In a BYU-Idaho devotional address, Randy Parkinson, event coordinator at BYU-Idaho, told students they would receive blessings of power, peace and healing as they receive ordinances and enter into covenants.

Power

Parkinson said that living a covenant life gives you power and courage.

He shared an experience from when he was a student at Brigham Young University. He said he woke up one night to three thoughts from a dark presence, break up with the girl you are dating, leave BYU and leave the church.

Parkinson asked for his father to give him a priesthood blessing. He said he continued on the covenant path, eventually meeting his wife at BYU and was able to enter into future ordinances and covenants.

Parkinson shared a quote from Elder Kent F. Richards which in part said, “’For unto him that receiveth it shall be given more abundantly, even power.’ Power to receive all that he can give us – now and eternally.”

In an interview with BYU-Idaho Radio, Parkinson said looking at the online discussion board about his devotional topic, he felt an overwhelming spirit of love for the students and those who participated.

“I’ve just been really impressed with how people have endured their trials and used their covenants to gain the strength to carry on,” Parkinson said. “I can just really feel God’s love for them.”

Peace

To use your covenants and ordinances to find peace Parkinson shared a quote from Elder Donald L. Hallstrom that said if a person recognizes that their covenants are blessings and not burdens they will have great peace even in hard times.

Healing

“The savior is the source of all healing,” Parkinson said. “As we daily prepare to partake of the sacrament, we can receive healing and the strength to endure.”

Parkinson shared in his interview how he and his family were able to heal after losing a child.

One of their babies was stillborn.

“My wife did a lot of studying to see what the church said about those situation where there is a premature death,” Parkinson said. “And the thing that she read said that if a spirit has entered a body it will be resurrected. So we are anxious to raise another boy.”

In all, he said, keeping covenants will change a person. Parkinson said throughout his day he constantly asks himself the questions:

1. What would a covenant person do in this situation?

2. What would a covenant person say in this situation?

“Faithfully living our covenants lift us from being good people to being better people, and from better people to the best that we can be; even like our heavenly Father,” Parkinson said