About once a month I have the opportunity to go with my ward to the temple. Our stake patriarch is also a sealer in the temple, and he likes to pause once in a while between ordinances and talk to those on attendance about gospel truths he feels are important. Recently he asked us if anyone knew what the "new and everlasting covenant" was. I was surprised at the number of people who could not put into definite words what this means. So I will endeavor to explain it to the best of my ability, relying heavily on the words of prophets. It is my hope that this will enlighten all who have made any form of covenant.
Through all ages of the world, God has made covenants with mankind. The first recorded instance of this was with Noah, which made the rainbow famous (Gen. 9:8-17). After that, we have the story of Abraham who made a covenant with God that he would be perfect, and God would bless him and his seed with the priesthood and posterity as numberless as the sands of the sea (Gen. 17:1-8; Abr. 2:7-11). This covenant would later be renewed with Isaac and Jacob, then to righteous men of all dispensations.
A covenant is a contractual agreement between two parties. In the gospel sense, it is when God offers us certain blessings on the condition of us promising to do certain things. And unlike worldly contracts, God is the one who sets the terms; they are the same for everyone.
Though not many details about ancient covenants have survived the march of time, we have a lot of knowledge concerning covenants in this dispensation. In the early days of the church, some people who had already been baptized in other faiths wanted to join the church without being rebaptized. This is what the Lord said about that: "Behold, I say unto you that all old covenants have I caused to be done away in this thing; and this is a new and an everlasting covenant, even that which was from the beginning." Baptism is an outward sign of the covenant ones makes when they are baptized. Yet baptism itself is not "the" new and everlasting covenant, but "a" covenant. Pres. Joseph Fielding Smith explains this in the following words:
"The new and everlasting covenant is the sum total of all gospel covenants and obligations," (Doctrines of Salvation 1:156)
How can the covenant be "new" and "everlasting" at the same time? It is new because it has been revealed anew in this last dispensation, and it is everlasting "since its effects upon the individual endure forever" (1:152).
To elaborate a little more on the subject, I quote from Elder Marcus B. Nash, who wrote in the Dec. 2015 Ensign:
"In the scriptures the Lord speaks of both “the” new and everlasting covenant and “a” new and everlasting covenant. For example, in Doctrine and Covenants 22:1, He refers to baptism as “a new and an everlasting covenant, even that which was from the beginning.” In Doctrine and Covenants 132:4, He likewise refers to eternal marriage as “a new and an everlasting covenant.” When He speaks of “a” new and everlasting covenant, He is speaking of one of the many covenants encompassed by His gospel.
When the Lord speaks generally of “the” new and everlasting covenant, He is speaking of the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which embraces all ordinances and covenants necessary for the salvation and exaltation of mankind."
Thus, in order for us to be partakers of the highest blessings of "the" new and everlasting covenant, we must receive and honor all of the ordinances and associated covenants God has offered to us. Only then will we be prepared to receive eternal life and exaltation.
What reasons does God give for revealing this covenant to us? "I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments...
That mine everlasting covenant might be established" (D&C 1:17,22).
Also:
"And for this cause, that men might be made partakers of the glories which were to be revealed, the Lord sent forth the fulness of his gospel, his everlasting covenant" (133:57).
"And even so I have sent mine everlasting covenant into the world, to be a light to the world, and to be a standard for my people, and for the Gentiles to seek to it, and to be a messenger before my face to prepare the way before me" (45:9).
When we keep our end of each covenant, God will always keep His. The blessings associated with the new and everlasting covenant are many and varied, but the greatest of them is this:
"In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees;
And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage];
And if he does not, he cannot obtain it.
He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase." (131:1-4).
In other words, after we have received all of the covenants of the gospel (for is not the covenant of marriage the capstone of all gospel covenants?) then God will give to us all that he has; "all that [the] Father hath shall be given unto him" who keeps this covenant (84:38).
The blessings God will give to us are so magnificent, I could not do them justice trying to explain it with my own words. But look at the awesome blessings promised to the faithful in scriptures such as D&C 76, or 121, or 132. I would also encourage you to read all of Elder Nash's discussion on the new and everlasting covenant, it is very insightful. May the Lord bless you in your efforts to keep your covenants.
I really love writing about these gospel topics, but I would love it even more if I knew it was helping someone. If you have any ideas for things I could research, or questions you want to ask, please send me a message/comment on the blog. Here is some things I am thinking about researching in the coming weeks:
* How is Jesus Christ the Light of the World?
* Worth vs Worthiness
* The Nature of the Godhead
* Harmonizing the Creation Accounts
* What is the Christian view of God?
* Math metaphors in the gospel
* Ammon as a type of Christ
* How do we allow Christ to carry our burdens?
* Chiasmus
* The Grandeur of the Plan of Salvation
If any of these sound interesting to you, please let me know.
Through all ages of the world, God has made covenants with mankind. The first recorded instance of this was with Noah, which made the rainbow famous (Gen. 9:8-17). After that, we have the story of Abraham who made a covenant with God that he would be perfect, and God would bless him and his seed with the priesthood and posterity as numberless as the sands of the sea (Gen. 17:1-8; Abr. 2:7-11). This covenant would later be renewed with Isaac and Jacob, then to righteous men of all dispensations.
A covenant is a contractual agreement between two parties. In the gospel sense, it is when God offers us certain blessings on the condition of us promising to do certain things. And unlike worldly contracts, God is the one who sets the terms; they are the same for everyone.
Though not many details about ancient covenants have survived the march of time, we have a lot of knowledge concerning covenants in this dispensation. In the early days of the church, some people who had already been baptized in other faiths wanted to join the church without being rebaptized. This is what the Lord said about that: "Behold, I say unto you that all old covenants have I caused to be done away in this thing; and this is a new and an everlasting covenant, even that which was from the beginning." Baptism is an outward sign of the covenant ones makes when they are baptized. Yet baptism itself is not "the" new and everlasting covenant, but "a" covenant. Pres. Joseph Fielding Smith explains this in the following words:
"The new and everlasting covenant is the sum total of all gospel covenants and obligations," (Doctrines of Salvation 1:156)
How can the covenant be "new" and "everlasting" at the same time? It is new because it has been revealed anew in this last dispensation, and it is everlasting "since its effects upon the individual endure forever" (1:152).
To elaborate a little more on the subject, I quote from Elder Marcus B. Nash, who wrote in the Dec. 2015 Ensign:
"In the scriptures the Lord speaks of both “the” new and everlasting covenant and “a” new and everlasting covenant. For example, in Doctrine and Covenants 22:1, He refers to baptism as “a new and an everlasting covenant, even that which was from the beginning.” In Doctrine and Covenants 132:4, He likewise refers to eternal marriage as “a new and an everlasting covenant.” When He speaks of “a” new and everlasting covenant, He is speaking of one of the many covenants encompassed by His gospel.
When the Lord speaks generally of “the” new and everlasting covenant, He is speaking of the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which embraces all ordinances and covenants necessary for the salvation and exaltation of mankind."
Thus, in order for us to be partakers of the highest blessings of "the" new and everlasting covenant, we must receive and honor all of the ordinances and associated covenants God has offered to us. Only then will we be prepared to receive eternal life and exaltation.
What reasons does God give for revealing this covenant to us? "I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments...
That mine everlasting covenant might be established" (D&C 1:17,22).
Also:
"And for this cause, that men might be made partakers of the glories which were to be revealed, the Lord sent forth the fulness of his gospel, his everlasting covenant" (133:57).
"And even so I have sent mine everlasting covenant into the world, to be a light to the world, and to be a standard for my people, and for the Gentiles to seek to it, and to be a messenger before my face to prepare the way before me" (45:9).
When we keep our end of each covenant, God will always keep His. The blessings associated with the new and everlasting covenant are many and varied, but the greatest of them is this:
"In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees;
And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage];
And if he does not, he cannot obtain it.
He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase." (131:1-4).
In other words, after we have received all of the covenants of the gospel (for is not the covenant of marriage the capstone of all gospel covenants?) then God will give to us all that he has; "all that [the] Father hath shall be given unto him" who keeps this covenant (84:38).
The blessings God will give to us are so magnificent, I could not do them justice trying to explain it with my own words. But look at the awesome blessings promised to the faithful in scriptures such as D&C 76, or 121, or 132. I would also encourage you to read all of Elder Nash's discussion on the new and everlasting covenant, it is very insightful. May the Lord bless you in your efforts to keep your covenants.
I really love writing about these gospel topics, but I would love it even more if I knew it was helping someone. If you have any ideas for things I could research, or questions you want to ask, please send me a message/comment on the blog. Here is some things I am thinking about researching in the coming weeks:
* How is Jesus Christ the Light of the World?
* Worth vs Worthiness
* The Nature of the Godhead
* Harmonizing the Creation Accounts
* What is the Christian view of God?
* Math metaphors in the gospel
* Ammon as a type of Christ
* How do we allow Christ to carry our burdens?
* Chiasmus
* The Grandeur of the Plan of Salvation
If any of these sound interesting to you, please let me know.
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