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Covenants

Between Me and Thee and Thy Seed After Thee

The role of Abraham’s offspring in his covenant becomes clearer across multiple revelations in Genesis. Ultimately, God revealed that Abraham’s posterity would inherit not only the promised land but the covenant itself, including its promises and responsibilities.

Faith

Abraham, Tent-Dweller

Abraham lived in a tent, even though he was in the promised land. The author of Hebrews explained that he lived in a tent because he was looking forward to a permanent home that only God could provide. The tent indicated that he was rooted in God’s promises, not in his current circumstances.

Hope

Unto a Land That I Will Shew Thee

God consistently invited Abraham to find hope by visualizing a prosperous future. Lehi similarly encouraged his family by focusing on their destination, not on what they had left behind. Discouragement looks backward, but hope faces forward. We make wiser decisions when we pursue meaningful goals instead of merely reacting to unpleasant circumstances.

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COME, FOLLOW ME

  • “Is Any Thing Too Hard for the Lord?”

    Abraham Taking Isaac to Be Sacrificed (detail), by Del Parson

    Abraham’s faith was extraordinary. Consider his experiences relating to his son Isaac:

    • God promised him numerous descendants, even though he and Sarah were childless (Genesis 12:2; 13:16).
    • When Abram protested that he had no children and that one of his servants was set to inherit his possessions, God promised him descendants as numerous as the stars. Abraham believed (Genesis 15:2-6).
    • After Abraham had a child with Hagar, God promised to bless his son Ishmael, but assured him that his first wife, Sarah, would also bear a son (Genesis 17:15-21).
    • God sent three messengers to reiterate this promise, even though Abraham and Sarah were “well stricken in age.” God asked, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:9-14).
    • When Isaac was born, Sarah and Abraham rejoiced (Genesis 21:1-7).
    • God then commanded Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Abraham traveled to the appointed place and prepared to obey until he was stopped by an angel (Genesis 22:1-19).

    Even during that last heart-wrenching story, Abraham continued to declare his faith in God. When Isaac asked his father why they hadn’t brought a lamb for the offering, Abraham responded, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:8). And that is exactly what God did. After the angel stopped Abraham, he saw a ram caught in a thicket, “and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son” (Genesis 22:13). After everything Abraham had been through, his trust in God was unshakeable.

    Why did God command Abraham to sacrifice his son? The Old Testament does not explain why, but the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob provided an interpretive lens. He explained that just as he and his people kept the law of Moses, “it pointing our souls to [Christ],” Abraham similarly drew closer to the Savior by “offering up his son Isaac, which is a similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son” (Jacob 4:5). The author of Genesis tells us that Abraham “believed in the Lord; and [the Lord] counted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6), but how can we tell when someone genuinely believes? We see it by their actions. Jacob echoes the words of that Genesis passage as he describes both his people’s adherence to the law of Moses and Abraham’s adherence to the commandment to sacrifice his son:

    For this intent we keep the law of Moses, it pointing our souls to him; and for this cause it is sanctified unto us for righteousness, even as it was accounted unto Abraham in the wilderness to be obedient unto the commands of God in offering up his son Isaac,

    Jacob 4:5

    Abraham’s belief was accounted for righteousness because it was manifest in his obedience.

    As we study Genesis 18-23 this week, let’s watch how Abraham demonstrated trust in God and how his relationship with God deepened as a result.

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    A Hundredth Part: Mormon’s Editorial Decisions

    Book of Mormon authors made it clear how much they were leaving out as they wrote this “abridgment” of their history. Here’s a diagram showing how many words are dedicated to each of the 103 decades in the book.

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    Jesus Christ’s Sermon at the Temple in Bountiful – 3 Nephi 12-16, 20-22

    Following His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ visited a group of people in the Americas. He taught them principles to help them deepen their discipleship, and He expanded their perspective by teaching them about God’s global, multigenerational work.

  • Names and Titles of Jesus Christ

    Names and Titles of Jesus Christ

    In March, 2019, I studied 20 different names or titles of Jesus Christ which appear in the Book of Mormon. I was particularly interested in the way each name was used, both in the Book of Mormon and in the Bible.