Keep on the Covenant Path

Yesterday was a historic day for members of the Church as we officially learned that President Russell M. Nelson had become the 17^th president of the Church.  I was moved by the brief message that we received from our new but already beloved prophet.  What was first evident to me was his humility.  He opened his remarks by deferring to and praising once again the “giant of a man”, President Monson, who was buried last week.  President Nelson also took the time to quote and praise a four-year-old child, suggesting to us that what that small child had to teach us was as important as what he, our new prophet, had to say.  The words of the Savior readily come to mind, “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 19:14).  I was also impressed by the unfeigned love that he showed in his remarks.  The fact that he wanted to address members first before speaking to the media was a clear sign to me of his love for the members of the Church.  The way that he spoke to and about the quorum of the twelve was also very moving to me, especially in that he took special note to emphasize the future contributions of Elder Uchtdorf who will no longer be in the First Presidency.  Most importantly, his words to all of us were filled with emotion and care as he pled from his heart: “Whatever your concerns, whatever your challenges, there’s a place for you in this, the Lord’s Church.”  He is a man of God and a man filled with humility and love for all of God’s children. 

            If his remarks had a title they would probably be, “Stay on the covenant path.”  That was his invitation to all of us.  This phrase is similar to the inspired words of Brigham Young as the Saints made their difficult trek to the Salt Lake Valley: “And this shall be our covenant—that we will walk in all the ordinances of the Lord” (D&C 136:4).  Our promise in these challenges times must similarly be that we will keep all of the covenants we have made in the ordinances of salvation.  We must not be like the disobedient Israelites who “kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law,” but we must rather do like Josiah the former king of Judah who “made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book” (Psalm 78:10, 2 Kings 23:3).  Clearly President Nelson suggested that he was seeking to do just that in his own life: “I declare my devotion to God the Eternal Father and to His Son, Jesus Christ. I know Them, love Them, and pledge to serve Them—and you—with every remaining breath of my life.”  It is our privilege now to follow his lead and to seek to devote ourselves anew to the Lord and His gospel.  This is the promise of the Lord as we so do: “Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith ye have covenanted one with another” (D&C 50:24).  How grateful I am for living prophets today who lead us by example on our covenant path back to our Heavenly Father!