Covenants By Sacrifice

Elder Carlos G. Revillo Jr. spoke in the most recent general conference about the work of the Lord in the Philippines. He told how after 60 years of missionaries in the country, there are more than 800,000 members and seven temples announced, in construction, or in operation. He commented, “The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Many Filipinos have a natural belief in God. It is easy for us to trust Jesus Christ and know that we can receive answers to our prayers.”  Having served my mission in southern France where there were many people from the Philippines—especially working on the boats on the Mediterranean Sea—I can attest to the truthfulness of his statement. They weren’t always eager to talk to me, but they did always express their sincere belief in the Savior Jesus Christ. I was impressed with how readily nearly all of them that I talked to would acknowledge the Savior and their faith in Him. The challenge was helping them see that just as important as faith in Him was the second principle of the gospel: repentance where “we draw upon the cleansing, sanctifying power of Jesus Christ” to change and become like Him.

                One of the messages I tried to portray to the good Filipino people I met was that to show our faith in Jesus Christ we must also ask—saying we believe is not enough. Elder Revillo told this powerful story of a Filipino family who understood this and were willing to make a great sacrifice to show their faith to the Lord: “Brother Obedoza was my branch president when I was a young man. Brother and Sister Obedoza’s greatest desire was to be sealed to their family in the Manila Temple. They lived in General Santos City, 1,000 miles (1,600 km) away from Manila. For the family of nine, making the journey to the temple seemed impossible. But like the merchant man who went and sold all he had to buy one pearl of great price (see Matthew 13:45–46), this couple decided to sell their house to pay for the trip. Sister Obedoza was worried because they would have no home to return to. But Brother Obedoza assured her that the Lord would provide. They were sealed as a family for time and all eternity in the temple in 1985. In the temple they found joy incomparable—their priceless pearl. And true to Brother Obedoza’s words, the Lord did provide. On their return from Manila, kind acquaintances gave them places to stay, and they eventually acquired their own home. The Lord takes care of those who demonstrate their faith in Him.” They were willing to follow this difficult invitation of the Savior: “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it” (Mark 8:34-35).  

This incredible show of sacrifice for the house of the Lord reminds me of President Monson’s talk on the temple in which he said this: “Some degree of sacrifice has ever been associated with temple building and with temple attendance. Countless are those who have labored and struggled in order to obtain for themselves and for their families the blessings which are found in the temples of God…. Those who understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple know that no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggle too difficult in order to receive those blessings.” He that talk he told of a similar story of Tihi and Tararaina Mou Tham who sought the blessings of the temple with their 10 children after they joined the Church on their small island. He recounted, “At that time the nearest temple to the Mou Tham family was the Hamilton New Zealand Temple, more than 2,500 miles (4,000 km) to the southwest, accessible only by expensive airplane travel. The large Mou Tham family, which eked out a meager living on a small plantation, had no money for airplane fare, nor was there any opportunity for employment on their Pacific island. So Brother Mou Tham and his son Gérard made the difficult decision to travel 3,000 miles (4,800 km) to work in New Caledonia, where another son was already employed. The three Mou Tham men labored for four years.” Finally, after all of that labor away from their family, they had saved enough money to travel to the temple and “they were sealed for time and eternity, an indescribable and joyful experience.” Like the Obedoza family, they were willing to sacrifice whatever it took to be in the temple and be sealed there as a family. Their stories should motivate us to be more willing to sacrifice for the blessings of the temple and to focus our lives and families on the ordinances of His holy house. It we want to be “accepted of [the Lord]” then we too must learn to “observe [our] covenants by sacrifice—yea, every sacrifice which I, the Lord shall command” (Doctrine and Covenants 97:8).