Time to dust off the family blog (again). Today I was given an assignment to speak in church next week on the topic of "The Purpose, Power, Strength and Blessings of Covenants." I was also given a conference talk, by Elder D. Todd Christofferson, to focus on - "The Power of Covenants" from April 2009. I've read it (it's a really good talk, I think) and I'd be interested to hear the family's thoughts and ideas. I will shamelessly steal them and use them in my own talk, hopefully remembering to attribute them to you.
Also, the talk assignment included the following question: "Consider/research that only two ordinances are the ordinances sealed in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. One is the ordinance of baptism. What is the other(s)?" I have no clue what the answer is to this question, so let me know if you know!
Some other questions that ocurred to me as I was reading scriptures related to covenants:
- How can a covenant be "new" and "everlasting"?
- How do we covenant with God? With one another? Are the ideas of covenanting with God inherently connected to covenants with others?
- By what means are covenants brought to pass? By our faith? By Christ's sacrifice? By our sacrifices? By a combination of forces?
- Why does God set the terms of the covenant with us? Are covenants one-size-fits-all or individualized according to our abilities?
