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.

============================================

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.

The Testimony of Jesus

• The Testimony of Jesus
•  Words of Joseph Smith, p. 209 - 
•     “First Chapter second Epistle of Peter. The first four verses are the preface to the    whole subject. There are three grand Keys to unlock the whole subject. First what is the knowledge of God, Second what is it to make our calling and election sure. Third and last is how to make our calling and election sure. Ans, it is to obtain a promise from God for myself that I shall have Eternal life. that is the more sure word of prophecy. Peter was writing to those of like precious faith with them the Apostles First to be sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise that is the Testimony of Jesus.”
• D&C 76
• Those who will inherit Celestial Glory
• 51 They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given—
•  52 That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power;
•  53 And who overcome by faith, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true.
•  54 They are they who are the church of the Firstborn.
• Those who will inherit Terrestrial Glory
• 74 Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it.
• 75 These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men.
•  76 These are they who receive of his glory, but not of his fulness.
• Those who will inherit Telestial Glory
• 82 These are they who received not the gospel of Christ, neither the testimony of Jesus.
• 99 For these are they who are of Paul, and of Apollos, and of Cephas.
• 100 These are they who say they are some of one and some of another—some of Christ and some of John, and some of Moses, and some of Elias, and some of Esaias, and some of Isaiah, and some of Enoch;
• Lectures on Faith - Lecture # 6
• Necessity for sacrifice
• It is in vain for persons to fancy to themselves that they are heirs with those, or can be heirs with them, who have offered their all in sacrifice, and by this means obtained faith in God and favor with him so as to obtain eternal life, unless they in like manner offer unto him the same sacrifice, and through that offering obtain the knowledge that they are accepted of him.
• ...And from the days of righteous Abel to the present time, the knowledge that men have that they are accepted in the sight of God, is obtained by offering sacrifice.
• And in the last days, before the Lord comes, he is to gather together his saints who have made a covenant with him by sacrifice. Ps. 50:3-5, "Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant unto me by sacrifice."
• Those then who make the sacrifice will have the testimony that their course is pleasing in the sight of God, and those who have this testimony will have faith to lay hold on eternal life, and will be enabled through faith to endure unto the end, and receive the crown that is laid up for them that love the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• But those who do not make the sacrifice cannot enjoy this faith, because men are dependent upon this sacrifice in order to obtain this faith; therefore, they cannot lay hold upon eternal life, because the revelations of God do not guarantee unto them the authority so to do; and without this guarantee faith could not exist.
• All the saints of whom we have account in all the revelations of God which are extant, obtained the knowledge which they had of their acceptance in his sight, through the sacrifice which they offered unto him.
• And through the knowledge thus obtained, their faith became sufficiently strong to lay hold upon the promise of eternal life, and to endure as seeing him who is invisible; and were enabled, through faith, to combat the powers of darkness, contend against the wiles of the adversary, overcome the world, and obtain the end of their faith, even the salvation of their souls. 
• But those who have not made this sacrifice to God, do not know that the course which they pursue is well pleasing in his sight; for whatever may be their belief or their opinion, it is a matter of doubt and uncertainty in their minds; and where doubt and uncertainty are, there faith is not, nor can it be.
• For doubt and faith do not exist in the same person at the same time.
• The Doctrine of Christ
• 2 Nephi 32:5-6
• 5 For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do.
• 6 Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do.
• The More sure word of Prophecy
• “I would exhort you to go on and continue to call upon God until you make your calling and election sure for yourselves, by obtaining this more sure word of prophecy, and wait patiently for the promise until you obtain it.” (Joseph Smith, Teachings, p. 299.)
• D&C 93:1 Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am;
• D&C 88:68 Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will.
• Joseph Smith, June 27, 1839:
• The other Comforter spoken of is a subject of great interest & perhaps understood by few of this generation, After a person hath faith in Christ, repents of his sins & is Baptized for the remission of his sins & received the Holy Ghost (by the laying on of hands) which is the first Comforter then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering & thirsting after Righteousness. & living by every word of God & the Lord will soon say unto him Son thou shalt be exalted.  &c When the Lord has thoroughly proved him & finds that the man is determined to serve him at all hazard. then the man will find his calling & Election made sure then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter which the Lord hath promised the saints as is recorded in the testimony of St John in the XIV ch from the 12th to the 27 verses Note the 16. 17. 18. 21. 23. verses. (16.vs) & I will pray the father & he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; (17) Even the Spirit of Truth;  whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you & shall be in you.  (18) I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you (21) He that hath my commandments & keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. & he that loveth me shall be loved of my father. & I will love him & will manifest myself to him (23) If a man Love me he will keep my words. & my Father will love him. & we will come unto him, & make our abode with him. Now what is this other Comforter? It is no more or less than the Lord Jesus Christ himself & this is the sum & substance of the whole matter, that when any man obtains this last Comforter he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him or appear unto him from time to time. & even he will manifest the Father unto him & they will take up their abode with him, & the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him & the Lord will teach him face to face & he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God, & this is the state & place the Ancient Saints arrived at when they had such glorious vision Isaiah, Ezekiel, John upon the Isle of Patmos, St Paul in the third heavens, & all the Saints who held communion with the general Assembly & Church of the First Born &c.

14-Year Cycles - Part 9 - Conclusion

I've posted seven examples of this seven-year dyad pattern.  There are probably many others - I think there's one in Alma the Younger's life from 87 BC to 73 BC - I still need to look into it.  Paul mentions fourteen years in Galatians 2:1 and the sons of Mosiah spent fourteen years among the Lamanites on their mission.  There are some interesting ways that the Temple endowment ceremony lines up with this idea as well.  I might share a diagram but I'll need to decide if it's appropriate.  There is also a curious mention of fourteen in Matthew 1:17:

So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.

Looking at the overall themes of these seven examples there are some things that stand out.

1. There are seven years of mostly overall peace and/or preparation. 
2. At the end of the first seven years or beginning of the second seven years there is a major crisis or rise of an antagonist.
3. The following seven years are difficult.
4. Coming to know light and dark, good and evil.

The number seven represents completeness or wholeness.  I like the idea of two halves or two sides completing a cycle together.  Fourteen can represent fully knowing good and fully knowing evil.  

I've thought long and hard about this and come up with a few different theories.  I stress that these are theories so please take it all with a grain of salt.

1. The earth is going through a 7,000 year dyad cycle.  My theory is that previous to Adam the earth had a matching 7,000 year cycle that was probably a bit easier or more preparatory.  At the end of that 7,000 years satan rebelled and all hell broke loose.  The second 7,000-year cycle began with Adam and now we find ourselves beginning the final unit of the second 7,000-year cycle, or the "fourteenth year".  It's interesting to note that two years before Christ came (the final year of the Nephites' fourteen-year cycle) Nephi spent the year preaching and bringing people to Christ.  After the fourteen-year cycle ended there was a brief period of chaos and then the wicked were all destroyed.  I feel that this corresponds to the millennial conditions that will soon begin followed by a brief season of evil being loosed and then a final casting out of the wicked and celestialization of our earth.
   
   The point of it all is so that we can experience a cycle as being "good" and a cycle as being "evil" so that we may know the good and evil.  Or the good from the evil.  Basically I believe that each time in scripture an individual experiences this pattern they are representing Christ over the course of the past 13,000 years and next 1,000 years.  When Nephi began preaching in the commencement of the 14th year it parallels Christ coming at the beginning of the final 1,000 years.
   
   Another reason I like this theory is that I believe in the vortex model of progression.  But in my model it's shaped like DNA - two matching paths orbiting around a center point.  The earth is going through this 7,000-year cycle twice like pairs on a DNA strand.  Or two planets around a sun.  
2. The seven-year dyad is an ordinance from God, much like a 40-year pattern or 40-day purification/bleeding pattern.  Everyone following Christ will eventually, in some cycle of mortality, experience this 14-year pattern.  Joseph Smith, Moroni, Jacob, Joseph, the busy young man all experienced it on a personal level.  Somehow it prepares someone to become like Christ and to know good from evil.
3. I have a theory that all ordinances and patterns that mortals go through our earth also goes through.  If this comes from God then it can be expected that our earth will also experience it.  I believe that around fourteen or fifteen years before Christ's Second Coming the earth will begin its own fourteen-year cycle - a cycle that all of these patterns in scripture have been pointing to.  I believe that we on this earth will be given seven years of relative peace in order to prepare ourselves for seven years of famine and war.  I don't know if those seven years of peace have begun or even ended already.  But I won't be surprised if after all is said and done that we can look back and see that this fourteen-year cycle did indeed happen and was followed by the destruction of the wicked after it was over.

So anyhoo, if you have any other theories or examples or more light to shed, PLEASE SHARE!

Nuwa/Fuxi, Adam/Eve, Compass/Square.  Intertwined and orbiting around a center mass.

The helical/vortex model of our solar system and galaxy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jHsq36_NTU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4V-ooITrws

14-Year Cycles - Part 8 - A parable by Denver Snuffer

(Chapter 1 from the book "Ten Parables" by Denver Snuffer, copyrighted and used here with permission from the author.  Quoting this parable does not imply that the author agrees with my ideas nor does it mean the parable symbolizes what I think it might)

A BUSY YOUNG MAN

A busy young man was on his way when he encountered a man sitting under a tree on the side of the road. The man asked the young man to come and help him. There was something compelling in the man’s demeanor, and the young man paused from his haste to help him. That day they sat under the tree and braided rope. At the end of the day the man asked the young man to return again the next day and help. The young man agreed. They sat together again the next day and braided rope. At the end of the second day the young man agreed to return. When the third day ended the young man’s hands were sore and blistered. He inquired how long the man intended to continue braiding rope. The man replied, “Until we have enough to make the net.”

The young man returned day after day for many years helping the man until finally the man said, “It is enough. Now we will tie the net.” Preparing the rope had taken nearly seven years, and tying the net took seven more for the complexity of the work. These two labored together day by day. At length the man said, “We may now have enough.” He fixed his eyes on the young man and asked, “Do you know who I am?” The young man replied, “I did not at first. It took a long time for me to see the wounds in your hands for the callouses caused by the labor of braiding and tying. But I have known for some time now who you are by your hands.” The Master replied, “Do you wish anything from me?” The young man replied, “No, not now. There was a time when I would have asked for more, but now I am content.” After a pause he added, “Master there was a time when, in the last months of braiding the rope, I believe my rope was perfect. And in the last year of tying the net I believe our net was perfect.” “Then,” said the Master, “the net has caught its fill and I must go to labor elsewhere.” The young man understood and after coming to know the Master thereafter followed His ways.

14-Year Cycles - Part 7 - Joseph Smith

Joseph Smith's ministry offers an interesting take on this theme.  From 1830-1837, there was general peace and things were for the most part going pretty well.  Then in 1837 the Kirtland Safety Society collapsed and things went downhill from there until his death in 1844.

1830 MARCH 26	FIRST PRINTED COPIES OF THE BOOK OF MORMON AVAILABLE IN PALMYRA, NEW YORK (5,000 COPIES PRINTED BY E.B. GRANDIN).
1830 APRIL 6	ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH IN FAYETTE, NEW YORK.
1830 JUNE	ARRESTED ON FALSE CHARGES OF DISORDERLY CONDUCT BUT WAS ACQUITTED IN A TRIAL AT SOUTH BAINBRIDGE, N.Y.
1830 SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER	FIRST MISSIONARIES CALLED TO PREACH TO THE NATIVE AMERICANS.
1830 DECEMBER–1831 JANUARY	THE LORD COMMANDED THE SAINTS TO GATHER TO OHIO.
1831 JULY 20	SITE FOR THE CITY OF ZION (THE NEW JERUSALEM) IN INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI, REVEALED TO THE PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH.
1832 JANUARY 25	SUSTAINED PRESIDENT OF THE HIGH PRIESTHOOD AT A CONFERENCE AT AMHERST, OHIO.
1833 MARCH 18	FIRST PRESIDENCY ORGANIZED WITH SIDNEY RIGDON AND FREDERICK G. WILLIAMS SET APART AS COUNSELORS.
1833 NOVEMBER 7	SAINTS BEGAN FLEEING FROM MOBS IN JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI, ACROSS THE MISSOURI RIVER AND INTO CLAY COUNTY, MISSOURI.
1833 DECEMBER 18	GAVE THE FIRST PATRIARCHAL BLESSINGS IN THIS DISPENSATION TO HIS PARENTS, THREE OF HIS BROTHERS, AND OLIVER COWDERY.
1834 FEBRUARY 17	FIRST STAKE ORGANIZED IN KIRTLAND, OHIO, WITH JOSEPH SMITH AS STAKE PRESIDENT.
1834 MAY 8	LEFT NEW PORTAGE, OHIO, FOR MISSOURI AS THE LEADER OF ZION'S CAMP TO BRING RELIEF TO SAINTS EXPELLED FROM JACKSON COUNTY.
1835 FEBRUARY 14	QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES ORGANIZED IN KIRTLAND, OHIO.
1835 FEBRUARY 28	FIRST QUORUM OF THE SEVENTY ORGANIZED IN KIRTLAND, OHIO.
1835 AUGUST 17	DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS ACCEPTED AS A STANDARD WORK OF THE CHURCH IN KIRTLAND, OHIO.
1836 MARCH 27	KIRTLAND TEMPLE DEDICATED.
1836 APRIL 3	JESUS CHRIST APPEARED TO JOSEPH SMITH AND OLIVER COWDERY IN THE KIRTLAND TEMPLE. MOSES, ELIAS, AND ELIJAH APPEARED AND CONVEYED PRIESTHOOD KEYS.
1837	KIRTLAND SAFETY BANKING SOCIETY COLLAPSE, MASS APOSTASY
1838 APRIL 26	NAME OF THE CHURCH—-THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS—GIVEN BY REVELATION.
1838 DECEMBER 1–1839 APRIL 16	IMPRISONED WITH OTHERS AT LIBERTY JAIL IN LIBERTY, MISSOURI.
1839 APRIL 16	ALLOWED TO ESCAPE WHILE BEING TRANSFERRED FROM DAVIESS COUNTY TO BOONE COUNTY (MISSOURI) UNDER A CHANGE OF VENUE IN THEIR CASE.
1839 OCTOBER 29	LEFT FOR WASHINGTON, D. C., TO SEEK REDRESS FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR WRONGS SUFFERED BY THE SAINTS IN MISSOURI.
1841 JANUARY 19	REVELATION TO BUILD NAUVOO TEMPLE RECEIVED. BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD WAS INTRODUCED AS A TEMPLE ORDINANCE.
1842 MARCH 1	ARTICLES OF FAITH FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE TIMES AND SEASONS.
1842 MARCH 17	FEMALE RELIEF SOCIETY OF NAUVOO ORGANIZED.
1842 MAY 4	FIRST FULL TEMPLE ENDOWMENTS RECEIVED IN NAUVOO, ILLINOIS.
1844 JANUARY 29	NOMINATED AS A CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
1844 JUNE 22	JOSEPH AND HYRUM SMITH CROSSED THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER TO FLEE TO THE GREAT BASIN. ILLINOIS GOVERNOR THOMAS FORD PROMISED THE PROPHET SAFETY, AND SO, AT THE PLEADINGS OF OTHERS, THE PAIR RETURNED TO NAUVOO AND TURNED THEMSELVES OVER TO GOVERNMENT AGENTS.
1844 JUNE 27	JOSEPH AND HYRUM SMITH MARTYRED AT CARTHAGE JAIL IN CARTHAGE, ILLINOIS.