As in all things, I learn more and more as I go. In this post, I'd like to add more depth to the concept of shaking which was discussed in this recent post. Shaking and covenants are deeply connected. In the earlier post, we looked at Mormon's declaration (found in Helaman 12) that "by the power of his voice doth the whole earth shake" and "by the power of his voice, do the foundations rock, even to the very center."
Mormon also says of mankind: "they do not desire that the Lord their God, who hath created them, should rule and reign over them; notwithstanding his great goodness and his mercy towards them, they do set at naught his counsels, and they will not that he should be their guide."
This juxtaposition of creation and God's commandments really speaks to me. It is true that we are agents unto ourselves (see Doctrine & Covenants 58:28). We came to His creation, this earth, as a result of a promise we made with God to follow Jesus Christ. To the extent that we live according to His purposes, we "shall have glory added upon [our] heads forever and ever" (Abraham 3:26). If we violate His purposes, we are misusing His creation.
Each of us has the opportunity (and obligation) to "rend that veil of unbelief" (Ether 4:15) and remember some important truths:
- We are strangers and pilgrims on the earth. (See Hebrews 11:13.)
- Our time here is short and our eternal destiny depends on how the choices we make during this time of probation. (See Alma 42:7-10, 23-24.)
- The everlasting covenant is the only path to eternal life. (See Doctrine & Covenants 45:5-10.)
In the words of the Psalmist: "A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. ... Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures ... Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:12, NIV)
Shaking in the presence of God
The earth is God's creation, intended for man's use according to His purposes.
The arrival of God (v. 18) is heralded by these awesome forces of nature serving like a king’s outrunners (2 Sam. 15:1; 1 Kings 1:5) and by a loud blast of the horn. See also 1 Kings 19:11–13; Hab. 3:3–5; Pss. 18:8–16; 68:9–10. Outside the Bible these phenomena also appear in theophanies, particularly of storm gods. In Israelite tradition, although the LORD is no mere storm god, these motifs were taken over to describe the overwhelming power and majesty of the direct experience of the divine. (Berlin, A., Brettler, M. Z., & Fishbane, M. (Eds.). (2004). The Jewish Study Bible (p. 147). New York: Oxford University Press.)
Along the same lines, each of us is His child and subject to His power. Thus, to the extent that we are unworthy servants (or caught by the power/kingdom of the devil), when we stand in His presence we are shaken to the center. (See Doctrine & Covenants 10:56.)
An illustration from Moses and the children of Israel
I'll illustrate this pattern using a story from Moses and the children of Israel.
In Exodus 19, three months after their miraculous rescue from bondage in Egypt, Moses "went up unto God" and conversed with Him.
3 And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.
5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. (Exodus 19)
In verse 8 we learn that "all the people" agree to these terms. In other words, they accept the covenant God has offered them. Then the Lord tells Moses to "sanctify" the people in preparation of His appearance to them.
10 ¶ And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,
11 And be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.
12 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about... (Exodus 19)
After setting the terms of the covenant, receiving agreement from the people, and preparing them by sanctification and "set[ting] bounds," the Lord "came down upon mount Sinai." Here is the description of how the creation reacted:
16 ¶ And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.
17 And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
18 And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. (Exodus 19)
It is in this context, with the people prepared and a boundary set that God gives Israel His law.
The Everlasting Covenant as a "light to the world"
With all of this rich symbolism in mind, I'll close this post with powerful words from Doctrine & Covenants 45, with some emphasis added by me:
1 Hearken, O ye people of my church, to whom the kingdom has been given; hearken ye and give ear to him who laid the foundation of the earth, who made the heavens and all the hosts thereof, and by whom all things were made which live, and move, and have a being.
2 And again I say, hearken unto my voice, lest death shall overtake you; in an hour when ye think not the summer shall be past, and the harvest ended, and your souls not saved.
3 Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—
4 Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified;
5 Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life.
6 Hearken, O ye people of my church, and ye elders listen together, and hear my voice while it is called today, and harden not your hearts;
7 For verily I say unto you that I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the light and the life of the world—a light that shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not.
8 I came unto mine own, and mine own received me not; but unto as many as received me gave I power to do many miracles, and to become the sons of God; and even unto them that believed on my name gave I power to obtain eternal life.
9 And even so I have sent mine everlasting covenant into the world, to be a light to the world, and to be a standard for my people, and for the Gentiles to seek to it, and to be a messenger before my face to prepare the way before me. (Doctrine & Covenants 45)