In Mormonism, a covenant is a sacred agreement between God and his people that is always conditional. Members promise obedience, and God promises blessings in return. LDS scripture teaches that blessings come through keeping covenants, and that breaking them brings consequences (Doctrine and Covenants 82:10; Mosiah 2:24). Covenants are essential for spiritual progression (“Covenant,” Gospel Topics, churchofjesuschrist.org), and almost everything in LDS life is considered a covenant: baptism, confirmation, temple endowment, marriage sealings, and even daily obedience. Covenants are woven into nearly every ordinance and responsibility in the church.
In biblical Christianity, covenants show God’s saving work, first through the Old Covenant that reveals our sin, and then through the New Covenant fulfilled in Christ. In the Old Testament covenant, God gave his law and the people promised obedience (Exodus 24:3–8), and blessings or curses followed depending on their faithfulness (Deuteronomy 28). Its purpose was to reveal sin and show our need for a Savior (Galatians 3:24). The new covenant, fulfilled in Christ, is God’s unilateral promise to forgive sins and reconcile us to himself (Jeremiah 31:31–34; Luke 22:20). Jesus keeps the covenant in our place, so forgiveness and eternal life come as a gift, not as blessings earned through obedience.
