"Giving careful attention to covenant making is critical to our eternal salvation," said Elder Paul E. Koelliker of the Seventy during the Sunday afternoon session of general conference.
"Covenants are agreements we make with our Heavenly Father in which we commit our hearts, minds and behavior to keeping the commandments defined by the Lord. As we are faithful in keeping our agreement, He covenants or promises to bless us, ultimately with all that He has."
Elder Koelliker expressed happiness with the knowledge that he is sealed to his family through covenants made in the temple and compared those to the covenants the Lord made with Noah when he and his family were saved in the ark from the flooding of the earth.
He said, "We too have entered into sacred covenants, brothers and sisters, with the Lord that we might be preserved from the adversary. Just as in Noah's time, we live in a day of prophetic promise and fulfillment. In the course of the past seven years, 71 new temples have been dedicated. A feat, under the direction of the Lord's prophet, which may in some ways be like unto the building of the ark in Noah's day. Our living prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley, has invited us to come through the door of the temple where we can enter into covenants with the Lord."
Living covenants may include sacrifice, Elder Koelliker said. "When we finally determine to rid ourselves of the struggle and to sacrifice our will for the Lord's, we are lifted to a new level of understanding. This process is often more recognizable in our lives when we experience a significant tragedy or challenge."
As an example, Elder Koelliker told of the grief suffered by the parents of a young man struck and killed by lightning at a Scout camp. In the face of tragedy, he said, the parents relied on their faith and covenants. He said, "Though still filled with anguish from their sudden loss, they found themselves standing on a higher plane, committed to hold even faster to their covenants and to live such that they might be assured of a joyful reunion with their son."
Our covenants today, he said, extend beyond ourselves to "search out our kindred dead and open the door for all who desire, to make covenants and worthily receive the gospel ordinances."
Concluding with counsel on temple work, Elder Koelliker said, "I can, with some confidence, report there is still available time in many temples to accommodate the counsel of the First Presidency to put aside some of our leisure time and devote more time to performing ordinances in the temple. I pray that we will be responsive to this invitation to come to the door of the temple."
