From Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. For the previous post on this subject, click: Honoring Our Promises
My question today is, do we stand by our promises and covenants, or are they sometimes half-hearted commitments, casually made and hence easily broken? When we say to someone, “I will pray for you,” do we? When we commit, “I will be there to help,” are we? When we obligate ourselves to pay a debt, do we? When we raise our hands to sustain a fellow member in a new calling, which means to give support, assistance, and encouragement, do we?
One evening in my youth, my mother sat with me at the foot of her bed and spoke fervently of the importance of living the Word of Wisdom. “I know from experiences of others, from years ago,” she said, “The loss of spirituality and sensitivity that comes from not following the Word of Wisdom.” She looked right into my eyes, and I felt her words penetrate my heart: Promise me Ronnie [she called me Ronnie], today that you will always live the Word of Wisdom.” I solemnly made that promise to her, and I have held it all these years.
That commitment served me well when I was in my youth and in later years when I was in business circles where substances flowed freely. I had made a decision in advance to follow God’s laws, and I never had to revisit it. The Lord has said, “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise” (Doctrine and Covenants 82:10). What is He saying to those who abide by the Word of Wisdom? That we will have the promise of health, strength, wisdom, knowledge, and angels to protect us (see Doctrine and Covenants 89:18-21). We find safety, protection, peace, and other abundant blessings as we keep our promises.
Some years ago, Sister Rasband and I were at the Salt Lake Temple for the sealing of one of our daughters. As we stood outside the temple with a younger daughter not yet old enough to attend the ceremony, we spoke of the importance of being sealed in the holy temple of God. As my mother had taught me to do years before, we said to our daughter, “We want you to be safely sealed in the temple, and we want you to promise that when you find your eternal companion, you will make a date with him to be sealed in the temple.” She gave us her word.
She has since stated that our talk and promise protected her and reminded her what was most important. She later made sacred covenants as she and her husband were sealed in the temple.
President Russell M. Nelson has taught:: “We . . . increase the Saviors power in our lives when we make sacred covenants and keep those covenants with precision. Our covenants bind us to and give us godly power”
When we keep promises to one another, we are more likely to keep promises to the Lord. Remember the Lord’s words: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40). (“Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives, ” Ensign, May 2017)
~Ronald A. Rasband, Be Not Troubled, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2020), 29-32
