It is a well-known fact that the sacrament serves to align our lives with Jesus Christ like a compass aligns us to true north. When we are faced with a child who is off course, a most useful, redeeming tool for parents is to remain on course. According to numerous parents who have suffered long with a wayward child, the sacrament was the single gospel principle upon which they relied to weekly anchor them to their covenants and to infuse them with power to press forward in faith and hope.

The Purposes of the Sacrament

The ordinances of the sacrament and baptism are interconnected. Baptism is the covenant of salvation;[i] Jesus Christ is the agent of salvation. When we renew our baptismal covenants by partaking of the sacrament, we should recommit to the terms of baptism that ensure our salvation, and we should recommit our lives to Jesus Christ. The major purpose of our gathering in sacrament meeting is to partake of the sacrament. “When ye come together therefore into one place, is it not to eat the Lord’s supper?”[ii] The Apostle Paul suggests three great purposes for the sacrament.

• The sacrament is a memorial. “This do ye . . . in remembrance of me.”[iii]
• The sacrament is a testimonial. When we partake, we “shew the Lord’s death till he come.”[iv] (Note that the word shew means to “proclaim or announce.”)
• The sacrament is an examination. “But let a man examine himself.”[v]

When we partake of the sacrament, do we fulfill these three main purposes? Do we rejoice in our recollection of the wonder and majesty of the Atonement? Does our partaking of the sacrament testify of our faith in the Redeemer? Do we look closely at our lives to see if we are worthy and if we are conducting ourselves as disciples ought? Again, many parents of wayward children have testified that the sacrament, because it focuses on our relationship with Jesus Christ, brought them comfort, purpose, hope, and the power to face their challenges and to obtain divine assistance for their children.

The Sacrament and the Promise of the Holy Ghost

Nothing in the process of redeeming a wayward child is as essential as having the guidance of the Holy Ghost. Significantly, the sacrament’s sanctifying promise is the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost: “Those who partake of the sacrament place themselves under covenant with the Lord to take upon them the name of Christ, to always remember him, and to keep his commandments. The Lord in turn covenants that they may always have his Spirit to be with them.”[vi]

This implication is often missed. When we are baptized and confirmed, we are commanded to “receive the Holy Ghost.” Elder Bruce R. McConkie points out that this commandment is also a gift—a right, not a guarantee, “based on faithfulness, to the constant companionship of the member of the Godhead. It is the right to receive revelation, guidance, light, and truth.”[vii] Our ability to retain the companionship of the Holy Ghost is apparently dependent upon our honoring our baptismal covenants by means of the sacrament. In plain terms, the sacrament is the ordinance that makes retention of the Holy Ghost possible.

The Holy Ghost and Sanctification

Elder Dallin H. Oaks said, “When we worthily partake of the sacrament, we are promised that we will ‘always have his Spirit to be with [us].’ To qualify for that promise we covenant that we will ‘always remember him’ (D&C 20:77).”[viii] Because we enjoy the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, we enjoy the constant sanctifying power of that gift, which sanctification, in addition to all other considerations, enables us to seek redeeming blessings for those whom we love.

The Holy Ghost is the Sanctifier. Receipt of the Holy Ghost is called the baptism of fire, which follows the baptism by water. We are immersed both in water and in the Spirit. Remission of sins is not possible without the baptism of fire. Of the necessity of these two baptisms, the Prophet Joseph Smith said, “You might as well baptize a bag of sand as a man, if not done in view of the remission of sins and getting of the Holy Ghost. Baptism by water is but half a baptism, and is good for nothing without the other half—that is, the baptism of the Holy Ghost.”[ix] Because “no unclean thing can dwell in a divine presence,” and because “people are saved to the extent that they are sanctified,”[x] we cherish and rely on the Holy Ghost, who burns out of us all impurities and creates of us a “new creature.”[xi]

As its name implies, baptism by fire is hot. Malachi described the work of the Lord and his agent, the Holy Ghost, as a refiner’s fire.[xii] Both the Savior and the Holy Ghost are engaged in the work of refining souls. This knowledge is important to parents of wayward children and speaks to the theme of my book: The redeemed become the redeemers.

Our ability to rescue and redeem a wayward soul is directly linked to our level of sanctification. Therefore, we are told that before we attempt to pluck out the mote in another’s eye we must first excise the beam from our own.[xiii] That process requires the Holy Ghost. As we pray for the Lord’s help to rescue our children, we might be surprised that He focuses His attention on us first. The Lord might use the child’s situation to sanctify us. If we will submit to the refiner’s fire, once we emerge from it, we will be in a much better position to help our children when they experience it.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote of the sacramental covenant and the Holy Ghost as paths to redemption:

Those who partake of the sacrament worthily thereby put themselves under covenant with the Lord: 1. To always remember the broken body and spilled blood of Him who was crucified for the sins of the world; 2. To take upon themselves the name of Christ and always remember him; and 3. To keep the commandments of God, that is, to “live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.” (D&C 84:44.)

As his part of the contract, the Lord covenants: 1. That such worthy saints shall have his Spirit to be with them; and 2. That in due course they shall inherit eternal life. (D&C 20:75–79; Moro. 4; 5.) “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:54.) In the light of these covenants, promises, and blessings, is it any wonder that the Lord commanded: “It is expedient that the church meet together often to partake of bread and wine in the remembrance of the Lord Jesus.” (D&C 20:75; Doctrines of Salvation, Volume 2, 338–350.)”[xiv]

Clearly, none of these blessings are possible without the sacrament.

Coming to the Altar of Sacrifice

Each Sunday our attention should be focused on the sacramental table—the altar of sacrifice—where the priests of God prepare emblems of bread and water that remind us of the Lord’s sacrifice. Jesus said that He is the Bread of Life[xv] and the Living Water.[xvi]

In the sacramental covenant, both parties make promises to and agree to sacrifice for each other. The Lord’s promises are the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost and eternal life; our promises are those that we made at baptism, specifically, to take upon us the name of Christ, to always remember Him, and to keep His commandments. Jesus’ sacrifice is His body and His blood; our sacrifice is a “broken heart and a contrite spirit.”[xvii] The altar is where all of this takes place.

At the altar of sacrifice, the priests of God prepare and consecrate the sacrifice and set forth the terms of the covenant. The sacrament, like the Passover, is the memorial of our salvation and deliverance. That single hope should sink deeply within our souls as we consider the Atonement’s saving and liberating implications for our children.

The Supernal Blessing of the Holy Ghost

By living in a way that we always honor our baptismal covenants, we “retain a remission of our sins,”[xviii] “and the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God.”[xix] The promise of the Holy Ghost is unequalled: “The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.”[xx]

Therefore—and in no other way—by the simple, sanctifying act of worthily partaking of the sacrament, we renew our baptismal covenant and secure the promise that we received in our confirmation: the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. And we know that it is the Holy Ghost who sanctifies us, which sanctification fills us with power to rescue our wayward children.

Author’s Note

Note: This article is adapted from Rescuing Wayward Children. Follow this link to learn more.

Also, to receive a sample of my new 5-book series, The Three Pillars of Zion, Click here.

[ii] JST 1 Corinthians 11:20.

[iii] 1 Corinthians 11:25.

[iv] 1 Corinthians 11:26.

[v] 1 Corinthians 11:28.

[vi] Encyclopedia of Mormonism, “Sacrament,” 1243–1244.

[vii] Bruce R. McConkie, “Gift of the Holy Ghost,” Mormon Doctrine, 312.

[viii] Dallin H. Oaks, “Pornography,” Ensign, May 2005, 88.

[ix] Robert, B.H., History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Volume 5, 499.

[x] Encyclopedia of Mormonism, “Holy Ghost,” 649–650.

[xi] 2 Corinthians 5:17.

[xii] See Malachi 3:2.

[xiii] See Matthew 7:3–4.

[xiv] Bruce R. McConkie, “Sacrament,” Mormon Doctrine, 660.

[xv] See John 6:35.

[xvi] See John 4:10.

[xvii] D&C 59:8.

[xviii] Mosiah 4:12.

[xix] Moroni 8:26, emphasis added.

[xx] D&C 121:46.

For single parents and those wishing to be sealed in the temple, this can be a painful reminder. However, though this article deals specifically with the power given to married couples who are sealed in the temple, many principles apply to singles, single parents, those working for eternal union with less-active spouses, and to children who are praying for their wayward parents. Faith and grace allow us to act as if we were in possession of that which we lack and to do all that we can do with the assurance that the Lord will make up the difference.  Attesting to the truth of this comforting fact, President Spencer W. Kimball said all faithful members would “not be deprived of any blessings which they might have received if they had lived up to all of the commandments with which they could comply.”

The Power of the Marriage Sealing

Love between a husband and a wife can be welded into an unbreakable link by the temple marriage covenant. If a couple lives true to that covenant, they can become one in word, purpose, and deed. That quality of oneness is the ultimate unity necessary to obtain redemptive blessings in behalf of our children. While the temple experience teaches us that the sealing of parents is initially provisional and based on subsequent obedience, we also are aware that no such qualifying language is used when a child is born in the covenant or when a child is later sealed to his parents. This fact suggests that the Lord intends for the child to belong to the parents forever.

President Joseph Fielding Smith said,

Those born under the covenant, throughout all eternity, are the children of their parents. Nothing except the unpardonable sin, or sin unto death, can break this tie. If children do not sin as John said, ‘unto death,’ the parents may still feel after them and eventually bring them back near to them again.

The prophets have stated repeatedly that the calling of parent is one from which we are never released. Such is the incredible power of the sealing ordinance. The covenant entered into and the sealing pronounced on a couple married in the temple create a patriarchal hold that secures children to their parents forever. The sealing of children to parents gives children the inalienable right to be offered all the blessings of the new and everlasting covenant. Moreover, the sealing has the power to draw children toward those blessings.

Sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise

The ultimate goals of love should be to enter into the new and everlasting covenant of marriage, then persist in that covenant until the marriage is sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise. The Holy Spirit of Promise is a “name-title used in connection with the sealing and ratifying power of the Holy Ghost.” Great power devolves upon a husband and wife who have married in the temple and lived worthily so that the Holy Spirit of Promise can validate their marriage. Elder Bruce C. Hafen wrote,

A covenant marriage in the highest sense will begin as a temple marriage. When the partners are then sufficiently righteous, the marriage will be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise (D&C 132:7), “which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true” (D&C 76:53). Such a marriage will then be not only eternal in duration but also celestial in quality, for it will be a marriage that partakes of God’s quality of life.

President James E. Faust made one of the clearest statements on the subject: “When the covenant of marriage for time and eternity, the culminating gospel ordinance, is sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, it can literally open the windows of heaven for great blessings to flow to a married couple who seek for those blessings.”

The sealing of the Holy Spirit of Promise is contingent upon our faithfulness to our covenants. Although marriage is an important step toward exaltation, it is not the ultimate step. Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote, “It should be clearly understood that these high blessings are not part of celestial marriage. ‘Blessings pronounced upon couples in connection with celestial marriage are conditioned upon the subsequent faithfulness of the participating parties.’” In the final analysis, for marriage (or any saving ordinance) to have the greatest power, it must be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise.

Great Powers Unleashed

If a man and a woman marry in the temple, thereby entering into the patriarchal order of the priesthood, and then remain worthy so that their marriage is sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise, they are given greater power from on high to ask for and receive the highest blessings. These blessings include power to gather or call back their family to Christ (keys restored by Moses), power to organize their family into an eternal, celestial unit, including power to ensure that each family member receives all the blessings of the new and everlasting covenant (keys restored by Elias), and power to have all those blessings sealed so that these blessings might endure forever (keys restored by Elijah).

Speaking of the great blessings that flow to the children by the power of their parents’ marriage sealing, Joseph Fielding Smith wrote:

These keys hold the power to seal husbands and wives for eternity as well as for time. They hold the power to seal children to parents, the key of adoption, by which the family organization is made intact forever. This is the power which will save the obedient from the curse in the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Through these keys the hearts of the children have turned to their fathers.

So the key to rescuing our wayward children lies not only in our striving to be unified, but to be unified with respect to our covenants. Elder Russell M. Nelson wrote: “As you obey each of God’s commandments, your holiness will fortify the foundation of your fathers’ faith. When the two of you are together spiritually, one plus one is clearly greater than two.”

An Example

Following is a story of a Nevada couple who followed this advice.

When “James” was a teenager, he set about to self-destruct in record time. “Thomas and Alyssa,” his parents, were helpless to halt or alter his determination. A bad group of friends introduced him to alcohol and later, tobacco. When he began to fail badly in school, Thomas and Alyssa tried to help him with a tutor, but James soon lost all interest. Later, he dropped out of school, and later still, when Thomas and Alyssa had laid out a simple set of rules that James would not abide, they asked him to live elsewhere. By that time, he was using and selling drugs, stealing from his parents, and having frequent run-ins with the law. At one point, James was incarcerated for a year, but when he was released he continued with his destructive behavior.

To deal with the problem, Thomas and Alyssa did something remarkable: they pulled together as a couple. They renewed their marriage by frequent dating and trips. They increased their temple attendance, and they put more energy into their couple prayers. In the midst of one of the worst trials of their lives, they reacted by loving each other and God more.

Throughout these years of intense stress and heartbreak, Thomas and Alyssa kept in contact with James and assured him of their love for him. Thomas said, “Alyssa and I didn’t know what else to do. In the beginning, we prayed because that was all we could think to do. But over time, we discovered that parental prayer is a sort of right God gives fathers and mothers. We didn’t even know that we had such a right until we noticed our prayers being answered in miraculous ways.”

At one critical moment, James had moved to a new city and had no place to room. His parents knew that his decision would make or break him. His history had been to live with the low-lifes of society-jobless and hard partying, alcoholics and drug users. Now he was faced with a similar decision, and Thomas and Alyssa went to their knees. They pled with Heavenly Father to help James find an LDS person to live with. Within the week, James called and said that he had made a friend of a returned missionary who had invited him to be his roommate. James stayed with this young man until his next crisis.

Later, James called his father and announced that he and a woman with whom he had been having an affair, were going to buy a condo so they could live together. Despite Thomas’s stern counsel discouraging this, James had stubbornly made up his mind and once again announced that he was going to do things his way. Thomas and Alyssa went to their knees and prayed that something would happen to give James another choice.

Within the week, James called to tell his parents that the woman had broken up with him. He was hurt, but he had begun to date an LDS girl. Within a short period of time, James and the girl fell in love and wanted to get married. She had set her sites on a temple marriage, and that made James reconsider his life. He asked his father to give him a blessing. James went to his bishop, confessed, and gave up all his bad habits. The young woman was willing to wait for James as he completed the repentance process, and after a year, they were married in the temple. Of this miracle, Thomas and Alyssa said, “Couples may not know the power that God puts into their hands. A couple that has truly become one can sincerely pray for their children, and miracles will happen. That oneness calls forth a power we had never thought possible.

Without the Sealing, All would be “Wasted”

Thus, although love may motivate a man and woman to enter into marriage, only God has the power to truly make them one. Moroni revealed to Joseph Smith the sobering fact why this welding link-a temple sealing and subsequent sanctification-must be in place to make a couple (and their progenitors and children) one: so that “the whole earth [would not] be utterly wasted at [the Lord's] coming.” Robert L. Millet gives us further insight into this idea of the earth’s being wasted:

Why would the earth be wasted at his coming? Because the earth would not have accomplished its foreordained purpose of establishing on its face a family system patterned after the order of heaven. If there were no sealing powers whereby families could be bound together, then the earth would never “answer the end of its creation” (D&C 49:16). It would be wasted and cursed, for all men and women would be forever without root or branch, without ancestry or posterity.

With the merciful gift and commandment of having our marriages start at temple altars, righteous parents are made one by God and sealed together with His unbreakable welding link. Then, as we faithfully persevere in our covenants, the Holy Spirit of Promise seals our marriages more surely so that the welding link that was set in place at the altar will never fail.

The children who issue forth from this union-or who are sealed into it-are surely secured to us by virtue of that same, sure weld. Despite their rebellion, they cannot break free. The power of their parents’ oneness, which was set in place by God and made sure by the Holy Spirit of Promise, has the power to hold onto the children and eventually reel them back.

Author’s Note

Note: This article is adapted from Rescuing Wayward Children. Follow this link to learn more.

Also, to receive a sample of my new 5-book series, The Three Pillars of Zion, Click here.

See Bruce R. McConkie, “Celestial Marriage,” Mormon Doctrine, 117-18.

Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, volume 2, 90.

See M. Russell Ballard, “Let Our Voices be Heard,” Ensign, November 2003.

D&C 131:2.

Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, “Holy Spirit of Promise,” 361.

Bruce C. Hafen, Covenant Hearts, 77.

James E. Faust, “The Gift of the Holy Ghost-A Sure Compass,” Ensign, April 1996, emphasis added.

Joseph Fielding Smith, quoted in Bruce R. McConkie’s Mormon Doctrine, “Calling and Election Sure,” 110.

D&C 131:1-4; 132:28-30.

D&C 132:7, 19, 26; See also D&C 76:53.

See D&C 110.

Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, Volume 2, 119, emphasis added.

Russell M. Nelson, The Power within Us, 113.

D&C 2:3, comments added.

Robert L. Millet, When a Child Wanders, 100-101.

In preparing Helaman to succeed him, Alma bade his son to remember that the gospel was designed to unleash grand heavenly powers by small and simple means. A case in point, he said, was the Liahona: “And it did work for [Lehi's family] according to their faith in God….because those miracles were worked by small means it did show unto them marvelous works.” Then Alma stated the principle:

For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land….O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us. The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever.

The final mandate that Alma gave to Helaman before he sent him forth to minister to the people was this: “See that ye look to God and live.” It is easy!

The Simpleness of the Way

Alma was not alone in stating that the powers of heaven swing open on simple hinges. Centuries earlier, Nephi chastised his hard-hearted brothers for behaving like the faithless Israelites who complained to God and opposed Moses. Even when they were perishing from snake bites, they would not accept the Lord’s simple solution for life and salvation.

And he did straiten them in the wilderness with his rod; for they hardened their hearts, even as ye have; and the Lord straitened them because of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying serpents among them; and after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be healed; and the labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished.

Sometimes we think it would be so much easier to believe that life could return to a dying situation if we only had an option that equaled our concern. Thus, we seek answers from everyone and every place except from the Savior. It just seems too Sunday School, too simple, too easy.

No, we want a Savior, who dishes out deep doctrines that can only be understood by the spiritually mature – the only ones who can tap into the powers of heaven and call down blessings. But that isn’t how the plan of salvation works. The gospel is so simple and easy that little children are capable of summoning blessings that would astound older generations. Every missionary can attest that investigators often receive unbelievable outpourings of the Spirit from the moment of their first awkward prayer. Moreover, wayward children frequently feel the immediate embrace of a loving Heavenly Father, who, at the instant of their turn homeward, rushes to his prodigal children and escorts them home. It is all so easy!

The Sacrament-An Easy, Powerful Ordinance of Reclamation

Partaking of the sacrament with more purpose is one of those “easy” ways to rescue a wayward child. Worthily partaken of and understood, the sacrament sanctifies us. The sacrament serves to align our lives with Jesus Christ like a compass aligns us to true north and like the Liahona aligned the lives of the Lehites so that they could follow the line leading to the promised land. When we are faced with a child who is off course, a most useful, redeeming tool for parents is to partake of the sacrament so as to remain on course. Dan and Rita, parents of a wayward child, wrote that they could point to the sacrament as the single gospel principle that anchored them weekly to their covenants and infused them with power to press forward in faith and hope.

The ordinances of the sacrament and baptism are interconnected. Baptism is the covenant of salvation; Jesus Christ is the agent of salvation. When we renew our baptismal covenants by partaking of the sacrament, we recommit to the terms of baptism that ensure our salvation, and we recommit our lives to Jesus Christ, who is our Savior. The Apostle Paul suggests three great purposes for the sacrament:

1. The sacrament is a memorial. “This do ye . . . in remembrance of me.”
2. The sacrament is a testimonial. When we partake, we “shew the Lord’s death till he come.” (Note that the word shew means to “proclaim or announce.”)
3. The sacrament is an examination. “But let a man examine himself.”

When we partake of the sacrament, do we fulfill these three main purposes? Do we rejoice in our recollection of the wonder and majesty of the Atonement? Does our partaking of the sacrament testify of our faith in the Redeemer? Do we look closely at our lives to see if we are worthy and if we are conducting ourselves as disciples ought? Many parents who have shared their stories with me have testified that the sacrament, because it focuses on our relationship with Jesus Christ, brought them comfort, purpose, hope, and the power to face their challenges and to obtain divine assistance for their wayward children.

The Sacrament and the Holy Ghost

Nothing in the process of redeeming a wayward child is as essential as having the guidance of the Holy Ghost. The sacrament’s sanctifying promise is the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost: “Those who partake of the sacrament place themselves under covenant with the Lord to take upon them the name of Christ, to always remember him, and to keep his commandments. The Lord in turn covenants that they may always have his Spirit to be with them.”

The sacrament’s unique promise of the ongoing companionship Holy Ghost is often missed or we associate it with baptism or living a good life. Not so. The sacrament is the designated ordinance that provides for the retention of this supernal gift.

When we are baptized and confirmed, we are commanded to “receive the Holy Ghost.” Elder Bruce R. McConkie points out that this commandment is also a right, but not a guarantee. Our ability to retain the companionship of the Holy Ghost is dependent upon our honoring our baptismal covenants and renewing them by means of the sacrament. Again, the sacrament is the ordinance that makes retention of the Holy Ghost possible.

The Sacrament and Sanctification

Elder Dallin H. Oaks said, “When we worthily partake of the sacrament, we are promised that we will ‘always have his Spirit to be with [us].’ To qualify for that promise we covenant that we will ‘always remember him’ (D&C 20:77).” Because we enjoy the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, we enjoy the constant sanctifying power of that gift, which sanctification, in addition to all other considerations, enables us to seek redeeming blessings for those whom we love.

The Holy Ghost is the Sanctifier. Receipt of the Holy Ghost is called the baptism of fire, which follows the baptism by water. We are immersed both in water and in the Spirit. Remission of sins is not possible without the baptism of fire. Of the necessity of these two baptisms, the Prophet Joseph Smith said, “You might as well baptize a bag of sand as a man, if not done in view of the remission of sins and getting of the Holy Ghost. Baptism by water is but half a baptism, and is good for nothing without the other half-that is, the baptism of the Holy Ghost.” Because “no unclean thing can dwell in a divine presence,” and because “people are saved to the extent that they are sanctified,” we cherish and rely on the Holy Ghost, who burns out of us all impurities and creates of us a “new creature.”

As its name implies, baptism by fire is hot. Malachi described the work of the Lord and his agent, the Holy Ghost, as a refiner’s fire. Both the Savior and the Holy Ghost are engaged in the work of refining souls. This knowledge is important to parents of wayward children and speaks to the theme of my writings on this subject: The redeemed become the redeemers.

Our ability to rescue and redeem a wayward soul is directly linked to our level of sanctification. Therefore, we are told that before we attempt to pluck out the mote in another’s eye we must first excise the beam from our own. That process requires the Holy Ghost. As we pray for the Lord’s help to rescue our children, we might be surprised that He will focus His attention on us first. The Lord might use the child’s situation to first sanctify us. If we will submit to the refiner’s fire, once we emerge from it, we will be in a much better position to help our children when they experience it.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote of the sacramental covenant and the Holy Ghost as paths to redemption:

Those who partake of the sacrament worthily thereby put themselves under covenant with the Lord: 1. To always remember the broken body and spilled blood of Him who was crucified for the sins of the world; 2. To take upon themselves the name of Christ and always remember him; and 3. To keep the commandments of God, that is, to “live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.” (D&C 84:44.)

As his part of the contract, the Lord covenants: 1. That such worthy saints shall have his Spirit to be with them; and 2. That in due course they shall inherit eternal life. (D&C 20:75-79; Moro. 4; 5.) “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:54.) In the light of these covenants, promises, and blessings, is it any wonder that the Lord commanded: “It is expedient that the church meet together often to partake of bread and wine in the remembrance of the Lord Jesus.” (D&C 20:75; Doctrines of Salvation, Volume 2, 338-350.)

Coming to the Altar of Sacrifice

Each Sunday our attention should be focused on the sacramental table-the altar of sacrifice-where the priests of God prepare emblems of bread and water that remind us of the Lord’s sacrifice. Jesus said that He is the Bread of Life and the Living Water. In the sacramental covenant, both parties sacrifice for and make promises to each other. The Lord’s promise is the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost; our promises are those that we made at baptism, specifically, to take upon us the name of Christ, to always remember Him, and to keep His commandments. His sacrifice is His body and His blood; our sacrifice is a “broken heart and a contrite spirit.” The altar is where all of this takes place.

The priests of God prepare and consecrate the sacrifice and state the terms of the covenant. (Interestingly, in the Old Testament times, the sacrificing of a lamb, which foreshadowed the sacrifice of the Lamb, involved a person coming to the altar, laying his sacrifice upon it, symbolically transferring his sins to the sacrificial lamb by the laying on of hands, and then-after offering a prayer of atonement-the priests would slay the lamb and the person’s sins would die with it.)

Today, the sacrament, like the Passover, is the memorial of our salvation and deliverance. That single hope should sink deeply within our souls as we consider the Atonement’s saving and liberating implications for our children. By living in a way that we always honor our baptismal covenants, we “retain a remission of our sins,” “and the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God.”

The Supernal Gift of the Holy Ghost

The promise of the Holy Ghost is unequalled: “The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.”

Therefore-and in no other way than this easy way-by the simple, sanctifying act of worthily partaking of the sacrament, we renew our baptismal covenant and secure the promise that we received in our confirmation of the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost sanctifies us, which sanctification fills us with power to rescue our wayward children. It is easy to look to God and live!

Author’s Note

This article was adapted from my book, Rescuing Wayward Children. Follow this link to learn more.

Also, get a sample of my new 5-book series on Zion: The Three Pillars of Zion. Click here.

1 Nephi 17:41, emphasis added.

See Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, “Abrahamic Covenant,” 13.

1 Corinthians 11:25.

1 Corinthians 11:26.

1 Corinthians 11:28.

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, “Sacrament,” 1243-1244.

Bruce R. McConkie, “Gift of the Holy Ghost,” Mormon Doctrine, 312.

Dallin H. Oaks, “Pornography,” Ensign, May 2005, 88.

Robert, B.H., History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Volume 5, 499.

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, “Holy Ghost,” 649-650.

2 Corinthians 5:17.

See Malachi 3:2.

See Matthew 7:3-4.

Bruce R. McConkie, “Sacrament,” Mormon Doctrine, 660.

See John 6:35.

See John 4:10.

D&C 59:8.

See Old Testament Student Manual 301, 164.

Mosiah 4:12.

Moroni 8:26, emphasis added.

D&C 121:46.

The New and Everlasting Covenant

In the beginning, the Father set forth two primary covenants to advance and save his children. These covenants are 1) the Covenant of Justice, through which he reveals the laws governing the celestial kingdom and those who inherit eternal life, and 2) the Covenant of Mercy, by which he rescues and exalts his children according to those same celestial laws.

Regarding the Covenant of Mercy, Jesus Christ is the agent of mercy and salvation. The vehicle of mercy and salvation is the Atonement, which establishes the foundation of the Covenant of Mercy. Upon that foundation, the New and Everlasting Covenant rises and forms the framework of our new life in Christ. Helaman explains, “And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”

Our new life is like a temple. As that holy structure rises, covenants are added. If we were to attempt to outline the New and Everlasting Covenant it might look like this:

New and Everlasting Covenant

1. Covenant of Baptism
2. Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood

a. Ordination (men)

b. Temple covenants (men and women)

c. Eternal marriage covenant (men and women)

 Of profound importance is the fact that we make the New and Everlasting Covenant at the time of baptism with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. All three members of the Godhead effectively affix their names to the agreement with a covenant to save and exalt us. This is the purpose of the New and Everlasting Covenant. Each member of the Godhead now takes a part in our advancement and transformation, although “we receive all of the blessings of this covenant through the Son, who is Everlasting.” Bookending the New and Everlasting Covenant is the other covenant in which the Father, Son and Holy Ghost affix their names: the covenant of eternal marriage. Now the New and Everlasting Covenant is complete. Clearly, we become Zion people by means of the Covenant a combination of our best efforts and the best efforts of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

The first pillar of Zion is the New and Everlasting Covenant. The New and Everlasting Covenant is the sum of all gospel covenants, ordinances and commandments–”the fulness of the gospel.” The purposes of the Covenant are: 1) to obtain knowledge and power for personal salvation, and 2) to obtain knowledge and power to help save other people by teaching them of the Atonement and administering to them the Covenant.

Infinite and eternal in scope, the Covenant has the power to save men and women and transform them into the image of God. We are saved to the degree that we receive and conform to this Covenant. If we become complacent about the Covenant, we risk forfeiture of our privileges. Zion people build their lives upon the bedrock of the Atonement by entering into the New and Everlasting Covenant.

Justification

Within the New and Everlasting Covenant, the covenants of justice and mercy work hand-in-hand to make of us Zion people and propel us toward eternal life-to make us just. We often think of justice in terms of inflicting penalties for sin, but justice also rewards us for obedience to God’s eternal laws. Mercy assures that those rewards are given according on our best-not perfect–effort. This is a manifestation of grace-we do all that we can and Jesus Christ makes up the difference. Thus, by obedience and grace, a child might be justified to receive the same reward for obedience as an apostle, as evidenced in the account of 3^rd Nephi when both the children and the apostles were equally blessed with access to the Savior, his teachings, healings and heavenly ministrations.

Justification, therefore, is to be judged worthy of the blessings that are specified by the laws of God on the basis of our best efforts. In the end, we understand, all blessings come to us by the merits of Jesus Christ. We cannot obtain any blessing from God, become just, attain to Zion, nor obtain inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom without being justified by obeying God’s laws and by applying to grace that is available through the mercy of Jesus Christ.

The Holy Ghost is the Savior’s justifying agent. Elder McConkie wrote: “What then is the law of justification? It is simply this: ‘All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations’ (D&C 132:7), in which men must abide to be saved and exalted, must be entered into and performed in righteousness so that the Holy Spirit can justify the candidate for salvation in what has been done. (1 Ne. 16:2; Jac. 2:13-14; Alma 41:15; D. & C. 98; 132:1, 62.) An act that is justified by the Spirit is one that is sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise, or in other words, ratified and approved by the Holy Ghost.”

Some of the most definitive statements on justification are found in the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon at the Temple. BYU professor Chauncey Riddle says, “The Book of Mormon is the scripture that lays out with great clarity justification both as a process and a product [See Alma 5].” Only by entering into the New and Everlasting Covenant can we exercise faith in Jesus Christ unto repentance, be cleansed from his sins through baptism, then live obediently by sacrifice so that the Holy Ghost can justify us to receive the prescribed blessings that are affixed to the laws of God. By this process, and by this only, can we truly become just.

Purification

Purification and sanctification are words that are often interchanged. That they are closely associated is evident. In this article, we will define purification as extracting any impurities that would stand between us and perfection; we will define sanctification as changing the purpose of something. We enter the New and Everlasting Covenant to draw upon the Atonement and become pure and therefore Zionlike.

Zion people are purified people; they are the “pure in heart.” Quoting Brother Riddle: “[The Atonement of Jesus Christ has the power to] “reach into our bosom and give each of us a new heart.” Purification flows from the Covenant of Mercy; by covenant we agree to allow the Lord to extract from our lives all impurities and pollutions that would stand between us and the Celestial Kingdom. This is necessary because ultimately, our desire to become Zionlike will require divine intervention: “To pour light and truth into the human vessel is not enough. As a child of Christ attempts to love the light and truth…each becomes aware of an alarming fact: having light and truth is no guarantee of being able to do what is right.” Only the Atonement can purify a heart, and we must agree to the process of purification. Thus, we enter into the New and Everlasting Covenant or the Covenant of Mercy.

Purification is dependent upon two factors: 1) our complete effort to change and make amends, and 2) the grace of Jesus Christ to do what lies beyond our ability. The Savior is the Purifier, but the agent for the purification process is the Holy Ghost: “The Holy Ghost is also a Purifier in that, because of Christ and the Atonement, this Spirit member of the Godhead has power given him to cleanse, sanctify, and purify the human soul. (3 Ne. 27:19-21.)” The process of purification is often called the baptism of fire. We are fully immersed in the heat of the Lord’s furnace to burn out of us all impurities. The Holy Ghost will persist in the process until he can commend us to God as being pure, that is, “true and faithful in all things” in the similitude of “Him whose very name is ‘Faithful and True.’”

We must do our part to purify ourselves, but in the end we will need the Holy Ghost and the Savior to make us completely pure. Brother Riddle said, “If we have repented of every sin we can repent of, have made fourfold restitution as far as we are able [D&C 98:44; Luke 19:8], and have been reconciled to our brother [Matthew 5:23-24], we may present ourselves at the altar with a broken heart and a contrite spirit [2 Nephi 2:7.] and plead in mighty prayer for this change of heart [Mormon 7:48; Mosiah 4:2.]. Then and only then will our Savior reach in and give us a new heart. The new heart will be a pure heart, one that has no selfish desires, one that is willing to do the right thing. It will choose to do the will of God at all times and places, no matter what the opposition or the sacrifice involved.

“This new heart is made in the image of Jesus Christ, that same heart that enabled our Savior to say, ‘Father, not my will, but thine be done,’ that same heart that enabled him to live a sinless life, that same heart for which he was chosen to be the Firstborn and to be the Only Begotten. To be purified is to become literally a new creature in Christ, to die as to the old person that we were, literally to become of the heart and mind of [Christ]. The scriptures promise great rewards for those who qualify and take this step. The scriptural name for this new heart is ‘charity.’ Charity is to have a heart that loves with the pure love of Christ.”

Sanctification

Like purification, sanctification also flows from the Covenant of Mercy, which is the New and Everlasting Covenant. As much as we enter the Covenant to receive the blessings of the Atonement and become purified, we enter the Covenant to be sanctified.

Sanctification is the result of being purified. When the contaminants, pollutions and alloys have been burned from our souls, we emerge from the furnace sanctified; that is, we now have a new purpose. Let us examine, for example, the sacrament prayer in which the priests bless and sanctify profane bread and change its purpose by the priesthood to call us to remembrance of the body of Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life. Now blessed and sanctified, the bread’s purpose has changed from sustaining physical life to sustaining spiritual life. Likewise, a pile of stones can, by the priesthood, be changed in purpose to become an altar: “And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy.” Or a natural man can be purified of sin then sanctified by the Holy Ghost, so that his purpose now becomes one of service to God: “And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office.”

The Savior sanctifies us through the Atonement, but the Holy Ghost is the agent of sanctification, just as he is the agent of purification. The Holy Ghost rids us of impurities so that he might change our purpose. This is purification and sanctification. We have a responsibility in the process. We must cooperate with the Savior and Holy Ghost as they purify and sanctify us. The Lord commanded: “Sanctify yourselves; yea purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean.” None of this is possible outside the Covenant.

Our responsibility

Our part in the sanctifying process requires that we separate ourselves from Babylon and all that is profane, unholy and ungodly. To accomplish this, wrote Mormon Times editor, Joseph A. Cannon, “We fast and pray, we ‘wax stronger’ in our humility and become ‘firmer in the faith of Christ…even to the purifying and the sanctification of [our] hearts, which sanctification cometh because of [our] yielding [our] hearts unto God’ (Helaman 3:35). If we ‘come unto Christ’ and ‘deny [our]selves of all ungodliness’ and yield our hearts to God, then we are ‘sanctified in Christ by the grace of God through the shedding of the blood of Christ.’ It is through this [process] that we can ‘become holy [sanctified] without spot.’ (Moroni 10:32-33).” Thus we are commanded to “sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God.”

Our effort to purify and sanctify ourselves begins with faith in Jesus Christ; we must believe that he has the power to cleanse and transform us, and we must trust in his methods and timing. Faith in Jesus Christ-true faith-always leads to repentance; we must eliminate the impurities from our souls and change our purpose. Repentance leads to covenant-making; we desire to legitimize our resolve by entering into an agreement with the Lord to purify, sanctify and make us in every way fit for the Celestial Kingdom. That agreement is called the New and Everlasting Covenant, and we enter that Covenant by the covenant of baptism. Now are pronounced clean, but we are not yet pure and sanctified. For that reason, we receive a special gift: the gift of the consummate purifying and sanctifying agent, the Holy Ghost.

Reception of the gift of the Holy Ghost is the baptism of fire spoken of in the scriptures. When a person enters into the New and Everlasting Covenant, he does so for the purposes of receiving relief from his sins and starting down the path to becoming like God. That process of transformation requires burning out of him the impurities that made him a sinful “natural man,” then molding him into a new creature, a saint, to assume the image of God.

The crucible-the baptism of fire

A common metaphor for this sanctification process is the making of steel. When raw ore is placed in a crucible and heated in a furnace, the substance becomes molten and the properties separate. At that point, a skilled metallurgist can divide out the impurities from the pure, refined ore. An alloying process ensues whereby the metallurgist carefully combines select elements in perfect proportion with the pure iron. The result is steel. But the process is not yet complete. For steel to become strong and not brittle, it must be subjected to reheating in the furnace, which is followed by pounding to align the molecules into their strongest position. The process of being thrust into the furnace and beaten is repeated multiple times until the steel is free from impurities and aligned so that it cannot be broken. At some point, the metallurgist pours the steel into a mold to change its purpose, and as a final step he polishes it. The finished product is incredibly strong and beautiful, and it will remain so indefinitely.

Just so, we are immersed in a baptism of fire that includes heating, pounding, molding and polishing so that we might be purified, sanctified and conformed to the image of God. The Lord has every right to do this. We agreed to it when we entered into the New and Everlasting Covenant. John Taylor wrote, “I heard the Prophet Joseph say, in speaking to the Twelve on one occasion: ‘You will have all kinds of trials to pass through. And it is quite as necessary for you to be tried as it was for Abraham and other men of God, and (said he) God will feel after you, and He will take hold of you and wrench your very heart strings, and if you cannot stand it you will not be fit for an inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom of God.’”

The purified and sanctified to make an offering

When we entered into the New and Everlasting Covenant, we agreed to submit to the Lord’s crucible and allow him to make of us what we could not make of ourselves, and to make an offering in righteousness. We read: “And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.” We qualify as the sons of Levi. When we enter into the Melchizedek Priesthood, we become the sons of Aaron, who was the son of Levi, and the sons of Moses. The offering required of us is a broken heart and contrite spirit–”And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost,” and “a book containing the records of our dead.” The processes of purification and sanctification precede our ability to make this offering in righteousness, which each of us must make if we hope to become Zion and gain the promises of eternity.

Job understood the process and submitted to the Lord’s crucible: “…when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” Sometimes this process is called trying or chastisement, and we must endure it or forfeit our eternal inheritance: “My people must be tried in all things, that they may be prepared to receive the glory that I have for them, even the glory of Zion; and he that will not bear chastisement is not worthy of my kingdom.” Of interest, chastise means more than to punish; it also means “to make chaste.” Job patiently endured the Lord’s chastisement without murmuring, which is the act of simultaneously believing in God while complaining about how he is managing the affairs of one’s life. On the other hand, Job waited confidently on the Lord’s deliverance from the crucible. He followed the same admonition that Joseph Smith gave to the saints: “Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.” Whereas murmuring postpones or cancels out blessings, cheerfully submitting in patience summons the Lord’s deliverance.

Only the grace of Jesus Christ enables us to endure the heat of the purifying and sanctifying procedure while trusting him in the process. The Lord will strengthen us and uphold us until we can make an offering unto him in righteousness, which offering brings us finally to where we desired to be when we entered into the New and Everlasting Covenant. Only the Lord’s grace can expunge us of all impurities; only his grace can transform us and give us a new purpose. The promises to the purified and sanctified are unequalled: “And unto him that repenteth and sanctifieth himself before the Lord shall be given eternal life.”

Reference

This article contains information from my upcoming book series, The Three Pillars of Zion. 

Chauncey C. Riddle, “The New and Everlasting Covenant,” 1989 Sperry Symposium on the Doctrine and Covenants, Chapter Sixteen, p.228, insert added

See D&C 42:67

See D&C 22; 132:6-7

D&C 39:11; 45:9; 66:2; 133:57

See “Grace,” LDS Bible Dictionary, p.697

See 2 Nephi 31:19; Moroni 6:4

Bruce R. McConkie, “Justification,” Mormon Doctrine, 2d ed., p.408

See Matthew 5-7; 3 Nephi 12-14

Chauncey C. Riddle, “The New and Everlasting Covenant,” 1989 Sperry Symposium on the Doctrine and Covenants, Chapter Sixteen, p.234

D&C 97:21

Bruce R. McConkie, “Purity,” Mormon Doctrine, 2d ed., p.612

See 2 Nephi 31:13-14; D&C 20:41; 33:11; 39:6

Bruce R. McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, p.316

Chauncey C. Riddle, “The New and Everlasting Covenant,” 1989 Sperry Symposium on the Doctrine and Covenants, Chapter Sixteen, p.236-37

See D&C 20:77

See John 6:35

Exodus 40:10

Exodus 28:41

Bruce R. McConkie, The Mortal Messiah: From Bethlehem to Calvary, vol. 4:114

See Alma 13:11-12; 3 Nephi 27:19-21; D&C 84:33

D&C 88:74

Joseph A. Cannon, “Sanctify,” Mormon Times, June 12, 2008

D&C 88:68

See 2 Nephi 27:19-21

See 2 Nephi 31:13-14; D&C 20:41; 33:11; 39:6

Mosiah 3:19

See JST 2 Corinthians 5:17

Mosiah 3:19

See Alma 5:19

See Romans 8:29

John Taylor, Journal of Discourses, vol. 24:197    

3 Nephi 24:3; D&C 128:24

See D&C 84:31-34

3 Nephi 9:20

D&C 128:24

Job 23:10

D&C 136:31

“Chastening,” Encyclopedia of Mormonism, p.264

D&C 123:17

D&C 133:62

Can We Recommend Jesus?

Whether spoken or by righteous actions, a testimony is an avowal of the Savior. Essentially, we are recommending Jesus as the only solution to life’s challenges and his teachings as the single way to happiness and salvation. Consider Moroni’s testimony as he recommends Jesus to us: “And now, I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them, may be and abide in you forever. Amen.” 

We recommend Jesus to others as we would a dear and trusted friend. Because of our own experience, we can commend him because we know who He is and what He will do. We know that He is consistent, loving, a being of infinite knowledge and power, and someone who has the disposition to help. He is totally reliable; therefore, we do not hesitate to commend other people, including our wayward children, “to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written.” The seeds planted from our sincere testimony will grow in the hearts of the hearers.

The Testimony of Emulation

Parents are given a heroic work to do; therefore their lives should emulate Christ so that they might illuminate Him to their children. Although wayward children may ridicule their parents’ Christlike example, nevertheless, even if they stray to Plutonian distances, they cannot fully break free of the gravitational force [sealing power] that holds them in their parents’ orbit. Wayward children are always tethered to their parents, who emulate the Lord. By means of righteous parents’ example, the Holy Ghost will testify to these children that Jesus is the Christ and that the gospel is true.

Speaking to parents concerning emulation, President Boyd K. Packer, said, “Where is your power? It is in the power of example,” and Elder Sterling W. Sill said, “The power of example is the greatest power in the world.” Even if our wayward children will not listen to our words, our testimony will be delivered to them by the power of the Holy Ghost by means of our example.

“Jennifer,” a recently single mother, recounted the splintering effect that her divorce had on her children. Each one suffered from the trauma, and some left the Church completely. She remained active, attended her meetings alone every week, and faithfully served in a seemingly insignificant calling. Over the years, Jennifer’s example worked on her children. Without uttering a word about religion, she modeled a Christlike character that trumpeted her testimony. Over time, one by one her children repented and returned, and now they are all active and married in the temple. When Jennifer emulated the Savior, she gained power to rescue her children.

What is testimony?

My dictionary gives this definition: “A declaration made under oath or affirmation by a witness in court to establish a fact-a public avowal….to give witness-a firsthand account.” In other words, when I bear my testimony, I put my character on the line to avow that what I say is true. Testimony is the opposite of perjury. I do not fabricate or lie; I state facts as I know them. That is my declaration of the truth, and I stake my reputation on its validity.

Multiple Witnesses

Bearing testimony fulfills the law of witnesses. In essence, I am saying, “For the purpose of establishing the truth of the testimonies of other people, I add my witness.” Consider the following scriptures in light of bearing testimony to fulfill the law of witnesses:  

“Now Alma… began to speak unto him, and to establish the words of Amulek.”

“And now behold, Moses did not only testify of these things, but also all the holy prophets, from his days even to the days of Abraham.”

And to this group we add our testimonies.

Results for the Hearer

President Joseph Fielding Smith taught: “People are converted by their hearts being penetrated by the Spirit of the Lord when they humbly hearken to the testimonies of the Lord’s servants.”  Testimonies spoken or testimonies emulated plant seeds in the soil of the soul. Over time, the seeds of truth grow until they take shape and become a bountiful tree.

Alma explained the seed of truth’s cycle of growth in the hearer:

1. The hearer feels something spiritual stirring within him.
2. The seed motivates the hearer and begins to make him a better person.
3. The seed sparks other ideas in the hearer and clarifies things.
4. The seed makes the hearer want to know more; it spurs the hearer to more action, more seeking, more studying, more hoping that the seed within him is true.

Results for the Testifier

Testimonies of words spoken or the emulation of the Savior have at least four significant benefits for the testifier:

1.     Increase. A testimony grows with the bearing. The burden of testimony lies in the fact that it must be borne or it will diminish. Of testimony’s growth and obligation, Brigham Young said,

“A man who wishes to receive light and knowledge, to increase in the faith of the Holy Gospel, and to grow in the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus Christ, will find that when he imparts knowledge to others he will also grow and increase. Be not miserly in your feelings, but get knowledge and understanding by freely imparting it to others, and be not like a man who selfishly hoards his gold; for that man will not thus increase upon the amount, but will become contracted in his views and feelings. So the man who will not impart freely of the knowledge he has received, will become so contracted in his mind that he cannot receive truth when it is presented to him. Wherever you see an opportunity to do good, do it, for that is the way to increase and grow in the knowledge of the truth.”

2.     Recorded in heaven. As testimonies in a court of law are documented, so our testimonies are recorded in heaven. Apparently, they are formally entered as a growing body of evidence. When we bear testimonies, they are registered as a standing witness of the truth. The Lord said, “Nevertheless, ye are blessed, for the testimony which ye have borne is recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon; and they rejoice over you….”

3.     Forgiveness. Bearing testimony seems to be part of the repentance process, and it helps us retain a remission of our sins. In the same scripture quoted above, the Lord says, “Nevertheless, ye are blessed, for the testimony which ye have borne…and your sins are forgiven you.”

4.     The Lord recommends us. As we commend Jesus to others, he reciprocates and commends us to the hosts of heaven. “Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God.” By our testimonies, we are known and loved by heavenly beings! What greater commendation could we ever receive than that from the Lord’s own mouth?

Bearing an honest testimony

Testimonies range from simple to mature; but regardless, we are under obligation to stand as witnesses. Even if we cannot offer a sure knowledge, we must offer the portion that we have been given. Essentially, we are saying, “To this degree we know.” Nephi bore a similar testimony. Asked by the angel if he could bear testimony of the “condescension of God,” he answered, “I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.” Nephi’s being willing to bear the testimony that he had developed at that point was enough to open the door to incredible blessings.

Depth of Testimony

It is one thing to testify that Christ lives, but it is quite another to testify of who He is. Just so, the testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God carries less weight than the fact that all the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith are true. The same could be said of the Book of Mormon. That it is true is not as deep a testimony as everything in the Book of Mormon is true. With propriety, we should bear the testimony that we have received.

An Act of Love

In the end, bearing testimony is an act of love. We testify of the Savior for the same reason we would stand in court and put our character on the line for a friend-that reason is affection. Because we love the Lord, we are willing to testify in His behalf. We are willing to tell what we know of Him and recommend Him to others. It is charity that drives us to bear testimony of Him. Of the connection between testimony and charity Moroni writes: “If a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity.”

Following that thinking, then, the ultimate testimony that could be borne would be one’s life. That is, we verify the truth of our words, actions, and the depth of our belief by putting our all on the line and sealing our testimony with our physical or spiritual life.

An Instrument of Deliverance

Of critical interest, we recall that in the first place it was the power of testimony that helped to cast Satan out of heaven. The apostle John wrote:

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”

We expect that a similar scene will play out in the last days. It will be by the power of our testimonies that Satan will be cast away forever, and it will be by the power of our testimonies that we overcome him in our families. We must not underestimate the power of testimony and example.

Conclusion

Testimony-whether it is borne with words or practiced through the emulation of Jesus-is a parent’s secret weapon. Despite what we think is present evidence, the seed of testimony planted in the soul of a wayward child will grow until over time it becomes a bountiful tree. By bearing testimony in word and deed, we are recommending Jesus as our only hope and source of happiness. We are adding our witness to those of prophets, apostles and other credible people. It is in the bearing of our testimony that that testimony increases. It is recorded in heaven; we are forgiven of our sins; and the Lord commends us to God and angels. Despite the size of our testimony, we are under obligation to bear it, and ultimately when we do, it will be motivated by love. In the end, deliverance is hastened by testimony. Its power to rescue a wayward soul is beyond our capacity to imagine.

Ether 12:41

Boyd K. Packer, Conference Report, October 1963, p. 64

Sterling W. Sill, Conference Report, April 1960, p.68

Alma 12:1

Helaman 8:16

Joseph Fielding Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation, vol. 1:36-37

See Alma 32:40

See Alma 32:27-36

Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol. 2:267

D&C 62:3

D&C 62:3

Luke 12:8

1 Nephi 11:16-17

Moroni 7:44

See D&C 135:1

Revelation 12:7-11