Relief Society · Elders Quorum · 25 minutes
Elder David A. Bednar · Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles · Sunday Afternoon Session
Recommended path
Mix and match to create one 25-minute interactive lesson. Swap any activity for an option below.
This class in one line
Ordinances and covenants open the way home to God, and the Holy Spirit of Promise confirms them over time as we repent, keep our covenants, and yield our hearts to God.
Skip a detailed walk-through of the lateral and vertical parts of the temple sealing. Mention them briefly in the second principle and send members to the talk to study them.
Before Sunday
Sunday: Elder Bednar on the Holy Spirit of Promise
This Sunday we will discuss Elder David A. Bednar's October 2026 talk "Sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise." He compares ordinances and covenants to a passport: you need one to enter, and you also have to take care of it over the years. Please read or listen to the talk before class if you can. Ponder this: what does it look like in your own life to take care of a covenant you have already made?
Pick one opening
Think of something you received once but have had to take care of ever since, like a home, a license, or a friendship. Why isn't receiving it enough by itself? Take a few answers, then explain that Elder Bednar teaches the same thing about our covenants.
Think of something you received once but have had to take care of ever since, like a home, a license, or a friendship. Why isn't receiving it enough by itself? Take a few answers, then explain that Elder Bednar teaches the same thing about our covenants.
Elder Bednar told about a man who flew to a distant country to visit family. He had a valid passport from his government. But its personal information page was stained, and a torn page had been fixed with tape and glue. The border official refused to stamp it, so the man could not enter. Elder Bednar's point: the passport gave him the chance to enter, but it did not guarantee he would.
Read President Boyd K. Packer's words, quoted by Elder Bednar: worthily receiving ordinances and covenants "is the quest of a lifetime; to keep them thereafter is the challenge of mortality." Ask: why do you think President Packer called keeping covenants a challenge that lasts all of mortality?
Teach this first
We receive covenants through priesthood ordinances, and God sets the terms of those covenants. To be valid after this life, every covenant must be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise, who confirms that it is acceptable to God. Elder Bednar teaches that this sealing usually does not happen all at once. It comes over time as we repent sincerely and consistently, honor our covenants, and yield our hearts to God, much like the stamp the man in the story needed before he could enter.
Elder Bednar taught that this ratifying sealing "typically is not a one-time event; rather, it comes over time as we repent sincerely and consistently, honor our covenants, and yield our hearts unto God."
Ask the class
If time remains
Elder Bednar answered with an emphatic no when a faithful spouse asks whether someone else's unrighteous choices can rob them of what God promised. A faithful person who keeps their covenants remains worthy of the Holy Spirit of Promise's confirming seal and of every promised blessing, because the Savior's Atonement can overcome all things for everyone who holds fast to their covenants with Him.
Ask the class
Counsel together
Last 3–5 minutes
This week, choose one covenant you have made and do one specific thing to honor it more fully, such as preparing more carefully for the sacrament or repenting of something you have been putting off.
Elder Bednar taught that no faithful disciple will ultimately be deprived of any eternal blessing God has promised because of another person's unrighteous choices, and he closed with King Benjamin's promise that those who keep the commandments are blessed in all things (Mosiah 2:41).
Your witness: Think about a time when keeping a covenant, or coming back to one through repentance, brought the Savior's strength or peace into your life. Share it in a sentence or two, and tell the class what you know about God keeping His promises.