2024 April General Conference, Sunday Morning Session
All Will Be Well Because of Temple Covenants
President Henry B. Eyring
Second Counselor in the First Presidency
Main Points
- There is nothing more important than honoring the covenants you have made or may make in the temple.
- The temple brings understanding and peace.
- The temple is a place where Christ can come.
Gospel Principles taught
Our Father in Heaven, Jesus Christ, Agency, The Lord’s Covenant People, The Family Can Be Eternal, Eternal Marriage
Gospel Doctrine taught
Priesthood and Priesthood Keys, Ordinances and Covenants, Marriage and Family, God the Father, Jesus Christ, The Holy Ghost, The Covenant Path
Scriptures
Other Sources
“1976: The Teton Dam Failed, KTVB Captured the Aftermath from the Air,”
Related talks:
- Russell M. Nelson, “The Everlasting Covenant”
- Thomas S. Monson, “Blessings of the Temple”
- Russell M. Nelson, “The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation”
- Russell M. Nelson, “Overcome the World and Find Rest”
- Russell M. Nelson, “The Everlasting Covenant,”
Look for Jesus Christ:
- Testimony of Christ.
- I give you my sure witness that Jesus is the Christ. He lives and leads His Church.
- Description of His Teachings.
- ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. … Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid [John 14:27].’”
- Description of His relationship with us.
- I know the Lord loves you.
Inspiring Words & Phrases
- Whatever the outcome, all will be well because of the temple. We have made covenants with God and have been sealed as an eternal family.
- …The sealing ordinances, found only in the house of the Lord and administered by proper priesthood authority, had bound us together as husband and wife, and our children had been sealed to us. There truly was no need to fear…
- “The safest place to be spiritually is living inside your temple covenants!”
- Qualifying to make sacred covenants is not a one-time effort but a lifetime pattern. The Lord has said it will take our full heart, might, mind, and strength.
- When you keep your temple covenants and remember them, you invite the companionship of the Holy Ghost to both strengthen and purify you.
- It is through the sealing covenants in the temple that we can receive the assurance of loving family connections that will continue after death and last for eternity.
- Trials, challenges, and heartaches will surely come to all of us. None of us are immune from “thorns of the flesh.” Yet, as we attend the temple and remember our covenants, we can prepare to receive personal direction from the Lord.
- I give you my sure witness that Jesus is the Christ. He lives and leads His Church. Temples are houses of the Lord. President Russell M. Nelson is God’s living prophet on the earth. I love him, and I love each of you.
Lists
As we attend the temple, we are reminded of:
- the eternal nature of our spirits
- our relationship with the Father
- Our relationship with Christ
- our ultimate desire to return to our heavenly home.
President Nelson taught about temples that:
- The safest place to be spiritually is living inside your temple covenants!
- Everything we believe and every promise God has made to His covenant people come together in the temple.
- Each person who makes covenants … in temples—and keeps them—has increased access to the power of Jesus Christ.
- Once we make a covenant with God, we leave neutral ground forever.
- God will not abandon His relationship with those who have forged such a bond with Him.
- All those who have made a covenant with God have access to a special kind of love and mercy.
Invitations/Challenges
- Frequent participation in the ordinances of the temple can create a pattern of devotion to the Lord.
- It is through the sealing covenants in the temple that we can receive the assurance of loving family connections that will continue after death and last for eternity.
- Give children opportunities to pray for each other.
- Discern quickly the beginnings of discord
- positively recognize acts of unselfish service, especially to one another.
- No matter where you are on the covenant path, I urge you to qualify and become eligible to attend the temple.
- Visit the temple as frequently as circumstances will allow.
- Make and keep sacred covenants with God.
Warnings
- Consistent care of brothers and sisters for each other will come only with persistent efforts to lead your family in the Lord’s way.
Blessings/Promises
- “As we attend the temple, there can come to us a dimension of spirituality and a feeling of peace.” (Thomas S. Monson)
- “ … We will grasp the true meaning of the words of the Savior when He said: ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. … Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid [John 14:27].’” (Thomas S. Monson)
- When you keep your temple covenants and remember them, you invite the companionship of the Holy Ghost to both strengthen and purify you.
- You may then experience a feeling of light and hope testifying that the promises are true.
- You will come to know that every covenant with God is an opportunity to draw closer to Him, which will then create a desire in your heart to keep temple covenants.
- Because of our covenant with God, He will never tire in His efforts to help us, and we will never exhaust His merciful patience with us.
- Honoring marriage and family covenants made in temples of God will provide protection from the evil of selfishness and pride.
- When siblings pray for each other and serve each other, hearts will be softened and turned to each other and to their parents.
- I bear witness that there is nothing more important than honoring the covenants you have made or may make in the temple.
- No matter the outcome, all will be well because of temple covenants.
Stories:
- President Eyring related an experience he and his wife, Kathy, had on June 5, 1976, when he was serving as president of Ricks College. They attended a temple sealing in nearby Idaho Falls, and while they were there, the Teton Dam failed, trapping them in Idaho Falls. They had left their children in Rexburg with a sitter, and they were unable to contact them to find out if they were alright. Even in this situation, Elder Eyring was able to experience calm. He said to his wife, “Kathy, whatever the outcome, all will be well because of the temple. We have made covenants with God and have been sealed as an eternal family.”
- President Eyring related his experience of the first time he walked into the Salt Lake Temple. He had a clear thought in his mind “I have been in this lighted place before.” But then immediately there came into his mind in a voice that wasn’t his own: “No, you have never been here before. You are remembering a moment before you were born. You were in a sacred place like this where the Lord could come.”
- President Eyring tells about being sealed by (then) Elder Spencer W. Kimball, who counseled, “Hal and Kathy, live so that when the call comes, you can walk away easily.” They followed that counsel and did receive an assignment years later. That counsel in the temple prepared them to accept that calling.
Application Ideas
- Ponder President Eyring’s instruction on creating a pattern of devotion to the Lord. Prayerfully plan out a pattern of devotion for your life now. This pattern may include temple attendance, personal prayer and study, and church attendance; pay attention to the promptings of the spirit in choosing what your pattern will include.
- Follow President Eyring’s admonition, “No matter where you are on the covenant path, I urge you to qualify and become eligible to attend the temple.” Take the first step!
- Pray for your siblings by name. Be aware of their hardships and situations and specifically importune the Lord on their behalf.
- “Honoring marriage and family covenants made in temples of God will provide protection from the evil of selfishness and pride.” What marriage and family covenants have you made? How can you better honor those covenants?
- Consider the Eyring’s experience with living so that they were ready to accept any calling the Lord should extend to them. Is there any way that you and your family can follow that same advice?
