The Abrahamic Covenant

I have a confession: I never really understood the Abrahamic Covenant. The subject always intimidated me. I wondered, "Did God change the game plan that he had given previous prophets like Adam, Enoch and Noah?"
A second confession: I never really sought to understand it, until I was pretty much forced to as a Gospel Doctrine teacher. So that's pretty lame.
The good news is that I took on the challenge and have started to see the BIG PICTURE of the covenant Jehovah made with Abraham about 4000 years ago.

If you want to get a better understanding of why the Abrahamic Covenant is so important in God's plan for all of his children, including YOU, check these out:
"Abrahamic Covenant" in the Bible Dictionary. A very clear, concise explanation with references.
"Covenants" a General Conference talk by Elder Russell M. Nelson "When we realize that we are children of the covenant, we know who we are and what God expects of us."
Special Witnesses of Christ: In this video, Elder Nelson talks about the Abrahamic Covenant: it's blessings and responsibilities.
BYU TV Pearl of Great Price Discussions: The Abrahamic Covenant. Four BYU religion professors discuss how the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is bringing about the promises made to Abraham. This was very helpful to me.

Many of my past posts have been lengthy, but I was slammed with a flu virus this past week, so although I studied the lesson, I did not have the energy to write much.

I will simply say that preparing this lesson helped me to put some puzzle pieces together so I could see a bigger picture.

The BYU TV episode helped me to see that the covenant made with Abraham was the same gospel covenant made with prophets and their followers since Adam. But as with the Melchizedek priesthood, God has used Abraham's name by which to call it. You can ponder on the reasons why.
This TV episode also showed how Joseph Smith was given line upon line over several years before he fully understood the Abrahamic Covenant and his (and the Saints') role in fulfilling it and being blessing by it.
I love their conclusion that part of the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant is that we don't have to do it alone--we have lots of help!

• The gift of the Holy Ghost
• The commandments and scriptures to guide us
• The Temple
• Ward members and other church resources
• Purpose in life

After reading through and viewing all of the above references, I came to see how my efforts

• to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, 
• perform sacred temple ordinances for my deceased family members (and others),
• and to teach the gospel to my family,

are all part of my contribution to helping the Lord fulfill his promises to Abraham.

And in fact, because of my Patriarchal blessing, I know my lineage in regards to Abraham's "seed." That plus my increased understanding, helps me to feel a part of something much bigger.

Did you know that researchers found out that when children know family stories and feel they are part of something bigger than themselves, they have better self-esteem and are able to handle the ups and downs of life?
It's true! I blogged about the amazing power of family stories and the research is fascinating. In fact, the Church linked the article about it to their family history lesson.

We are all part of the family of Abraham and can share in all the blessings he was promised as we do three things:

1. Be baptized and honor that covenant
2. Receive the blessings of the temple, including the everlasting covenant of marriage
3. Honor the Atonement of Jesus Christ to keep our covenants, exercise faith in Christ, and continually repent of our sins.

Did I miss anything?

Pilot Lesson: God Remembers His Promises

Scriptures to study: Genesis 6-7;17; 20; Moses 6-7
Articles/Talks: "An High Priest of Good Things to Come" by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
Video: Good Things to Come (based on the above talk by Elder Holland)

I love this lesson! I have come to know that God always honors His promises. I've had some very difficult years, but through it all, I've come to trust God. And that is a gift.

• Trusting God means you can say, "Thy will be done" when your son has a near-drowning accident and with every traumatized and grieving cell in your body, you just want him back to that adorable toddler he was the day before. But you say, "Thy will be done." (This one took me some time to achieve.)
• Trusting God means that when a loved one is diagnosed with an incurable form of cancer, at the end of your prayers, you say, "Thy will be done." (From the start!)
• It means you know God loves you.
• It means you know He'll bless you with what you need.

Enoch, Noah and Abraham all trusted God. They were all promised blessings, but did not see the realization of those blessings right away.

Here's a nifty chart to help you compare the promises made and the promises fulfilled.( The links are not active here, but they are for those members who have access to the pilot lesson website.)

Enoch

Enoch is living in a wicked society and God calls him to prophesy and warn his people of the hell they are headed towards.
What's Enoch's reply? He's a bit freaked out. Why me, Lord?

31 And when Enoch had heard these words, he bowed himself to the earth, before the Lord, and spake before the Lord, saying: Why is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?

But here come God's promises:

32 And the Lord said unto Enoch: Go forth and do as I have commanded thee, and no man shall pierce thee. Open thy mouth, and it shall be filled, and I will give thee utterance, for all flesh is in my hands, and I will do as seemeth me good...
34 Behold my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me.

So what happened?
Enoch offends people. He gets on high places, like hills, and he cries with a loud voice and he makes people feel uncomfortable about their bad choices. In a word, they think he's a "wild man."

38 And they came forth to hear him, upon the high places, saying unto the tent-keepers: Tarry ye here and keep the tents, while we go yonder to behold the seer, for he prophesieth, and there is a strange thing in the land; a wild man hath come among us.

He obviously wasn't "slow of speech" when he was preaching the gospel!
We can surmise that some people wanted to get rid of him, shut him up. But for some reason not made clear, they were afraid to harm him. This is another promise clearly fulfilled: "No man shall pierce thee."

39 And it came to pass when they heard him, no man laid hands on him; for fear came on all them that heard him; for he walked with God.

In fact, the people apparently could listen to him preach the word of God, but from a distance:

47 And as Enoch spake forth the words of God, the people trembled, and could not stand in his presence.

As Enoch continued to exercise his great faith, he became a leader among his people. When their enemies came to battle against them, he used a unique military strategy (my husband came up with this one!):

TROD: Terrain Reconfiguration for Optimal Defense

13 And so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God, and their enemies came to battle against them; and he spake the word of the Lord, and the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even according to his command; and the rivers of water were turned out of their course; and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness; and all nations feared greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch, and so great was the power of the language which God had given him.

14 There also came up a land out of the depth of the sea, and so great was the fear of the enemies of the people of God, that they fled and stood afar off and went upon the land which came up out of the depth of the sea.

In these verses we get the fulfillment of the promises made before that "the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course."
We learn that while all the surrounding nations were at war, the people of Enoch lived in peace, and they were blessed to flourish "upon the high places" because the "fear of the Lord was upon all nations, so great was the glory of the Lord, which was upon his people." And in fact, the Lord lived with them. (see Moses 7:17) This fulfills the promise made earlier in Moses 6:34 : "and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you".

Noah

Noah was promised that he would have a covenant with God. And furthermore, that he and his family would be saved from the destruction that the Lord would bring upon all flesh. (Genesis 6: 13-22)
And this was accomplished through the Arc.(Genesis 7: 15-24)
Note the important symbolic parallel between the Arc and the covenant. The Arc symbolizes the covenant's power to save us from the chaos of sin, as represented by the uncontrolled water (floods are chaos motifs--think tsunami!) We have to enter into the covenant as Noah and his family entered into the Arc.
Note also that "the LORD shut him in" which symbolizes the Lord sealing into his covenant to save us.

Noah was also promised that the Lord would never again destroy all flesh by a flood.

 And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. (Gen 9:11)

So far, this promise has been fulfilled! None of the prophecies of the last days talks about large scale destruction by flood. (Fire, hail, plague--yes, but flood, no.)
It's also interesting to note that the Children of Israel carried around the tablets of the covenant in an "arc" referred to as the "arc of the covenant." Another instance where "arc" and "covenant" are tied together. Ponder on that.

Abraham

Abraham used to be Abram. And in Genesis 15: 1-6, the Lord promises Abram that he would have "seed" or progeny that numbered greater than the number of visible stars.

5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
 6 And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

In perfect dark sky conditions, with no modern light pollution and on a moonless night, it's estimated that the naked eye could see about 45,000 stars. So that's a lot of great grandkids!

In Genesis 13: 16 the Lord promises Abraham that his seed with be as "the dust of the earth "so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall they seed also be numbered."
In other words, he'll have to wait until computers are invented to actually number his earthly seed. But I digress...
In Genesis 17: 4, Abram is promised to be a "father of many nations." His name is changed to Abraham in verse 5 as a result. He is also promised that "kings shall come out of thee."
In verse 7, God promises to establish his covenant with Abraham and his seed. He is given a "promised land" of Canaan.
Abraham's wife's name is also changed...which is interesting. She goes from Sarai to Sarah. She is promised to become a very fruitful mother.

16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

We all know that, in Sarah's old age, she bore Isaac. And from him came a lot of people!
Abraham was 75 years old when he left Haran. At that point, God was promising him lots of "seed" but it hadn't happened yet. He had to wait decades before Isaac was born. 
If someone as faithful as Abraham had to patiently and faithfully wait for promised blessings, why not us?

I love this testimony from Elder Holland:

"Some blessings come soon, and some come late, and some don't come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come."


Throughout the scriptures, we find records of promises made and promises kept by the Lord. We just need to remember that pattern when we're looking for blessings to show up on our own doorstep.

Challenge 

Consider these questions:

• What promises have I made to the Lord?
• What has He promised in return?
• How have I been blessed by these promises?

Your thoughtful answers would make a great family discussion or journal entry!

Pilot Lesson: Zion--The Pure in Heart

Scriptures: Moses 7
Article/Talk: "Come to Zion" by Elder D. Todd Christofferson (which I HIGHLY recommend)
Music Resource: Mormon Tabernacle music and other music from General Conference. Search, listen and download hundreds of songs for free!

Videos: Gather in Stakes; How Do I Love Thee (great for Valentine's Day!), Focus on Education (love this!); Be Anxiously Engaged (one of my favorite topics!)

Zion--The Pure in Heart

The prophet Enoch is only mentioned in a few verses in Genesis, but fully represented in the restored chapter of Moses from The Pearl of Great Price.
Here's all we get from Genesis on Enoch (Genesis 5: 21-24):

And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

And in fact, ZION is never mentioned in Genesis. 

Here's an interesting ZION word count summary; the word ZION appears

• 155 times in the Old Testament (twice as "sion")
• 7 times in the New Testament (as the word "sion")
• 41 times in the Book of Mormon 
• 14 times in the few pages of the Pearl of Great Price, and 
• 187 times in the Doctrine & Covenants 

So it must be a pretty important concept.

What exactly IS Zion?

As LDS we understand the term Zion to mean several things:

A LOCATION: 

• Enoch's city was called ZION or the City of Holiness (Moses 7:8-9) “And Enoch and all his people walked with God, and he dwelt in the midst of Zion; and it came to pass that Zion was not, for God received it up into his own bosom; and from thence went forth the saying, Zion is fled” (Moses 7:69)
• Solomon's temple was built on Mount Zion (1 kings 8:1)
  
• Jackson County, Missouri is called Zion throughout the revelations of the D&C
• The city of the New Jerusalem (to be built in Jackson county) is to be called Zion
• Stakes of the church are extensions of Zion. "Go ye forth unto the land of Zion, that the borders of my people may be enlarged, and that her stakes may be strengthened, and that Zion may go forth unto the regions round about." (D&C 133:9)
• A Refuge: “And that the gathering together upon the land of Zion, and upon her stakes, may be for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth” (D&C 115:5–6). (See the video "Gather in Stakes" with Elder Oaks)

A CAUSE:

• "[S]eek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion." (D&C 11:6)

A SPIRITUAL STATE

• "Therefore, verily, thus saith the Lord, let Zion rejoice, for this is Zion—THE PURE IN HEART" (dyc 97:21)

A PEOPLE

• "And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them." (Moses 7:18)
• Christ is the "King of Zion" (Moses 7:53)
• "For Zion must increase in beauty, and in holiness; her borders must be enlarged; her stakes must be strengthened; yea, verily I say unto you, Zion must arise and put on her beautiful garments." (D&C 82:14)

I think men will be cleaning more bathrooms in Zion

What is the opposite of ZION? Babylon!

The LDS scholar, Hugh Nibley, had a great deal to say about Babylon in his book Approaching Zion. Here's a quote from the Foreword of his book:

All my life I have shied away from these disturbing and highly unpopular--even offensive--themes [the uses of money]. But I cannot do so any longer, because in my old age I have taken to reading the scriptures and there have had it forced upon my reluctant attention, that from the time of Adam to the present day, Zion has been pitted against Babylon, and then name of the game has always been money--"power and gain."

How do we use our money? 

Like residents of Zion or residents of Babylon? Or maybe, as Neil A. Maxwell remarked, are we trying to establish our residences in Zion but keep a summer cottage in Babylon?

I struggle with this constantly, and I guess that's a good thing, to keep trying to pull out of Babylon. I am always impressed with people who earn a lot of money, but don't flaunt it. Or those who are quick to share their abundance with others. 

We have some wonderful neighbors who are very devout Catholics. They recently bought a (used) boat and when we were chatting with them about how much fun boats are, they offered to let us take it out any time we wanted to! They practically insisted that we take it out some day. And we plan to!

Law of Consecration Truck (the real one was white)

Another dear friend of ours (who has since passed away), owned an old truck and lent it out to anyone who needed it. We all called it the "Law of Consecration Truck" and it blessed the lives of many people. Another friend who has the means, keeps a third car in good working order to lend out to people that need a car for temporary use. Still another family owns a cabin and will let others stay there free of charge if they'll do a little maintenance work. The list could go on and on.

These are all examples of people who are using their resources to help and bless the lives of others. In my opinion, they will feel comfortable living in ZION.

What would it be like to live in a Zion community? 

I think most of us would love to live in Zion. Let's dream a little...

• Christlike love for each other (Excellent Mormon Message: How Do I Love Thee? by Elder Holland)
• Anxiously engaged in a good cause (See Be Anxiously Engaged by Elder M. Russell Ballard)
• Seeking education (See this awesome Mormon Message Focus on Education)
• Cooperation instead of competition
• No covetousness--all are seeking the good of his neighbor
• More time for studying the gospel and development of talents (fewer resources have to go to police, criminal justice system, law suits, military defense etc)
• No speed traps on hills...OK, maybe I'm dreaming a little too much!

How can we build Zion right where we are?

Elder D. Todd Christofferson makes this crucial point in his talk, "Come to Zion": 

We cannot wait until Zion comes for these things to happen—Zion will come only as they happen.

Elder Christofferson recounts the reasons the early saints failed to establish Zion: jarrings, contentions, envyings, strifes, lustful and covetous desires. 

But are we any better?

In order to establish Zion in our homes, wards and stakes, we must rise to the standard set in Moses 7:18:

“the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them” 

Elder Christofferson lists three developments that must happen if we want to build Zion:

1. to become unified in one heart and one mind; 
2. to become, individually and collectively, a holy people; and
3. to care for the poor and needy with such effectiveness that we eliminate poverty among us. 

Challenge: How can we build Zion right now?

One idea would be to discuss this list with our families and prayerfully consider one change which would move you closer to Zion.