As investigators come unto Christ and prepare to become Church members, they must understand the covenants associated with saving ordinances and be willing to make and keep these sacred obligations.

The first five verses of chapter 6 are the important ones for this point, but I threw in the rest of the chapter because of the beauty that it contains. Sometimes we forget that this is how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is operated, and we lose sight of how wonderful that is.

Moroni Chapter 6
1 And now I speak concerning baptism. Behold, elders, priests, and teachers were baptized; and they were not baptized save they brought forth ^afruit meet that they were ^bworthy of it.

2 Neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with a ^abroken ^bheart and a contrite spirit, and witnessed unto the church that they truly repented of all their sins.

3 And none were received unto baptism save they ^atook upon them the name of Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end.

4 And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and ^acleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the ^bchurch of Christ; and their ^cnames were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually ^dwatchful unto prayer, ^erelying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith.

5 And the ^achurch did meet together ^boft, to ^cfast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls.

6 And they did ^ameet together oft to partake of bread and wine, in ^bremembrance of the Lord Jesus.

7 And they were strict to observe that there should be ^ano iniquity among them; and whoso was found to commit iniquity, and ^bthree witnesses of the church did condemn them before the ^celders, and if they repented not, and ^dconfessed not, their names were ^eblotted out, and they were not ^fnumbered among the people of Christ.

8 But ^aas oft as they repented and sought forgiveness, with real ^bintent, they were ^cforgiven.

9 And their meetings were ^aconducted by the church after the manner of the workings of the Spirit, and by the ^bpower of the Holy Ghost; for as the power of the Holy Ghost led them whether to preach, or to exhort, or to pray, or to supplicate, or to sing, even so it was done.

This is revelation given to the prophet Joseph Smith:

D&C 45:9 And even so I have sent mine ^aeverlasting ^bcovenant into the world, to be a ^clight to the world, and to be a ^dstandard for my people, and for the ^eGentiles to seek to it, and to be a ^fmessenger before my face to prepare the way before me.

This is all preparation for the Second Coming, as has been spoken of since the beginning of any record that we have. Making covenants is an integral part of what we do in this church.

But what is a covenant?

“[A covenant is] an agreement between God and man, but they do not act as equals in the agreement. God gives the conditions for the covenant, and men agree to do what he asks them to do. God then promises men certain blessings for their obedience.

“Principles and ordinances are received by covenant. Members of the Church who make such covenants promise to honor them. For example, members covenant with the Lord at baptism and renew those covenants by partaking of the sacrament. They make further covenants in the temple. The Lord’s people are a covenant people and are greatly blessed as they keep their covenants with the Lord” (Guide to the Scriptures, “Covenant,” 55).

Missionaries help those who are converted prepare for baptism, confirmation, and membership in the Lord’s Church.

There are some things that are absolutely necessary before one can be baptized.
These commandments are:

• Keep the Sabbath day holy.

• Follow the prophets.

• Live the law of chastity.

• Obey the Word of Wisdom.

• Live the law of tithing.