During the reign of the judges, an Israelite man named Elimelech moved his family from the town of Bethlehem to live among the Moabites, on the opposite side of the Dead Sea. He died there, both of his sons married Moabite women, and then both sons also died, leaving three widows: Naomi, Orpah and Ruth. Naomi resolved to return to her hometown and urged her daughters-in-law to go home to their families, insisting that she had nothing to offer them. Orpah reluctantly followed her counsel, but Ruth vehemently insisted on returning with her. Ruth’s pledge was more than an affirmation of family loyalty; it was a spiritual covenant, and similar covenants in the Book of Mormon shed light on its depth and multigenerational significance.
Here is the pledge, in the form of four parallel couplets and an oath:
Entreat me not to leave thee,
Ruth 1:16-17
or to return from following after thee:
for whither thou goest, I will go;
and where thou lodgest, I will lodge:
thy people shall be my people,
and thy God my God:
Where thou diest, will I die,
and there will I be buried:
the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
Ruth vows to follow Naomi and to adopt her people and her religion for the rest of her life. Loyalty, identity, and permanence are all key components of her pledge. And she emphasizes its significance with a solemn oath, inviting punishment upon herself if she fails to fulfill her promises. While the specific punishments are unspecified, the fact that they are surrounded by references to death indicates their gravity.
The closest Book of Mormon parallel to Ruth’s loyalty is Nephi’s and Zoram’s interaction outside the walls of Jerusalem. Nephi has just assassinated Zoram’s master and impersonated him to convince Zoram to retrieve a set of brass plates. Now, Zoram has followed him outside of the city, only to learn of Nephi’s deception. He begins to run back toward the city when Nephi apprehends him and tells him, “As the Lord liveth, and as I live, … if he would hearken unto our words, we would spare his life” (1 Nephi 4:32).
Nephi’s oath formula is similar to Ruth’s, appealing to God and offering his own life as collateral. Just as Ruth’s oath convinced Naomi, Nephi’s oath calms Zoram, who agrees to accompany the family in the wilderness and who becomes a loyal friend to Nephi. (1 Nephi 4:35; 2 Nephi 1:30; 5:6).
Another important element of Ruth’s pledge is the assumption of a new identity. She claims Naomi’s people and God as her own. At the waters of Mormon, after teaching a large group of people the gospel of Jesus Christ for many days, Alma invites them all to enter into a covenant by being baptized. As he explains to them, this covenant will bind them not only to God but also to one another. By choosing to be baptized, each of them would promise “to bear one another’s burdens, … to mourn with those that mourn, … and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death” (Mosiah 18:8-9). The people gladly accept the invitation and become a unified covenant people.
Ruth’s pledge is also significant because of its permanence. She promises to follow Naomi not only until Naomi’s death but until her own. “Where thou diest, I will die, and there will I be buried.” The enduring nature of this pledge is mirrored in the covenant King Benjamin’s people make at his final sermon. After teaching them of the universal need for a Savior, Benjamin sees them all desperately praying for a remission of their sins. When the remission is miraculously granted, he teaches them how to retain it and invites them to enter a covenant with God “to do his will, … all the remainder of our days” (Mosiah 5:5). Benjamin affirms that because of this covenant, “ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you” (Mosiah 5:7). The permanency of the promise enables the deeper relationship.
Like Nephi and Alma’s and Benjamin’s people, Ruth affected not only her own life but also future generations, including her great-grandson, King David. Although the Book of Mormon never quotes her pledge, parallel events in the book echo her loyalty to Naomi, her adoption of a new social and spiritual identity, and her determination to fulfill her promise throughout her life.
Today, I will emulate Ruth’s pledge-driven life. I will maintain my commitment to the covenants I have made and will be true to the permanent relationships those covenants have established with God and with others.
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