For Latter-day Saints, one of the principal ways to achieve "no more contention" is participating in the temple. Regular and purposeful temple attendance leads to greater clarity, charity and understanding.
There's a new book titled Covenant Power that helps motivate readers to participate more in the temple. The author, Sharla Goettl, gives us a new approach to thinking about temple experiences and covenants. She writes in a first-person perspective of well-known people from the scriptures, inviting us to see them in a real-world context that we can relate to.
She explained the book this way: "My goal is to build a bridge between your study of the scriptures, the temple covenants taught in the endowments, and your own lived experiences."
The book accomplishes this goal quite well.
There are separate chapters for each of the temple covenants, with an emphasis on clarity, charity and understanding. I liked this passage, for example.
"But what is the effect of this work? More unity, refuge, and peace. Covenants don't protect us from betrayal or heartache, but they counter the vulnerabilities these experiences can cause. Our personal charity creates an environment where others can also experience the love of God."
I readily endorse this book as a useful guide in the pursuit of "no more contention."
_____
The explanation on the publisher's website is an excellent summary.
In Covenant Power, teacher Sharla Goettl uses captivating storytelling to bring key endowment principles to life, presented in the imagined voices of the scriptural figures who taught each principle best, such as Peter, Eve, Nephi, & Mormon. Through these stories, you'll gain an understanding of how the endowment prepares us to receive Christ’s covenant power. They also highlight connections between the scriptures and the endowment. God designed temple covenants to enable lasting success, calm deep fears, and build steady confidence.
This book teaches how each covenant you make helps you to connect with Christ’s power:
- Law of Obedience: The action of seeing Christ’s power
- Law of Sacrifice: Embrace the process to gain Christ’s power
- Law of the Gospel: Learn how to retain Christ’s power
- Law of Chastity: Discover the key to increase in Christ’s power
- Law of Consecration: An opportunity to share Christ’s power
Wonderful comments and book!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your review and your kind words about this work. I love how during the endowment, we are taught of the priesthood then immediately asked to use that priesthood in a united, charitable prayer on behalf of others. Truely, it is an example of how effective we can be when united. But it also teaches me something further. I always feel eager to praticipate in that prayer. Could it be that freshly after being reminded of Christ's ennobling power I feel more charitable? Why? Because temple covenants make me feel safe. When I feel safe, it is easier to share, serve and empathize. My hope is that as we all learn more about our covenants, we can all feel safe and eager to serve Christ.
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