:51:06,480 --> 00:51:11,960 He leaves six of his children in the hands of others to get across the plains. 670 00:51:11,960 --> 00:51:15,320 While he's on a mission, he doesn't come back to Salt Lake Valley. 671 00:51:15,320 --> 00:51:19,900 He's not reunited with his children for another three years. 672 00:51:19,900 --> 00:51:21,560 Some of them have died. 673 00:51:21,560 --> 00:51:26,360 Wilford Woodruff apologized to him personally saying we did the best we could with your 674 00:51:26,360 --> 00:51:28,160 children, Orson. 675 00:51:28,160 --> 00:51:31,400 And Scott, there have been so many. 676 00:51:31,400 --> 00:51:37,360 The Pond family, remember, I remember President James Fowles telling the story about Stilman 677 00:51:37,360 --> 00:51:46,240 Pond, who lost his wife and I think eight children who all died at winter quarters. 678 00:51:46,240 --> 00:51:47,720 He buried all of them at winter quarters. 679 00:51:47,720 --> 00:51:50,720 They got cholera and they all died at winter quarters. 680 00:51:50,720 --> 00:51:51,720 His whole family. 681 00:51:51,720 --> 00:51:54,160 His whole family. 682 00:51:54,160 --> 00:51:56,400 His wife and all of his children. 683 00:51:56,400 --> 00:51:57,880 He buries them. 684 00:51:57,880 --> 00:51:59,680 And what does he do? 685 00:51:59,680 --> 00:52:02,080 He's in the Covenant, Scott. 686 00:52:02,080 --> 00:52:03,800 He knows he's in the Covenant. 687 00:52:03,800 --> 00:52:06,720 He knows his family is in the Covenant. 688 00:52:06,720 --> 00:52:09,560 And he walks across the plains by himself. 689 00:52:09,560 --> 00:52:13,520 But it's the power behind that covenant that allowed him to do that, Dave. 690 00:52:13,520 --> 00:52:14,520 That's the key. 691 00:52:14,520 --> 00:52:15,640 Right. 692 00:52:15,640 --> 00:52:16,640 That is the key. 693 00:52:16,640 --> 00:52:26,120 One of my favorite quotes from the early pioneer journals is Sarah P. Rich, wife of Charles 694 00:52:26,120 --> 00:52:27,720 C. Rich. 695 00:52:27,720 --> 00:52:32,880 She talks about, she was actually one of the temple workers in the Naboo temple who helped 696 00:52:32,880 --> 00:52:38,760 some of the women receive their covenants and helped to officiate in the ordinances in 697 00:52:38,760 --> 00:52:40,600 the Naboo temple. 698 00:52:40,600 --> 00:52:43,480 Her and Charles C. and many others. 699 00:52:43,480 --> 00:52:49,320 But anyway, she said that when she left Naboo and she crossed the Mississippi River and 700 00:52:49,320 --> 00:52:55,200 she took one last look, she turned around and she had one last look of the Naboo temple 701 00:52:55,200 --> 00:53:00,560 on the hill before she went over another hill and would never see it again. 702 00:53:00,560 --> 00:53:04,600 And she said, in essence, I'm paraphrasing. 703 00:53:04,600 --> 00:53:05,920 How did we do it? 704 00:53:05,920 --> 00:53:08,640 She asked. 705 00:53:08,640 --> 00:53:13,360 We did it because the covenants we had received in the house of the Lord. 706 00:53:13,360 --> 00:53:19,960 Had we not received those covenants in the house of the Lord, it would have been like 707 00:53:19,960 --> 00:53:25,040 taking a step into the dark. 708 00:53:25,040 --> 00:53:28,920 Well, they, they weren't in the dark. 709 00:53:28,920 --> 00:53:36,320 They may have suffered and they, they, they did and many of them died. 710 00:53:36,320 --> 00:53:41,120 We should talk about church history and the struggles of the Iowa trail from Naboo to 711 00:53:41,120 --> 00:53:43,720 winter quarters and how many died. 712 00:53:43,720 --> 00:53:50,600 I think it's pretty well documented that over a thousand died in Iowa alone. 713 00:53:50,600 --> 00:53:53,080 Just trying to get to winter quarters. 714 00:53:53,080 --> 00:53:59,080 Anyway, that's a discussion for another time, but they were willing to die, Scott, to do 715 00:53:59,080 --> 00:54:00,680 whatever it took. 716 00:54:00,680 --> 00:54:09,840 And for some of them dying, dying was maybe easier than living the way some of them suffered. 717 00:54:09,840 --> 00:54:15,960 And they did it because they knew God was on their side. 718 00:54:15,960 --> 00:54:19,640 Even in their afflictions, they knew he was on their side. 719 00:54:19,640 --> 00:54:22,520 They knew he had prepared a way for them. 720 00:54:22,520 --> 00:54:24,520 They knew they were covered. 721 00:54:24,520 --> 00:54:27,920 They knew they were redeemed. 722 00:54:27,920 --> 00:54:31,960 That's what they knew in life or in death. 723 00:54:31,960 --> 00:54:41,000 They were redeemed because they had made and received covenants from God and they were 724 00:54:41,000 --> 00:54:47,560 in that relationship, them and their families and they were sealed and they had the same 725 00:54:47,560 --> 00:54:56,080 promises of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the new and everlasting covenant. 726 00:54:56,080 --> 00:54:59,480 Everlasting goes back to our premortal existence, Scott. 727 00:54:59,480 --> 00:55:02,480 We made covenants with God in the premortal existence. 728 00:55:02,480 --> 00:55:06,520 It's everlasting because he made covenants with us there. 729 00:55:06,520 --> 00:55:14,520 And I find that again to be really inspiring, motivating that I made covenants with God in 730 00:55:14,520 --> 00:55:19,240 the premortal existence that I would return to his home, his presence, and that he's going 731 00:55:19,240 --> 00:55:23,600 to prepare a way for me. 732 00:55:23,600 --> 00:55:29,640 All I have to do, Scott, is make sure that my heart's right, that I'm daily repenting, 733 00:55:29,640 --> 00:55:37,720 and that I am continually renewing my covenants with him by partaking of the Holy Sacrament. 734 00:55:37,720 --> 00:55:44,320 We'll maybe do one more week on this topic because I don't think we've hardly scratched 735 00:55:44,320 --> 00:55:45,320 the surface. 736 00:55:45,320 --> 00:55:52,600 But when we partake of the sacrament, we renew all our covenants with him. 737 00:55:52,600 --> 00:55:53,600 Not just baptism. 738 00:55:53,600 --> 00:55:54,600 Not just baptism. 739 00:55:54,600 --> 00:55:55,600 Right. 740 00:55:55,600 --> 00:55:56,600 We renew our ceilings. 741 00:55:56,600 --> 00:55:58,920 We renew our endowments. 742 00:55:58,920 --> 00:56:06,640 We renew all of our em blessings of the temple and baptismal and all covenants that we have 743 00:56:06,640 --> 00:56:16,040 made with God when we partake of his flesh and we drink of his blood when we partake 744 00:56:16,040 --> 00:56:17,440 of the sacrament. 745 00:56:17,440 --> 00:56:24,880 The Atonement of Jesus Christ, in other words, is the center and the focus of all gospel 746 00:56:24,880 --> 00:56:25,880 covenants. 747 00:56:25,880 --> 00:56:30,000 Darrell Bock You were just sharing how that covenant 748 00:56:30,000 --> 00:56:36,420 and the power behind the covenant was so pronounced and so important in terms of the experience 749 00:56:36,420 --> 00:56:42,600 of our founders, our pioneers, those that sacrificed more than we can even comprehend. 750 00:56:42,600 --> 00:56:45,960 A couple years ago, Deb and I had the opportunity. 751 00:56:45,960 --> 00:56:47,600 And it was a beautiful opportunity. 752 00:56:47,600 --> 00:56:50,320 I don't think Deb would ever do it again, but I'd do it in a heartbeat. 753 00:56:50,320 --> 00:56:54,240 But we were called to be mom, pa in a trek, right? 754 00:56:54,240 --> 00:56:56,160 A trek experience. 755 00:56:56,160 --> 00:57:00,160 And for this trek experience, we have a wonderful lady in her stake named Shana Edwards. 756 00:57:00,160 --> 00:57:02,760 And she wrote this song. 757 00:57:02,760 --> 00:57:06,840 She wrote and composed the music and the lyrics to this song. 758 00:57:06,840 --> 00:57:07,840 John M. 759 00:57:07,840 --> 00:57:08,840 M. 760 00:57:08,840 --> 00:57:09,840 M. 761 00:57:09,840 --> 00:57:10,840 M. 762 00:57:10,840 --> 00:57:11,840 M. 763 00:57:11,840 --> 00:57:12,840 M. 764 00:57:12,840 --> 00:57:13,840 M. 765 00:57:13,840 --> 00:57:14,840 M. 766 00:57:14,840 --> 00:57:15,840 M. 767 00:57:15,840 --> 00:57:16,840 M. 768 00:57:16,840 --> 00:57:17,840 M. 769 00:57:17,840 --> 00:57:18,840 M. 770 00:57:18,840 --> 00:57:19,840 M. 771 00:57:19,840 --> 00:57:20,840 M. 772 00:57:20,840 --> 00:57:21,840 M. 773 00:57:21,840 --> 00:57:22,840 M. 774 00:57:22,840 --> 00:57:23,840 M. 775 00:57:23,840 --> 00:57:24,840 M. 776 00:57:24,840 --> 00:57:25,840 M. 777 00:57:25,840 --> 00:57:26,840 M. 778 00:57:26,840 --> 00:57:27,840 M. 779 00:57:27,840 --> 00:57:28,840 M. 780 00:57:28,840 --> 00:57:29,840 M. 781 00:57:29,840 --> 00:57:30,840 M. 782 00:57:30,840 --> 00:57:31,840 M. 783 00:57:31,840 --> 00:57:32,840 M. 784 00:57:32,840 --> 00:57:33,840 M. 785 00:57:33,840 --> 00:57:40,840 M. 786 00:57:40,840 --> 00:57:43,840 M. 787 00:57:43,840 --> 00:57:49,840 Their hope was brighter than the fire of the cruel and angry men. Their love was deeper than the 788 00:57:49,840 --> 00:57:55,200 snow and stronger than the wind. Now remember we're seeing this as it relates to our covenant, 789 00:57:55,840 --> 00:58:01,040 our covenant power, our covenant experience, our covenant relationship. Here's the verse, 790 00:58:01,040 --> 00:58:06,480 the fire of the covenant they made burned in their hearts like a flame, on wavering, 791 00:58:06,480 --> 00:58:11,440 unquenchable, undimmed by the night the fire of the covenant burned bright. 792 00:58:11,440 --> 00:58:21,440 I love that, Scott. Yeah, I do too. Fire of the covenant. I think that articulates in a way words 793 00:58:21,440 --> 00:58:27,920 that I wish I could say, you know, words that but it but it but it it helps me to kind of feel and 794 00:58:27,920 --> 00:58:34,480 to kind of see if that's the power of that covenant for them. You know, what challenges do I face? 795 00:58:34,480 --> 00:58:41,200 What planes am I crossing today? What difficulties have I been asked to bear? What crosses have I 796 00:58:41,200 --> 00:58:48,320 been asked to bear? Well, the fire of my covenant should allow me because if Heavenly Father's love 797 00:58:48,320 --> 00:58:54,480 and loyalty towards me, I should know there's nothing that would be set before me that with 798 00:58:55,360 --> 00:59:01,280 that that that can't be surmounted because of the fire because of the power of the covenant, 799 00:59:01,280 --> 00:59:10,800 which I have made, David, for God so loved the world, right? And he gave his only begotten son. 800 00:59:11,680 --> 00:59:20,080 That was the covenant we understood and we made with him before we were ever born. We understood 801 00:59:20,080 --> 00:59:31,840 he loved us so much he would offer his son. I Scott, God is on our side and that offering 802 00:59:32,560 --> 00:59:41,280 of his son was made for every individual listener for you for me because he loves us. 803 00:59:41,280 --> 00:59:51,760 It is not ever easy, but it is so simple to remain in the covenant when you understand 804 00:59:52,480 --> 01:00:00,640 the power and the blessings that are available to us, not just on the covenant path, right? 805 01:00:01,600 --> 01:00:08,320 But when you're in the family, yeah, and we're in the family and we are joint heirs 806 01:00:08,320 --> 01:00:15,440 to inherit some pretty amazing blessings if we will just strive to be faithful, which does not 807 01:00:15,440 --> 01:00:26,000 mean perfect or sinless. We just need to strive to be faithful, which means loyal, which means to 808 01:00:26,000 --> 01:00:32,320 support, to help to be an instrument for God in his work. 809 01:00:32,320 --> 01:00:38,320 Yeah, another thing it means is to be dependent dependent on the merits of him. Yeah, who was 810 01:00:38,320 --> 01:00:46,960 like rely on him. Yeah. Yeah. I wish we had more time. We do. We'll get to continue. 811 01:00:46,960 --> 01:00:51,200 Talk some more about it next week. I could just keep talking about this stuff is so important to 812 01:00:51,200 --> 01:00:56,640 me and and because of the effect that it's had in my life, we began today by talking about how 813 01:00:56,640 --> 01:01:03,360 a through adoption a person felt unworthy to be with a family. We often feel that way. We often 814 01:01:03,360 --> 01:01:09,200 feel sometimes that our mistakes may preclude us from that covenantal relationship. When we feel 815 01:01:09,200 --> 01:01:15,280 that way, we are wrong. We need to know that that's the accuser. That's the accuser. Exactly. 816 01:01:15,280 --> 01:01:22,000 It's the accuser that's using us that way night and day. Yeah. And so we need we need to remember that. 817 01:01:22,000 --> 01:01:30,880 Wow. He loves us and his love for us is just incomprehensible. But I think we begin to get a 818 01:01:30,880 --> 01:01:35,680 peek into that deep love when we embrace the things that we've talked about today. That's 819 01:01:35,680 --> 01:01:40,720 our challenge to us. We've given a couple of challenges or invitations here today. I hope 820 01:01:40,720 --> 01:01:46,080 that we can all embrace those and our lives will become better because of them. I testify to that 821 01:01:46,080 --> 01:01:52,480 in the name of Jesus Christ. Thanks for being with us today. Remember, you have been redeemed. 822 01:01:53,680 --> 01:02:00,160 We say that and I hope it doesn't become cliche. You have been redeemed through the blood of Jesus 823 01:02:00,160 --> 01:02:04,800 Christ. May we all come to know that fully for our own experience in our own lives. That's our 824 01:02:04,800 --> 01:02:20,720 prayer. Thanks for being with us today. We look forward to being with you again next week.