Baptism is the first formal covenant Mormons make.

A covenant is a two-way promise between God and man. God sets the terms, but if we keep our part of it, God will always keep his part. They’ve been a part of God’s relationship with mankind from the earliest days. The Old Testament is filled with stories of covenants God made with His people and the results that came about when people chose to obey or disobey the covenant.

You don’t have to be Mormon to make a covenant with God. Throughout the Bible, we find many places where God has asked us to do something and told us what He will do for us if we obey. As you read the Bible, begin marking those verses and recording them in a notebook. Be sure to record both the commandment and the promise. Then, as you pray, make a personal covenant with God to honor His request.

For instance, the Sermon on the Mount offers these possibilities for covenants:

 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

  8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. (See Matthew 5.)

In verse seven, we have the two parts required for a covenant. Your job is to be merciful. Your reward is to obtain mercy for yourself. In verse eight, you are asked to be pure in heart. If you do this, God covenants that you will see Him.

If you chose verse seven as your personal covenant, you would probably first want to find out what it means to be merciful. You might click on the word merciful if you went to the online verse I linked to. It would give you a link to the topical guide. If you click that, you get a list of scriptures related to the word merciful. The first scriptures are from the Old Testament. These are followed by New Testament verses. The remaining scriptures are from LDS-specific books. The Bible verses are from the King James translation, which is a very standard version of the Bible.

To begin you study on mercy, you would read each of the scriptures from the books of scripture you want to study. As you do so, you’ll record in your notebook what is expected of a merciful person, why it matters to God, and what God will give you if you are merciful. You may want to note people in the Bible who were merciful to use as role models.

As an example, you will encounter this scripture:

21 He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he (Proverbs 14:21). This tells you that mercy includes being kind to the poor. This aspect of mercy even comes with a whole new promise, making it a covenant all its own. If you are compassionate toward the poor, you will be happy.

You can see this covenant study will not be as simple as you expect. Now that you’ve learned that mercy includes your treatment of the poor, you will need to study the scriptures to learn how God wants you to treat the poor.

Of course, you don’t have to know or master everything about mercy in order to get started. You can choose the first thing you encounter and start living that. As you learn more, you can add to your commitment to living God’s commandments, gradually improving your ability to live the law of mercy.

You will find that the commandments tend to interconnect. Over time you’ll discover that your study of mercy will have you living many other commandments as well. This means that you can start perfecting yourself with just one covenant, but that it will spiral out until you are living all of them. God has told us the extreme importance of keeping the commandments. “21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” The process of making a covenant with God will help you to be a doer, not just a sayer.

Making covenants is a sacred experience. It must never be made lightly and it should not be made for the reward. Covenants are a sign that you love God and want to obey Him and that you trust Him, even when it comes to making hard choices. Making a covenant with no thought of reward, knowing the reward might not even come until the next life, is a sincere act of love and faith. After all, when you love someone on earth, you are willing to change your life and to make sacrifices for that person. Your willingness to do this for God should be even greater.

As long as you’re keeping a notebook that contains your research, why not also record your experiences with the covenant? What are your thoughts about what you’ve learned as you’ve researched? What actions did you take to carry out your end of the covenant? How did those choices change you as a person? How did they change the lives of others? What blessings have you seen in your life as a result of living that covenant?

As you monitor the miracles and pleasures that come with obedience from love and faith, your faith will increase and you’ll find it easier to make the next covenant or to move to keeping that covenant at a higher level. Your commitment to the covenant will increase.

God has asked us to make certain formal covenants in prescribed settings and under guidance from those in authority. Those are also important to make and although everyone makes them, they are entirely personal, made between you and God. For instance, in the Old Testament, God made a covenant with Abraham. This was a formal covenant, entered into in a prescribed way. For Mormons, these covenants are made at set times, such as baptisms and in the temple, but they are regularly renewed.

We need strong Christians who can persevere against hardship, who can sustain hope through tragedy, who can lift others by their example and their compassion, and who can consistently overcome temptations. We need strong Christians who can make important things happen by their faith and who can defend the truth of Jesus Christ against moral relativism and militant atheism.

What is the source of such moral and spiritual power, and how do we obtain it? The source is God. Our access to that power is through our covenants with Him. A covenant is an agreement between God and man, an accord whose terms are set by God (see Bible Dictionary, “Covenant,” 651). In these divine agreements, God binds Himself to sustain, sanctify, and exalt us in return for our commitment to serve Him and keep His commandments.

We enter into covenants by priesthood ordinances, sacred rituals that God has ordained for us to manifest our commitment. Our foundational covenant, for example, the one in which we first pledge our willingness to take upon us the name of Christ, is confirmed by the ordinance of baptism. It is done individually, by name. By this ordinance, we become part of the covenant people of the Lord and heirs of the celestial kingdom of God.

Other sacred ordinances are performed in temples built for that very purpose. If we are faithful to the covenants made there, we become inheritors not only of the celestial kingdom but of exaltation, the highest glory within the heavenly kingdom, and we obtain all the divine possibilities God can give (see D&C 132:20). (See D. Todd Christofferson, “The Power of Covenants,” Liahona, May 2009, 19–23.)

Elder Christofferson, in the talk referenced above, suggests three important benefits that come from making formal covenants with God.

The first is that we are strengthened by the gifts and benefits that come from making and keeping sacred covenants. Each time we keep the commandments, we are blessed by God for what we’ve chosen to do. The more commandments we keep, the more continual the flow will be. This doesn’t mean you will have a trial-free life. No one gets that because trials are part of the purpose of life. It does mean you’ll feel God’s presence more continually as you reap the benefits promised to us for each commandment.

The second benefit is to enjoy increased faith. Alma, a book of Mormon prophet, taught that in order to develop faith, we only need to have a desire to gain faith. From this we can begin to act like a person with faith. As we do this and we see how God blesses us, our faith grows. Each time we keep a commandment, our faith increases because we begin to understand the purpose behind the commandment—commandments are not random assignments—and that increases our faith in God’s wisdom and power.

Finally, he suggests we are strengthened with the power of Godliness as we keep our covenants. God promised us the presence of the Holy Ghost when He was gone from the earth. The Holy Ghost is a member of the Godhead who does not have a body. His purpose is to testify to us of truth and to help us make wise choices and to remain safe. The Holy Ghost can’t be where wickedness is, so in order to enjoy His presence and His help, we need to obey the commandments and keep our sacred covenants. This leads to a wonderful circle of blessings because the more the Holy Ghost helps you, the easier it is to keep your covenants, and the more you keep them, the more the Holy Ghost helps you.

As Elder Christofferson says, “Divine covenants make strong Christians.”

The people had built a synagogue, used only one day a week for their official service. In this synagogue, they had built a tall platform. They took turns climbing up onto it, putting them above the others, and there they recited a prayer. Each person gave the exact same prayer. This was the prayer they offered:

 15 Holy, holy God; we believe that thou art God, and we believe that thou art holy, and that thou wast a spirit, and that thou art a spirit, and that thou wilt be a spirit forever.

  16 Holy God, we believe that thou hast separated us from our brethren; and we do not believe in the tradition of our brethren, which was handed down to them by the childishness of their fathers; but we believe that thou hast elected us to be thy holy children; and also thou hast made it known unto us that there shall be no Christ.

  17 But thou art the same yesterday, today, and forever; and thou hast elected us that we shall be saved, whilst all around us are elected to be cast by thy wrath down to hell; for the which holiness, O God, we thank thee; and we also thank thee that thou hast elected us, that we may not be led away after the foolish traditions of our brethren, which doth bind them down to a belief of Christ, which doth lead their hearts to wander far from thee, our God.

  18 And again we thank thee, O God, that we are a chosen and a holy people. Amen. (See Alma 31.)

The prayer, in short, was nothing short of a bragging session. These people believed in predestination, that they had been chosen for exaltation from the beginning and that only they could be exalted. No one else had any hope of achieving God’s grace. They felt they were better than everyone else and “holy children.” In addition, they did not believe in Jesus Christ, who had not yet been born.

Once they’d finished this arrogant task, they went home and did not pray or worship again, or even mention God, until the next Sabbath day. They felt no special obligation to God in any way and did not feel anything else was required of them other than to show up once a week to brag about how special they were. Alma noted that they came dressed up in expensive, elegant clothing and fancy jewelry, probably befitting, in their minds, their special status in the world.

Certainly their wealth was a factor in deciding who was predestined to be saved. Those who were not wealthy and didn’t have expensive clothing or lifestyles were not allowed to enter the Zoramite temples.

1 And it came to pass that they did go forth, and began to preach the word of God unto the people, entering into their synagogues, and into their houses; yea, and even they did preach the word in their streets.

  2 And it came to pass that after much labor among them, they began to have success among the poor class of people; for behold, they were cast out of the synagogues because of the coarseness of their apparel—

  3 Therefore they were not permitted to enter into their synagogues to worship God, being esteemed as filthiness; therefore they were poor; yea, they were esteemed by their brethren as dross; therefore they were poor as to things of the world; and also they were poor in heart.

  4 Now, as Alma was teaching and speaking unto the people upon the hill Onidah, there came a great multitude unto him, who were those of whom we have been speaking, of whom were poor in heart, because of their poverty as to the things of the world.

  5 And they came unto Alma; and the one who was the foremost among them said unto him: Behold, what shall these my brethren do, for they are despised of all men because of their poverty, yea, and more especially by our priests; for they have cast us out of our synagogues which we have labored abundantly to build with our own hands; and they have cast us out because of our exceeding poverty; and we have no place to worship our God; and behold, what shall we do? (See Alma 32)

Alma was thrilled when he heard these words. He saw that they, though their lives had been terrible, had been humbled by their trials. They longed to worship God in the synagogues, which they had helped to build but were not allowed to enter. They were excluded because the Zoramites falsely believed that poverty was a sign of unworthiness.

Alma then turned his attention to the poor in this community, deciding not to waste his time on those who lacked the humility and love to accept the message of Jesus Christ, especially since they didn’t believe in him. In the next article, we’ll learn what Alma taught them.

The Zoramites made several mistakes in their choices of worship. They presumed, first of all, that their mere presence and a single ritual was all that was required of them. The rest of the week, God was out of their minds and hearts.

Their service offered nothing personal. Each one recited a single prayer and the prayer was not about God. It was really only about their own glory and superiority.

In other words, there was nothing worshipful about the method of worship they had chosen. Contrast their meetings with this description of a Mormon Sacrament Meeting, which is the basic worship service held each Sunday: “Each member of the Church bears responsibility for the spiritual enrichment that can come from a sacrament meeting. Each should sing with a grateful heart and respond with an audible “amen” at the conclusion of a prayer or a testimony. We personally ponder the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We reflect upon the significance of His suffering at Gethsemane and His Crucifixion on Calvary. At this time, each of us is to “examine himself” (1 Cor. 11:28) and reflect upon personal covenants made with the Lord. At this time, we meditate upon the sacred things of God (Russell M. Nelson, “Worshiping at Sacrament Meeting,” Ensign, Aug 2004, 24–28).

Worship is internal, but it is influenced during services by the things going on around us. Merely reciting pre-rewritten words as the entire service can lead to meaningless repetition. A worship service is meant to help us learn more about God and Jesus Christ and to increase our commitment to living a life of loving service. It is a time to worship God, not ourselves. It can be a humbling experience, not one in which we announce we are better than everyone else, particularly when the measuring stick is a worldly and meaningless one.

The Zoramites felt they had met their duty to God simply by showing up and saying their script. During the week, they neglected God. As we study the Bible and the words of Christ, we come to understand that religion should be something that fills every part of our day. Even when we’re at work or doing mundane chores, we should have the Savior in our minds and hearts and be focused on worshipping Him and measuring our thoughts and actions against the way He taught us to live.

The A to Z index on LDS.org says: To worship God is to give Him our love, reverence, service, and devotion. The Lord commanded Moses, “Worship God, for him only shalt thou serve” (Moses 1:15). He has also commanded, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind, and strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve him” (D&C 59:5). Worship not only shows our love for God and commitment to Him, it gives us strength to keep His commandments. Through worship we grow in knowledge and faithfulness. If we place any person or thing above the love of God, we worship that thing or person. This is called idolatry (see Exodus 20:3–6). (See Worship.)

We can see there was nothing of worship in the doings of the Zoramites. Today, although we might not be so blatant about it, many people show up for church eager for others to see their elegant clothing (while God only asks that we wear the best we have, which has nothing to do with the cost of it) or to socialize with others. We get out of our worship service exactly what we put into it.

When you attend church this week, will you just be fulfilling an obligation or will you be worshipping God? And the rest of the week?

Too many of our young men and women are succumbing to the pressures imposed by a world saturated with evil messages and immoral behavior. Lucifer is waging a vicious war for the souls of young and old alike, and the casualty count is climbing. The standards of the world have shifted like the sands of a windblown desert. That which was once unheard of or unacceptable is now commonplace. The world’s perspective has been so dramatically altered that those who choose to adhere to traditional standards of morality are viewed as strange, almost as though they must justify their desire to keep the commandments of God.

But one thing is certain: the commandments have not changed. Let there be no mistake about that. Right is still right. Wrong is still wrong, no matter how cleverly cloaked in respectability or political correctness. We believe in chastity before marriage and fidelity ever after. That standard is an absolute standard of truth. It is neither subject to public opinion polls nor dependent upon situation or circumstance. There is no need to debate it or other gospel standards. (See M. Russell Ballard, “Like a Flame Unquenchable,” Ensign, May 1999, 85.)

People often think they’re modern and sophisticated when they ignore traditional values. However, ignoring God’s commandments always comes with consequences. Children grow up without the benefits of both a mother and a father. Poverty sometimes results, although poverty can, of course, happen to those who live righteously as well. Some diseases are passed only through immorality. Immoral choices tear apart families through pornography or infidelity.

Sheri L. Dew, a former leader of the Mormon Relief Society and now the head of a major religious publishing company said, “Several years ago, I participated in an international policy forum where the discussion moved from prostitution to pornography to abortion and so on. When the moderator invited me to comment, I noted that it seemed impossible not to notice a common theme—that every thorny issue had immoral underpinnings.” (See Sheri L. Dew: The Power of Virtue.)

Relative morality is a dangerous thing. We alter morality to suit the standards chosen by television and movies, rock stars, and political action groups. We let popular culture decide what is right, and yet popular culture has no authority, no long-range vision, and sometimes no responsibility for the consequences of the course they choose. They seldom care about the consequences…they’re just after the attention and influence. Consequences aren’t their problem. Too often people with influence say, “I just tell people what I think. What they do with it and what happens as a result isn’t my problem.” But, of course, it is.

There comes a time of reckoning for everyone. No one lives forever in a mortal state. Eventually we all die and stand before God to account for the choices we made, the influence we had over others, and the consequences of our actions. God made commandments and He didn’t make them for entertainment value. He meant them to be kept.

Jesus spoke firmly to the Pharisees about their habit of altering the gospel to suit current fads or personal “freedom.”

6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

  7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

  8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

  9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition (Mark 7:6-9, King James Bible)

Jesus understood the danger of constantly changing moral standards, based on nothing but personal opinions of people. Only in a world that consistently follows certain essential principles of morality are people truly safe from dangerous fads and whims. It’s easy to say, “But these are modern times and this is how we do things.” By the time we understand the dangers of that fad, it is usually too late.

As an example, using a non-moral issue, a number of years ago a state decided to mandate a method of teaching reading using the force of law. Teachers, who had far more experience than lawmakers, protested loudly that it would not work, and yet the decision was made by people with no real understanding of the process of teaching reading or the consequences of their decision. They only knew this was an “exciting” new fad, modern and popular. They jumped on the bandwagon of popular opinion. Four or five years later, they admitted the method was a complete failure and that thousands of children could not read as a result. Much of an entire generation suffered because lawmakers were more interested in being modern and popular than in worrying about the well-being of the children they were responsible for. They admitted their mistake, but they could not undo the damage caused by their irresponsible passion for fads. The children who could read were largely taught at home using methods that had long been proven worthy.

In the same way, many people today are making decisions about right and wrong without the eternal knowledge or authority to do so. By the time they see the dangers of their decisions and the damage it has caused those under their influence, it will be too late. They can apologize, but they may not be able to undo the damage caused by their choices.

We need not compromise. We must not compromise. The candle that the Lord has lighted in this dispensation can become as a light unto the whole world, and others seeing our good works can be led to glorify our Father in Heaven and emulate in their own lives the examples they have observed in ours.

Beginning with you and me, there can be an entire people who, by the virtue of our lives in our homes, in our vocations, even in our amusements, can become as a city upon a hill to which men may look and learn, and an ensign to the nations from which the people of the earth may gather strength,” (Gordon B. Hinckley, A City upon a Hill,” Ensign, Jul 1990, 2.)

Prayer helps us prioritize.

While most of us find it silly that someone would sell his eternal blessings for stew, many of us sell off God’s blessings for things of even lesser importance than stew. Each time we choose to violate a commandment, we are choosing to sell our birthright.

Our birthright is to receive all of God’s promised blessings for our lives on earth and to have the life He hopes we will have. In eternity, our birthright is to return to God to live forever. When Jesus lived on the earth, He consistently warned people they must keep the commandments if they wished to be with God after their deaths.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. (See Matthew 7:21.)

Each time we make a choice, we are prioritizing our values. If we decide to disobey a commandment, we’ve put that particular sin above the commandment in our priorities. We’ve decided the sin is worth more than the blessings associated with the commandment—in other words, we’ve sold our birthright for something that has only temporary benefit.

Mormons teach that we are expected to live a health code known as the Word of Wisdom. Sometimes a person will say, “I can’t believe God will keep me out of Heaven just because of a cup of coffee.” They are turning the problem around of course. What they should say is, “I can’t believe I’m willing to give up Heaven over a cup of coffee.” The same reasoning can be said of any sin we decide we value more than we value an eternity in God’s presence. When Jesus was on the earth, a young man asked Him how He could follow Jesus. Jesus reminded him of the commandments, but the man said he’d been doing all those things since he was a child. In response, Jesus offered Him another commandment: that of giving up all his worldly possessions. The man went away sadly. This he wasn’t willing to do. He preferred to sell his birthright for a fancy home or some other possessions. He had great possessions, and he had decided they were worth more to him than eternity.

Sometimes the mistaken priorities we set aren’t sins; they’re simply less important than the place we give them on our life scale. Many people put their careers or politics higher on their priority list than they do God. If being a Christian might damage their rise up the ladder to fame and fortune, they keep it a secret from those who know them. Some might decide they need the extra money they’ll earn working on Sunday more than they need the blessings that come from keeping the Sabbath Day holy. (We’re talking here about elective work, not essential work, or having no choice in the matter.)

When Jesus visited the home of Mary and Martha, Martha was terribly anxious about putting a good meal on the table for Jesus. It is without question important to give our best to Jesus, but when she complained about Mary, who was, instead of helping, letting Jesus teach her, Jesus helped Martha put her priorities in order. He gently told her that even though what Martha was doing was good, it was not the most important thing she could be doing at that moment. Jesus didn’t care about a fancy meal; He did care about teaching Mary and Martha the gospel. At another time, doing the housework might be the best use of Martha’s time, but at that particular moment, learning the gospel was the most important part. What was a feast at one time became a mere mess of pottage at this particular moment.

Take a few hours to look at how you plan and use your time. You’ll find that even though you are very busy, you always find time for the things you put first in your life. The challenge then is to make sure the first things go first. You have to be at work at a certain time and stay until a certain time, so although work may not be the most important thing in your world, it is the priority during that time. But do you really have to put in the many hours of overtime that keep you from your family or prevent you from doing God’s work? Do you need to earn as much money as you’re earning, or would it allow you to use your time in a more eternally important way if you turned down the next promotion or accepted less of the optional overtime?

What about your hobbies? There is nothing wrong with relaxing, but where do your hobbies fit into your priority scale? Is there a way to relax and to do something good at the same time? Could you develop a new hobby that also serves a purpose—perhaps gardening or teaching someone to read? What would happen if you decided to replace the morning newspaper with a half hour of scripture reading?

Each time we make a choice that puts something else over the teachings of God, or the priorities He wants you to have at this moment, we’re selling our birthright. Is what you’re getting worth what you’re giving up to get it?

Which gets your loyalty—pottage or eternity?

Jusus' atonement was for us personally.

This article contains many quotes from religious leaders and scriptures. Following the links in the credits will take you to the complete reference, where you can learn more on this eternally significant topic.

The atonement was made for everyone, but perhaps most importantly, it was made for you personally. If only one person had needed the atonement, Jesus Christ would have accepted that responsibility. The sins he took on were not consolidated. He experienced every sin individually, and so the atonement was for you because Jesus loves you that much.

“His Atonement does indeed cover the world and all people from the beginning to the end. Let us not forget, however, that in its comprehensiveness and completeness it is also intensely personal and uniquely crafted to fit perfectly and address perfectly each of our own individual circumstances. The Father and the Son know each of us better than we know ourselves and have prepared an Atonement for us that is fully congruent with our needs, challenges, and possibilities,” (Cecil O. Samuelson Jr., “What Does the Atonement Mean to You?,” Liahona, Apr 2009, 14–19.)

No one could force Jesus into the Garden or onto the cross. The atonement worked only because it was a voluntary sacrifice. No one will ever give you a greater gift than Jesus gave you, and He gave it for no other reason than because He loves you. Do you believe you are that loveable? When we comprehend how much we’re loved by Jesus Christ and God, who know us better than anyone else—they know all our faults and weaknesses and they still love us that much—we can finally begin to understand we really are special. We are children of God and have a divine parentage. If They, being perfect and knowing everything, know we’re that important, we must be important and special. God is never wrong.

To take advantage of the full measure of the atonement of Jesus Christ we have to continually learn and grow, and that growing process will inevitably mean we’ll make mistakes. Because of the atonement, we can repent and return to full standing in God’s eyes. He never stops loving us, no matter how terribly we behave, but like any loving parent, He expects us to make amends for those sins.

For most of us though, the hardest part of true repentance is forgiving ourselves.

“It has always struck me as being sad that those among us who would not think of reprimanding our neighbor, much less a total stranger, for mistakes that have been made or weaknesses that might be evident, will nevertheless be cruel and unforgiving to themselves. When the scriptures say to judge righteously, that means with fairness and compassion and charity. That’s how we must judge ourselves. We need to be patient and forgiving of ourselves, just as we must be patient and forgiving of others.” (The Teachings of Howard W. Hunter, ed. Clyde J. Williams (1997), 34.)

I believe it’s when we start to understand how special we are, that we really are children of God, that we’re able to forgive ourselves. When we love someone we don’t focus on the bad things; we focus on the good and lovingly overlook the faults or forgive the ones we can’t overlook. We need to be as kind to ourselves as we are to others.

D. Chad Richardson, a Mormon leader, said, “We must keep sin in its proper perspective. Satan would convince us that we are defined by our sins. He would have had the repentant W. W. Phelps see himself always as a traitor. He would convince someone who has stolen that he is and always will be a thief.

The Savior, in contrast, would have us understand that we have sins that need to be cleansed, but we are much more than those stains. If I spill ketchup on my shirt, I have a stain. Perhaps it is right in front where everyone can see it. But while I have a stain, I am not the stain. I need to recognize that there is a good deal of my shirt that is clean and white. I believe that God sees the white shirt—the goodness in His children—and offers, through Christ, to remove the stains. If we obsess about the stain, however, it will become who we are in our minds and then in our actions.”

It’s seemingly natural to focus on what is wrong when we do a self-evaluation. What would be different if we focused on what was right? When I was on the speech team in college, we were required, during class presentations, to critique our teammates by first explaining what they did well. We could never give more negatives than we gave positives. No matter how badly we did during practices, we had always done something right. We learned to find it in our teammates and to find it in ourselves, since we were often asked to evaluate ourselves as well.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, a Mormon apostle, was a pilot prior to his church service. He explains that pilots learn that when making very long flights, particularly across oceans, there is a spot called “the point of safe return.” This is the last spot you can safely turn around and go back to where you started without running out of fuel. Beyond that spot is the “point of no return.” President Uchtdorf explains, “Satan wants us to think that when we have sinned we have gone past a “point of no return”—that it is too late to change our course. In our beautiful but also troubled world, it is a sad reality that this attitude is the source of great sorrow, grief, and distress to families, marriages, and individual lives.

Satan tries to counterfeit the work of God, and by doing this he may deceive many. To make us lose hope, feel miserable like himself, and believe that we are beyond forgiveness, Satan might even misuse words from the scriptures that emphasize the justice of God, in order to imply that there is no mercy “ (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Point of Safe Return,” Ensign, May 2007, 99–101.)

President Uchtdorf assures us this is a lie. Jesus’ atonement was perfect and it was big enough and loving enough to cover us. There is no point of no return in God’s plan. He then tells us we can know for ourselves we’ve been forgiven:

“Once we have truly repented, Christ will take away the burden of guilt for our sins. We can know for ourselves that we have been forgiven and made clean. The Holy Ghost will verify this to us; He is the Sanctifier. No other testimony of forgiveness can be greater….

And He said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28)….

And He declared, “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more” (D&C 58:42).

Satan will try to make us believe that our sins are not forgiven because we can remember them. Satan is a liar; he tries to blur our vision and lead us away from the path of repentance and forgiveness. God did not promise that we would not remember our sins. Remembering will help us avoid making the same mistakes again. But if we stay true and faithful, the memory of our sins will be softened over time. This will be part of the needed healing and sanctification process. Alma testified that after he cried out to Jesus for mercy, he could still remember his sins, but the memory of his sins no longer distressed and tortured him, because he knew he had been forgiven (see Alma 36:17–19).

It is our responsibility to avoid anything that would bring back old sinful memories. When we continue to have a “broken heart and a contrite spirit” (3 Nephi 12:19), we may trust that God will “remember [our sins] no more.””

We have an obligation to learn to trust God and to trust the Savior. They gave us this gift and we must choose to accept it. Once we’ve made that choice, the fullness of the gift is ours and this is the only way we can be healed from the pains of our past mistakes.

How can we do this? We must get to know God and Jesus in a very personal way. We do this by reading their words, praying, listening with our hearts after we pray, and doing what He’s asked us to do. When we hear religious teachings, we must ask God to tell us if they are true, and then trust His answers to our hearts. To find complete peace, we have to know what God wants us to know and we must invite Him to help us partake of all the gifts He is offering us.

The Atonement is Personal

Atonement is a gift of love. Nephi, in the Book of Mormon, said, “But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love, (2 Nephi 1:15) Doesn’t that scripture help you understand the extraordinary gift of atonement? Picturing ourselves encircled in the arms of Jesus’ love is what the atonement does for us, and it’s why the atonement was done at all.

With the atonement and resurrection, we became recipients of God’s grace. The concept of grace is one many people have difficulty comprehending. Jeffrey R. Holland explains it this way:

“Some gifts coming from the Atonement are universal, infinite, and unconditional. These include His ransom for Adam’s original transgression so that no member of the human family is held responsible for that sin. Another universal gift is the Resurrection from the dead of every man, woman, and child who lives, has ever lived, or ever will live on earth.

“Other aspects of Christ’s atoning gift are conditional. They depend on one’s diligence in keeping God’s commandments. For example, while all members of the human family are freely given a reprieve from Adam’s sin through no effort of their own, they are not given a reprieve from their own sins unless they pledge faith in Christ, repent of those sins, are baptized in His name, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and confirmation into Christ’s Church, and press forward in faithful endurance the remainder of life’s journey….Furthermore, although the Resurrection of the body is a free and universal gift from Christ, a result of His victory over death, the nature of the resurrected body (or “degree of glory” given it), as well as the time of one’s Resurrection, is affected directly by one’s faithfulness in this life. The Apostle Paul made clear, for example, that those fully committed to Christ will “rise first” in the Resurrection…

“Of course neither the unconditional nor the conditional blessings of the Atonement are available except through the grace of Christ. Obviously the unconditional blessings of the Atonement are unearned, but the conditional ones are not fully merited either. By living faithfully and keeping the commandments of God, one can receive additional privileges; but they are still given freely, not technically earned” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Atonement of Jesus Christ,” Ensign, Mar 2008, 32–38.)

Atonement is often described as at-one-ment. It means to reunite, or make one again, that which was separated or estranged. Because Adam and Eve ate the fruit in the Garden, sin came into the world. This made humans sinful, but God has promised we will never be punished for any sins but our own. The atonement made that possible. It took away any inherited sin and left us responsible only for what we personally chose to do and could control.

Little children who die are not responsible for the mistakes they’ve made, nor, of course, would it be right for God to punish them for sins committed before they were born. If a child died before he could choose to be baptized, would a loving God punish him? No, of course not. Nor are we responsible for any sin we committed without knowing it was wrong. When we’re baptized, those past transgressions are washed away and we’re reunited with God.

Of course, we can’t be re-baptized every day, and most of us make at least small mistakes every day. Because of the atonement, we can be forgiven of our sins. The process of repentance makes it as though we were baptized once again. The mistakes of the past are washed away and God forgets about them.

“When we sin, we turn away from God. When we repent, we turn back toward God.

The invitation to repent is rarely a voice of chastisement but rather a loving appeal to turn around and to “re-turn” toward God. It is the beckoning of a loving Father and His Only Begotten Son to be more than we are, to reach up to a higher way of life, to change, and to feel the happiness of keeping the commandments. Being disciples of Christ, we rejoice in the blessing of repenting and the joy of being forgiven. They become part of us, shaping the way we think and feel.” (Neil L. Andersen, “‘Repent … That I May Heal You’,” Ensign, Nov 2009, 40–43

Repentance is not easy, but it is possible, and it is an extraordinary gift. When we go through the process sincerely, we are forgiven of our sins and can move on with the business of becoming more Christ-like. The steps of repentance are these:

Recognition of sin: We can’t repent until we know we’ve done something wrong and until we’ve accepted that our actions were improper. Many people try to rationalize their sins and to convince themselves and others they’ve done nothing wrong. Wishing doesn’t make it so, and repentance can’t begin until we admit to ourselves we’ve sinned.

Sorrow for sin: Repentance cannot be a rote act. “Oops, messed up again. Off to repent.” Along with recognition of our sin we have to have real, heart-wrenching sadness that we’ve done something wrong. When we understand how much God loves us, how desperately He wants us to return home, and how much the Savior longs for us to accept the gift of atonement, we can begin to be heartbroken at knowing what we’ve done wrong. When this happens, repentance will be sincere.

Confession: We’re required to confess our sins. The nature of the confession depends on the type of sin. If we’ve hurt another person, we need to confess to that person if it’s at all possible to do so. A child would be required to confess to his parents, who are responsible for his progress. Some very serious sins require confession to our ecclesiastical leader, which for Mormons is their bishop (similar to a pastor.) Mormons go to their bishops when they’ve committed sexual sins, sins involving criminal behavior, and other very serious sins. The bishop then helps them take the steps required to repent of these more complicated sins. If a crime has been committed, the person needs to confess to legal authorities. And of course, every sin must be confessed to God.

Restitution: We need to pay a price for our sins. If at all possible, and to the extent possible, we need to pay for the damage we’ve caused. This might mean paying to repair a broken window, apologizing to and perhaps serving someone we’ve hurt, or accepting legal consequences for actions.

Abandon the Sin: Our goal is to stop committing the sin. Sometimes this takes time and repeated repentance, but when we’re sincere in our efforts to live more closely to God’s teachings, in time, we can abandon any sin. We can’t decide we can sin all we want because we can always repent. We must long desperately to change our lives and our hearts.

These steps are not done quickly or easily. They are often a daily process of making gradual improvements. We shouldn’t delay our repentance, but God will be patient with us while we continue to work through the steps.

The next step, however, is the most complicated, and deserves its own article. In the next article, we will learn how to accept the greatest gift of repentance—God’s love—and to forgive ourselves and move on. We’ll learn how the atonement can help us face any trial in our lives.

This video is an extraordinary reminder of the Savior’s final week on earth and our responsibility to never let the Savior walk alone again.

When Jesus was asked why He had been able to cast out devils from a child when His disciples had not, He answered, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you  (Matthew 17:20, King James Translation of the Bible.)

Another time His apostles asked Him to strengthen their faith for them. He responded, “And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you” (Luke 17:6, King James translation of the Bible.)

If faith the size of a mustard seed could lead to those kinds of miracles, imagine what you could do with faith even half that size. In the Book of Mormon, we’re taught that even a longing for faith is enough to start the process of learning to trust God.

Although many of us struggle with faith, it is often because we’re thinking we need so much more to start the process than we really do. Of course, we want to continually work to strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ, but we only need desire to get started.

Faith means to believe in something we can’t prove scientifically. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1.)

Although most of us hope for a great many things, God and Jesus are the only certainties. Everything else can be altered or lost. For that reason, our journey for faith has to start with God and Jesus.

When we read the scripture above, Paul’s great sermon on faith found in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews we can find examples of people whose lives are recorded in the scriptures and who demonstrated faith. One way to start our journey is by studying those lives and the lives of others who have shown great faith in their own lives. As you read, ask why God wanted that story in the Bible and how you could apply the lessons of faith learned in your own life.

The Bible offers several different pieces of advice on gaining faith. Paul taught the Romans, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” This means we need to learn more about God and Jesus in order to begin developing faith. This can come by reading the Bible, praying, pondering, and studying good material on the subject. When gathering material from sources other than the direct word of God, it’s important to pray to know whether or not what you are reading is true.

Learn how to pray.

James taught us that another step is obedience to the laws of God. He reminded us of Abraham, who was willing, if necessary, to sacrifice his only son simply because God asked him to. James said that Abraham’s faith was perfected through his works or actions. This means our beginning faith can grow when we live the teachings of Jesus Christ. Works are not what save us, but they are the manifestation of our faith. “Faith without works is dead,” taught James. He reminded the early Christians that Satan himself believes in God—has faith—but of course, Satan refuses to obey the laws of God, and therefore, cannot be saved. (See James 2 in the New Testament.) Neither faith nor works alone is enough. Faith brings with it a longing to live the commandments. The greater our faith, the easier it becomes to obey God, because we trust Him and we believe that by obeying God, the rewards will be far better than the sacrifices. James uses as an example a poor person approaching and asking for food and clothing. Preaching a sermon is not enough. We must follow up the teaching of our faith by helping that person physically. Our actions will flow naturally from our faith because we know God taught us the responsibilities to the poor, and out of love for Him and for the child of God who is in need, we obey.

Kevin W. Pearson summed up the stages of faith a person will go through as he sets a goal to develop faith:

“Desire is a particle of faith that develops within us as we experience divine truth. It is like spiritual photosynthesis. The influence of the Holy Ghost, acting on the Light of Christ within every human being, produces the spiritual equivalent of a chemical reaction—a stirring, a change of heart, or a desire to know. Hope develops as particles of faith become molecules and as simple efforts to live true principles occur.

As patterns of obedience develop, the specific blessings associated with obedience are realized and belief emerges. Desire, hope, and belief are forms of faith, but faith as a principle of power comes from a consistent pattern of obedient behavior and attitudes. Personal righteousness is a choice. Faith is a gift from God, and one possessed of it can receive enormous spiritual power” (Kevin W. Pearson, “Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,” Ensign, May 2009, 38–40.)

It’s often said that fear and faith can’t exist in the same place. When we find ourselves afraid, it is due to a weak spot in our faith.

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid,” Jesus told His followers shortly before leaving them. He often asked them not to be afraid, but they often found this harder than they expected. In Matthew 14, Peter wanted to walk on water after seeing Jesus doing it. He thought he had the faith to do that, and he had enough to step out of the boat and into the water. It was a starting faith. However, the wind picked up and Peter let his faith blow away with it. He panicked and called to Jesus for help. Jesus gently rebuked him, reminding him that he needed to strengthen his faith.

Although Jesus said we didn’t have to be afraid, we can choose to be afraid. Fear—lack of faith—is a choice. Naturally, everyone has times when he is afraid and it’s simply hard to hold on to the faith we normally have, particularly when the wind is blowing hard while we’re trying to walk on fragile water. These times are signals to us to increase our faith through prayer, scripture study, conversations with those who have faith, and obedience to the commandments. The more often we simply let God show us the way, instead of trying to take charge of our lives ourselves, the easier faith will become. We will see the good results that come—not always instantly, but eventually—of trusting God and our faith will grow.

Although the Mormon church is headed by a prophet, the gift of prophecy referred to here is not referring to that prophet. The office of the prophet is held by the president of the Mormons. Only one person holds that office, but many people can have the gift of prophecy.

“The spiritual gift of prophecy is quite different. As we read in the Book of Revelation, “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Rev. 19:10.) The Prophet Joseph Smith relied on this scripture in teaching that “every other man who has the testimony of Jesus” is a prophet. (Teachings, p. 119.) Similarly, the Apostle Paul states that “he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.” (1 Cor. 14:3.) Thus, in the sense used in speaking of spiritual gifts, a prophet is one who testifies of Jesus Christ, teaches God’s word, and exhorts God’s people. In its scriptural sense, to prophesy means much more than to predict the future.

The scriptures often use the word prophet and its derivatives in the broad sense of one who teaches and testifies of God. When the prophet Moses was asked to forbid two men who “prophesied in the camp,” he refused, expressing the wish “that all the Lord’s people were prophets.” (Num. 11:26, 29.) The Apostle Paul taught that Christians should “desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.” (1 Cor. 14:1.) The Book of Mormon describes various times in which there were many prophets. (See 1 Ne. 1:4; W of M 1:16–18.) In our day, Elder Joseph Fielding Smith declared that “all members of the Church should seek for the gift of prophecy, for their own guidance, which is the spirit by which the word of the Lord is understood and his purpose made known.” (Church History and Modern Revelation, 3 vols., Salt Lake City, Deseret Book Co., 1953, 1:201.)

It is important for us to understand the distinction between a prophet, who has the spiritual gift of prophecy, and the prophet, who has the prophetic office” (Dallin H. Oaks, “Spiritual Gifts,” Ensign, Sep 1986, 68.)

The gift of prophecy, then, is meant to help us gain a testimony of Jesus Christ and to share that testimony with others. It helps us to understand God’s teachings and to apply them to our lives, as well as to help other apply those teachings to their lives.

Each person is able to receive personal revelation for his own sphere of responsibility. A mother, for instance, can receive personal revelation to help her make decisions about caring for her children and family, but not for her neighbor’s family unless she has a specific responsibility there. A bishop (similar to a lay pastor) can receive revelation for his own congregation, but not for any other congregation. The president of the United States can turn to God for revelation about leading his own country. Only the person who holds the prophetic office can receive prophecy for the entire church.

Elder Oaks, quoted above, reminded us that in the Old Testament, Miriam was a prophetess. She didn’t hold the office of the prophet-that belonged to Moses. However, she and Aaron once forgot that distinction and tried to take authority, arguing with God’s prophet. God Himself intervened. He reminded them that Moses was the prophet, not them, and that they were to listen to his counsel. A prophet’s role is to communicate God’s will to the church as a whole, and only Moses could do that at that time. This is a reminder to all of us that only God chooses who holds the office of the prophet, and that we must always honor that office. Those who don’t hold that office can’t try to take over for him. Throughout the Bible, God has demonstrated the importance of recognizing the prophet and then listening to his messages from God. Those who ignore or deny the prophet have always suffered serious consequences.

The gift of prophecy, for those who don’t hold the office of the prophet, is a very special gift. The ability to know without doubt of the divinity of Jesus Christ and to be able to use that knowledge to share what you know with others is a sacred responsibility and an honor. It must always be used wisely.

To use this gift wisely, we have to pray and spend time getting to know Jesus Christ on a personal level. As we study the scriptures, ponder what we read, pray, and spend time in the Savior’s spiritual presence, we can increase our testimony from believing to knowing. We must be certain, if we are blessed with the gift of prophecy, that our testimony is completely accurate so we are using the gift the best way possible. We are responsible for learning how to turn to God for information on who to trust for information and then accept the answers.

Learn how to pray.

4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.

6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;

9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will (1 Corinthians 12 in the King James version of the Bible).

Each of us is given different gifts, depending on what God feels we need. However, we can pray and ask God to give us other gifts, if our desire is based on worthy goals of serving Him, and not on personal ego.

These gifts come to us through the Holy Ghost and most are bestowed on baptism. However, some gifts are with us before then, allowing us to find God and truth. They are given only for spiritual purposes and we must never use them for personal gain. They aren’t to be used to garner admiration or financial gain, or to harm others. Instead, they’re used to build God’s kingdom and to improve our faith in God.

The Bible and other scriptures refer to a number of these gifts. The verses above give us some of them. Other gifts include the gift of tongues, the interpretation of tongues, the gift of translation, wisdom, knowledge, teaching wisdom and knowledge, knowing that Jesus is the Christ, believing the testimonies of others, prophecy, healing, working miracles, and faith.

Once given a gift, we have a responsibility to magnify the gift. The parable of the talents teaches us that when we’re given something, we must not just selfishly guard it, but make it more than it was. After praying to learn which gifts we have, and praying for any additional gifts we long to have to improve our ability to serve God, we need to study the Bible and other scriptures to learn what God says about each of these gifts. Then we need to use them to serve God. We can’t hide them away or we’ll lose them. As we use these gifts, our gifts will grow and we’ll be better able to serve God and to live a Christ-like life.

We have to be extremely careful in the use of gifts. Satan can imitate these gifts. The imitations are pale in comparison to the real thing, but they can deceive those who aren’t careful. For instance, fortune telling can be mistaken for prophecy. However, we can discern the difference by looking at how these gifts are used. A fortune teller might claim to foretell something that will happen to movie stars, or offer other spiritually meaningless promises, rather than the teachings of God. If someone who claims to be a prophet requires you to pay him before he will give you what he claims is God’s message, he is misusing any gift he might have. The best way to know who really has a spiritual gift, or to know if you have the gift yourself, is to pray and ask God.

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him (James 1:5, King James version of the Bible).

Spiritual gifts are sacred and must be treated that way. Over the next few weeks, we will examine some of the gifts God offers His children and discuss ways to treat them sacredly.

One of the purposes of mortal life is to prove to God that we will keep His commandments when that takes courage (Henry B. Eyring, “Moral Courage,” Liahona, Mar 2010, 4–7).

An important aspect of Mormon beliefs is that one purpose of our life on earth is to be tested. Passing the test requires moral courage, because if it were easy, the test would be meaningless.

Before we were born, we lived as spirits with God. We didn’t have bodies, limiting our experiences and temptations, but we had our personalities. We were shaped by our experiences, our learning, and our choices, just as we are here. However, because God was there, in our presence, for many of us, the choices seemed easier.

Even with that reassurance, the ability to know exactly what God wanted from us, some people were not willing to trust Him or themselves. When He told us we were going to be sent away from home for a while to continue our eternal progression, some were not excited by the prospect. We were told we might fail and, if we rejected God and His teachings, we would not be allowed to return to His presence, although we would be saved by grace, meaning we would be resurrected and live forever. For most people, everlasting life, even if we could not be with God, would still be a happy experience.

Knowing some people were unwilling to take that risk, Lucifer tried to convince the people to reject God’s plan. He told them if they chose him to be their savior, he would guarantee they’d all make it back home. Of course, the only way to do this was to control their every action and thought, ensuring they’d never have an opportunity to sin. There was no other way, because God’s laws could not be altered. One third of all the spirits chose him as their leader. The remainder chose Jesus Christ as their Savior, who volunteered Himself as our Savior, but He committed Himself to follow God’s plan exactly. Unlike Satan, He was willing to suffer and die for us, so we would have the ability to repent of our sins and break the bonds of death. The third that followed Satan were cast out of Heaven and were denied the right to come to earth and to partake of the Atonement. They’ve since devoted their lives to trying to make us as miserable as they are.

The rest of us began taking our turns on Earth, gaining families, bodies, trials, and blessings. Every day, most of us face choices that have eternal consequences. We hear teachings about God and have to decide which ones are correct and which are false. We face ridicule for trying to live the commandments or for encouraging others to do so. If we obey the commandments we’re considered foolish.

For those who put the teachings of Jesus Christ first, however, it is worth the sacrifice, worth the mocking, the judgment, and the inability of others to understand.

There is a story in the Book of Mormon about a prophet named Lehi. He had a vision in which he viewed a tree that represented God’s love. Those who partook of the fruit experienced great joy. Some who followed the path to that tree ate the fruit, but then looked around to see how others viewed their choice. In the air, nearby, was a spacious building filled with elegant, well-dressed people who were busy making fun of those who were working so hard to reach the tree. Those who insisted on monitoring the reactions of others to their choice were humiliated to be the subject of this mockery from people who seemed important, and they rushed away, forfeiting the blessings of their choice. Some even joined the mockers, thinking it made them more important or glamorous.

This story is about moral courage. Those who fled from God because of the mockery lacked moral courage. They were unwilling to do the hard work of being a Christian.

The most effectual way to establish the religion of Heaven is to live it, rather than to die for it: I think I am safe in saying that there are many of the Latter-day Saints who are more willing to die for their religion than to live it faithfully (Brigham Young, quoted in Chapter 11: Choosing to Walk in Obedience,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 71).

Brigham Young understood that dying for your religion takes a moment of courage and no requirement to live on earth with the results of your sacrifices. Instead, you’re immediately in Heaven. But living on earth, day in and day out facing the large and small temptations and trials, sorting through the many voices taunting you to sin or encouraging you to make wise choices, and facing the world everyday with a different lifestyle than others takes far more courage. It’s not the courage of a moment, but the courage of a lifetime.

In his message on moral courage, Henry B. Eyring reminded us we have a great help in getting through our lives with moral courage: the atonement. Through Jesus Christ, we can find the courage to face the moral challenges of mortality. President Eyring reminded us of the following scripture, which contains revelation given to Joseph Smith from God:

And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.

“The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?” (D&C 122:7–8).