Covenant to the Gentiles - Part 1

COVENANT:

There are four questions I will read. Please remain seated until the four questions have all been read. If after you hear all four questions you can answer, Yes to all four, then you will be asked to stand and say, Yes to accept:

• First: Do you
• believe all the words of the Lord which have been read to you this day,
• and know them to be true and from the Lord Jesus Christ who has condescended to provide them to you,
• and do you covenant with Him to cease to do evil
• and to seek to continually do good?
• Second: Do you
• have faith in these things
• and receive the scriptures approved by the Lord as a standard to govern you in your daily walk in life,
• to accept the obligations established by the Book of Mormon as a covenant
• and to use the scriptures
• to correct yourselves
• and to guide your words, thoughts and deeds?
• Third: Do you
• agree to assist all others who covenant to likewise accept this standard to govern their lives to keep the Lord’s will,
• to succor those who stand in need,
• to lighten the burdens of your brothers and sisters whenever you are able,
• and to help care for the poor among you?
• Fourth: And do you
• covenant to seek to become of one heart with those who seek the Lord to establish His righteousness?

If you agree, please stand wherever you are located, either here or in a remote location, to be recognized and numbered by God and His angels. All those standing please confirm you are willing to accept this covenant by saying, Yes.
Please be seated.

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Now, hear the words of the Lord to those who receive this covenant this day:

All you who

• have turned from your wicked ways
• and repented of your evil doings, of lying and deceiving,
• and of all whoredoms,
• and of secret abominations, idolatries, murders, priestcrafts, envying, and strife,
• and from all wickedness and abominations,
• and have come unto me,
• and been baptized in my name,
• and have received a remission of your sins,
• and received the Holy Ghost,
• are now numbered with my people who are of the house of Israel.

I say to you:

• Teach your children to honor me.
• Seek to
• recover the lost sheep remnant of this land and of Israel
• and no longer forsake them.
• Bring them unto me
• and teach them of my ways, to walk in them.

And I, the Lord your God,

• will be with you
• and will never forsake you
• and I will lead you in the path which will bring peace to you in the troubling season now fast approaching.

I will

• raise you up
• and protect you,
• abide with you,
• and gather you in due time,
• and this shall be a land of promise to you as your inheritance from me.

The Earth will

• yield her increase,
• and you will flourish upon the mountains and upon the hills,
• and the wicked will not come against you because the fear of the Lord will be with you.

I will

• visit my house, which the remnant of my people shall build,
• and I will dwell therein, to be among you,
• and no one will need to say, Know ye the Lord, for you all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

I will

• teach you things that have been hidden from the foundation of the world
• and your understanding will reach unto Heaven.
• And you shall be called the children of the Most High God,

and

I will

• preserve you against the harvest.

And the angels sent to harvest the world

• will gather the wicked into bundles to be burned,
• but will pass over you as my peculiar treasure.

But if you do not

• honor me,
• nor seek to recover my people Israel,
• nor teach your children to honor me,
• nor care for the poor among you,
• nor help lighten one another’s burdens,

then

•  you have no promise from me 
•  and I will 
•  raise up other people who will honor and serve me
•  and give unto them this land,
•  and if they repent 
•  I will 
•  abide with them.

The time is now far spent,  therefore

• labor with me
• and do not forsake my covenant to perform it;
• study my words and let them be the standard for your faith
• and I will
• add thereto many treasures.

Love one another

• and you will be mine,
• and I will
• preserve you,
• and raise you up,
• and abide with you for ever.

AMEN. 

Chiasmus in 3 Nephi

Behold, now I finish the commandment which the Father hath commanded me concerning this people who are a remnant of the house of Israel.  Ye remember that I spake unto you and said that when the words of Isaiah should be fulfilled -behold they are written, ye have them before you, therefore search them- and verily, verily I say unto you that when they shall be fulfilled, then is the fulfilling of the covenant which the Father hath made unto his people, O house of Israel.

• Then shall the remnants which shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth be gathered in from the east, and from the west and from the south and from the north, and they shall be brought to the knowledge of the Lord their God who hath redeemed them. And the Father hath commanded me that I should give unto you this land for your inheritance. And I say unto you that if the Gentiles do not repent after the blessing which they shall receive after they have scattered my people, then shall ye who are a remnant of the house of Jacob go forth among them. And ye shall be in the midst of them who shall be many, and ye shall be among them as a lion among the beasts of the forest and as a young lion among the flocks of sheep who, if he goeth through, both treadeth down and teareth in pieces and none can deliver. Thy hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries and all thine enemies shall be cut off. And I will gather my people together as a man gathereth his sheaves into the floor, for I will make my people with whom the Father hath covenanted, yea, I will make thy horn iron and I will make thy hoofs brass. And thou shalt beat in pieces many people, and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth. And behold, I am he who doeth it. And it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that the sword of my justice shall hang over them at that day, and except they repent it shall fall upon them, saith the Father, yea, even upon all the nations of the Gentiles.  And it shall come to pass that I will establish my people, O house of Israel. And behold, this people will I establish in this land unto the fulfilling of the covenant which I made with your father Jacob, and it shall be a new Jerusalem. And the powers of heaven shall be in the midst of this people, yea, even I will be in the midst of you.

• Behold, I am he of whom Moses spake, saying, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me, him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people. Verily, I say unto you, yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have testified of me. And behold ye are the children of the prophets and ye are of the house of Israel and ye are of the covenant which the Father made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. The Father having raised me up unto you first and sent me to bless you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities, and this because ye are the children of the covenant. And after that ye were blessed, then fulfilleth the Father the covenant which he made with Abraham, saying, In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed unto the pouring out of the Holy Ghost through me upon the Gentiles, which blessing upon the Gentiles shall make them mighty above all unto the scattering of my people, O house of Israel. And they shall be a scourge unto the people of this land. Nevertheless, when they shall have received the fulness of my gospel, then, if they shall harden their hearts against me, I will return their iniquities upon their own heads, saith the Father. And I will remember the covenant which I have made with my people. And I have covenanted with them that I would gather them together in mine own due time, that I would give unto them again the land of their fathers for their inheritance, which is the land of Jerusalem, which is the promised land unto them forever, saith the Father.

• And it shall come to pass that the time cometh when the fullness of my gospel shall be preached unto them and they shall believe in me, that I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and shall pray unto the Father in my name. Then shall their watchmen lift up their voice and with the voice together shall they sing, for they shall see eye to eye. Then will the Father gather them together again and give unto them Jerusalem for the land of their inheritance. Then shall they break forth into joy. Sing together ye waste places of Jerusalem, for the Father hath comforted his people: he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The Father hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of the Father. And the Father and I are one. And then shall be brought to pass that which is written, Awake, awake again and put on thy strength, O Zion. Put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city, for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust: arise, sit down, O Jerusalem. Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion, for thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for naught and ye shall be redeemed without money. Verily, verily, I say unto you that my people shall know my name, yea, in that day they shall know that I am he that doth speak. And then shall they say, How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings unto them, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings unto them of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth. And then shall a cry go forth, Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch not that which is unclean, go ye out of the midst of her: be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight, for the Lord will go before you and the God of Israel shall be your rearward. Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. As many were astonished at thee -his visage was so marred, more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men- so shall he sprinkle many nations. The kings shall shut their mouths at him, for that which had been told them shall they see and that which they had not heard shall they consider. Verily, verily, I say unto you, All these things shall surely come even as the Father hath commanded me. Then shall this covenant which the Father hath covenanted with his people be fulfilled, and then shall Jerusalem be inhabited again with my people and it shall be the land of their inheritance.

• And verily I say unto you, I give unto you a sign that ye may know the time when these things shall be about to take place, that I shall gather in from their long dispersion my people, O house of Israel, and shall establish again among them my Zion. And behold, this is the thing which I will give unto you for a sign:

• for verily I say unto you that when these things which I declare unto you and which I shall declare unto you hereafter of myself and by the power of the Holy Ghost, which shall be given unto you of the Father, shall be made known unto the Gentiles that they may know concerning this people who are a remnant of the house of Jacob and concerning this my people who shall be scattered by them, verily, verily, I say unto you, when these things shall be made known unto them of the Father and shall come forth of the Father from them unto you.

• For it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father, that these things might come forth from them unto a remnant of your seed that the covenant of the Father may be fulfilled which he hath covenanted with his people, O house of Israel.

• Therefore when these works and the works which shall be wrought among you hereafter shall come forth from the Gentiles unto your seed which shall dwindle in unbelief because of iniquity, for thus it behooveth the Father that it should come forth from the Gentiles, that he may shew forth his power unto the Gentiles for this cause, that the Gentiles, if they will not harden their hearts, that they may repent and come unto me and be baptized in my name and know of the true points of my doctrine, that they may be numbered among my people, O house of Israel.

• And when these things come to pass that thy seed shall begin to know these things, it shall be a sign unto them that they may know that the work of the Father hath already commenced unto the fulfilling of the covenant which he hath made unto the people who are of the house of Israel. And when that day shall come, it shall come to pass that kings shall shut their mouths, for that which had not been told them shall they see and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

• For in that day, for my sake, shall the Father work a work which shall be a great and a marvelous work among them, and there shall be among them those who will not believe it, although a man shall declare it unto them. But behold, the life of my servant shall be in my hand, therefore they shall not hurt him, although he shall be marred because of them. Yet I will heal him, for I will shew unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil. Therefore it shall come to pass that whosoever will not believe in my words, who am Jesus Christ, whom the Father shall cause him to bring forth unto the Gentiles and shall give unto him power that he shall bring them forth unto the Gentiles.

• It shall be done even as Moses said, They shall be cut off from among my people who are of the covenant. And my people who are a remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, yea, in the midst of them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep who, if he go through, both treadeth down and teareth in pieces and none can deliver. Their hand shall be lifted up upon their adversaries and all their enemies shall be cut off. Yea, wo be unto the Gentiles except they repent, for it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Father, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee and I will destroy thy chariots and I will cut off the cities of thy land and throw down all thy strongholds. And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thy land and thou shalt have no more soothsayers. Thy graven images I will also cut off and thy standing images out of the midst of thee, and thou shalt no more worship the works of thy hands. And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee; so will I destroy thy cities. And it shall come to pass that all lyings and deceivings and envyings and strifes and priestcrafts and whoredoms shall be done away. For it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that at that day, whosoever will not repent and come unto my beloved Son, them will I cut off from among my people, O house of Israel, and I will execute vengeance and fury upon them even as upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.

• But if they will repent and hearken unto my words and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them and they shall come in unto the covenant and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance. And they shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob, and also as many of the house of Israel as shall come, that they may build a city which shall be called the New Jerusalem. And then shall they assist my people that they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon all the face of the land, in unto the New Jerusalem. And then shall the power of heaven come down among them and I also will be in the midst. And then shall the work of the Father commence at that day, even when this gospel shall be preached among the remnant of this people.

Verily, I say unto you, At that day shall the work of the Father commence among all the dispersed of my people, yea, even the tribes which have been lost, which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem. Yea, the work shall commence among all the dispersed of my people with the Father, to prepare the way whereby they may come unto me, that they may call on the Father in my name.   Yea, and then shall the work commence with the Father among all nations, in preparing the way whereby his people may be gathered home to the land of their inheritance. And they shall go out from all nations and they shall not go out in haste nor go by flight, for I will go before them, saith the Father, and I will be their rearward.

Lessons learned from past Covenant people

Lessons learned from past successes:

• Ask for the Lord's help in trials to make burdens light and be patient (people of Alma)
• Raise children up to the Lord (successful generations in 4 Nephi)
• Do what the Lord asks no matter what (Nephi)
• Take problems and work them out with the Lord (Brother of Jared)
• Missionaries humble themselves before those they serve and start with service/love before the message.  In reality, that love IS their message. (Ammon and the sons of Mosiah)

Lessons learned from past failures:

• Don't send "Moses" up for us - no one is better or higher than another
• Don't freak out at someone's mistakes (Kirtland Safety Society)
• Don't get angry if the Lord feels we need to experience the loss of our worldly things; especially if the loss comes as a result of others' mistakes or evil intent (Kirtland Safety Society, people of Alma)
• fulfill a direct assignment from the Lord quickly (Nauvoo Temple)
• Missionaries should focus on their target audience and not get distracted (early LDS missionaries preaching to Campbellites instead of Lamanites)
• When it's time to ascend, ASCEND
• Don't let doctrinal disagreements cause division (Peter/Paul, Nephites)
• Show proper respect and appreciation for new scriptures (LDS who preferred the Bible over the Book of Mormon)
• Teach children properly (people of King Benjamin, 4 Nephi)
• Don't complain about things the Lord gives us (Manna)
• Don't seek for a mortal king (Jaredites, Nephites, Israelites)
• Don't be prideful of the Lord's protection (Nephites)
• Don't think ourselves better than those outside our group (pretty much all failed covenant people)
• Endure through trials
• Let the Lord fight our battles
• Committees may not be the best idea

And the seventy and seventh year began in peace, and the church did spread throughout the face of all the land, and the more part of the people, both the Nephites and the Lamanites, did belong to the church; and they did have exceeding great peace in the land. And thus ended the seventy and seventh year. And also they had peace in the seventy and eighth year, save it were a few contentions concerning the points of doctrine which had been laid down by the prophets. And in the seventy and ninth year there began to be much strife.