Day 242 The Strength Found in Keeping Covenants

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus tells his followers that they are the salt of the earth, and in the same sentence offers a warning that savorless salt is good for nothing. Join me in an attempt to be savory salt as I share each day one verse of scripture and one small thought. Perhaps this small daily emphasis can lead to greater savor in your life and ultimately you and I can be savory salt.

Hello, my friends and family, wherever you're listening from. Thank you for joining me and know that I'm cheering for your every success. What better way is there to receive strength from our Heavenly Father than to keep our covenants with Him?

That's the thought I want to share with you today on this Savory Salt episode. Welcome to day 242, 242 today on our 365 day journey through the Book of Mormon together. You're going to be reading Alma chapter 55, verses 27 to 35.

You will finish that chapter and you'll begin Alma chapter 56, by reading verses 1 through 12. We're going to shift a little bit from Moroni's happenings in 55 to a letter from Helaman to Moroni as we get more of the story of the 2000 stripling warriors in 56 and coming into 57 as well. Our verse for today comes in this concept of Helaman writing his letter to Moroni and he talking about the context of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies, the people of Ammon, and reminding Moroni of the covenant that the fathers made when they became these people of Ammon in bearing their weapons of war.

And then they debated about breaking that covenant in order to help the Nephites in their war with the Lamanites. And then we get this verse here, which is Alma 56, verse 8. And verse 8 says, "But I would not suffer them that they should break this covenant which they had made, supposing that God would strengthen us insomuch that we should not suffer more because of the fulfilling the oath which they had taken." Helaman gives us some great insight here when it comes to keeping our covenants with the Lord.

There may be times in our lives where it seems like we've painted ourselves into a corner and the only thing left to do is to break a covenant with the Lord in order to move on in our lives. And Helaman reminds us that the blessings of the Lord and the strength that God could give us are directly associated with the keeping of our covenants. This took me to a time on my mission.

I may have shared it very early on in Savory Salt, but I want to share it again just in case I didn't. This reminds me of a very specific time on my mission when we taught a woman that we all affectionately called Grandma, in Mongolian, Eme. And Grandma was an amazing woman, and she wanted to learn.

She was very old. I don't even know her age, but she was a very old lady. And as we taught her, she wanted so much to learn about what it was like to know Heavenly Father.

And her prayers were amazing and she was learning. And I remember getting to the stage of teaching the law of tithing with her. And it was very difficult because as we sat down and talked with her, she gave us her budget for the month.

And as I remember, she was making from the government a pension of an equivalent of about eight American dollars per month. And that would cover her single room apartment that she lived in. I remember her lesson to us as she said, "If it is a commandment of the Lord, I will pay it, and the Lord will take care of the rest." And I hold that story very, very close to my heart because I saw in her this same principle: that the keeping of the covenants with the Lord is what opens the door for God to strengthen.

If you want more of God's strength in your life, then seek to keep his commandments more and seek to keep your covenants closer. That opens the door for God to strengthen you and we see it in this story as Helaman is going to unfold the story of the 2000 stripling warriors and explain that through their extreme obedience in following the commandments they are preserved and they find ways to win. I testify to you that God will help you find ways to win as you keep the covenants you've.

That's all for today, my friends. Remember that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. Keep it small, keep it simple and always seek to be savory salt. I'll be here tomorrow and I hope you are too.