As I have been thinking about these things, the thought came to me that we should also strive to make personal covenants with the Lord as guided by the spirit. One such covenant that comes to mind made by a non-LDS but which I also feel that some here have made (perhaps not formally, but their spirits have made it) is Thomas Jefferson's declaration
There was no priesthood authority, at least on this side of the veil, yet this strikes me as explicitly covenant-making."“I have sworn upon the altar of god, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.” ― Thomas Jefferson
I think in order to be ready for the things coming that were spoken of Sunday morning, that for me and possibly for all of us that it is important for all of us to find those things that are so dear to us that we hold our lives as valueless in comparison to them and to then stand as firmly on those bedrock principles.