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bear one anothers burdens, that theymay be light;

Yea, and are willing to mourn withthose that mourn; yea, and comfortthose that stand in need of comfort,and to stand as witnesses of God atall times and in all things, and in allplaces that ye may be in, even untildeath, . . . that ye may have eternallife

. . . If this be the desire of yourhearts, what have you against beingbaptized in the name of the Lord, asa witness before him that ye haveentered into a covenant with him, that

ye will serve him and keep his com-mandments, that he may pour out hisSpirit more abundantly upon you?1

I explained to Porter that Almataught that those who want to bebaptized need to be willing to servethe Lord by serving othersfor your

whole life! I said: I dont know if yourealized it, but the way you showedlove and concern for Granny was

keeping your covenants. We keepour covenants every day as we arekind, show love, and take care of eachother. I just wanted you to know Improud of you for being a covenantkeeper! As you keep the covenant youmade when you were baptized, you

will be prepared to be ordained to thepriesthood. This additional covenant

will give you more opportunities tobless and serve others and help youto prepare for the covenants you will

make in the temple. Thank you forbeing such a good example to me!Thank you for showing me what itlooks like to be a covenant keeper!

Porter replied back: Grandma,thanks for the message. When I wasalways hugging Granny, I didnt knowthat I was keeping my covenants, butI felt warm in my heart and felt reallygood. I know that it was the HolyGhost in my heart.

For several days after that expe-rience, I couldnt get this imageout of my mind. I was prompted tosend Porter a note, telling him whatI had observed. I emailed him andtold him what I had seen and felt. Ireminded Porter of the covenants he

had made when he was baptized,quoting Almas words in Mosiahchapter 18:

And now, as ye are desirous tocome into the fold of God, and to becalled his people, and are willing to

By Carole M. StephensFirst Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency

When my father-in-law passedaway, our family gatheredtogether to greet others

who came to pay their respects.Throughout the evening, as I visitedwith family and friends, I often noticedour 10-year-old grandson, Porter,

standing near my mother-in-lawhisgranny. Sometimes he was standingbehind her, watching over her. OnceI noticed his arm linked with hers. I

watched him pat her hands, give herlittle hugs, and stand by her side.

We Have GreatReason to RejoiceWhen you love, watch over, and serve others in small

and simple ways, you are actively participating inthe work of salvation.

Porter (right) with his great-grandmother

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I also felt warm in my heart whenI realized that Porter had connectedkeeping his covenants with the prom-ise to always have his Spirit to be with[us]2a promise made possible byreceiving the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Sisters, as I have visited you aroundthe world, I have observed that manyof you are like Porter. You quietlystand as witnesses of God, mourn

with those that mourn, and comfortthose who stand in need of comfort

without realizing that you are keepingyour covenantsthe covenants youmade in the waters of baptism andin the temple. When you love, watchover, and serve others in small andsimple ways, you are actively partici-pating in the work of salvation, Gods

work to bring to pass the immortalityand eternal life of man.3

As daughters in [the Lords] king-dom,4we have made sacred covenants.

We are walking in what Nephi calledthe strait and narrow path which leads

to eternal life.5Were all at differentplaces on the path. But we can worktogether to help each other pressforward with a steadfastness in Christ,having a perfect brightness of hope, anda love of God and of all men.6

Jeanne serves as a Young Womenadviser. Several months ago shelearned about an upcoming activityfor the youth in the ward: hiking toa place called Malans Peak. She wasexcited because she had recently set a

goal to make that climb.When she arrived at the trailhead,her good friend Ashley approachedher. Linking arms with Jeanne, sheoffered to hike with her, saying, Ill go

with you. Ashley, who was 16 yearsold at the time, had some physicalchallenges that made it difficult for herto climb very fast. So she and Jeanne

walked slowly, noticing HeavenlyFathers creations: the rocks on the

mountain peak above them and theflowers all around them. Jeanne latersaid, It really didnt take me long toforget about my goal of hiking to thepeak, for it soon became an adven-ture of another kindan adventure topoint out the beauties along the path,many of which I would have missedhad I just hiked to reach the goal ofMalans Peak.

As Jeanne and Ashley continuedhiking, far behind the rest of thegroup, they were joined by Emma,another young woman in the ward,

who had decided to wait and walkwith them. Emma added to theirenjoyment. She taught them a songand provided extra support andencouragement. Jeanne recalled:We sat and rested, we sang, wetalked, and we laughed. I was ableto get to know Ashley and Emmain a way I wouldnt have been ableto do otherwise. It wasnt about themountain that nightit was about

much, much more. It was abouthelping each other along the path,one step at a time.

As Jeanne, Ashley, and Emma hikedand sang and rested and laughedtogether, they probably werentthinking, Hey, we are keeping ourcovenants right now. But they werekeeping their covenants. They wereserving each other with love, com-passion, and commitment. They werestrengthening each others faith as

they encouraged and ministered toone another.Elder Russell M. Nelson taught:

When we realize that we are childrenof the covenant, we know who we areand what God expects of us. His lawis written in our hearts.7

Maria Kuzina is a covenant daugh-ter of God who knows who she isand what God expects of her. Whenshe welcomed me into her home in

Omsk, Russia, I thought I was thereto serve her, but I soon realizedthat I was there to learn from her. Aconvert to the Church, Maria livesby the direction found in Luke 22:When thou art converted, strengthenthy brethren.8She has faith in the

words of our living prophet, PresidentThomas S. Monson, who said:

Now is the time for members andmissionaries to come together, to worktogether, to labor in the Lords vine-

yard to bring souls unto Him. . . .. . . When we act in faith the Lord

will show us how to strengthen HisChurch in the wards and branches in

which we live. He will be with us andwill become an active partner in ourmissionary labors.

. . . Exercise your faith . . . as youprayerfully consider which of yourfamily, your friends, your neighbors,and your acquaintances you wouldlike to invite to your home to meet

with the missionaries, that they might

hear the message of the Restoration.9Maria follows this counsel by

watching over and ministering to thesisters she has been asked to visitteach and also reaching beyond thisassignment. She has many friends

who are less active or who have notyet heard the message of the restoredgospel of Jesus Christ. Each day sheexercises her faith and prays to know

who needs her help, and then sheacts on the prompting she receives.

She makes phone calls, expresses herlove, and tells her friends, We needyou. She has family home evening inher apartment every week and invitesneighbors, members, and mission-aries to comeand she feeds them.She invites them to come to church,

watches for them, and sits by themwhen they arrive.

Maria understands Elder Jeffrey R.Hollands recent reminder that an

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invitation that is born of our lovefor others and for the Lord JesusChrist . . . will never be seen as offen-sive or judgmental.10She keeps a listof people who say they have beenoffended; she continues to ministerto them. Because they know that sheloves them, she can tell them, Dontbe offended. Thats ridiculous!

Maria is a covenant-keeping disci-

ple of Jesus Christ. Although she doesnot have a priesthood holder in herhome, she feels Gods power each dayin fulfillment of her temple covenantsas she presses forward on the path,enduring to the end and helping oth-ers participate in the work of salvationalong the way.

As I shared these experiences withyou, did you see yourself in the workof salvation? Take a moment to thinkof another daughter of God who

needs encouragement to get back onthe covenant path or who needs alittle help to stay on the path. Ask yourFather in Heaven about her. She isHis daughter. He knows her by name.He also knows you, and He will tell

you what she needs. Be patient andcontinue in faith and prayer on herbehalf, and act on the promptings youreceive. As you act on these prompt-ings, the Spirit will confirm that your

offering is acceptable to the Lord.Sister Eliza R. Snow . . . grate-

fully acknowledged sisters efforts tostrengthen one another. . . . She toldthem that although the Church didnot keep a record of every donationthey made to help those in need, theLord kept a perfect record of theirsaving work:

. . . President Joseph Smith said

this society was organized to savesouls. What [are we doing] to winback those who have gone astray?to warm up the hearts of those whohave grown cold in the gospel?

Another book is kept of your faith,your kindness, your good works, and[your] words. Another record is kept.Nothing is lost.11

In the Book of Mormon, Ammonspeaks of the great reason we have torejoice. He says: And now, I ask, what

great blessings has [God] bestowedupon us? Can ye tell?In his excitement, Ammon doesnt

wait for an answer. He says, Behold, Ianswer for you; . . . this is the blessing

which hath been bestowed upon us,that we have been made instrumentsin the hands of God to bring aboutthis great work.12

We are covenant daughters in theLords kingdom, and we have the

opportunity to be instruments in Hishands. As we participate in the workof salvation each day in small andsimple wayswatching over, strength-ening, and teaching one anotherwe

will be able to join with Ammon, whodeclared:

Behold, my joy is full, yea, myheart is brim with joy, and I willrejoice in my God.

Yea, I know that I am nothing; asto my strength I am weak; thereforeI will not boast of myself, but I willboast of my God, for in his strength Ican do all things.13

Of this I testify in the name of JesusChrist, amen. NOTES

1. Mosiah 18:810. 2. Doctrine and Covenants 20:77. 3. Moses 1:39. 4. Doctrine and Covenants 25:1. 5. 2 Nephi 31:18. 6. 2 Nephi 31:20.

7. Russell M. Nelson, Covenants,Ensign orLiahona, Nov. 2011, 88.

8. Luke 22:32. 9. Thomas S. Monson, Faith in the Work

of Salvation (worldwide leadershiptraining broadcast, June 2013); lds.org/broadcasts.

10. Jeffrey R. Holland, Our Responsibilityto Invite (worldwide leadership trainingbroadcast, June 2013); lds.org/broadcasts.

11.Daughters in My Kingdom: The Historyand Work of Relief Society(2011), 83.

12. Alma 26:23.13. Alma 26:1112.