"This world is full of mirage, illusion, sleight of hand. So much seems transitory and superficial. When we put aside the masks, pretenses, crowd - sourced likes and dislikes, we yearn for more than fleeting veneer, ephemeral connection, or the pursuit of worldly self-interest. Gratefully, there is a way through to answers that matter.
"When we come to God's great commandments to love Him and those around us by covenant, we do so not as stranger or guest but as His child at home. The age-old paradox is still true. In losing our worldly self through covenant belonging, we find and become our best eternal self - free, alive, real - and define our most important relationships."
I look back over my life and can understand exactly what Elder Gong is talking about. The various ordinances of the Gospel have been my connection to God and to those I love.
There is a legalistic aspect to ordinances that I acknowledge as I do temple work for my ancestors but which frankly is not the part of ordinances that inspires me. I am not inspired by knowing I was baptized by "proper priesthood authority." I am inspired to know my sins are washed away and that I now belong to a community of believers. I love that community. I worry that our emphasis on the legal aspect of ordinances can separate us from our fellow Christians. For example, my friends and family members of other faiths have baptisms and ordinances that mean as much to them as ours do to us but LDS doctrine consider theirs "invalid". So beware of legalism. I loved Elder Gong's talk because it focused on the beauty of what ordinances and covenants do for us and how they create a sense of belonging. We can share that appreciation with people of all faiths.
My baptism was on the evening of September 19th 1964. I became a baptized member of the LDS church. You have to know my story to appreciate what that ordinance meant to me. It was the pivotal event where I at last accepted that Jesus was the Divine Son of God who died for us and rose from the grave and lives! It was my acknowledgement that I had found a community that was sincerely trying to follow Him. It was for me exactly what Elder Gong described - a Covenant Community. I had found a home where I felt I belonged.
I am sure I was confirmed that evening but do not remember. Many ordinances are like that. They take place and then, for years afterwards we learn of their impact and importance in our lives. I think sometimes confirmation would be more appreciated if it were done separately from baptism. Baptism takes precedence because of the nature of the procedure.
And yet when you think now of confirmation and the Gift of the Holy Ghost - both bring us that sense of belonging. We belong to the church, a shared community. We covenant to care for each other. The Holy Ghost gives us that constant connection to deity. We are never alone. We belong.
My patriarchal blessing was an amazing experience for me. I knew then, and it is confirmed to me each time I read it, that my Heavenly Father (Parents) know me. I am their daughter. I belong.
The temple only adds to that sense of belonging - in spite of questions that linger about anything we do there. In the washing and anointing rooms I am reminded that I am an eternal being, that God provided me with a Savior and I have a grand and glorious future ahead as a part of a Heavenly family. I am given a sacred garment to remind me of those connections.
In the endowment I make covenants to follow Jesus Christ and His gospel, to devote my life to Him who devoted His whole life to me. I am His and He is mine. I belong.
And finally in the sealing room all my earthly relationships are made eternal and as I continue to seal all my ancestors, my family expands in ties that span generation after generation. We are all the family of God.
I love my family - Mom and Dad, Jim and Ed, my dear Lynn, my favorite five, my little Keith, my Sanderson's and Meyers, the Hamletts, Kincaid's and Campbell's, the Andersons and Jacobson's and Nilsons, and so forth. I have spent my life finding them and binding myself to them. I belong.
"Divine covenants and ordinances become a source of love for and from God and thereby for and with each other. God, our Heavenly Father, loves us more and knows us better than we love or know ourselves. Faith in Jesus Christ and personal change (repentance) bring mercy, grace, and forgiveness. These comfort the hurt, loneliness, and injustice we experience in mortality...
We are not meant to wander in existential uncertainty and doubt but to rejoice and cherish covenant relationships "stronger than the cords of death." "
Living in a covenant community with ordinances as the milestones and guideposts has brought this wonderful sense of belonging to my life!
Here is how I see ordinances binding me to God.
Baptism
1. We pledge our willingness to take upon us the name of Christ
2. We become His - heirs of the celestial kingdom
3. We covenant to support each in our Covenant community for we are "family".
4. We experience and remember the death and burial and resurrection symbolically as we are immersed and come forth from the water. We come unto Christ.
5. We are truly now a "Christian", we take His name upon us. We belong.
6. We are cleansed from sin and given the joy of forgiveness.
The Sacrament
the sacrament is a renewal of our baptismal covenants. It is an opportunity to reconfirm our commitment to the Lord. It is a time of personal reflection and repentance, and I'm going process that will continue throughout our life. There is no confessional for the latter day saint, it is our private time alone with the Lord.the sacrament gives us a time to once again come to Christ and to be cleansed by his atonement. The very simple symbols of bread and water bring us to Christ.
Confirmation and gift of the Holy Ghost
These two ordinances which are given to us together are a wonderful symbol that God never leaves us alone. our connection to Christ is permanently fixed.
A baby's blessing
what a wonderful sense of belonging happens as a baby is blessed. Here we acknowledge each child as a gift from God; each is a cherished and welcomed child. And here in the blessing the parents hopes for their child are verbalized. What a wonderful thing!
Patriarchal blessing
My patriarchal blessing help me to understand that God knows and loves me. This blessing helped me to feel how strongly I belong to him, my life has a purpose, and I have been given many gifts.
Temple ordinances
The temple ordinances also bind me to the savior. I come out of this experience knowing that he cleanses me, that he loves me, and here I commit to follow him totally. Here I am touched by his love and I love him in return. I make Eternal my earthly covenants. and lastly I express my desire to have my whole family connected to me in Eternal bonds.
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