THE
COVENANTS ARE ALL ABOUT THE SAVIOR
Duff taught that the covenants we make in the temple
match the central principles of the Savior’s life and the path He trod.
In every covenant we make, He is there. “Who best lived a life that
demonstrated each of the covenants that you and I make in the temple?” Duff
question. “The obvious answer is the Son of God. Was His not the most obedient,
unselfish, and completely committed life to ever grace the earth?” (Marion D.
Hanks, notes and outlines for speeches about the temple)
Duff summarized the merging of the covenants we make in
the endowment with the path of the Savior:
·
“First, the initiatory ordinances are
completed in HIs name and are efficacious through He shed blood. We receive a
symbolic cleansing—a washing. Then, we are blessed and anointed, clothed, and given
a guide to help us make wise choices.
·
Next, the endowment begins with the symbolic
presentation of the Creation and the Fall, with Christ fully involved.
·
Obedience. The
Savior came to do the will of the Father. We promise the same.
·
Sacrifice.
His life was geared to giving and to sacrifice. We promise the same, knowing that
we may be led to a point of great sacrifice, as it did with Him.
·
Love, the law of the gospel.
The law of the gospel is never fully explained, but Duff believed it refers to
the Savior’s desire to love God and love his children, as we must do also. He loved
in a way perhaps only He and the Father understand. Similarly, we promise
to love God and others and to be a true neighbor.
·
Discipline and purity.
Jesus demonstrated loyalty, fidelity, and purity, unmatched. He refused the
things of this world. We promise to live a life of purity, fidelity, and
discipline, especially relating to sexual expression. And finally,
·
Consecration. The
motivating power of His life was in seeking first the kingdom of His Father and
being willing to give all for it. No one gave more. We too promise a
willingness to lay it all on the altar for Him and His cause—consecration is unselfishness
in its most holy and magnificent sense.
·
In the sealing ceremony, which is the
culminating covenant of the temple, sweethearts kneel at an altar, and receive
each other in a way that again, points to the Savior, how he died, the
pain he suffered, the love and magnificent concern he will always feel for us. “
(MDH, notes explain the temple and its covenants)
Thus, in the temple, is distilled for worshippers and
pattern of His exemplary life. (Richard D. Hanks, To be a Friend of Christ:
The Life of Marion D. Hanks [Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2024], 502-3)
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