Jet Mariano

Tag: Covenant

  • Marked in Time — Be Still, and Know That I Am God

    Night photo of the Salt Lake Temple mirrored perfectly in a still reflection pool, symbolizing inner spiritual stillness and a life founded on Christ.

    Excerpt
    Be still—and know.

    Intro
    A journalist walked from a celestial room and whispered, “I didn’t know stillness like that existed.” Elder Bednar invites us past outer quiet into inner spiritual stillness—the kind that fixes our hearts on the Father and the Son, even as life stays loud.

    Notes from the Message

    • “Be still” is more than not moving; it’s remembering and relying on Jesus Christ in all times, things, and places.
    • Build on the Rock: Christ isn’t merely beneath us; we fasten our foundation to Him. Covenants and ordinances are the anchor pins and steel rods that tie our souls to bedrock.
    • Sacred time & holy places—Sabbath, temple, and home—train the soul in stillness and covenant focus.
    • As covenants deepen, virtue garnishes thought, confidence before God grows, the Holy Ghost becomes a constant companion—we become grounded, rooted, established, settled.

    Perspective (direct lines & scriptures)
    “Be still, and know that I am God.”
    “Remember, remember… build your foundation upon the rock of our Redeemer.” (Helaman 5:12)
    “Hope… maketh an anchor to the souls of men.” (Ether 12:4)

    Practice (today, not someday)

    • Give God sacred time: one unhurried Sabbath moment, one honest sacrament prayer, one temple appointment on the calendar.
    • Make home a holy place tonight: turn down the noise, turn up gratitude, read one covenant promise.
    • Re-anchor: Grounded • Rooted • Established • Settled.

    Final Reflection
    Foundations don’t hold by accident; they hold because they’re tied to the Rock. In a whirlwind world, covenant connection creates interior calm—the stillness where we know and remember: God is our Father; we are His children; Jesus is our Savior. From that stillness, we can do and overcome hard things.

    Pocket I’m Keeping
    Covenants are my anchor pins; Christ is my bedrock.

    What I Hear Now
    Be still—build on Him—do not fall.

    Link of the talk: Elder David A. Bednar — “Be Still, and Know That I Am God” (April 2024 General Conference)

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  • Day of Delight

    Scaffolds outside, strength within—light and gladness in the heart. Updates: base isolation for earthquakes; expanded capacity (new instruction rooms, more sealing rooms); two baptistries in the annex; endowment now in single-room film presentations in multiple languages.

    Intro
    I’ve been thinking about how a day can change the temperature of a soul. “There’s a day when I cast off the world… and find myself in prayer.” That line isn’t about running from life—it’s about choosing a place where God can reach me. Another line says, “a day to rediscover the vision, clear and bright.” Rediscover is the key word. The light was there all along; the day simply gives me permission to see it again. After weeks of early prayers and late-night temple time, this song feels less like nostalgia and more like instruction: set the day apart, and the day will set you apart.

    Day of Delight (full lyrics, 1979 Gates of Zion Seminary Album)

    There’s a certain kind of happiness,
    a certain kind of glow,
    a special warm sensation—
    I love to feel it flow.

    I love the sweet reminder
    of other things to do,
    the hopes and dreams inside myself—
    I know they can come true.

    There’s a day when I cast off the world,
    untouched by problems there;
    a day when I can grow and learn
    and find myself in prayer;

    a day to rediscover
    the vision, clear and bright;
    a day of light and gladness—
    a day of my delight.

    Who knows what treasures—
    Was for me the freedom,
    and the peace, new reaches,
    fresh and unexplored—
    Lord, where faith and love,

    far beyond the ordinary,
    past the ways of man;
    the beauty of this day was set
    before the world began.

    There’s a day when I cast off
    the world, untouched by problems there;
    a day when I can grow and learn
    and find myself in prayer;
    a day to rediscover the vision,
    clear and bright—
    a day of light and gladness,
    a day of my delight.

    Final Reflection
    Why would a Seminary writer in 1979 pen “Day of Delight”? My sense: to teach that holiness isn’t grim—it’s glad. Youth didn’t need a heavier rulebook; they needed language for joy. The song reframes a set-apart day as fuel, not escape: “I love the sweet reminder of other things to do… I know they can come true.” That’s a hidden gem—the holy day doesn’t pause your life; it powers it. Another is, “the beauty of this day was set before the world began,” quietly tying delight to covenant memory: this rhythm was written into us long before our calendars.

    What I hear now
    • Delight is chosen. The day doesn’t chase me; I step into it.
    • Prayer is discovery, not performance. I “find myself in prayer.”
    • Joy precedes action. Warmth first, then the “other things to do.”
    • Covenant memory steadies the week. If it was set “before the world began,” I can trust it to reset me now.

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • Marked in Time — Taylorsville at First Light

    Taylorsville Utah Temple at first light—quiet watch at dawn, one frame when the grounds glowed.

    Excerpt
    “Beyond the frail, scant promises of time.”

    Intro
    Second sunrise in a row at Taylorsville. Waiting in the quiet before the grounds woke, I felt the same steady whisper—and remembered a Seminary song I grew up with.

    Notes from the song
    Patience over haste. Choose carefully. Build real friendships. Seek what lasts beyond quick feelings and trends.

    Perspective (direct quote)
    “True happiness is something I must earn.”

    Practice (today, not someday)

    • Slow one thing down.
    • Invest in one real friendship.
    • Re-anchor: Grounded • Rooted • Established • Settled.

    Final Reflection
    Sunrise teaches covenant pace: night yields to light; hurry to peace. What matters most isn’t in time’s quick promises, but in what endures beyond them.

    Pocket I’m Keeping
    Choose the lasting over the loud.

    What I Hear Now (paraphrase)
    Love carefully chosen and patiently sealed outlives the clock.

    Credit note
    Song reference: “Beyond the Promises of Time” (Gates of Zion, 1979). © Intellectual Reserve, Inc. (quoted lines limited for commentary).

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

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