Review
Title: The Holy Covenants: Living Our Sacred Temple Promises
Author: Anthony Sweat
Publisher: Deseret Book
Genre: Religious Non-fiction
Year Published: 2021
Number of Pages: 148
Binding: Paperback
ISBN-13 Hardcover: 9781629729794
Price: $12.99
Reviewed by Richard Ji for the Association for Mormon Letters
The Holy Covenants: Living Our Sacred Temple Promises, written by Anthony Sweat, is intended to be a companion to his previous book, The Holy Invitation. It is a concise work to help readers further appreciate the Endowment. It focuses on the covenants made as well as how to utilize these covenants to achieve greater spiritual power. The book is divided into three main parts: Part I – The Order, Part II – The Covenants, and Part III – The Power. Each part consists of multiple chapters. The book includes chapter notes at the end. Sweat is careful to maintain the sacred nature of the Temple with the accessibility of knowledge about it. To achieve this balance, his discussion is primarily based on previously published General authority teachings and publications of the Church (p. xi).
In Part I, Sweat teaches that the “temple is a modern-day school of prophets and prophetesses where we learn to live like Melchizedek” (p. 9). Through the ordinances of the temple, “we are initiated into this sacred order” (p. 8). “By entering into this covenant order, both men and women enter into the fullness of the Melchizedek Priesthood” (p. 8). This “becomes a way for all people to enjoy the gifts, power, authority, and blessings of the holy priesthood” (p. 8). Sweat makes an important point about the presentation of the endowment. While the endowment is part of an “ancient order” (p. 11), the presentation of the endowment is to be viewed as a method of teaching. Hence it is subject to modification from time to time as history has shown.
Sweat provides a parable to help contextualize the endowment with a modern, secular equivalent. The parable tells the story of a woman who gets into medical school and begins her educational journey with the white coat ceremony. Within this ceremony, she and other medical students take the Hippocratic Oath. This is a “covenant and promise of core principles to guide them throughout their professional lives” (p. 16). This remarkable parallel to our mortal journey as temple covenant makers helps to demonstrate two things for me. First, that while the commonplace rituals in secular life (such as graduation ceremonies, and medical school rituals) normalize peculiarities, the sacred nature of the temple rituals may result in the abstraction of similar peculiarities. Second, it helps to draw a poignant correspondence with mortal life covenant paths (medical school) to eternal ones. This simple but effective chapter brings focus to the purpose of the endowment.
Part I closes with a chapter on the why of covenants. Here, Sweat advises that priesthood covenants serve as a framework by which we order our lives, connecting us to one another and to God (p. 28).
In Part II, Sweat demonstrates how the covenants we make in the temple follows the pattern set by the Savior. Each chapter in this part discusses an explanation, an application, and a motivation for each element. He opens this part with a discussion regarding the temple garment, then thoughts on the promise made not to reveal sacred teachings, and then finally a review of each covenant made in the temple.
Part III, of The Holy Covenants, Sweat describes how following the covenant path will lead to power — Power to be endowed with spiritual gifts, power to become the elect of God, and power to become exalted (p. 106). He concludes the book by reminding us that the covenant path originates with our divine nature and ability to progress to become like Heavenly Father.
Anthony Sweat’s new book, The Holy Covenants, is a must-read for all those who are about to take out their endowment as well as for all who already have. This well-written, concise work makes an otherwise intimidating ritual sensical. It provides a framework from which to understand all the key elements and most importantly, clearly delineates how the endowment helps us to become more like our Heavenly Father.
The only critique I have of the book is the placement of the parable of the white coat chapter. It seems misplaced and asynchronous to the flow. In my opinion, it would be better placed at the very beginning of the book with a tie-in at the end.
Regardless, this book is the best explanatory book about the Temple I have ever read. It is also among my favorites for this year. I highly recommend Anthony Sweat’s The Holy Covenants and will be keeping this one close at hand for additional study. I consider it a go-to manual for the endowment.