Which is to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever Title Page of the Book of Mormon
One writer noted, “Latter-day Saint theology is, at its core, a covenant theology. Latter- day Saints believe that God first covenanted with man in the Garden of Eden. That covenant was perpetuated through Abraham, Moses, David, the Nephites and Lamanites, Jesus Christ, and finally through Joseph Smith in the restoration of the gospel. By entering into this new and everlasting covenant, Latter-day Saints promise to love and obey God and to love and serve others. In return, God promises exaltation and eternal life” (Rappleye, Review of Kerry Muhlestein, God Will Prevail).
“Joseph Smith’s original translation of the Book of Mormon into English uses some form of the word covenant 153 times, and his revelations as collected in the Doctrine and Covenants include 94 instances. This compares with a meager 26 occurrences in the KJV New Testament. The Hebrew Bible features 270 occurrences of berit, the Hebrew word usually translated as ‘covenant.’” (Reynolds, “Covenant Language in Biblical Religions and the Book of Mormon”).
“A covenant is a sacred promise between God and His children. God gives the conditions for the covenant, and His children agree to obey those conditions. God promises to bless His children as they fulfill the covenant” (General Handbook 3.5.1). Note, it’s a promise, not a negotiation. “Covenants, unlike contracts, are entered through the solemn swearing of an oath (sacramentum in Latin)” (Bradshaw, Temple Themes in the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood).
Even how we make covenants is instructive. “The literal meaning of ‘to swear’ [shaba‘] in an oath context is ‘to raise the right hand.’ The symbolism appears to be that the one entering into the covenant pointed his hand toward God’s throne and thereby calls upon God and those in the heavens to witness the veracity of his oath. Similarly, in the early Christian Church attestations were made ‘before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels’ (1 Timothy 5:21; see also Genesis 31:50). In addition to these heavenly witnesses, there are indications of earthly witnesses being present when covenants were made (Joshua 24:22)… Notice also that the raising of the hands essentially exposes the heart to the Lord (see Job 11:13)” (Matthew B. Brown, The Gate of Heaven, 124 also see David R. Seely, “The Raised Right Hand of God as an Oath Gesture” in Fortunate the Eyes that See, 411-21).
“We make covenants as we receive the ordinances of salvation and exaltation (General Handbook: 1.3.1). These ordinances include: baptism, confirmation and the gift of the Holy Ghost, conferral of the Melchizedek Priesthood and ordination to an office for men, Temple endowment (including the initiatory), and Temple sealing.
“Covenants are essential. They are not merely rituals. They are doorways to the blessings of the Savior’s atonement”
Elder David A. Bednar
Word Origin
Hebrew: The Hebrew word for covenant is b’rit (ברית), meaning covenant, pact, or treaty. It is one of the most frequently used words in the Hebrew Scriptures (appearing some 270 times) and is one of the Scripture’s most important concepts.Victor L. Ludlow noted: “The Hebrew word b’rit, which has at least two probable Semitic roots. The Akkadian root biritu means ‘to bind or fetter’ while the Hebrew root barah means ‘to eat bread with.’ The meanings of both roots contribute to an accurate comprehension of covenant concepts, as taught in the Old Testament. In the scriptures, although covenant-making is serious and solemn, it is not something harsh, like adversaries binding and carefully obligating themselves as they sign a compact; but it is something gentle, like two friends (especially a father with his children) sitting and eating bread together, externally symbolizing an internal commitment to each other” (Religious Studies Center Newsletter, Vol 4, No. 2).
Jeff Benner points out that “In the case of the word ברית (b’rit) we found that it was derived from the root verb ברה(B.R.H), but also derived from this verbal root are the nouns ברות (barut, Strong’s #1267) meaning ‘choice meat’ and בריה (bir’yah, Strong’s #1274) meaning ‘fattened.’ Livestock that will be slaughtered are fed special grains to make them fat, thereby making the meat of the fattened livestock the choicest.
“So how is fattened choice meat related to the word for ‘covenant?’ The phrase ‘make a covenant,’ . . . appears eighty times in the Hebrew Bible and in every instance it is the Hebrew phrase כרת ברית (karat b’riyt), which literally means ‘cut a covenant.’
“A covenant was instituted by the two parties of the covenant who would take a fattened animal, the best of the flock or herd, and ‘cut’ it into two pieces. Then the two parties of the covenant would pass through the pieces symbolizing their dedication to the covenant and by this action are saying, ‘If I do not hold to the agreements of this covenant, you can do to me what we did to this animal.’ This methodology of ‘making’ a covenant is clearly recorded in Jeremiah 34” (AHRC, “Covenant”).
“And I will give the men [the prescribed penalty] that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof” (Jeremiah 34:18).
In the Old Testament, the temple covenant is referred to as the “covenant of peace.” (Num. 25:12; Isa. 54:10; Ezek. 34:25; 37:26). Peace is something that also comes from the temple as part of the covenant. It is the “way” of the Lord, and when you walk out in his paths, you walk in the light, the law, and peace. One thing that the Holy Ghost teaches is the “peaceable things” of the kingdom (Moses 6:61). The Holy Ghost is there to reconfirm the covenant that you have made in the temple, the “covenant of peace”.
Greek: The Greek word in the Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint, for “covenant” is diatheke (διαθήκη). Diatheke comes from diatithemai which means to make or enter into a covenant. The Septuagint translators consistently used diatheke instead of the ordinary Greek word for a negotiated contract (sunthēkē). This choice emphasizes that God’s covenant does not have the character of a contract between two equal parties, but rather that of a one-sided grant. In addition, diatheke points to family-like bonds between non-relatives.
One other aspect of diatheke is a will or a legal document by which property is transferred to heirs, usually upon death (Heb 9:16). The purpose of the Mediator’s death is so that those who make and keep covenants may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. The death of Jesus Christ serves as the ultimate token (sign, guarantee, or means of enactment) of the New and Everlasting Covenant in several profound ways, primarily because covenants are legally and symbolically validated through death and sacrifice.
Noel Reynolds observes: “Because of the reference to Jeremiah’s ‘new covenant’ in the only quotation in which Jesus uses the word diatheke, Christian interpreters have often portrayed this ‘new covenant’ as something different than the recognized covenants of Abraham, Moses, and others in the Old Testament. When Jesus told his disciples ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you’ (NIV, Luke 22:20), he reminds them of Jeremiah’s prophecy of a coming time when the Lord would ‘make a new covenant with the house of Israel,’ saying ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people’ (NIV, Jeremiah 31:31, 33). Tiberius Rata argues persuasively that this is ‘not a brand new covenant, but it is in many respects the renewal of the old Mosaic covenant,’ and that it ‘inherits the promises of the Abrahamic and the Davidic covenants . . . [It] does not make null the other covenants, but it reaffirms them.’”
English: Covenant comes from “covenaunt, ‘mutual compact to do or not do something, a contract,’ from Old French covenant, convenant ‘agreement, pact, promise”’(12c.), originally present participle of covenir ‘agree, meet,’ from Latin convenire ‘come together’ (etymoline.com “covenant”).
The Book of Mormon and Covenants
The Book of Mormon prominently features covenants, emphasizing their antiquity, continuity, role in establishing kinship with God, and connection to specific ordinances.
Noel Reynolds observed:
The Book of Mormon maintains three related but distinct streams of covenant discourse, all embedded in prophecies that follow an if/then structure. These streams are featured in the teachings of multiple Nephite prophets and Jesus Christ.
1. The Lehi/Nephi Covenant: This stream derives from the Lord’s promise to Lehi and his successors that if they are obedient, the Lord will give them a chosen land of liberty where they will prosper as a people. This conditional promise is highly prevalent in the text, cited or repeated 80 times, although it is only explicitly labeled as a covenant three times.
2. The Abrahamic Covenant (focused on Joseph): This version of the covenant emphasizes two key aspects: (1) the promise that the house of Israel will ultimately be gathered in peace and righteousness to its promised homeland, and (2) the promise, originally received by Abraham, that all the kindreds of the earth would be blessed through his seed. Fifty-nine instances of the word “covenant” refer to God’s covenant with Abraham, or its renewal through Jacob, Joseph, or Moses.
3. The Universal Gospel Covenant: This covenant is offered by the Father to all His children, regardless of Abrahamic descent, promising eternal life if they accept the gospel and come unto Him. Twenty-six instances of the word “covenant” refer explicitly to this gospel covenant, which is made by individual converts entering Christ’s church through repentance and baptism.
The Doctrine and Covenants and Covenants
The Doctrine and Covenants is the covenant document of the new and everlasting covenant. The Lord explicitly states in the preface to the Doctrine and Covenants that because the world had “broken mine everlasting covenant” the Restoration was necessary, “that mine everlasting covenant might be established” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:15, 22).
There are four major categories of what the Doctrine and Covenants says about covenants: 1. The Nature of the New and Everlasting Covenant 2. Covenant Stipulations and Ordinances 3. Celestial Marriage (The Everlasting Covenant) 4. Restoration and Gathering of Israel, including the need for temples.
Power of Covenants
President M. Russell Ballard taught: “Somehow we need to instill in our hearts the powerful testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ like unto that of our pioneer forefathers. Remember when Nauvoo fell in September of 1846 and the unbearable conditions of the Saints in the poor camps. When word reached Winter Quarters, Brigham Young immediately called the brethren together. After explaining the situation and reminding them of the covenant made in the Nauvoo Temple that no one who wanted to come, no matter how poor, would be left behind, he gave them this remarkable challenge: ‘Now is the time for labor,’ he said. ‘Let the fire of the covenant which you made in the House of the Lord, burn in your hearts, like flame unquenchable’ (Journal History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 28 Sept. 1846, 5). Within a few days, in spite of near-destitute conditions at Winter Quarters, many wagons were rolling eastward to rescue the Saints in the poor camps along the Mississippi River. We often hear of the suffering and the sacrifice those early Saints endured, and we ask ourselves, How did they do it? What was it that gave them such strength? Part of the answer lies in President Young’s powerful words. Those early Latter-day Saints had made covenants with God, and those covenants burned like unquenchable fire in their hearts. Sometimes we are tempted to let our lives be governed more by convenience than by covenant. It is not always convenient to live gospel standards and stand up for truth and testify of the Restoration. It usually is not convenient to share the gospel with others. It isn’t always convenient to respond to a calling in the Church, especially one that stretches our abilities. Opportunities to serve others in meaningful ways, as we have covenanted to do, rarely come at convenient times. But there is no spiritual power in living by convenience. The power comes as we keep our covenants. As we look at the lives of these early Saints, we see that their covenants were the primary force in their lives. Their example and testimony were powerful enough to influence generation after generation of their children” (“Like a Flame Unquenchable,” Ensign, May 1999).
