A New Covenant

Jeremiah prophesied that God would one day make a new covenant with Israel:

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord.

But this shall be the covenant that I shall make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Jeremiah 31:31-34; see also Hebrews 8:8-12

This actually sounds less like a different covenant, and more like a renewed attempt to build a constructive relationship, much like the repeated efforts of the Lord of the Vineyard in the Allegory of the Olive Tree.(See Jacob 5.) Maybe that’s why the Lord spoke to Joseph Smith about offering us “a new and everlasting covenant, even that which was from the beginning” (Doctrine and Covenants 22:1, italics added).

You might say, this covenant is different because it’s written in our hearts. But the Lord has always wanted His covenants with us to be in our hearts. To ancient Israel, Moses said, “These words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart” (Deuteronomy 6:6). And Abinadi quoted the Ten Commandments to the priests of King Noah with this explanation: “for I perceive that they are not written in your hearts” (Mosiah 13:11).

Of course, some practices changed after the life of Jesus Christ. Nephi taught his people to be prepared to adapt when Jesus fulfilled the law, and when some of their practices “ought to be done away” (2 Nephi 25:27). In Hebrews, we read that the ceremonies of the law of Moses were “the example and shadow of heavenly things.” Many of those practices foreshadowed the Savior’s atonement, which makes Him “the mediator of a better covenant” (Hebrews 8:5-6). For example, after His death, He told a group of people on the American continent, “Ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away…. And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit” (3 Nephi 9:19-20).

He introduced new practices, including the sacrament, to remind us of His sacrifice. But just as before, He wanted us to see these practices as a way of building a relationship with Him, not as a checklist to be followed.

President Russell M. Nelson said, “The covenant path is all about our relationship with God” (“The Everlasting Covenant,” Liahona, October 2022). Emily Belle Freedman explained how we treat our covenants differently when we view them through a relationship lens instead of merely as a set of requirements imposed upon us:

I walk this path as a “beloved daughter of heavenly parents,” divinely known and deeply trusted. As a child of the covenant, I am eligible to receive promised blessings. I have chosen to walk with the Lord. I have been called to stand as a witness of Christ. When the path feels overwhelming, I am strengthened with enabling grace. Each time I cross the threshold of His house, I experience deeper covenant relationship with Him. I am sanctified with His Spirit, endowed with His power, and set apart to build His kingdom. Through a process of daily repentance and weekly partaking of the sacrament, I am learning to become steadfast and to go about doing good. I walk this path with Jesus Christ, looking forward to the promised day when He will come again. Then I will be sealed His and lifted up as a holy daughter of God.

“Walking in Covenant Relationship with Christ,” General Conference, October 2023, italics in original

Today, I will see my covenants as a fundamental part of my relationship with God. I will strive to write His law in my heart, doing what I should do because I love Him, not simply because I feel it is my duty.