A half-hearted commitment to our covenants will not guarantee us anything. We may be tempted to equivocate, throw our old ways in calm water, or bury our weapons of rebellion with the handles sticking out.
| Unwavering Commitment to Jesus Christ
Studying the scriptures with Come, Follow Me as a guide is strengthening our conversion to Jesus Christ and His gospel. We are not simply trading one hour less in church on Sunday for one hour more of scripture study at home. Learning the gospel is a consistent effort throughout the week. As one sister insightfully shared, “The goal is not to make church one hour shorter; it is to make church six days longer!”
| Come, Follow Me—the Lord’s Counterstrategy and Proactive Plan
One of the ultimate ironies of eternity is that the adversary, who is miserable precisely because he has no physical body, invites and entices us to share in his misery through the improper use of our bodies. The very tool he does not have and cannot use is thus the primary target of his attempts to lure us to physical and spiritual destruction.
| Watchful unto Prayer Continually (Alma 34:39; Moroni 6:4; Luke 21:36)
Simply stated, we minister because we love our Heavenly Father and His children. Our ministering efforts will be more successful if we keep our ministering simple. The most joy comes from the simple things of life, so we need to be careful not to think that more needs to be added to any of the adjustments we have received to build faith and strong testimonies in the hearts of God’s children.
| The True, Pure, and Simple Gospel of Jesus Christ
As you use your agency to carve out time every day to draw close to God’s voice, especially in the Book of Mormon, over time His voice will become clearer and more familiar to you.
Giving help to others—making a conscientious effort to care about others as much as or more than we care about ourselves—is our joy. Especially, I might add, when it is not convenient and when it takes us out of our comfort zone. Living that second great commandment is the key to becoming a true disciple of Jesus Christ.
| The Second Great Commandment
From the dawning of time, women have been blessed with a unique moral compass—the ability to distinguish right from wrong. This gift is enhanced in those who make and keep covenants. And it diminishes in those who willfully ignore the commandments of God…Let me be very clear about this: if the world loses the moral rectitude of its women, the world will never recover.
If you are endowed but not currently married to a man who bears the priesthood and someone says to you, “I’m sorry you don’t have the priesthood in your home,” please understand that that statement is incorrect. You may not have a priesthood bearer in your home, but you have received and made sacred covenants with God in His temple. From those covenants flows an endowment of His priesthood power upon you. And remember, if your husband should die, you would preside in your home.
I invite you to commit to a lifelong process of discipleship. Make and keep covenants. Throw your old ways into deep, churning waterfalls. Completely bury your weapons of rebellion with no handles sticking out. Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, making covenants with a real intent to reliably honor them will bless your life forever.
| Unwavering Commitment to Jesus Christ
“Because none of us is perfect and feelings are easily hurt, families can become sacred sanctuaries only as we repent early and sincerely.”
| Holiness and the Plan of Happiness