The Joy of a Covenant Relationship with God
Welcome, brethren — come as you are. "Mine arm of mercy is extended towards you."
- Born January 31, 1976, in Kinshasa, DR Congo. Missionaries found his searching-Christian parents; he "remember[s] seeing the change of heart in my parents' lives" as the home filled with prayer and hymns.
- Baptized at 10. Gained his conviction of the Book of Mormon preparing for his mission — his bishop gave him keys to the meetinghouse library and a daily reading challenge; three months later he entered the field knowing.
- Served in Côte d'Ivoire. Married Nathalie Tshayi Sinda in 2002; sealed in the Johannesburg South Africa Temple, 2004. Blessed with ten children; four passed away early in their marriage.
- Ran a travel business, then served the Church in Materials Management, HR, and Family History in the DR Congo. Maryland Baltimore Mission president; General Authority Seventy since April 2020; Africa Central Area President since August 2024.
"Christ Is Risen" — The Easter Invitation to Come unto Him
3 Nephi 9:14, 17 · Matthew 11:28–30
From the talk"'Come unto me' is a divine invitation which means wherever you are now or whatever you are going through in your life, you can feel God's infinite love manifested through His Son, Jesus Christ."
- The paschal greeting — "Christ is risen"; "Truly, He is risen" — is a declaration, not small talk. Elder Mutombo calls it "a celebration of the divine gift offered by Heavenly Father to us."
- He puts the stakes plainly: without the Atonement, no hope of returning home; without the Resurrection, "death would be the end."
- "Mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive." No qualifying conditions on your starting point — yet many brethren quietly assume the invitation is for people further along than they are.
When was a time the Resurrection stopped being a doctrine you believed and became something you needed?
What makes a man hesitate to "come unto" Christ when he most needs to? What has helped you come anyway?
ThinkerThe Nephites heard "Come unto me" from a voice in the darkness, after destruction — before they ever saw Him (3 Nephi 9:13–14). Why does this invitation so often come in the dark rather than after it lifts?
Covenants Deepen the Relationship — Baptism to the Temple
Mosiah 18:8–10 · Doctrine and Covenants 82:10
From the talk"Our Heavenly Father has a special love for each person who makes the covenant with Him in the waters of baptism. That divine love deepens as additional covenants are made in the house of the Lord and are faithfully kept."
- God's love isn't earned by covenants — but covenants are how we position ourselves to receive and feel more of it. A relationship, not a transaction.
- "His desire, purpose, and glory are to have us return to Him pure" — the commandments are the terms of a blessing, not a test to pass.
- Elder Mutombo, quoting President Oaks: "Following Christ is not a casual or occasional practice. It is a continuous commitment and way of life that should guide us at all times and in all places."
Elder Mutombo says the love "deepens." Have you actually felt a difference between the covenants you keep casually and the ones you keep deliberately?
What is one covenant you've made that you could not explain to a new member right now? What would it take to understand it better this month?
ThinkerIf God's love is already perfect and infinite, what exactly "deepens" when we keep covenants — His love, or our capacity to receive it? Does the answer change how you keep them?
"Where Can I Turn for Peace?" — When the Miracle Doesn't Come
Doctrine and Covenants 121:1–2, 7–8 · Hymns, no. 129, "Where Can I Turn for Peace?"
From the talk"Holding his body in my arms, I cried that day, begging for a miracle. However, as you know, God's plan for us is perfect, and that day He decided to take Allan back to Him. My prayers did not change His mind and will."
- He and Nathalie prayed Joseph Smith's Liberty Jail prayer: "Heavenly Father, where art Thou? Do You hear our cries and prayers?" That question is in the scriptures because faithful people ask it.
- He does not soften the unanswered prayer. What came instead was a hymn, the memory of temple promises, and "great peace and reassurance." Sometimes the answer is the strength to stand, not the outcome we asked for.
- "Sometimes things do not work out in mortality as we hope, and sometimes we need the faith in Jesus Christ that all will work out in the end."
Where have you turned for peace when the answer was no? What actually helped — and what didn't?
How do we sit with a brother whose prayer wasn't answered the way he hoped, without rushing him to a tidy lesson?
ThinkerElder Mutombo says his prayers "did not change His mind and will" — yet he kept praying, and still does. If prayer isn't for changing God's mind, what is it actually for?
Standing for Covenants When the Pressure Comes from Your Own People
From the talk"I came out with empty hands and told the people who were there, 'I'm sorry, but Nathalie is my eternal companion. We are striving together to build an eternal family, and the Savior is helping us achieve it.' They opposed my decision, but exercising my faith in Jesus Christ made me stronger."
- The pressure to separate came from family, at a funeral, framed as tradition. Not a stranger, not the internet.
- He went in and prayed before he answered. Then came out empty-handed — a small, visible, costly act.
- Keeping covenants requires leaving "that which is highly esteemed among men" and "the tradition of men." Some of what we must leave, we inherited and love.
- "The miracle Nathalie and I prayed for happened after we stood for the truth" — the standing came first, the miracle second.
What "tradition of men" — cultural, family, professional, generational — quietly competes with a covenant you've made?
Elder Mutombo's answer was one clear sentence: "Nathalie is my eternal companion." What is the one sentence you'd need ready before the pressure comes?
ThinkerElder Mutombo could see his culture's tradition clearly because the gospel gave him a vantage point outside it. What would it take for us to see our own traditions that clearly — and would we want to?
Sunday Will Come — Building on the Rock, Becoming as a Child
Helaman 5:12 · Mosiah 3:19 · 2 Nephi 2:27
From the talk"The despair did not linger because, on Sunday, the resurrected Savior overcame the bonds of death. So no matter how dark your days are, please remember that Sunday will come if you faithfully keep the covenants that you made with the Lord."
- He answers the obvious objection head-on: "I'm not facing the same challenge — how does this apply to me?" Every one of us gets dark days.
- The adversary's alternative is named plainly: he wants all to "be miserable like unto himself," and sells it as "play now and pay later," teaching that there are no consequences.
- President Ezra Taft Benson: "The great test of life is obedience to God. The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord and then do it. The great commandment of life is to love the Lord."
- The prescription: become as a child, build on the rock who is Christ, yield in faith, follow the Holy Ghost, keep the covenants of baptism and the temple.
Where are you in the week right now — Friday, Saturday, or Sunday? What would "Sunday" look like for you?
"Play now and pay later" is a good description of how the adversary sells almost everything. Where do you see that pitch in your own life this week?
ThinkerThe disciples who lived through Friday didn't know Sunday was coming — we do. So why is the waiting still so hard when we already know how the story ends?
"I know that God lives and testify that Jesus is the Christ... Christ is risen. Truly, He is risen." — Consider inviting each brother to name one specific covenant he will keep more deliberately this week, then bear your own testimony of the Savior's Resurrection.
Sources (Church-published only): Thierry K. Mutombo, "The Joy of a Covenant Relationship with God," Liahona, May 2026 (April 2026 general conference) · "Thierry K. Mutombo," Church leader biography, churchofjesuschrist.org · "Meet Elder Thierry K. Mutombo, General Authority Seventy," Church News, May 21, 2020 · "Remember conference — Elder Thierry K. Mutombo," Church News, June 17, 2026 · Hymns, no. 129, "Where Can I Turn for Peace?" Related talks cited in sections above are all available at churchofjesuschrist.org.