Covenant Relationships

Since my youth I've been taught that a covenant is a promise that we make between us and the Lord. As I studied this week in Abraham 1-2, and Genesis 12-17, I gained a deeper understanding about how the covenants we make, starting with baptismal covenants, are not solely promises we make to God, but they also allow us to enter into a relationship with Him where He can teach us how to trust Him and how to live our lives with greater integrity. 

We start down the covenant path with the ordinance of baptism and we begin to learn how to be in a relationship with God. We learn that we are expected to keep the promises that we have made and we also learn to trust that God will keep His promises as we keep ours. We begin to understand the power of integrity in our lives and how living with integrity will enhance our relationship with God.

As we advance further down on the covenant path, our level of trust with God can increase in a way that we feel ready to enter into a deeper relationship with Him by accepting temple covenants. Temple covenants add another layer of responsibility and trust between us and the Lord as we strive "to be greater follower(s) of righteousness" (Abraham 1:2).

As we enter into the highest order of the Priesthood, by accepting the new and everlasting covenant of marriage, we are now prepared to enter into a relationship with a spouse. This spouse has also been walking the covenant path and learning how to have a relationship with God. As both marriage partners have moved along the covenant path, practicing trust and integrity with their Heavenly Father, their covenant paths now connect and they enter into the same kind of relationship with their spouse that they have had with their Father in Heaven-a relationship based on trust and integrity.

As marriage partners they continue down that covenant path together, and as they each continue to keep their individual baptismal and temple covenants with the Lord, their relationship with each other will be strengthened and blessed through integrity and greater trust one with another.

Sister Joy D. Jones, Primary General President has said: "A succession of small, successfully kept promises leads to integrity. This consistent practice of promise keeping is spiritual preparation...to receive the first covenant of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost, wherein [we] covenant to serve God and keep His commandments. Promises and covenants are inseparable." (A Sin-Resistant Generation). I'm grateful to understand better that some  of the blessings that come from living our covenants are the blessings of greater personal integrity and trust in the Lord.

Arks and Temples

I started a little project this week where I wanted to read through all the conference talks given by President Nelson during the last four years as the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I was looking for the things that he has asked (pled and urged) us to do and I started highlighting the council he repeated. Even though I’m only halfway through his 32 talks, I have already noticed that one of the most prevalent themes in his discourses is the importance of getting to the temple. As I studied the Come, Follow Me chapters this week (Genesis 6-9 and Moses 8), I started noticing right away the connections we can make between the temple and the ark. I'm sure there are a lot more, but here are the parallels I came away with...

• Architecturally, both the ark and temples are massive structures built to hold a lot of people. Both are/were built to save people. Both are/were built to protect the righteous from a flood of wickedness. 
• Both take lots of hard work to prepare to be ready to enter. It took Noah years of physical labor to build the ark and it takes us years of spiritual preparation to be prepared to enter the temple. 
• Being in the ark was the safest place for Noah and his family, President Nelson has said that living within our temple covenants is the safest place we can be. (The Temple and your Spiritual Foundation)
• The ark saved Noah’s family so that the earth could have a second chance of bringing forth a righteous posterity. Through temple work we are able to save people by giving them a second chance to be with their ancestors and posterity forever.
• Noah was continually inviting people to repent so they could join him on the ark. Our prophet continually asks us to repent, come to the temple and invite others to join us there.
• Both the ark and the temple offer safety and refuge to all who are willing to obey God's commandments.
• Both the ark and the temple are associated with covenants. God covenanted with Noah that if he entered the ark that his posterity would continue. When we go to the temple we make covenants with God that allow us to be with our posterity for all eternity. 
• As the flood waters rose, the ark continually rose to stay above the water. As wickedness increases in the world,  the temple is a place of higher ground that helps us rise above the wickedness in the world.

President Nelson is the Noah of our day, pleading with us to get into the ark (temple) so that we can be safe from destruction. As the earth becomes more and more wicked, the Lord is providing more and more places of refuge for His righteous people. The Lord has commanded the prophets of our day, including President Nelson, to dot the earth with more and more temples in order to help His people rise above the wickedness that is flooding the earth. May we learn a lesson from this ancient scriptural account: heed the words of the prophet and we will be saved.

Plain and precious truths

The most insightful understanding of  Moses 7 came to me this week when one of the podcasts I listened to (Talking Scripture) framed this chapter in a way that was extremely helpful to me. First, they reminded their listeners that the book of Moses is the Joseph Smith Translation of the book of Genesis, but that chapter 7 is a chapter that has no Genesis equivalent. The original text from the book of Genesis contained plain and precious truths (1 Nephi 13:26-40) that were lost or discarded over the years, and Joseph Smith was inspired to restore them. Second, they asked their listeners these two thought-provoking questions. 1) What are the wonderful truths contained in Moses 7 that Satan would have wanted removed from the Bible? 2) What critical truths do we learn from Moses 7 that the church (when planning out its large Old Testament curriculum for the year), would devote a whole week of study to this one chapter? With this new framework on my mind, I was able to read Moses 7 looking for truths of the gospel that Satan would have wanted omitted from the Bible. Here's what I learned...

1) Understanding the connection between Enoch’s Zion and our Latter-Day Zion.

The concept of how to build Zion is definitely a precious truth that Satan would have wanted removed from the Bible, as well as the hope that comes from knowing that it is possible to create Zion! I am certain that this is a hope that Satan would've wanted removed from history, and yet Moses 7 restores to us the knowledge that creating Zion is an obtainable reality because it happened to the people of Enoch.

2) Understanding the true Character of God.

The hosts of the Talking Scripture podcast stated that most people see the god of the Old Testament as harsh, cruel, unkind, and uncaring. One of Satan's motives with removing plain and precious truth about God's character out of the Bible was to reduce God to a Being that we couldn't trust and couldn't love. Satan wants us to doubt that God has our best interest in mind. And if Satan can get us to start doubting God, then he wins a great victory. But Moses 7 helps to restore the true character of God and shows us that God loves and cares for us very deeply-which is something that we will rarely see in the remainder of Old Testament. This understanding of God's true nature will be critical to remember as we continue to study the Old Testament throughout this year.

What an amazing blessing it is to have these precious truths that are found in Moses 7 that can help us better understand the true character of God and that His desire for us, to build up Zion, is a goal worthy of our constant efforts and attention.

Book of Remembrance

During my Come, Follow Me study this week, verses 5-6 of Moses 6, which talk about a “book of remembrance”, really stood out to me and got me thinking on multiple levels.

Level 1 (my first read-through thoughts) - We often refer to the scriptures as a "book of remembrance" (see footnote 5a). Adam taught his children using the scriptures. The application in our day is that we should also teach our children using the scriptures.

Level 2 (my second read-through thoughts) - This "book of remembrance" was used to teach the children to read and write. I'm sure there weren't a whole lot of books back then, so this book was used to educate their children. The application in our day is that the educational value in reading scriptures with our children is not limited to spiritual education. 

Level 3 (my third read-through thoughts) - This "book of remembrance" was written by many who "called upon God to write by the spirit of inspiration" (v. 6). This book was full of testimonies and spiritual experiences written by family members that their children could then read over and over. The application in our day is that our spiritual experiences, written down and shared, can be like scripture to our posterity. 

Level 3 is where I did most of my pondering this week. This thought reminded me of a Leadership Training meeting I recently attended for our local ward and stake leaders. Elder Soares was the presiding authority at this meeting, and during the Q&A portion of this meeting someone asked him what more we could do to help our children/youth to have a greater desire to live the gospel of Jesus Christ? He shared two thoughts with us. First - we need to use Come, Follow Me and the Family Home Evening programs in our homes. Second - we need to take opportunities to share our spiritual experiences/impressions with our children. He shared an experience he had had that very morning  when he felt impressed to email his children some personal spiritual impressions he'd had. 

President Spencer W. Kimball said: "Those who keep a book of remembrance are more likely to keep the Lord in remembrance in their daily lives. Journals are a way of counting our blessings and leaving and inventory of these blessings for our posterity." Knowing that recording and sharing my spiritual experiences can help influence my posterity to live righteous and faithful lives is a great comfort to me and gives me a greater desire to be a more faithful record keeper.

Leaving Eden

I’ve always been confused why God gave Adam and Eve conflicting commandments that were impossible to keep at the same time. I’ve wondered what lesson I'm supposed to learn from the predicament they were in and the decisions they made. I’ve never been able to come up with a satisfactory explanation until this week as I studied Genesis 3-4 and Moses 4-5 this week. I learned that I’ve been searching for a single lesson but that there are multiple lessons that can be learned depending on who the reader is and what time of their life they are in. Understanding this principle has helped me realize why I had been so conflicted about my previous confusion. I would like to share the inspired lesson that I learned this week as I studied this part of Adam and Eve's story. It is likely that you have learned something different than me and in the future we might both expect to learn additional lessons.

The Garden of Eden was a place full of comfort, ease and predictability. Partaking of the fruit would lead to family, knowledge, and happiness but also work, uncertainty and suffering...it would be a leap of faith to leave the garden and be forced into an unpredictable world. As I though about this difficult choice they had to make, I realized that it could be a metaphor for all the big choices we encounter in life.

What are some of the choices that we encounter in life that bring both joy and discomfort simultaneously? Leaving home, going on a mission, going to college, getting married, having children, starting a new job, or accepting a challenging church calling are all accompanied by some amount of discomfort, adjustment, and work but also growth, knowledge and joy. What do we do when faced with these choices? Do we stay in Eden where it’s comfortable and predictable or do we take that leap of faith and leave the “Garden” in order to experience the challenges and accompanying growth that are promised to us?

We might even consider that these choices are crossroads in life where we have to decide if it's time to follow the example of Adam and Eve or take a path that might be easier. Understanding the role of our Savior, Jesus Christ and His atonement can make these choices easier. When we know that the trials and pains we will experience can be swallowed up in the joy of Christ (Alma 31:38), making a conscientious choice to give up comfort and freedom in order to practice, learn, and sometimes suffer, will be easier. We know that these experiences are what we need in order to become more like Jesus Christ. It takes faith and trust in God and His plan to recognize that this is the only way to become like Him, return to His presence, and receive the fulness of glory He has promised the faithful.

Significance of Names

I had an experience this week that got me thinking about the importance of names. We were able to attend the temple this week to perform some proxy sealings. At one point during our session, the sealer stopped and thanked us for serving in the temple and shared his thoughts with us about how exciting it must be for those on the other side of the veil who have been waiting for years and years to be able to hear their names said in the temple in connection with the sealing ordinance and what joy they must be experiencing in heaven to finally be able to have their work done. Since that lesson I’ve been thinking about the importance of names.

As part of the creation story we learn about the importance God places on naming things (he called the light day and the darkness night, Genesis 1:5). It’s so important that it’s the first assignment God delegates to Adam-to name all of the living creatures (Genesis 2:19). Names are important to God and we know that He knows us by name (Joseph Smith-History 1:17, Moses 1:6). When we realize that God knows us by name, it makes our relationship with Him more personal and intimate.

Names carry meaning. When we are baptized we covenant to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ and we renew that covenant each week when we partake of the sacrament.

Names can help us remember. In Helaman 5:6, Helaman tells his two sons Lehi and Nephi that they were given the names of their ancestors so that when they heard their names, they would remember their ancestors and the good works they performed.

Names carry power. In Moses chapter 1 we read about how Moses unsuccessfully asks Satan three times to leave him alone, but when he invokes the name of Jesus Christ, Satan immediately leaves. 

Names are central to the covenants we make. In April 2019 General Conference Elder Christofferson shared the following anecdote. "I once read an article by a poorly informed newspaper reporter who explained that the way we perform baptisms for the dead is to immerse rolls of microfilm in water. Then all those whose names appear on the microfilm are considered baptized. That approach would be efficient, but it ignores the infinite worth of each soul and the critical importance of a personal covenant with God."

If God has the capacity to remember all names, then remembering names can also be a spiritual gift we can strive for. In a talk about spiritual gifts called "Why Not Ask" by Elder Larry Lawrence he shares this story: "Years ago, I was preparing to set apart a newly called bishop. Before I laid my hands upon his head, he turned and asked in great humility, 'President, while you are setting me apart, could you bless me with the gift of remembering names. This is a weakness of mine, and I want to improve myself. I believe this gift would help me magnify my calling.’…The spirit whispered to me that the Lord was pleased with such a righteous desire."

When we know and use someone's name, we create a deeper connection with them. When someone uses our name there is an understanding that we are seen and known by them. Names are an important part of connecting us with the world and with other people. Knowing and using names is one way we can create unity in a divided world.

Prepared to resist temptation

The most poignant lesson I learned this week was a principle taught in Moses 1 about how to discern between truth and lies. Moses has the experience of seeing and speaking with God face to face (v 2) and right after that experience, Satan comes to Moses to tempt him (v 12). Moses refuses to be swayed by Satan's temptations because he "can judge between [Satan] and God" (v 15, 18). How is Moses so confident that Satan is trying to deceive him? Because he has just experienced the Glory of God (v 14).

We joked a bit as a family that Satan's timing was a little bit off, and that if he really wanted a better shot at deceiving Moses, then maybe Satan should have waited a little bit longer before approaching Moses.

But there's an important lesson we can learn and apply as we think about Satan's timing: The more we expose ourselves to light and truth, the easier it is to detect darkness. In this chapter, the Savior is described twice as being full of grace and truth (v 6, 32). If we are constantly putting effort into having spiritual experiences with our Savior, then we will never be too far away from His influence which can and will help us discern between truth and deception.

I think this principle resonated with me because of a recent Leadership Training Meeting I was able to attend with Elder Soares. In this meeting, a question was asked about what we can do to keep our youth spiritually strong. Elder Soares responded by saying that we need to expose our youth/children to more spiritual experiences. He specifically mentioned using the Come, Follow Me and Family Home Evening programs as opportunities to expose our children to more spiritual experiences.

The same principle is true for us as well. If we want to be more prepared to resist temptation, then we need to do those things that will help us keep the Spirit in our life. The closer we can be to Jesus Christ, the easier it becomes to discern between His truth and Satan's lies.