The Abrahamic Covenant: A TWO Way Covenant

This past week in class, we started discussing the words of Isaiah. I do not usually look forward to the words of Isaiah, but I loved how we approached it! Instead of just reading it and basically getting through it, we were able to understand why Isaiah wrote the way he did, for what times, and especially about the important symbolism used in his Hebrew poetry. It was SO cool to see Isaiah presented this way! And it makes so much sense! Specifically in 1 Nephi 19 and 20, Isaiah is discussing the House of Israel. As a set up to this chapter, we went over the history and background we need to know for Isaiah’s writings.

The one thing that really impressed upon me was discussing the Abrahamic covenant. The teacher asked what that covenant entailed, and we listed off the many things we have heard time and time again before: posterity, prosperity, land, etc. The professor then turned it on us and stated, “What we always call the Abrahamic covenant is the fruits of the covenant that God will give us. A covenant is two ways, between us and God. What are we giving?” We discussed how the true covenant is that we covenant that God will be our God and that we will be his people. I began to wonder how often I uphold that covenant.

It specifically gives more significance, at least for me personally, to baptism and the Sacrament. With these ordinances, we uphold the Abrahamic covenant. But I need to try harder to do that in my every day life as well. Ordinances can only have the power that we give to it. Of course, they have no power without God offering it, but that power can only be accepted by us. God will never take away our agency. And he wants so much to covenant with us and to take us under his wing as his people! Of course He does, for He is our Eternal Father! Can there be any greater love? Never. This Abrahamic Covenant is so full of promised love and blessings from God. But we must never forget that we must accept it by taking upon us God’s name and choosing to be his people.

Agency: Are You a Thermometer or Thermostat?

Week three in the Book of Mormon! And so we continue on with the story of Lehi’s journey through the wilderness with his family. This chapter, chapter 16 of 1 Nephi, takes an interesting turn because for the first time, we see the Lord come directly to Nephi to direct the family when Lehi has murmured. That’s more an interesting side note because you are able to see Nephi begin to carry the prophetic mantle. The part that I find interesting comes throughout this chapter, though, along with an interesting comparison that Brother Griffin made in our class today. In 1 Nephi 16:1, after being taught by Nephi, Laman and Lemuel respond, “Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear.” In verse 2, Nephi acknowledges it because “the guilty taketh the truth to be heard, for it cutteth them to the very center.”

We then in class discussed the attitude that Laman and Lemuel often have throughout the scriptures. As displayed in this one response, they feel offended, attacked, and criticized for their lifestyles and righteousness. Rather than seeing themselves as agents, they say that Nephi has declared hard things to them that are more than they can bear, as if they are objects to be acted upon. Laman and Lemuel do not act for themselves but instead see themselves as victims of their circumstances. My professor then made an interesting analogy that struck me. He asked us what the difference is between a thermometer and thermostat. Thermometers have no action, they simply exist to be acted upon by their environment. On the other hand, thermostats exist to change the conditions of the environment. A thermostat, in this analogy, is an agent. Brother Griffin pointed out that Laman and Lemuel are thermometers. What, I had to ask, am I? Do I see my circumstances and say “Woe is me?”  Or do I change them? I have one quote that I use as a reminder to be an agent, a thermostat. It states: “When you complain, you make yourself a victim. Leave the situation, change the situation, or accept it. All else is madness.” (Eckhart Tolle)

We (me especially) love to assign blame to our circumstances because it takes away our responsibility. I also feel like when I am a thermometer, it welcomes in the feelings of the natural man, such as anger, jealousy, bitterness, and negativity. And I feel justified in those things. But that’s not how Jesus has created us to live. That’s not what he sacrificed everything for. We are created to be joyful! This isn’t just a single doctrine of happiness. The entire doctrine of Jesus Christ is about happiness! We are created to be happy! The Atonement is for us to be happy. When we dismiss that sacrifice and instead choose to be acted upon, we diminish the power of Christ’s sacrifice. I want to be an agent and live for myself and act for myself because I want to believe in Christ and be a joint-heir with him to happiness and all that he has promised. We can’t give up so easily by saying that the world is acting against us. We need to change the situation, accept it, or leave it. God has given us our agency, let’s use it!

Led into the Darkness: Trusting in God's Guidance

In Book of Mormon this week, we got to discuss Lehi’s dream of the tree of life, and once again I enjoyed the experience of finding that golden nugget that applies so well to my life right now. I think we get a little complacent reading stories from the Book of Mormon that we have heard many times, and that stops us from getting to really learn about our current lives in new ways based on the doctrine that we find in the scriptures. The Book of Mormon is like MAGIC in that you can read the whole thing, and if you go and read it again, it will take on a whole new meaning. But obviously, that’s a choice. If you choose to see is at face value, it won’t ever develop, nor will you. But if you are looking to learn something new, the way this class makes it possible to do, you find beautiful doctrines that you never fully understood or appreciated before.

            For me, this experience occurred as Lehi discusses the man dressed in white who appeared to him. In 1 Nephi 8:5-8, it states:

5 And it came to pass that I saw a man, and he was dressed in a white robe; and he came and stood before me.
  6 And it came to pass that he spake unto me, and bade me follow him.
  7 And it came to pass that as I followed him I beheld myself that I was in a dark and dreary waste.
  8 And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies.

I feel like in the past I have always just sort have dismissed that detail. I have never really stopped to think before about how this man, a man dressed in white, either representing the Lord himself or an angel of the Lord, directs Lehi into the darkness. Why would someone of light and truth direct Lehi into a place of darkness, unknown, and dreary? However, what comes next is vital. After much wandering in darkness, Lehi prays for the Lord to have mercy, and he shortly after beholds and comes to the tree of life to partake of the beautiful fruit. First, the Lord guides Lehi into the darkness so that he can eventually reach the beautiful tree representing God’s love. Only by passing through the dreary world (which is also used to describe this mortal life, incidentally) could Lehi reach the tree of Life. Second, Lehi could also only reach the tree of Life, or fully partake of God’s love, once he had learned to no longer rely on himself and call upon the Lord for his mercy and redemption. In other words, Lehi could only find God by accepting and utilizing Jesus Christ’s Atonement. For me, this passage somehow brought so much light to where I am in life. I sometimes feel like when I follow what the Lord wants me to do, it leads only into more confusion and uncertainty. This scripture reminded me that sometimes we cannot know where things are going but instead must trust that the Lord knows where I will be happiest and how I can get there. I need to trust that in those times of darkness or doubt, that’s when I need to call upon God and listen for his voice. In the end, we will be led to happiness and peace.

         It is easy when in the darkness to question the Lord’s timing, plan, and direction in our lives. But that must be the time where we all trust most completely in him. Because in those moments, we are reminded that we can never obtain true happiness and return to our Father in Heaven alone. We need Christ there to guide us and have mercy on us, even if we have to spend many hours in a dreary, dark waste where things seem confusion and uncertain. The tree of life is waiting for us, and when we partake of the fruit of the love of God, we will never regret any of the hard times that passed. We will only look forward with gratitude overflowing in our hearts for the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Week 1: Lehi and the Analogy of Mortality

For those of you clocking in to this blog, be prepared to hear my musings on things in the Book of Mormon, specifically being shaped by my BYU Book of Mormon class. This class is focused on learning the doctrines contained in the Book of Mormon so that we can further understand how to apply the gospel of Jesus Christ into our lives. While we do go in chronological order, the focus is less on the story and more on the doctrine. This week, we just barely started in 1 Nephi. It’s so interesting to me how you can read a scriptures passage for what you feel is a million times, but then you just have a light bulb moment where it brings so much more illumination.

This week, we discussed the infamous verse, 1 Nephi 2:15: “And my father dwelt in a tent.” Simple enough, right? I’ve heard people talk about how significant that verse is, that Lehi left his riches for a tent just because the Lord told him to, to the point where it sort of lost any significance. I had that significance restored, though. My teacher shared the verse as an analogy for mortality. Lehi lived in a land of wealth and comfort, but he was promised something much greater: a land full of riches, property, prosperity, and endless opportunities promised by the Lord to his righteous children. While Jerusalem was a nice place, they were leaving for an infinitely better one. However, in order to get there, Lehi had to have a short sojourn in a tent. For a very brief time in comparison to what the promised land could give, he had to stay in a barren land with hardship, fatigue, hunger, and suffering. But would he ever regret that when he was in the promised land? NEVER!

It is the exact same for us. We left our comfortable and rich home in the presence of our Father in Heaven, because while it was beautiful and innocent, the Lord intended for us and promised us an infinitely greater future in eternal life. However, to get there and reap the blessings, we first had to pass through this land of sorrows. We had to know hardship and suffering and pain. However, that is hardly a blip on the screen when compared to the eternity of joy promised in celestial glory.

            This interpretation was SO meaningful to me. I lately have been feeling so stuck in the current moment, wondering why things are so hard now, why life can’t work out the way I want it to, why I can’t feel a purpose in the hard times.  But this reminded me that there is always a purpose, and the promises are great if we find joy in the right now and make the most of our futures. I need to focus on the beauty ahead and the Father who is guiding me there because these hard times will hardly be a blink when I have accomplished my work here.

Likewise, everyone can find home in the future because what this analogy really reminds us of is the doctrine of the Atonement. We are never stuck in our struggles and hardships alone, and they will not last. Christ has given us freedom! We should celebrate everyday because today is just a moment, so we can make the most of it or feel jipped through life. It is only a moment, but a moment that you and I choose how we will spend. Let’s make it memorable for all of the best reasons. Build relationships. Share love. Lift others up. Give back. Turn the other cheek. Laugh. Shrug it off. Thank the Lord everyday for his wonderful Savior and plan of happiness. Because happiness is promised when we follow him.