Israel, Covenant Israel, the scattering and the gathering of Israel, and the Abrahamic Covenant are big themes in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The whole Book of Mormon has threads of these themes woven throughout it. I think that we talk a lot about Christ and being good, but this is a major part of this religion that I feel a lot of people don't know much about. I also feel like as a Church we've become more focused on understanding the role of Israel in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and what that means to us as individuals who are members of the church and to the rest of the world.
So, in Moroni 7 we get a good glimpse of this. We see the role that being God’s chosen people plays in this overarching story. But before I start this I want to give just a little bit more context. These chapters take place after basically everyone has destroyed one another. Moroni has watched the downfall of tons of people, and he’s seen tons of turmoil, chaos, and death, and this is the message that he thinks is most important to impart before he has to flee and possibly die. So, if we believe that this is story is true, this is what someone who has witnessed the entire destruction of a civilization believes is the most important thing in the world to say.
He starts by saying, “behold, I would speak somewhat unto the remnant of this people who are spared . . . ye remnant of the house of Israel. . . Know ye that ye are of the house of Israel. Know ye that ye must come unto repentance, or ye cannot be saved. Know ye that ye must lay down your weapons of war, and delight no more in the shedding of blood, and take them not again, save it be that God shall command you.” He’s writing to tell us that we who are reading the book are a remnant of the house of Israel. That we must repent to be saved, and that we must be peaceful, unless the Lord commands otherwise.
He goes on to teach about Christ. “Know ye that ye must come to the knowledge of your fathers, and repent of all your sins and iniquities, and believe in Jesus Christ, that he is the Son of God, and that he was slain by the Jews, and by the power of the Father he hath risen again, whereby he hath gained the victory over the grave; and also in him is the sting of death swallowed up. And he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead, whereby man must be raised to stand before his judgment-seat. And he hath brought to pass the redemption of the world, whereby he that is found guiltless before him at the judgment day hath it given unto him to dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end.”
So what are we supposed to do with this knowledge of Christ? “Therefore repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and lay hold upon the gospel of Christ, which shall be set before you, not only in this record [the Book of Mormon] but also in the record which shall come unto the Gentiles from the Jews [the Bible], which record shall come from the Gentiles unto you. For behold, this is written for the intent that ye may believe that; and if ye believe that [the Bible] ye will believe this [The Book of Mormon] also; and if ye believe this ye will know concerning your fathers, and also the marvelous works which were wrought by the power of God among them.” So he tells us here that the Book of Mormon was written with the intent to persuade people to believe in the Bible and in Christ.
Now he goes on to talk a little bit about being the people of the covenant. He says to these people to “know that ye are a remnant of the seed of Jacob; therefore ye are numbered among the people of the first covenant. . .” There’s lots of words for being the Lord’s covenant people: seed of Jacob, Israel, House of Israel, Covenant Israel, etc. People who are covenant Israel are entitled to the blessings and promises that God made with Abraham, or the Abrahamic Covenant. He goes on to tell us, “and if it so be that ye believe in Christ, and are baptized, first with water, then with fire and with the Holy Ghost, following the example of our Savior, according to that which he hath commanded us, it shall be well with you in the day of judgment.”
Moroni tells us that the Book of Mormon will be “brought out of darkness unto light, according to the word of God; yea, it shall be brought out of the earth, and it shall shine forth out of darkness, and come unto the knowledge of the people; and it shall be done by the power of God.” He goes on to tell us that it is it is God’s right, not ours to smite, judge, and exact vengeance. He reassurse us that “For the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be fulfilled.” What are these promises? We have to study the scriptures to know. We’re reassured a few times in this reading that all of God’s promises will be revealed and he will uphold the covenants he’s made with his people. Moroni here tells us to search the prophesies of Isaiah. Christ in recent chapters told us the same thing.
He tells us that the Bible and the Book of Mormon will come forth, because God said it would, and no one can stop it. He describes this time when the Book of Mormon and the Bible will shine forth as light in the darkness this way: “it shall come in a day when it shall be said that miracles are done away; and it shall come even as if one should speak from the dead. 27 And it shall come in a day when the blood of saints shall cry unto the Lord, because of secret combinations and the works of darkness. 28 Yea, it shall come in a day when the power of God shall be denied, and churches become defiled and be lifted up in the pride of their hearts; yea, even in a day when leaders of churches and teachers shall rise in the pride of their hearts, even to the envying of them who belong to their churches. 29 Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be heard of fires, and tempests, and vapors of smoke in foreign lands;
30 And there shall also be heard of wars, rumors of wars, and earthquakes in divers places. 31 Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be great pollutions upon the face of the earth; there shall be murders, and robbing, and lying, and deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of abominations. . .”
These passages here and the ones from Timothy in the Bible describing the last days (in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away) sure seem to be describing this exact point in history. That sounds like now. Like this year, or even this week.
Of this time Moroni tells us that to “look ye unto the revelations of God; for behold, the time cometh at that day when all these things must be fulfilled.” He tells us most people will be prideful. They’ll wear fancy clothes and they’ll envy and hate and persecute one another. He says that our society will “love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted.
38 O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies—because of the praise of the world?”
It certainly seems like we are living in the last days that they spoke about. Sometimes it’s hard to remain vigilant and engaged because they’ve been talking about the Second Coming of Christ since his death, and they’ve been talking about us living in the last days since before we were born. However, this complacency is what could cause us to be unprepared and also fearful of what might come. We’re admonished to study and know the signs of the last days, so that we can be prepared and ready. It isn’t supposed to be a surprise to anyone who’s paying attention. This is why we’re told to study the scriptures, especially Isaiah. We should seek to understand what it means to be covenant Israel, what the Abrahamic covenant is and what it promises, study the scattering and gathering of Israel, and the signs of the Second Coming of Christ.
If we study the scriptures and know what they say, we should be less frightened when big scary things happened. If this revelation and scripture stuff is true, we’ve literally been given the script of the world, and been encouraged to read them. “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.”
How can we watch the signs and know where we are in the plot history of the world unless we know what those signs are? How can we be prepared to go out and meet the bridegroom (parable of the virgins) if we don’t study and prepare? We don’t have to wonder what’s next if we study the scriptures we can have a very clear picture of what is supposed to occur before Jesus comes. If we’re fearful, we might want to consider Doctrine and Covenants 38 which tells us “if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.” If the world around us is making us fearful, the remedy appears to be more preparation. I think that more knowledge is the preparation we need.
Another way to prepare is to establish good or beneficial habits and patterns. In church today they talked about how there are patterns for happiness and patterns for success. When we follow the patterns we get predictable results. I like this because it reminds me of fractals. Fractals are defined as "a pattern that the laws of nature repeat at different scales. Examples are everywhere in the forest. Trees are natural fractals, patterns that repeat smaller and smaller copies of themselves to create the biodiversity of a forest. . ." I've talked about this before, but it's something I love the very most about the Gospel of Christ. The things we learn about Christ and his directions or patterns for our lives are applicable at all levels. They are consistent. They are constant. They can be universally applied. They repeat themselves at various scales.
The patterns of morality and happiness are as applicable on a situational level as they are on a daily level in an individual's life. They apply to a person, or a situation, or a life. They apply to families, communities, societies, nations, and the world. When we change the fractal pattern in our lives, we change the fractal pattern of society. We change the world, quite possibly literally. I like to believe that this constistency and constancy of pattern regarding morality, happiness, and success is reflected in God's plans for the world and society. It stands to reason if there is a master plan for the world, and for societies that there would be a master plan at various levels of existence too, like for families and individuals. I like to believe this, and that's one of the things I like most about the gospel of Christ.
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