A Brigham Young University - Idaho devotional address by Dale G. Renlund entitled “Stronger and Closer Connection to God through Multiple Covenants”, given on October 22, 2023 at the BYU-Idaho Center.
There is a meme that has gone around the internet using the popular picture of Jesus knocking at a door with no doorknob. It says Knock, knock Who's there? It's me, Jesus, let me in. Why? So I can save you! Save me from what? Save you from what I'm going to do to you if you don't let me in. This meme is essentially our way of teaching covenants. Renlund said, you are free to break your covenants, but the consequences are dire. As if there are no people in this wide world who are not mormon, not beholden to these binding covenants, or who have been members and left and found a just as fulfulling and happy life away from the church. The sell job on covenants has little joy in it, and a whole lot of coercion and fear.
"I'm male, I'm NOT going to do anything about that", sure, making a passive aggressive transgender joke just revealed a lot about what he truly thinks. This talk is pure and desperate authoritarian overreach.