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 Ties that bind. . .


We had a great opportunity to travel to Brisbane for a mission conference with Elder and Sister Jaggi.  He is a general authority 70 and is also a councilor in the Pacifica Area Presidency.

It was very inspirational! I have learned that part of the job of a mission President and visiting authorities is to motivate the young missionaries.  Daily life as a missionary is hard and providing spiritual, uplifting meetings is one way to inspire them to be the best they can be. 

Music is always inspiring to me and when the Chaple full of missionaries sang one of the new songs #1011 "Holding Hands Around the World" it was stirring. It may be primary song, but it fits missionary work very well.  Especially in a mission where there is so much diversity.

There were many wonderful things said but what struck me most was when our mission president and his wife talked about the binding power of covenants. They had a missionary come up and began putting threads around his wrist and then asked him to break the bond.  It was easy in the beginning but as more threads were placed around his wrists it got harder and finally; he could not break them. 

Each covenant we make and keep binds us stronger to our Heavenly Father.  They gave some quotes from members of the quorum of the twelve and the first presidency.  I would like to share the ones that touched me most.

Elder Dale G. Renlund (March 2024) "Why are multiple covenants needed? It is because the multiple covenants are not only sequential but are also additive and even synergistic in our relationship with God. Each covenant adds a bond, drawing us closer to and strengthening our connection with God."

President Russell M. Nelson (October 2022)

"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.  In fact, all those who have made a covenant with God have access to a special kind of love and mercy. In the Hebrew language, that covenantal love is called hesed."

"Once you and I have made a covenant with God, our relationship with Him becomes much closer than before our covenant. Now we are bound together. 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. Each of us has a special place in God's heart. He has high hopes for us."

This was a concept that made sense to me. As we are baptized, receive Priesthood ordinations, receive the Endowment and covenant to be obedient, to sacrifice, to live the law of the gospel and the law of consecration and eventually enter into the New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage, we add a thread to the bond that ties us to our Heavenly Father.

I hope this is a meaningful to you as it was to me.

Love you all.


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