Another layer of meaning to "every good thing"

I wrote a blog post a while back about how "every good thing" in Moroni 7 links together two important themes in the chapter. In short, Mormon spends the first part of the chapter defining "good" and its source. Then he asks us to "lay hold" on it. The rest of the chapter is spent talking about faith, hope and charity as the means to "lay hold upon every good thing". Later, Lord Wilmore added a new layer to this when linking the concept of "every good thing" to covenants. In other words, faith, hope and charity is not just a mental exercise to believe in God, hope that you will be saved and then being nice to others. It is the "work of the covenants" administered by angels (Moroni 7:29-31) leading to a commitment that draws men to Christ.

In this post, I want to propose another layer to this. There are many posts on this blog addressing what we call the creation-covenant connection. In essence, it is theorized that the Hebrew word "berith" (covenant) is derived from "bara" (to create). This theory is strengthened by the fact that the scriptures often link the two concepts. I will not go into these examples now, but the concept is a creation that is initially bound together in peace and harmony (before the fall) as a covenant. The atonement reverses the effects of the fall and reunites and restores creation to its intended place. Covenants bind us to Christ but ultimately also bind the whole creation into one, even though we still live in a fallen world and don't see the full realization of this yet.

Christ is thus the ultimate restorer. When modern members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints hear the word restoration, they usually think of a spring day in 1820 or in 1829. But this word points to something quite differently in the Book of Mormon. Consider Alma 41:2-3

2 I say unto thee, my son, that the plan of restoration is requisite with the justice of God; for it is requisite that all things should be restored to their proper order. Behold, it is requisite and just, according to the power and resurrection of Christ, that the soul of man should be restored to its body, and that every part of the body should be restored to itself.
3 And it is requisite with the justice of God that men should be judged according to their works; and if their works were good in this life, and the desires of their hearts were good, that they should also, at the last day, be restored unto that which is good.

Moroni 7 repeats several times that all things which are good come from Christ and admonishes us to lay hold upon every good thing. How does this relate to the creation? When God created "the heavens and the earth", he did so by his Only Begotten (see Moses 1:32-33, 2:1). During the creation, God repeatedly stated

I, God, saw that all things which I had created were good

"Every good thing" was initially created by God through his Only Begotten. After man had partaken of the fruit of knowledge of good and evil, man could experience evil also but it necessitated a restoration unto good. This happens through the atonement and covenants. This is why Mormon asks us to "lay hold upon every good thing".

And behold, there were divers ways that he did manifest things unto the children of men, which were good; and all things which are good cometh of Christ; otherwise men were fallen, and there could no good thing come unto them. (Moroni 7:24)

Based on this, I think that Mormon also refers to the creation when he talks about "every good thing". It came through Christ in the creation, it was disrupted through the fall, but can be restored through the atonement if we lay hold upon it by entering into and keeping covenants.