“This Is the Token of the Covenant”

When you make a long-term promise, it helps to have a visual reminder.

President Dallin H. Oaks has highlighted the special clothing worn by judges, soldiers, doctors, and first responders. Such clothing does more than identify their roles to others; it also reminds them of their duty. Similarly, engagement and wedding rings “[give] notice to observers [and remind] wearers of covenant responsibilities” (“Covenants and Responsibilities,” April 2024 general conference).

Captain Moroni demonstrated his commitment to defending liberty by rending his coat, writing a motto on a fragment, and hanging it on a pole (Alma 46:12). As people heeded his call, they “came running together … rending their garments in token, or as a covenant, that they would not forsake the Lord their God” (Alma 46:21).

The earliest scriptural example of a covenant with a visual reminder is the covenant between the Lord and Noah. After the Flood, God said:

This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

Genesis 9:12-15

Of course, God doesn’t need a reminder of His covenant, but with that symbol of the rainbow, He showed us a pattern of how to make enduring covenants. And the rainbow also serves as a reminder to us of His enduring love and commitment to us.

Today, I will be grateful for covenants and their associated symbols. I will recommit to fulfill my long-term promises to my community, to my family, and to my God.