Boyd K. Packer wrote; “Occasionally one inside the Church joins the ranks of critics. Beware of covenant breakers. It is one thing for non-members to criticize and attack the Church and its leaders. It is quite another when someone within the Church does so, after he has entered into solemn and sacred covenants to do otherwise. It makes a very big difference indeed.
. . . .There are those both outside the Church and in it who will try to persuade or compel us to change our direction. The keeping of covenants is as a measure of those outside the Church as well.
An individual seeking to hold high public office, perhaps in business or in government, may claim to be worthy of trust and insist he would not cheat, not misrepresent, not mislead the public. Ask yourself, what does that individual do with a private trust? A good measure is to determine how he keeps covenants relating to his family. While one could not excuse it, one perhaps could understand that it would be somewhat easier to steal from, cheat on, or lie to an anonymous stranger, or to the public, than it would be to one’s own family. Those who are not faithful to their marriage partners and to their families are hardly worthy of confidence and trust in education, in business, in government. If they would cheat on marriage vows, counting perhaps on forgiveness and tolerance that may have been extended at times, surely they must stand unworthy of any great public trust.
Beware of covenant breakers, inside the Church and out. Beware of those who mock the prophets.
In Civil War days a performer named Blondin astonished the country by crossing the Niagara River on a tightrope. On one occasion President Abraham Lincoln faced a delegation of critics and said:
Gentlemen, suppose all the property you possessed were in gold, and you had placed it in the hands of a Blondin to carry across the Niagara River on a rope. With slow cautious steps he walks the rope, bearing your all. Would you shake the cable and keep shouting at him, “Blondin, stand up a little straighter; Blondin, stoop a little more; go a little faster; lean more to the South; now lean a little more to the North?” Would that be your behavior in such an emergency? No, you would hold your breath, every one of you, as well as your tongues. You would keep your hands off until he was safe on the other side.
This government, gentlemen, is carrying an immense weight. Untold treasures are in its hands. The persons managing the ship of state in this storm are doing the best they can. Don’t worry them with needless warnings and complaints. Keep silence; be patient, and we will get you safe across. (John Wesley Hill, Abraham Lincoln: Man of God [‘New York; G.P.Putnam’s Sons], p. 402.)
Keep your spiritual premiums paid up. Do not let your spiritual policy lapse. Do not allow it to be cancelled in some moment of rebellion. Extend your policy by adding endorsements as you receive the higher ordinances. Work to qualify for each of them.
I was always impressed when President Joseph Fielding Smith was asked to pray. Invariably, he would make reference to the principles and ordinances of the gospel and would always include this expression: “May we remain faithful to our covenants and obligations.”
And that is my message, simply this: Be faithful to the covenants and ordinances of the gospel. Qualify for those sacred ordinances step by step. Honor the covenants connected with them, and you will be happy.
There is a position of truth—strong, powerful, steady.
Somebody has to stand, face the storm, declare the truth,
let the winds blow, and be serene, composed, and
steady in the doing of it. Who are we anyway?
Are we the ones who were born to be immune
from persecution or from any penalties in
connection with living and preaching the gospel?
From “Memorable Stories and Parables by Boyd K. Packer” 1997, p.62-65 Bookcraft, Salt Lake City, Utah
