I've got multiple series of posts going on at the same time, but I haven't forgotten about them. This post will open up another topic -- footstool. After this I'll get back to the "stretch forth thine hand" series and finish that, then, I'll return to Moses 7 from my most recent post.
Footstool
This word caught my attention as I studied the Book of Moses this week. Let's look at a few verses in restoration scripture which use this term:
Moses 6:9, 44
9 In the image of his own body, male and female, created he them, and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created and became living souls in the land upon the footstool of God. ...
44 The heavens he made; the earth is his footstool; and the foundation thereof is his. Behold, he laid it, an host of men hath he brought in upon the face thereof.
1 Nephi 17:38-40
38 And he leadeth away the righteous into precious lands, and the wicked he destroyeth, and curseth the land unto them for their sakes.
39 He ruleth high in the heavens, for it is his throne, and this earth is his footstool.
40 And he loveth those who will have him to be their God. Behold, he loved our fathers, and he covenanted with them, yea, even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and he remembered the covenants which he had made; wherefore, he did bring them out of the land of Egypt.
Abraham 2:6-8
6 But I, Abraham, and Lot, my brother’s son, prayed unto the Lord, and the Lord appeared unto me, and said unto me: Arise, and take Lot with thee; for I have purposed to take thee away out of Haran, and to make of thee a minister to bear my name in a strange land which I will give unto thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession, when they hearken to my voice.
7 For I am the Lord thy God; I dwell in heaven; the earth is my footstool; I stretch my hand over the sea, and it obeys my voice; I cause the wind and the fire to be my chariot; I say to the mountains—Depart hence—and behold, they are taken away by a whirlwind, in an instant, suddenly.
8 My name is Jehovah, and I know the end from the beginning; therefore my hand shall be over thee.
(We also see "footstool" used in Doctrine & Covenants 38:17 and 3 Nephi 12:35, but those instances don't add much to the context I'm specifically studying.)
What do we learn from these verses about the earth?
Do you notice the reference to Genesis 3:17 in 1 Nephi 17:38 above? The ground is cursed because Adam hearkened to Eve rather than God. Yet the experience in the wilderness would allow Adam and Eve to fulfill the first commandment He gave them (found in Genesis 1:28) -- to "be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it and have dominion over ... every living thing that moveth upon [it]."
A footstool symbolizes that which has been subdued. Putting an enemy under your feet indicates you've prevailed. One essential function of the priesthood is to bring order to the "waste places" and thereby gain victory over chaos and death. This is taught rather plainly in Doctrine & Covenants 103:7-11 --
7 And by hearkening to observe all the words which I, the Lord their God, shall speak unto them, they shall never cease to prevail until the kingdoms of the world are subdued under my feet, and the earth is given unto the saints, to possess it forever and ever.
8 Butinasmuch as they keep not my commandments, and hearken not to observe all my words, the kingdoms of the world shall prevail against them.
9 For they were set to be a light unto the world, and to be the saviors of men;
10 And inasmuch as they are not the saviors of men, they are as salt that has lost its savor, and is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men.
11 But verily I say unto you, I have decreed that your brethren which have been scattered shall return to the lands of their inheritances, and shall build up the waste places of Zion.
Covenant brings about this "build[ing] up" of "the waste places of Zion." Notice the contrasting fates of those who enter into the covenant -- they will either stay faithful and prevail, and possess the earth forever and ever, or they will reject the covenant and be defeated by the kingdoms of the world, leading them to be cast out and "trodden under foot of men."
I've got a little more to say on this topic, but I'll save it until after the two open series are concluded. Interestingly, the redemption of Zion (subduing the kingdoms of the earth) ties right back into the concept of the out-stretched hand:
15 Behold, I say unto you, the redemption of Zion must needs come by power;
16 Therefore, I will raise up unto my people a man, who shall lead them like as Moses led the children of Israel.
17 For ye are the children of Israel, and of the seed of Abraham, and ye must needs be led out of bondage by power, and with a stretched-out arm.
18 And as your fathers were led at the first, even so shall the redemption of Zion be. (Doctrine & Covenants 103)
The redemption of Zion happens through God's power, also known as the Priesthood.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints boldly and uniquely teaches that the gospel was preached from the beginning. Jesus Christ did not introduce it, he only restored what had existed since the days of Adam
58 And thus the Gospel began to be preached, from the beginning, being declared by holyangels sent forth from the presence of God, and by his own voice, and by the gift of the Holy Ghost.
59 And thus all things were confirmed unto Adam, by an holy ordinance, and the Gospel preached, and a decree sent forth, that it should be in the world, until the end thereof; and thus it was. Amen. (Moses 5)
Even though the gospel would be in the world until the end thereof, there have been times when it was absent in its fullness for most people and needed to be restored. These restorations are referred to as gospel dispensations and I am writing this series to demonstrate that it is inseparably connected to the everlasting covenant. We have seen examples of that in the first three dispensations here, here and here.
I love the verses quoted above. Especially the part about all things being confirmed unto Adam by a holy ordinance in conjunction with the gospel being preached. We have seen Enoch and Noah too being ordained after the holy order and entering into covenants. This is often described in a text with lots of references to the creation, hinting at a connection. Next up is Abraham and we see the same trend here.
Abraham
I have already written on Abraham recently in a similar context so I will not repeat all the details but some of the main themes apply in this context as well. The beginning of the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price describes him as someone seeking after the blessings of the fathers. Since his biological father was an idolater, he is most likely talking about righteous priesthood holders of the past like Adam, Enoch and Noah. He sought after the blessings of the gospel and the eternal covenant. As we know, God made a specific covenant with Abraham, where his seed would be blessed, just like he had sought after and obtained the blessings of his fathers (of whose seed he was).
As mentioned, a new dispensation is often connected to the creation. We normally don't think about Abraham in those terms, but one of the creation accounts in our standard works is from the Book of Abraham after all. Not to mention that the other creation accounts in the Book of Moses and in the temple come from two of the other heads of gospel dispensations, namely Moses and Joseph Smith. The way the covenant with Abraham ties into the creation is really neat and something I have never considered before. Here are the terms of the covenant with Abraham
9 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations;
10 And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father;
11 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood), for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal. (Abraham 2)
In Abraham's seed, all families of the earth shall be blessed with the gospel and the possibility of eternal life. This is part of the eternal covenant of which the marriage covenant is the crown. This is according to the order of God to have seed in this life and the next. In the revelation on the marriage covenant in D&C 132, Abraham is mentioned by name 20 times.
After the covenant has been established, Abraham is shown the stars in Abraham 3.
And it was in the night time when the Lord spake these words unto me: I will multiply thee, and thy seed after thee, like unto these [i.e. the stars that he had just been shown]; and if thou canst count the number of sands, so shall be the number of thy seeds. (Abraham 3:14)
So Abraham's seed is connected to the stars that he is being shown. The Lord goes on to compare the stars to intelligences or spirits, implying that many of the noble and great ones would be in the priesthood line of his seed.
Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones (Abraham 3:22)
The stars and the comparison to spirits and their assembly in the great pre-mortal council is the prologue of the creation account in the next chapter.
24 And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;
25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them (Abraham 3)
"Them" in "we will prove them herewith" actually refers specifically to "the noble and great" spirits that were "good" from the verses prior to this. The creation account is contextualized by the need for the noble spirits to have an earth to dwell on to become Abraham's seed and bless the families of the earth. This adds a beautiful perspective to the creation-covenant connection. Also, those who eventually become like God and become creators themselves, become so as a result of the eternal covenant. They have been married for eternity with the proper authority, they are Abraham's seed and have eternal posterity themselves. It is only reasonable to assume that God is God as a result of covenants himself.
It is interesting to note that almost every scripture I have used to connect the gospel dispensations to the everlasting covenant in this series so far, have come from the Pearl of Great Price or the Joseph Smith Translation. It only confirms the words of the angel to Nephi
And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of that great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away. (1 Nephi 13:26)
Joseph Smith, the head of another dispensation that we will get to, restored the covenants which had been taken away.
One noteworthy difference between this gospel dispensation of Abraham and his predecessors is Abraham's lack of preaching. The others are ordained after the holy order and preach. Enoch gathers his followers in a city, Noah warns the people of the flood. Abraham is not a preacher. He does seek after and obtains the priesthood after the holy order. But the main focus is on him becoming a father and having a righteous posterity that will bless the rest of God's children. The children of Abraham's blood line were brought into bondage by the Egyptians where Abraham many years prior had taught about the universe, spirits and creation. That leads us to the delivery by Moses and the next Gospel dispensation, which is the topic for the next post.
This post continues the exploration of an endowment pattern found throughout the Book of Mormon in which a new covenant group is formed and called by God to:
leave the fallen world behind,
enter into the wilderness,
learn to be led by the hand of God, and
find a promised land.
In previous installments of this series, we've focused on many symbols and details shared in these stories, and then discussed the meaning of those symbols. I've mentioned that I believe this pattern is typified by the story of Adam and Eve being cast out of the Garden of Eden into the world to fulfill the first commandment given to them by God, that they should "be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over ... every living thing that moveth upon [it]." (See Genesis 1:28.) In this post, we'll look at other ancient stories which also follow this endowment pattern, at least to some degree, and see what we can learn.
There are two comprehensive examples, Abraham and Moses, followed by a few partial examples. We'll begin the Abraham, as found in Genesis and the Book of Abraham. With each example we cover, I'll begin by giving references to the symbols we've already discussed, then I'll give a general assessment of how the endowment pattern relates to that story.
Abraham
Cry unto God: Abraham 1:15 "...I lifted up my voice unto the Lord my God, and the Lord hearkened and heard..."
Warned to depart: Abraham 2:3 "Now the Lord had said unto me: Abraham, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee." Also Genesis 12:1.
Escape secret plans to murder: Abraham 1:7, 12, 15
Bring all who will hearken: See also Abraham 2:6 for a connection to a promise contained in the Abrahamic covenant that all who hearken to God's voice will be given to Abraham as his "seed" for "an everlasting possession."
Pass through a wilderness: Genesis 12:9 makes reference to the Negev, a desert region in the south of Palestine.
"Many days": Not specifically found, but we know from the chronology of the story that the journey was long.
Tents: Genesis 12:8; Abraham 2:15, 20
Animals: Genesis 13:2.
Seeds: A reference to bringing physical seeds or grain is not found. Abraham 2:15 mentions "all our substance that we had gathered." See also Genesis 12:5. There is an important connection to the word "seed" in Abraham 2:6 (see note about "hearken" above). See also Abraham 3:14.
Inherit a new land: Abraham 2:3
New Name: Genesis 17:5.
Obedience to Commandments: Genesis 22:18.
"Prosper": Genesis 13:2
Led by a righteous patriarch/king: Abraham 1:2-3 contains father/son language (he sought "the blessings of the fathers" and desired to be "a father of many nations" and "a rightful heir" and "a prince of peace." Verse 3 describes Adam as the Firstborn and the first father.)
Moses
Cry unto God: Exodus 2:23 - "...the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage." See also Exodus 3:9.
Warned to depart: See Exodus 3:8-10.
Escape plans to murder: Pharaoh's plan for the Israelites is bondage and captivity.
Bring all who will hearken: Exodus 3:16-18 - "Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me ... And they shall hearken to thy voice"
Pass through a wilderness: Exodus 13:20.
"Many days": The Israelites wandered forty years in the wilderness.
Tents: The tent/tabernacle of the congregation is a major topic of the later chapters of Exodus. See Exodus 39:32 for example.
Animals: Exodus 12:38. Of additional note, Moses was keeping the flock of his father in law at the time of his call on Horeb.
Seeds: Manna, which fed the children of Israel of forty years, is described as "like coriander seed" in Exodus 16:31.
Inherit a new land: Exodus 3:17.
New Name: Interesting note -- In Numbers 13, Moses sends twelve spies to assess the land of promise. He gives a new name to Hoshea, the head of the tribe of Ephraim in Numbers 13:16 (This will be the topic of a standalone post in the near future.)
Obedience to Commandments/"Prosper": Deuteronomy 29:9 - "Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do."
Led by a righteous patriarch/king: Moses has a dual lineage. He is a Levite by birth (Exodus 2:1) but was raised in the house of Pharaoh (Exodus 2:10).
The story of Moses is long and complex, but these symbols offer fascinating insights into deeper meaning. For example, notice in Exodus 9 how the fiery hail destroys the Egyptians' cattle and some of their crops (interestingly only those which had fully ripened -- more about this in a future post). See Exodus 9:19-22, 31-32. The cattle of the Israelites had been gathered to Goshen and were unaffected (see Exodus 9:26).
Incomplete examples
From this point on, we won't be dealing with complete patterns. The following examples contain a few of the symbols, but I'm not sure how interpret these examples aside from pointing out the symbols that are present.
Christ
The story of the beginning of Christ's earthly ministry breaks the pattern in some ways, but many of the same symbols are present when we look at the ministry of John the Baptist.
Mark describes it like this:
12 And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.
13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. (Mark 1)
Cry unto God: We don't have a direct mention of Christ crying to God (at least not at the beginning of His ministry), but we do see John the Baptist in the wilderness. John is described as "the voice of one crying in the wilderness" (Matthew 3:3).
Warned to depart: See Matthew 3:7.
Pass through a wilderness: Matthew 4:1, Luke 4:1.
"Many days": Forty days in the wilderness
Seeds: Wheat mentioned in the context of gathering in Matthew 3:12 and Luke 3:17.
Animals: "with the wild beasts" in Mark 1:13
Enos
This example is almost a counter-example in some ways. The Nephites are in decline as covenant-keepers.
Enos uses some familiar language as he describes his conversion process:
3 Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart.
4 And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens. (Enos 1)
He is reminded of the central promise connecting obedience and that promised land, as well as the covenant God made with the Nephites:
10 And while I was thus struggling in the spirit, behold, the voice of the Lord came into my mind again, saying: I will visit thy brethren according to their diligence in keeping my commandments. I have given unto them this land, and it is a holy land; and I curse it not save it be for the cause of iniquity; wherefore, I will visit thy brethren according as I have said; and their transgressions will I bring down with sorrow upon their own heads. ...
16 And I had faith, and I did cry unto God that he would preserve the records; and he covenanted with me that he would bringthem forth unto the Lamanites in his own due time.
17 And I, Enos, knew it would be according to the covenant which he had made; wherefore my soul did rest.
He also contrasts the Nephites and Lamanites using some of these symbols, but the meaning doesn't seem completely clear:
20 And I bear record that the people of Nephi did seek diligently to restore the Lamanites unto the true faith in God. But our labors were vain; their hatred was fixed, and they were led by their evil nature that they became wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people, full of idolatry and filthiness; feeding upon beasts of prey; dwelling in tents, and wandering about in the wilderness with a short skin girdle about their loins and their heads shaven; and their skill was in the bow, and in the cimeter, and the ax. And many of them did eat nothing save it was raw meat; and they were continually seeking to destroy us.
21 And it came to pass that the people of Nephi did till the land, and raise all manner of grain, and of fruit, and flocks of herds, and flocks of all manner of cattle of every kind, and goats, and wild goats, and also many horses.
I honestly don't know how to interpret these verses. On the one hand it seems the Nephites are trying to bring about the promises of God to restore the Gospel to the Lamanites, but they are unsuccessful due to their own wickedness (see verse 22). Wandering in the wilderness and feeding upon beasts of prey makes sense in this symbolic context, but why does Enos describe the Lamanites as dwelling in tents? Perhaps he's simply documenting the facts as they are, or perhaps he's indicating symbolically that the Lamanites had not yet found the rest of the Lord. Verse 21 seems more obviously in line with the endowment pattern. Even though I don't understand all of the deeper meaning here, it is certainly interesting to ponder how these symbol impact the message of Enos' account.
Lehi's dream
This example is an endowment pattern embedded within another endowment pattern. Just after leaving Jerusalem, as his family was camped in tents in the wilderness, Lehi has this dream of the tree of life. It is interesting to note that in the first edition of the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 6-9 were all one chapter. Notice how the vision of the tree of life is embedded within a larger narrative -- beginning right after the brothers take wives and right before Nephi closes the chapter by describing his plates and their content.
Notice 1 Nephi 8:1-2, which opens the account of the dream --
1 And it came to pass that we had gathered together all manner of seeds of every kind, both of grain of every kind, and also of the seeds of fruit of every kind.
2 And it came to pass that while my father tarried in the wilderness he spake unto us, saying: Behold, I have dreamed a dream; or, in other words, I have seen a vision.
And 1 Nephi 9:1, which concludes the account of the dream --
1 And all these things did my father see, and hear, and speak, as he dwelt in a tent, in the valley of Lemuel, and also a great many more things, which cannot be written upon these plates.
Cry unto God: "I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies."
Bring all who will hearken:
14 ... I beheld your mother Sariah, and Sam, and Nephi; and they stood as if they knew not whither they should go.
15 And it came to pass that I beckoned unto them; and I also did say unto them with a loud voice that they should come unto me, and partake of the fruit, which was desirable above all other fruit.
16 And it came to pass that they did come unto me and partake of the fruit also.
17 And it came to pass that I was desirous that Laman and Lemuel should come and partake of the fruit also; wherefore, I cast mine eyes towards the head of the river, that perhaps I might see them.
18 And it came to pass that I saw them, but they would not come unto me and partake of the fruit.
Pass through a wilderness: "a dark and dreary wilderness" in verse 4
"Many days": "many hours in darkness" in verse 8
Other examples
This pattern is found in other stories as well. Consider the story of Isaac in Genesis 26 and see how many of these elements are contained in that account. Consider what it means that Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness and the Lord hear Hagar's cry and blessed them with water (see Genesis 21:12-21). As we deepen our understanding of each individua symbol and also of the pattern as a whole, we can find beautiful new messages in these familiar stories.
Conclusion
This post is very long and contains far more references than I normally include in a single post. I sincerely hope you will take the time to look these up on your own and study these examples for yourself. I hope this exercise has been fruitful for you.
This pattern is so intimately connected to covenants, and yet (aside from the accounts of Abraham, King Benjamin, and Alma-1) covenants are not really ever the central focus of the stories. This is a great example of how hidden wisdom is contained in the scriptures, waiting to be discovered by those with eyes to see.
In my next post -- which I intend to be the final post in this series -- we will turn to the Doctrine & Covenants and look at hos some of these same symbols are found in latter-day revelations. For me, this brings the message out of the ancient past and right into my heart. It is clear that God stand ready to bless us with the same blessing he gave His people throughout human history.