The Lord gave the following counsel to Emma Smith, just a few months after the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:
Lift up thy heart and rejoice, and cleave unto the covenants which thou hast made.
Doctrine and Covenants 25:13
Kevin J. Worthen, a former president of Brigham Young University, pointed out that the word implies significant effort and focus.
Cleave does not mean to casually and lightly grasp. It means “to cling or hold fast to; to attach oneself.” The word cleave derives from the Old Norse word klîfa, which means “to . . . climb by clinging.” That is a pretty good visual image of how we can increase our potential for good. We climb upward by clinging, by hanging on with all our might to the covenants we have made with God, secure in His promise that He will keep His end of the agreement if we keep ours.
“Holy Places,” Brigham Young University Devotional Address, 20 January 2015
In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Jacob implores us, “Cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you” (Jacob 6:5).
Mormon encourages us to “cleave unto every good thing,” and in particular, to “cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all” (Moroni 7:28, 46).
So what does it mean to “cleave unto” our covenants?
- It means to hold on to the promises we have received from God, with confidence that He will fulfill them. When Lehi said, “I have obtained a land of promise,” he and his family were still in the wilderness. The Lord’s promised blessings were as impactful to his faith as the blessings he had already received. (See 1 Nephi 5:5.)
- It means to stay close to God and invest in our relationship with Him. President Russell M. Nelson said, “The covenant path is all about our relationship with God” (“The Everlasting Covenant,” Liahona, October 2022).
- It means that we find more joy and express more gratitude for the blessings we receive each day. Speaking of the Lord’s counsel to Emma, Sister Barbara Thompson said, “I cannot read this scripture without feeling joy. My heart rejoices as I think of the promises and many blessings which have been part of my life as I have sought to cleave unto the covenants which I have made with my Heavenly Father” (“Cleave Unto the Covenants,” General Conference, October 2011).
Today, I will cleave unto my covenants. I will have confidence in the promises I’ve received from God, invest in my relationship with Him, and find joy in the blessings I receive from Him along the way.
Amen