They Shall Be My People

Elder Alan R. Walker said the following at the most recent general conference: “In addressing the gathering of Israel in the last days, the Lord Jehovah said, ‘I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.’ I feel eternally grateful that from my young age, the law of the Lord started to be engraved deeply in my heart through sacred ordinances in His holy house. How fundamental it is to know that He is our God, that we are His people, and that whatever circumstances surround us, if we are faithful and obey the covenants we have entered into, we can be ‘encircled about eternally in the arms of his love.’” I love the idea that as we make covenants with the Lord, we become His people. Jacob similarly spoke of the “covenant people” of the Lord when he said this: “Wherefore, they that fight against Zion and the covenant people of the Lord shall lick up the dust of their feet; and the people of the Lord shall not be ashamed. For the people of the Lord are they who wait for him; for they still wait for the coming of the Messiah” (2 Nephi 6:13). The people of the Lord are indeed those who make covenants with Him and “wait for Him.” To be His people we trust in Him, wait for His promises to come to pass, and rely on His covenants to protect us. Our hearts are changed so that His law is in our hearts and it is our firm desire to keep it. We claim Him as our God, and He blesses us as our people. I love the way that Joseph put it to the Saints: “Let all the saints rejoice, therefore, and be exceedingly glad; for Israel’s God is their God” (Doctrine and Covenants 127:3). Just as Israel was His people anciently and He was their God, we too can be His people today and trust in Him to bless us as His people.  

               Central to the idea of becoming His people is the temple. Elder Walker also taught, “The ongoing Restoration has been marked by the building and dedication of temples at an augmented pace. As we gather on both sides of the veil, as we make sacrifices to serve and make the temple pivotal in our lives, the Lord is truly building us—He is building His covenant people.” This week the Come, Follow Me lesson focuses on the dedication of the first temple of this dispensation in Kirtland. Surely that was a time when the sacrifices of the people for the temple allowed the Lord to “build His covenant people.” And that temple was where “the Son of Man might have a place to manifest himself to his people.” Joseph Smith prayed in the dedication, “And now, Holy Father, we ask thee to assist us, thy people, with thy grace, in calling our solemn assembly, that it may be done to thine honor and to thy divine acceptance; And in a manner that we may be found worthy, in thy sight, to secure a fulfilment of the promises which thou hast made unto us, thy people, in the revelations given unto us; That thy glory may rest down upon thy people, and upon this thy house, which we now dedicate to thee, that it may be sanctified and consecrated to be holy, and that thy holy presence may be continually in this house” (Doctrine and Covenants 109:5, 10-12). These verses emphasize that the temple is for the people of the Lord, and His promises to them are fulfilled therein. In fact the phrase “thy people” is repeated 17 times in the dedicatory prayer. To enter the temple means to come into His presence and be recognized by Him as His covenant people. It is the place where the Lord can visit and bless His people, and to be the Lord’s people means that we will build and prepare for and worship in His holy house. Each temple, built to gather the Lord’s people unto Him through the power of the priesthood, is an indication that Joseph’s prayer is being answered, “that the gathering of thy people may roll on in great power and majesty, that thy work may be cut short in righteousness” (Doctrine and Covenants 109:5).