Following the great Flood, we know of three independent nations that have made covenants with the Lord regarding the land we call America.
Each of these three nations comprise their own generation, and encapsulate a unique epoch in the storied history of God's condescension unto man.
The first in order of time is a group we call the Jaredites. They arrived shortly after the time of the scattering at the tower of Babel. They existed here for about twenty-five hundred years, and were ultimately destroyed.
Another came just before the Jaredites were extinguished. This was around the time of Zedekiah, king of Judah. This group was made up of Israelites, led away from Jerusalem. This generation existed here for about a thousand years, and were ultimately destroyed, scattered, and smitten.
The third came much later, around the time of the Renaissance, when many in Europe were moved upon by the Spirit of the Lord to escape the darkness covering their land, and seek for a new promised land. This group covenanted with the Lord through adopting a new law, a Constitution, which God specifically ordained and established to enable His kingdom to develop in this new generation, in which we currently find ourselves. (Doc. & Cov. 101)
This generation of Gentile inheritors based their new civilization on the idea that human rights come from God, and that governments are instituted among men to protect these rights. The rights are from God, not from, or even by permission of, the government. This situation allowed a new dispensation of God's higher covenant then to be established here, to prepare the way for the unfolding of the full Kingdom of God. Unless this higher covenant is established before Christ comes again, the world will be totally destroyed at the Savior's second coming, with no people prepared to receive Him as King. (Joseph Smith—History, 1: 36-39)
What we call the "Restoration," begun in the 19th century under the leadership of the Prophet Joseph Smith is still only in the beginning stages. He has restored an immeasurable flood of light and truth from Heaven, and out of the Earth. This has given us the fullness of the Gospel, or a complete system by which we can qualify for eternal life. We have the Church, which is sufficient for administering the saving ordinances. But the building of the Kingdom is still unfolding. The work begun by Joseph is not finished. We are still to see some of the Lord's mightiest miracles between now and the time He returns to Earth in great glory. We need to increase our capacity to receive personal revelation, as not all things pertaining to the building of the Kingdom will flow through or be directed by the Church.
"Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again. We will see miraculous indications that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory. But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost."
Russell M. Nelson
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The fervor I feel for the precious promises made in the Book of Mormon are like fire in my bones.
Moroni wrote the following purpose in the title page of that Book:
"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—And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations."
What are some of those covenants Moroni mentions?
Let's start with Lehi, the patriarch of the Nephite and Lamanite nations.
"But, said [Lehi], notwithstanding our afflictions, we have obtained a land of promise, a land which is choice above all other lands; a land which the Lord God hath covenanted with me should be a land for the inheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath covenanted this land unto me, and to my children forever, and also all those who should be led out of other countries by the hand of the Lord.
Wherefore, I, Lehi, prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord.
Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever."
2 Nephi 1: 5-7
"Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence."
2 Nephi 1: 20
That covenant, regarding prospering or being cut off is mentioned no fewer than twenty-five times in the Book of Mormon as we have it today. I once read through the entire Book only searching for each appearance or mention of this particular covenant.
Moroni tells us about the Jaredites:
"And the Lord would not suffer that [the Jaredites] should stop beyond the sea in the wilderness, but he would that they should come forth even unto the land of promise, which was choice above all other lands, which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people.
And he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared, that whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them.
And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.
For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off.
And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God—that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.
Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written."
Ether 2: 8-12
And Nephi tells us:
"And now, my brethren, I have spoken plainly that ye cannot err. And as the Lord God liveth that brought Israel up out of the land of Egypt, and gave unto Moses power that he should heal the nations after they had been bitten by the poisonous serpents, if they would cast their eyes unto the serpent which he did raise up before them, and also gave him power that he should smite the rock and the water should come forth; yea, behold I say unto you, that as these things are true, and as the Lord God liveth, there is none other name given under heaven save it be this Jesus Christ, of which I have spoken, whereby man can be saved.
Wherefore, for this cause hath the Lord God promised unto me that these things which I write shall be kept and preserved, and handed down unto my seed, from generation to generation, that the promise may be fulfilled unto Joseph, that his seed should never perish as long as the earth should stand.
Wherefore, these things (The Book of Mormon) shall go from generation to generation as long as the earth shall stand; and they shall go according to the will and pleasure of God; and the nations who shall possess [The Book of Mormon] shall be judged of them according to the words which are written."
2 Nephi 25: 20-22
May we be willing to warn our neighbors, since this nation is now in peril of great destructions, by reason of our ripening in iniquity. But there is always hope! Those who repent and serve the God of this land will be alright in the end, despite the storms that will rage upon the waters, the land, and in the hearts of the children of God.
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The restoration of the Gospel through the instrumentality of Joseph Smith, the Prophet is so much bigger than only a church.
He restored the ancient covenants of the Lord. These covenants were made with righteous people at several times in history, including all the great fathers; Adam, Enoch, Noah, the Jaredites, Melchizedek, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Lehi, Nephi, Jacob, Enos, and on to others, including each and every person who enters the House of God and makes those same covenants today.
The Book of Mormon and the other scriptures we have are not just some old books that we read and learn to live wisely thereby. They are alive! They are living, breathing, speaking, moving, growing, spreading, magnifying, transcending!
You are a part of the great story of God's people, currently being written!
The Kingdom of God will require our best efforts. It requires more than good religion, which is so essential. It also requires good sociology. It requires good education. It requires good government. It requires good laws. It requires good architecture, and good construction, with strong sturdy buildings. It requires good manufacturing. It requires good medicine. It requires good agriculture, good economics, good environmental stewardship, good work. It requires wholesome recreation, appropriate discipline, fervent understanding of the principles of freedom and agency. It requires good families to take their rightful place as the fundamental unit of our society. It requires our hearts.
In fact, the Lord requires the heart and a willing mind. Is your mind willing to expand as widely as the Lord needs it to be? What is He trying to show you? (Doc. & Cov. 64)
Here's a little He has shown me.
The Kingdom of God is so much more than a church. In our time, an understanding of this great work has begun with the members of the Church founded by Joseph Smith, and will grow out of the broader church (Christianity), but it is not confined to any one church. (See Inspired Version, Revelation 12: 7)
This work is too large for any one church or any one people to accomplish. Members and leaders in many churches, governments, civic organizations, and other groups have parts to play in this great work.
Ephraim is the one to start the work, but all the tribes are to be gathered in. And all others are invited as well, to take part and to lay claim to covenant promises of blessings at the hands of the Lord's anointed servants.
The gathering of Israel is currently being brought about through the preaching of the Gospel, and by the physical moving of people to this land. These two complimentary opposing elements, the spiritual and the physical, are both necessary components to bring about the fulfillment of ancient and modern prophecies of the building up of the Kingdom.
I often think about the long-standing "infrastructure" that has lain in place for hundreds of years in the Christian world. We ought not to dismiss the contributions toward the Kingdom of God that have been accomplished by these brothers and sisters of ours.
Of course we need good people who believe in the Book of Mormon and in the restoration of the gospel, the church and the covenant. But we need a lot more than this.
We need good Catholics, to bring us their love for righteous tradition, and steady service out of a sense of duty to their fellows, regardless of personal convenience.
We need good Protestants, to bring their zeal for God and of the matchless gift of his divine Son, who has the power to save us fallen weaklings if only we believe in Him and follow Him.
We need good Muslims, to bring their understanding of God's prophetic dispensations of divine truth.
We need good people of varied faiths, to bring us the light God has shared with them.
We need those who profess no faith but in good science, mathematics, economics, politics, history, sociology, communications, and other similar technical branches of the Gospel.
We need those with good leadership skills, to ably organize and direct the implementation of these skills among the people that will build the Kingdom of God.
The parable of the laborers will be clearly brought to pass, where we will see those who join with the Lord in the eleventh hour receive the same penny as those who covenanted earlier in the unfolding of His work. (Matthew 20: 1-16)
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Sadly, we don't seem to have many leaders in our government these days, but only politicians. May we see mighty future leaders rise up and take their rightful places to bring about righteousness how, where, and what they may.
I invite you to read John F. Kennedy's inaugural address. What hope and faith for the future! What a visionary man, inspired by centuries of Christian tradition and recognition of America's founding and promised prosperity to come by the hand of God.
Here it is:
The torch has indeed been passed to a new generation of Americans. What will we do? Will we light other fires to spread the flame, or will we selfishly cling it to ourselves and allow it to die alone?
Light the fire of faith in others around you.
Hold it up.
See Also:
Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives, by Russell M. Nelson
Helping the Poor and Distressed, by Dallin H. Oaks
Overcome the World and Find Rest, by Russell M. Nelson
“Swallowed Up in the Will of the Father” by Neal A. Maxwell
Two Lines of Communication, by Dallin H. Oaks