An endowment is a special gift which is intended to support someone or something for a long period of time. Endowment funds are generally expected to last indefinitely, and they are managed with a presumption of perpetuity.
In 1834, when a group of church members from Ohio were unable to help their fellow members in Missouri return to their homes, the Lord signaled to them that they would be able to accomplish more after they received a special gift in the temple, which was at the time under construction:
It is expedient in me that mine elders should wait for a little season for the redemption of Zion—
That they themselves may be prepared, and that my people may be taught more perfectly, and have experience, and know more perfectly concerning their duty, and the things which I require at their hands.
And this cannot be brought to pass until mine elders are endowed with power from on high.
For behold, I have prepared a great endowment and blessing to be poured out upon them, inasmuch as they are faithful and continue in humility before me.
Doctrine and Covenants 105:9-12
This gift was so large, and its impact would be so long-lasting, that the Lord called it an endowment, echoing language He had used with His disciples just following His resurrection. (See Luke 24:49.)
As the passage makes clear, this endowment would give them both knowledge and power, enabling them to accomplish things which they could not accomplish otherwise.
When Ammon explained to King Lamoni how he was able to accomplish such miraculous things, he similarly coupled knowledge and power in his explanation:
I am a man; and man in the beginning was created after the image of God, and I am called by his Holy Spirit to teach these things unto this people, that they may be brought to a knowledge of that which is just and true;
And a portion of that Spirit dwelleth in me, which giveth me knowledge, and also power according to my faith and desires which are in God.
Alma 18:34-35
President Russell M. Nelson testified that those blessings are available to church members today as they make covenants with God in holy temples:
Every woman and every man who makes covenants with God and keeps those covenants, and who participates worthily in priesthood ordinances, has direct access to the power of God. Those who are endowed in the house of the Lord receive a gift of God’s priesthood power by virtue of their covenant, along with a gift of knowledge to know how to draw upon that power.
“Spiritual Treasures,” October 2019 general conference
Today, I will be grateful for the gifts I have received from God, including the endowment I received in His house. I will remember that this gift is intended to sustain me in perpetuity, and that it enables me to accomplish more than I could have without it.
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