When President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, was born in 1932, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day consisted of 700,000 members and seven temples.
As of April 1 — 92 years later — Church membership numbers more than 17 million across 170 nations, and there are 189 dedicated temples worldwide with 146 more in planning or construction.
The global building of temples, where Latter-day Saints can receive ordinances and make sacred covenants, is something that sets The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints apart from other churches.
President Oaks spoke about the purpose of temples and the history and role of covenants in Latter-day Saint worship during the Sunday morning session of April 2024 general conference.
“The Church of Jesus Christ is constructing temples all over the world. Their purpose is to bless the covenant children of God with temple worship and with the sacred responsibilities and powers and unique blessings of being bound to Christ they receive by covenant,” he said.
“The Church of Jesus Christ is known as a Church that emphasizes making covenants with God. Covenants are inherent in each of the ordinances of salvation and exaltation this restored Church administers.”
Covenants and responsibilities
A covenant is a commitment to fulfill certain responsibilities, as demonstrated in society by judges, military, medical personnel and firefighters, who each make a commitment — often formalized by oath or covenant — to perform assigned duties.
“Personal commitments are essential to the regulation of our individual lives and to the functioning of society,” President Oaks said.
History of covenants
A foundational history of God’s covenant promises is found in the Old Testament, which frequently refers to God’s covenant with Abraham and his seed.
The Book of Mormon, much of which was written during the Old Testament period, details the role of covenants in Israelite history and worship. The Books of Nephi make reference to the Abrahamic covenant and to Israel as “the covenant people of the Lord,” and the practice of covenanting with God is found throughout the Book of Mormon, President Oaks said.
“The book is the Restoration’s major source for the fullness of the gospel, including God’s plan for His children, and the Book of Mormon is filled with references to covenants,” he said.
“Covenants were foundational in the Restoration of the gospel. This is evident in the earliest steps the Lord directed the Prophet to take in organizing His Church,” said President Oaks, who referenced baptism and weekly partaking of the sacrament. “The ordinance of baptism and its associated covenants are the essential requirements for entrance into the celestial kingdom.”
President Oaks continued: “Today, we understand the role of covenants in the restored Church and the worship of its members. … President Russell M. Nelson often refers to the ‘covenant path,’ which ‘leads us back to [God], … and is all about our relationship with God. He also teaches us to see the end from the beginning and to ‘think celestial.’”
Temple covenants
Joseph Smith spent much of his final years directing the construction of the temple in Nauvoo, Illinois. Through the Prophet, the Lord revealed sacred teachings, doctrine and sacred covenants — a ceremony called the endowment — to be administered in temples.
The endowment ceremonies in the Nauvoo Temple were administered just before the early pioneers were expelled and began their historic trek to the Rocky Mountains in the West.
“We have many testimonies from those early pioneers that the power they received from being bound to Christ in their endowments in the Nauvoo Temple gave them strength to make their epic journey and establish themselves in the West,” President Oaks said. “The ordinances and associated covenants of the temple are requirements for exaltation in the celestial kingdom, which is eternal life, the greatest of all the gifts of God. That is the focus of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
Each member who is endowed in the temple is responsible to wear a temple garment, a special undergarment worn beneath clothing to remind them of the sacred covenants made and blessings promised in the house of the Lord.
“To achieve those holy purposes, we are instructed to wear temple garments continuously, with the only exception being those obviously necessary. Because covenants do not take a day off, to remove one’s garments can be understood as a disclaimer of the responsibilities and blessings to which they relate,” he said. “In contrast, persons who wear their garments faithfully and keep their temple covenants continually affirm their role as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
