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Revision as of 22:40, 16 March 2008
A covenant[1] [2] is an agreement, usually formal, between two or more parties to do or not do something specified[3]. The predominate use of the word covenant is between God and a person or group of persons, upon which eternal blessings are based.
Contents
Covenants With God
When God covenants with man, God usually sets specific conditions. If we are obedient to those conditions then God promises to bless us[4]. In covenanting with God we are not on equal ground; God sets the terms.[5] We are told that God may send angels to "do the work of the covenants"[6].
Saving Covenants
Some covenants are required for salvation. However, simply making these saving covenants does not make us worthy to return to live with God. The grace of Christ is required, making these covenants necessary, but not sufficient for salvation. Some well-known examples of these covenants include the baptismal covenant[7], the sacrament covenant (which renews the baptismal covenant)[8], the oath and covenant of the priesthood[9], the temple endowment, and the marriage covenant. Notice that in all these saving covenants, a priesthood ordinance is associated with it.
Covenants Not Required for Salvation
There are additional covenants that have been or are made with God, but they are not required for salvation. Examples of these include the Abrahamic covenant, covenants with the house of Israel[10], and the covenant that God has made with us that he will never again flood the earth[11]. While these covenants are important for a variety of reasons, neither the scriptures nor modern day prophets have listed them as covenants necessary for salvation.
Covenants With Others Than God
There are covenants in the scriptures that are not made with God, such as the covenant between David and Jonathon[12] and the (averted) covenant between the Israelites (of Jabesh-gilead) and the Ammonites.[13]
Covenant Signs and Tokens in the Scriptures
Sometimes a sign or token is given with the covenant. For example the book of Genesis mentions that the rainbow "is a token of the covenant" that God made with all the earth,[11] and that circumcision was a token of the Abrahamic covenant.[14] Additionally, the wicked Jaredites[15] and Gadianton robbers[16] of the Book of Mormon had signs which were used to distinguish those who had made covenants as part of those "abominable" organizations.
Failure to Live Up to Covenants
If we keep the promises that we make in a covenant, then God will bless us. However, failure to live up to the covenants we make usually results in some sort of punishment[17], including being considered unworthy to be with God[18]
- ↑ For a definition of the word covenant from the LDS Bible Dictionary, go to http://scriptures.lds.org/en/bd/c/98
- ↑ Additional LDS teachings regarding covenants can be found at http://www.lds.org in the A-Z index, which is also at the following (shortened) URL: http://tinyurl.com/2p7fhd
- ↑ See http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/covenant
- ↑ See D&C 82:10
- ↑ Both the LDS bible dictionary and the LDS.org guide to the scriptures make this distinction very clear, although they do not cite any sources
- ↑ See Moroni 7:31
- ↑ see Mosiah 18:8–10
- ↑ See D&C 20:37, 77, 79
- ↑ see D&C 84:33–44
- ↑ See, for example, Jeremiah 31: 31-34
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 See Genesis 9:8-17
- ↑ See 1 Samuel 23:16-18
- ↑ See 1 Samuel 11:1-3
- ↑ See Genesis 14: 9-17
- ↑ See Alma 37:26-27
- ↑ See Helaman 6:22
- ↑ See D&C 78: 11-12
- ↑ See D&C 98: 13-15
