"But If not"

A covenant is a “sacred agreement between God and a person. God sets specific conditions, and He promises to bless us as we obey those conditions. When we choose not to keep covenants, we cannot receive the blessings, and in some instances we suffer a penalty as a consequence” (Covenant). We know that “marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children” (First Presidency).

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Making and keeping covenants means, literally, that we are choosing to bind ourselves to our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ as they make a binding promise as well. “[Making and keeping sacred covenants] is committing to follow the Savior. It is trusting Him and desiring to show our gratitude for the price He paid to set us free through the infinite gift of the Atonement” (Hughes).

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This earthly life is full of trials. No human who ever lives will be able to avoid hard times in their earthly experience. Sometimes these trials can come unexpectedly, and these are most often the hardest kinds to cope with. We may be promised something and not receive it, or have a revelation that never comes to pass. Why do these things occur? Does this mean Heavenly Father doesn’t love us or trust our abilities? On the contrary, it is typically the exact opposite.

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Although so many women are going through a time of infertility, caught between the choice of abortion/keeping an unplanned baby, etc., it is vital for each of us to stay strong in our faith to God especially during these times of trial. Just because we are taught that if we keep the covenants we have made with our Heavenly Father we will be blessed, this does not propose that there will never be hardships that come our way. Each and every being who has and will live on this mortal earth has had a burden bore upon their shoulders. We must rely on our families, friends, our Father, and our Savior to share our burdens with.

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In Mosiah chapter 24 verse 15 it states, “And I [the Lord] will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions”. We receive strength, courage, and little drops of joy along the way as we keep our sacred covenants with our Heavenly Father.

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God has a perfect, individualized plan for us. According to 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 13, He has an eternal perspective, and has promised that He will not try us beyond our own abilities to withstand. “To excuse faith is to trust that the Lord knows what He is doing with you and that He can accomplish it for your eternal good even though you cannot understand how He can possibly do it” (Schoof).

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Not only can we look to our friends and family to share our burdens, but we should also look to our leaders for comfort. President Gordon B. Hinckley made remarks in general conference following the the attacks of September 11, 2001. He said, “I am optimistic. I do not believe the time is here when an all consuming calamity will overtake us. I earnestly pray that it may not. There is so much of the Lord’s work yet to be done. We, and our children after us, must do it”. Whatever trial you are going through at this time, this is not the end for you! There is so much work to be done in this world, and the Lord needs you to be there for it.