Help with a Sacrament Talk

[Anonymous]

I was recently asked to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting. The topic given has to do with the “Covenant Path”.

This is not one of my favorite topics, subjects or discussions. It feels like a minefield. The implication is:

you can’t or won’t be happy in this life or the next if you are not on the Covenant Path. (Whatever that means.)

I’m hoping that you guys can help me.

. How can I slant or present this topic without offending anyone?

. Is there a talk that you know of that will help? Either a GC talk or your own that I will help me understand this

topic better.

I’m desperate.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, I would go with part of being on the “Covenant Path” is the responsibility given at baptism to “mourn with those that mourn” and run with it.

Depending on how you do so, you will avoid offending anyone or everyone in mostly equal measure:)

[Anonymous]

There are likely a variety of general leaders who you could quote, including Chieko Okazi, Dieter Utchdorf, Keaton, Reyna Aburto, Holland, etc.

You could share personal experiences about when people at church were connected to you and mourned with you.

[Anonymous]

You could even share that sometimes the contour of the “Covenant Path” bears characteristics of a “Liahona Path” where everyone is going in a specific direction dealing with darkness and peer pressure or a “Liahona Path” where people are being directed by God into personal paths with trials and headwinds.

NOTE: This type of talk would flag you as being more doctrinally divergent and may be socially not appreciated.

[Anonymous]

The powers that be decided to create a “best practices” timeline checklist because that works for their worldview (and doesn’t work for a lot of other worldviews) and called it a “Covenant Path.

But the image of “Covenant Path” is really potentially more expansive. If you believe that C.S. Lewis’s description of living among gods and goddesses in disguise is a functional reality, then wherever there are humans doing human things, that is a plot of “covenant path” with humans doing the work of the divine.

Quote:

It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all of our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/282593-it-is-a-serious-thing-to-live-in-a-society#:~:text=Sign%20Up%20Now-,It%20is%20a%20serious%20thing%20to%20live%20in%20a%20society,at%20all%2C%20only%20in%20a” class=”bbcode_url”>https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/282593-it-is-a-serious-thing-to-live-in-a-society#:~:text=Sign%20Up%20Now-,It%20is%20a%20serious%20thing%20to%20live%20in%20a%20society,at%20all%2C%20only%20in%20a

[Anonymous]

AmyJ wrote:

The powers that be decided to create a “best practices” timeline checklist because that works for their worldview (and doesn’t work for a lot of other worldviews) and called it a “Covenant Path.

That is the traditional LDS view and understanding of covenant path.

You might take it into another direction and talk about the path of the covenant as the path of discipleship to Jesus.

The old testament or covenant was one of making regular sacrifices individually and communally to become cleansed our our weaknesses and sins.

The new testament or covenant is that Christ Jesus made a single sacrifice to forever atone for these things and bring us into alignment with God if we would but follow him. This is the “new covenant” and “good news” of the gospel.

What does it look like to walk the path with Jesus? What does he ask me to do? What does he ask me to see? Whom does he ask me to love?

You might share some parables and some personal stories of how you have struggled in you own walk with Jesus. The beauty of the “good news” is that Jesus accepts your faltering, imperfect steps and covers you with his grace and mercy.

[Anonymous]

Roy wrote:

AmyJ wrote:

The powers that be decided to create a “best practices” timeline checklist because that works for their worldview (and doesn’t work for a lot of other worldviews) and called it a “Covenant Path.

That is the traditional LDS view and understanding of covenant path.

You might take it into another direction and talk about the path of the covenant as the path of discipleship to Jesus.

The old testament or covenant was one of making regular sacrifices individually and communally to become cleansed our our weaknesses and sins.

The new testament or covenant is that Christ Jesus made a single sacrifice to forever atone for these things and bring us into alignment with God if we would but follow him. This is the “new covenant” and “good news” of the gospel.

What does it look like to walk the path with Jesus? What does he ask me to do? What does he ask me to see? Whom does he ask me to love?

You might share some parables and some personal stories of how you have struggled in you own walk with Jesus. The beauty of the “good news” is that Jesus accepts your faltering, imperfect steps and covers you with his grace and mercy.

I really like this Roy. :thumbup:

My initial thought on reading the question was that the covenants the covenant path refer to are symbolic of expressing our beliefs and following Jesus. Your thoughts expanded that idea in a way I might not have without that inspiration.

That said, I really dislike the covenant path idea because of how the church uses it as a club. I might just have taken a pass on that “opportunity” to speak.

[Anonymous]

Would you be comfortable changing the subject yourself?

I haven’t been asked to give a talk in a very, very long time, I’m invisible or something, but long ago I decided that the chances of me being asked to talk on a subject I’d like to talk about are slim, so if anyone ever asked me to give a talk I’d accept but then just present the talk on the subject I wanted to talk about.

I wouldn’t announce it in the talk. I wouldn’t say something like, “I was asked to talk about x but I’m going to talk about y.” I’d just start talking about y without announcing the subject. I bet no one would even pick up on the fact I had deviated from the assigned topic.

Besides, the bishopric’s primary concern is filling the available timeslot, not necessarily on the topic.

P.S. I wouldn’t try that on Mother’s Day, Easter, Christmas, etc. I’m just talking about a random topic assigned on a random Sunday.

[Anonymous]

nibbler, I am not comfortable changing the subject at this time. I have done it in the past and it worked out well. The Bishopric

knew me & trusted me. The reason I don’t feel comfortable now is because we just moved into a new ward 6 weeks ago.

They really don’t know us yet & we don’t know them. I do feel comfortable weaving my unorthodox views into the talk without

offending anyone. (I hope.) It is a small town (22,000) that revolves around a state college and close to Nauvoo IL. There are

factions of the community that seem very conservative. We’ll see overtime.

I am considering an introduction that tries to define what the Covenant Path is. There is a talk by a GA that does that. It is:

Quote:

What is the covenant path? It is the one path that leads to the celestial kingdom of God. We embark upon the path at the

gate of baptism and the “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and

of all men. The two great commandments to the end.” Matt 22: 36-40

I want to cut out: It is the one path that leads to

the celestial kingdom

Is it fair to do that? Or, I can modify it to my own definition using similar verbiage. I won’t credit the GA with the quote.

It’s still a work in progress.

[Anonymous]

You could start with something like, “I have been thinking about the “Covenant Path” recently, and this description by a GA really resonated with me…”

He described it as:

Quote:

“We embark upon the path at the gate of baptism and the “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. The two great commandments to the end.” Matt 22: 36-40″

[Anonymous]

Minyan Man wrote:

Quote:

What is the covenant path? It is the one path that leads to the celestial kingdom of God. We embark upon the path at the

gate of baptism and the “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and

of all men. The two great commandments to the end.” Matt 22: 36-40

I want to cut out: It is the one path that leads to

the celestial kingdom

Is it fair to do that? Or, I can modify it to my own definition using similar verbiage. I won’t credit the GA with the quote.

It’s still a work in progress.

I do believe it’s fair to cut that out and that in doing so it is still an accurate description of the covenant path.

[Anonymous]

I think I’ve found how I’m going to approach this. Instead of focusing on

Quote:

the covenant path

, I’m going

to focus on

Quote:

finding joy in making & keeping covenants

The gospel is not a check list of tasks to be

performed in this life. Also, none of us do it exactly the same way. This life is not a contest to be performed to see

who won or lost the race.

When I’m done with the final draft, I’ll try to share it with you.

Thanks everyone!

[Anonymous]

From a more orthodox perspective the covenant path breaks down into two areas, the first is making the covenants and the second is keeping them once we’ve made them.

I’m assuming that most people that are actively attending church have already made the covenants and would probably be bored with hearing another talk or lesson about what the checkboxes are so I’ll try to focus on the keeping of covenants once their made portion.

I think the covenant path is nearly synonymous with repentance because no one is perfect, all will fall short of honoring covenants, therefore to remain on the covenant path is to be constantly repenting.

I’ve heard many at church refer to repentance as a process of becoming, not an event. Similarly I think following along the covenant path is a process, not an event. We tend to get fixated on talking around the checkboxes of the covenant path (events) and not so much on the process (becoming a disciple of Christ).

I think it’s not so much the path itself (the fixation on the one true church/path), it’s the journey (process of becoming). We’re all unique, god knows this, so the “covenant path” that god has laid out before us will look a little different for everyone. The path is custom tailored, forged by the union of ourselves with Christ. My next step along the path will not look exactly like your next step on the path. Luckily god’s mercy allows for us to take the next step, even steps off the path that imperfect people absolutely will make, but we can orient our next step from whatever position we happen to find ourselves in to be pointed in the direction of Christ.

Where following the covenant path looks less like conformity with church culture and more like walking a mile in Christ’s shoes. Serving as he served. Loving as he loved. Going to and ministering to the people that perhaps our imagined rigid “covenant path” wouldn’t have led us to. Christ didn’t always do or say the things that were expected of him. So too must our covenant path me malleable and adaptive to reach the people god intends us to reach and to experience what god intends for us to experience.

[Anonymous]

I personally would talk about the path Jesus walked in his life and how we can work intentionally to walk that same path. (do what he did in our own circles and circumstances)

As the primary song says, “I’m trying to be like Jesus. I’m following in his way. I’m trying to love as he did in all that I do and say.”

[Anonymous]

The talk is history. No standing O. I got a number of good comments.

I was going to attach a copy but, decided against it.

There were too many references to the new ward & city. I want to remain anonymous.

I used a talk by Elder Uchtdorf titled: Can you Hear the Music?

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/dieter-f-uchtdorf/can-you-hear-the-music/

I’ve used it before in another talk, in another ward.

It was a good “dance” around the topic given.

Thank you everyone for your advice.

[Author]

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