striving, peace, serenity, hope

A covenant is a two way promise=I promise to do thus and such--you promise the other thing. When we chose to follow the will of the Father and come to earth, God promised us He would send the Savior. Jesus promised to be that Savior, a savior who would offer himself up as a sacrifice to satisfy the demands of justice and redeem mankind from the Fall of Adam, atoning for the sins of man. Fulfilling a part of the covenant, God sent His Son. However, for this covenant to be complete, Jesus needed to complete His mission, enduring great temptations, facing overwhelming odds, experiencing the greatest pain to body and spirit ever known, and overcoming death without failure. As He submitted to the Will of the Father, He prevailed and fulfilled the heavenly side of the  covenant.God the Father had provided a successful Savior of Mankind. Now for the other side of the covenant.

"Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. Make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." Hebrews 13:20-21

1. God completed His side of the covenant through the Atonement.
2. We must choose to enter the covenant.
3. This covenant is the only way back the the presence of the Father and the Son.
4. Our part of the covenant includes following the Saviors example and living the commandments.

So how do we choose to enter the covenant? Supposing you heard Jesus Christ himself preach the word, and you believed in Him. Later, after he died, you wanted to follow Jesus teachings. Jesus set the example that those entering into the covenant should be baptized.  In those days, the ones who held the authority to baptize were the Apostles that Jesus himself set apart and gave authority to spread His word. Wouldn't it have been natural to seek out those that held authority from Jesus? We can do that now, through the Bible.

"Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ of the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Acts 2:37-38

Peter gave us the knowledge of the key of entering the Covenant, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

1. Man is not saved by any apostle but by Jesus Christ. Only faith will allow this. If a person lacks faith, they cannot enter.

2. We must forsake evil and replace it with goodness and righteousness, as in the broken heart and contrite spirit. Even if a sin has no "victim", it is still against God's will and makes man unclean. No unclean thing can enter into the presence of God. In addition to changing the heart from sinful to righteous, we must seek to do good continually. We will submit to the Will of the Father and put our selfish, personal desires behind us. This is not just a one time thing. If you have felt this change before, can you feel it now? True repentance changes the heart, affects our whole life, and makes us desire to serve God for a lifetime. Daily, we exercise this privilege and constantly strive to bring our desires into harmony with God's.

3. Jesus showed us how to be baptized. Without it we cannot enter the kingdom of God. It is symbolic of burying the old, sinful self and a rebirth with a clean soul. The old is buried and the new is raised. This requires immersion. "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water." Matthew 3:16 "And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salem because there was much water there: and they came and were baptized." John 3:23 "Therefore we are burred with him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Romans 6:4

4. The Gift of the Holy Ghost is conferred by the laying on of hands by those in authority. "Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John; who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost; (For as yet He was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying give me also this power, that on whomsover I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money." Acts 8:14-20 The lesser or Arronic  Priesthood allows one to baptize, but the higher or Melchizedek Priesthood is necessary to administer the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Those that baptized the people in Samaria had authority through the Arronic Priesthood but sent to Jerusalem so the apostles could confer this gift by the proper authority.

Through the above four steps and enduring to the end of one's life, they fulfill their side of the covenant.


"We believe the first principles and ordinances of the gospel are: First, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost." Articles of Faith, 4

After the death and resurrection of Jesus, these were and are the steps to take. What peace in knowing and striving to live as Jesus lived. To learn daily how to be more Christ-like brings serenity and hope.