"Cutting" covenants in Alma 46

This post is a follow-up of Stisa's most recent post about the ancient understanding of how covenants are made. (To summarize, covenants are 'cut' and those who break them are 'cut off.')  It is always interesting to me to learn how ancient people thought about covenants and the stark imagery and symbols associates with keeping their covenants. Often, I am also surprised to see examples of this in the Book of Mormon. (I probably shouldn't be at this point, now that I've found dozens of examples, but that's another story.)

In this post, I'd like to demonstrate how an understanding of the ancient practice of "cutting covenants" can help us find more meaning in of the Book of Mormon.  This reality should reaffirm our assertion that the Book of Mormon was authored by ancient writers who understood covenants according to the ancient Hebrew tradition.

Alma 46 will be our text.  First, we'll discuss the more obvious symbolism, then I'd like to take it a little bit deeper and see if we can take this all the way back to Adam, Eve, and Jesus Christ.

The Symbol of the 'Rent' Garment

We know certain aspects of the storyline of Alma 46 very well. A wicked Nephite dissenter conspires to overthrow the covenant people. A righteous man named Moroni (the "Captain") rallies an army to defend the liberty of the people.  But other parts of the story aren't as familiar. What did he write this covenant on?

12 And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it—In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole. (Alma 46)

The covenant is written on Moroni's torn coat.  This detail is repeated in verse 13 and verse 19.  Then, as the people come forth covenant to defend their freedoms, they rend their garments:

21 And it came to pass that when Moroni had proclaimed these words, behold, the people came running together with their armor girded about their loins, rending their garments in token, or as a covenant, that they would not forsake the Lord their God; or, in other words, if they should transgress the commandments of God, or fall into transgression, and be ashamed to take upon them the name of Christ, the Lord should rend them even as they had rent their garments.

22 Now this was the covenant which they made, and they cast their garments at the feet of Moroni, saying: We covenant with our God, that we shall be destroyed, even as our brethren in the land northward, if we shall fall into transgression; yea, he may cast us at the feet of our enemies, even as we have cast our garments at thy feet to be trodden under foot, if we shall fall into transgression. 

The message seems to be: 'As it is with our garments, so let it be with us if we break our covenant.'

The highlighted phrase in verse 21 grabs my attention, too.  What does the garment have to do with taking upon them the name of Christ?' To answer that, let's take a look at the coat of skins given to Adam and Eve.

Christ's Sacrifice and the Garment

Now let's take this deeper and think about Adam and Eve and what they knew about sacrifice. The Book of Moses teaches us that God made "coats of skins" for Adam and Eve as they were expelled from the Garden of Eden (Moses 4:27). I've pondered where those skins came from and have come to the same conclusion others have drawn -- the coats of skins is intimately connected to the principle of sacrifice and is meant to point the mind to the ultimate sacrifice, the atoning sacrifice of the Lamb of God.

Only ten verses after God clothes Adam and Eve, we find Adam and Even being taught by an angel how to offer sacrifice to God:

5 And he gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord. (Moses 5)

I can't think of a more powerful symbol of the protection offered by obedience to the covenant than wearing a coat of skins connected to the sacrifice of the firstling of their flocks. To fulfill the covenant that was 'cut' between Jehovah and His people, Jehovah came to earth and offered Himself as a sacrifice, which covers the sinner and is symbolized by a covering.  If we reject this covenant (and His power to save/exalt us) we will suffer spiritual death -- permanent separation from God. In other words, He was sacrificed so that we might not be cut off. It's a powerful message.

The Hebrew word for atonement is 'kaphar' which literally means 'to cover' (see Brown-Driver-Briggs definition #2 here). 

With this symbolism in mind, the connection between Christ's sacrifice and the coat of skins given to Adam and Eve seems quite obvious. It is also easy to see the connection between the coat of skins and the everlasting covenant.

So verse 21 makes perfect sense -- wearing the garment is a symbol of faith in Christ. This most likely  would have set the Nephites apart culturally from any other people in the area. I believe this helps explain a somewhat cryptic statement offered centuries later by the lone surviving Nephite:

1 Now I, Moroni, after having made an end of abridging the account of the people of Jared, I had supposed not to have written more, but I have not as yet perished; and I make not myself known to the Lamanites lest they should destroy me.

2 For behold, their wars are exceedingly fierce among themselves; and because of their hatred they put to death every Nephite that will not deny the Christ.

3 And I, Moroni, will not deny the Christ; wherefore, I wander whithersoever I can for the safety of mine own life. (Moroni 1)

While it is possible that Moroni is simply referring to an oral denial of the Christ, I think it makes more sense that his very clothing bore his witness of Christ.

Getting back to Alma 46

Interestingly, Jewish rabbis speculate that the coat given to Adam in the Garden of Eden made its way down through the generations to Jacob and was the same garment given to Joseph. I don't put a lot of weight on that as a historical fact, because I see the coat as a metaphor representing the knowledge of the Messiah, the but legend is nonetheless interesting.

As we get back to Alma 46, notice that Moroni ties the covenant of freedom back to Jacob and Joseph, from whom the Nephites directly descend, and the miraculous preservation of a portion of that famous coat:

23 Moroni said unto them: Behold, we are a remnant of the seed of Jacob; yea, we are a remnant of the seed of Joseph, whose coat was rent by his brethren into many pieces; yea, and now behold, let us remember to keep the commandments of God, or our garments shall be rent by our brethren, and we be cast into prison, or be sold, or be slain.

24 Yea, let us preserve our liberty as a remnant of Joseph; yea, let us remember the words of Jacob, before his death, for behold, he saw that a part of the remnant of the coat of Joseph was preserved and had not decayed. And he said—Even as this remnant of garment of my son hath been preserved, so shall a remnant of the seed of my son be preserved by the hand of God, and be taken unto himself, while the remainder of the seed of Joseph shall perish, even as the remnant of his garment. (Alma 46)

The preservation of a remnant of the coat symbolizes how the everlasting covenant brings about eternal life for the remnant of God's children who accept Christ and live according to His Gospel.

The everlasting covenant and gospel dispensations -- Part 4 (Abraham)

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 holy angels 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.

The everlasting covenant and gospel dispensations -- Part 1 (Introdution and Adam)

I have started to ponder the everlasting covenant, what it is and how it was restored at every gospel dispensation. As I wrote the recent posts on Melchizedek, I realized that there is a covenant connection between Enoch, Noah and Melchizedek/Abraham, which led me to think about the everlasting covenant in the context of gospel dispensations. Gospel dispensations is a unique concept in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, as far as I know. We usually talk about seven dispensations where the true teachings, priesthood and ordinances had been lost and needed restoration. Each of these had one righteous priesthood holder as the head, starting with Adam. Those seven are:

1. Adam
2. Enoch
3. Noah
4. Abraham
5. Moses
6. Jesus Christ
7. Joseph Smith

I want to spend this and some future posts detailing how the everlasting covenant relates to these seven persons/dispensations. First of all, we need to define what the everlasting covenant is. In church, we often talk about the new and everlasting covenant. Elder Marcus B. Nash defines it as follows in this Ensign article:

This covenant, often referred to by the Lord as the “new and everlasting covenant,” encompasses the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, including all ordinances and covenants necessary for the salvation of mankind.

It is new because it was restored in our dispensation through the prophet, Joseph Smith. It is everlasting because it existed from before "the foundation of the world". But let's start with that term. Lord Wilmore has written about it here. There are many examples in the Book of Mormon that the plan of salvation, the atonement and the priesthood order was from before the foundation of the world. Hugh Nibley makes this remark:

When I recently collected, sorted, and classified many doctrinal elements in the early apocrypha, the most conspicuous was the plan laid from the foundation of the world. The idea has been suppressed by the editors and translators of the Bible, but it breaks out repeatedly in the apocrypha, and it is nowhere more succinctly and emphatically stated than in the Book of Mormon; "The way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world" (1 Nephi 10:18). (Hugh Nibley: Rediscovery of the apocrypha)

It only confirms what Lord Wilmore wrote in the linked post where he drew from the apocryphal Book of Enoch. The essence of the plan is to help mankind back into God's presence, through Christ and covenants. The everlasting covenant is, simply speaking, the means to redeem us by binding us to God. As we shall see, this is manifest in the different gospel dispensations. The covenant has been broken and needs to be restored. God does not give up on us even though we may give up on him. Seven times (the number symbolizing perfection or fullness) he calls a prophet to bring it back. This seventh time, the restoration through the prophet Joseph Smith, is the last and leads into the millennium and fulfillment of the everlasting covenant.

We have written at length about the creation-covenant connection before. But I don't expect every reader of the blog to have read all posts written a year or two ago. So we need a small recap of that before I move on because the creation is closely linked to and contextualizes the everlasting covenant. In Hebrew, the word for covenant, "berith" is related to the word for creation, "bereshith". The covenant was before the foundation of the world but came into effect at the foundation of the world. It was meant to keep the whole creation together in unity and harmony. The opposite happened at the fall of man and since then, God has been eager to establish a covenant people to restore this harmony and ultimately bring man and the whole creation back to unity with Him. The scriptures describe how creation struggles and suffers as a consequence of the broken covenant and yearns for rest, peace and redemption.

21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain (Romans 8:21)

4 The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.

5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. (Isaiah 24) 

And it came to pass that Enoch looked upon the earth; and he heard a voice from the bowels thereof, saying: Wo, wo is me, the mother of men; I am pained, I am weary, because of the wickedness of my children. When shall I rest, and be cleansed from the filthiness which is gone forth out of me? When will my Creator sanctify me, that I may rest, and righteousness for a season abide upon my face? (Moses 7:48) 

The seven dispensations listed above are typically regarded as the gospel dispensations in our theology, the main instances where God calls a prophet after his order to establish a covenant people. But there are several other minor dispensations in between where we see the establishment of a covenant people. Lord Wilmore is currently writing a series on it and how these establishments or "mini-dispensations" follow a temple pattern and relate to the creation. So I am not going to elaborate on that, but this series of posts goes hand in hand with that, since the covenant path in the temple is a reversal of the creation, uniting heaven and earth and brings man back into the presence of God. I want to spend this and the next posts, going through each of the dispensations and show how covenant and creation are a central part of each of them. 

Adam

Adam is the culmination of the creation, created on the last day before God pronouncing his creation complete and "very good". In other words, the creation was bound together in harmony as it should at that time. But the fall disrupted it and man became "carnal, sensual and devilish" (Moses 5:13). Still, Adam is counted as the head of the first dispensation because he "called upon the name of the Lord (Moses 5:4), "was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord" (Moses 5:5) and along with Eve, "blessed the name of God, and [...] made all things known unto their sons and their daughters" (Moses 5:12).

Even though Adam had caused the fall, he became eager to do his part to restore the creation as he learned more about Christ and covenants. When he called upon the name of the Lord and was obedient, an angel came to instruct him. Later he learned about covenants and their relation to the atonement

53 And our father Adam spake unto the Lord, and said: Why is it that men must repent and be baptized in water? And the Lord said unto Adam: Behold I have forgiven thee thy transgression in the Garden of Eden.

54 Hence came the saying abroad among the people, that the Son of God hath atoned for original guilt, wherein the sins of the parents cannot be answered upon the heads of the children, for they are whole from the foundation of the world. (Moses 6)

Finally, Adam was ordained after the order of God and became a blueprint of someone who is redeemed and has become a new creation.

67 And thou art after the order of him who was without beginning of days or end of years, from all eternity to all eternity.

68 Behold, thou art one in me, a son of God; and thus may all become my sons. (Moses 6)

What characterizes the heads of each dispensation and their accounts is:

• The creation
• Eternity or "before the foundation of the world"
• Hearkening to the word of God and receiving instruction
• Being called after his order
• Preaching and exemplifying redemption, becoming a new creation

Many of these topics are found in various posts on this blog already. I am not going to repeat all that but rather frame these within the concept of gospel dispensations. We see these topics in the case of Adam and will over the next posts see how they characterize the remaining six dispensations.

Endowment Narratives in the Book of Mormon, Part 3b -- Finding Meaning in the Symbols

This post will continue a detailed discussion of the symbols I've listed in the endowment pattern we find throughout the Book of Mormon. Today I'll be discussing three more elements:

• The new covenant people passes through a wilderness on their journey
• A list of animals (sometimes "of every kind")\
• "Many days"

The connection between 'wilderness,' 'the word,' and 'flocks and herds'

As I studied the concept of wilderness in preparation, for this post, I made an important and very satisfying connection between 'wilderness,' 'flocks and herds,' and 'the word.' Keep in mind that when I set out to document and flesh out the "endowment pattern" in the Book of Mormon, I did so by first identifying repeating details between many different accounts.  I didn't pick and choose the details based on their connection to Adam and Eve. So it is inspiring to see that these details have deep and meaningful connections back to Adam and Eve. As I've previously demonstrated in Parts 1 and 2, "wilderness" and "flocks and herds" are two of the repeating details. 

What I didn't know when I added them to the list is that there is a profound connection between these two elements built into the Hebrew language, and it centers around hearkening to the word.

In the Old Testament, "wilderness/desert" is most often translated from the Hebrew word 'midbar' --

midbar: desert (מִדְבָּר) -- desert (11), deserts (1), wilderness (257)

This word comes from the root 'dabar' which means 'to speak.' At first, this made no sense to me. What does a wilderness have to do with speaking? Biblehub helped me out:

From dabar in the sense of driving; a pasture (i.e. Open field, whither cattle are driven); by implication, a desert; also speech (including its organs) -- desert, south, speech, wilderness.

So the name of the place where a shepherd leads his flocks to graze comes from the root word 'to speak.' 

This adds a whole new layer of depth to an already fascinating word.  See this previous post by Stisa on the connection between 'dabar' and other Hebrew words, including the order of the priesthood. The "place of speaking" in the Holy of Holies (Hebrew: 'debir') also derives from this root. In other words, the covenant path begins in a wilderness (Hebrew 'midbar') and ends at a place of speaking (Hebrew: 'debir').

In light of this, look at Lehi's dream of the Tree of Life as recorded in 1 Nephi 8.  After explaining that he is fearful for Laman and Lenuel, he uses these words to begin describing his dream:

4 ... for behold, methought I saw in my dream, a dark and dreary wilderness.

After partaking of the fruit, he says this:

12 And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit. ...

14 And ... 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.

The dream begins in a wilderness and ends with Lehi calling out to his loved ones "with a loud voice" to come and partake. Receiver becomes giver by passing through a wilderness.

In this context, read this description of the symbolic meaning of the wilderness:   

... a wilderness symbolizes any place in which the people are tested, tried, proven, refined by trials, taught grace, and prepared to meet the Lord (see Alma 17:9; see also Christ’s preparations in the wilderness in Matthew 4:1–2). Scriptural journeys often symbolize man’s earthly walk from birth through the spiritual wildernesses of a fallen world (see Ether 6:4–7 for the ocean allegory of man’s journey; see also 1 Nephi 8 for the path leading to the tree of life). God seeks to teach that His children cannot be self-prospering and thereby fulfill the purposes of their earthly lives. They must learn to seek and accept His grace to reach their destinations, which are promised lands or places of deliverance and spiritual peace where Zion can be established. The Lord speaks to modern Israel: “Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom; otherwise I cannot receive her unto myself. And my people must needs be chastened until they learn obedience, if it must needs be, by the things which they suffer” (D&C 105:5–6). Therefore, the Lord provides in our lives wildernesses and waterlessness and overwhelming challenges to entice His children to involve Him as they struggle through life. (Source)

The wilderness is the place where natural man gives way to God's will and learns to be obedient to Him.  The domesticated animal is perhaps the perfect metaphor.

'Flocks and Herds'

In the endowment pattern detailed in parts 1 and 2, those who hearken are not only called to enter a wilderness, and they also take their flocks with them. These flocks and herds consist of domesticated animals -- those animals that are useful to man and follow his voice. So in this pattern we see that man acts both as hearer and speaker of the word -- being led by God and leading flocks and herds along into the wilderness.

The wilderness is the place where natural man gives way to God's will and learns to be obedient to Him.  The domesticated animal is perhaps the perfect metaphor.

This also ties in to the creation itself, and the commandment given to Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:28-30 --

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

29 ¶ And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

Domesticating animals is an act of subduing and having dominion over part of God's creation, just as they were commanded to do. In a subtle, powerful way covenant people taking the flocks and herds into the wilderness shows their desire to fulfill God's commandments and act as Adam and Eve.

Before the Fall, animals in general appear to be in an intimate relationship with humans. This is shown, among other things, by the fact that they are given names by humans, which indicates not just the human control of animals but intimacy as well (cf. Gen 2:23, where the man names his helper). At least, it is assumed that humans were in perfect harmony with the animals. Apparently this situation has changed after the Fall. Note the following circumstances: the sin of humans affected the animal world; animals are divided into two classes, clean and not clean (Gen 7:2; NIV unclean; cf. Lev 11); there is a distance between animals and humans (Gen 9:2); animals may be eaten by humans for food (9:3); carnivorous animals may attack human beings (9:5); and finally, as is discussed below, Isa 11:6–8 presents an image of the animal world in which carnivorous animals undergo a metamorphosis in their nature, returning to their primordial situation (see below). (VanGemeren, W. (Ed.). (1997). New international dictionary of Old Testament theology & exegesis (Vol. 1, p. 612). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)

This symbolism is deep and far-reaching. Think of all of the pastoral metaphors in the Gospel. I'll circle back to it in future posts as we talk about how often the wilderness theme appears in scripture.

"Many days"

I'll end this post with a few words about "many days." For me, the surprising thing about this seemingly mundane phrase is that it actually shows up so often in this endowment pattern context and not very often otherwise.  It appears 7 times in 1 Nephi 16-18, always as Nephi describes the journey in the wilderness (and on the sea). See 1 Nephi 16:15, 17, 33; 17:7, 52; 18:9, 23.

Perhaps the most notable use of the phrase 'many days' comes from the Book of Moses in the context of Adam and Eve's actions after being expelled from the Garden of Eden (actions which involve the firstlings of their flocks!):

6 And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me. (Moses 5)

Conclusion

At the end of part three, I'll start to pull these various symbols together and demonstrate how they help us find numerous links between temple worship and scripture.  The details we've looked at in more depth offer great examples.  Of course much more could be written about these topics, and I will certainly revisit these topics, but I hope you can see how the creation of animals and the commandments given to Adam in the Garden of Eden to subdue the creation play into the symbolism of God calling those who will hearken to His voice to leave the fallen world behind and depart into the wilderness (and why they would bring their flocks and herds with them).  This ties into Noah bringing animals of all kinds on the ark. This ties into the concept of the grand feast in the ancient Egyptian temple rites. 

In the next post, we'll continue to look at additional details from the endowment pattern.

Endowment Narratives in the Book of Mormon, Part 3a -- Finding Meaning in the Symbols

The more I study the scriptures and ponder their meaning, the more I realize how much we underappreciate the significance of the archetypal story of Adam and Eve as presented in the books of Genesis, Moses, and Abraham. I believe the ancient prophets saw themselves as Adam and created intentional parallels in their accounts.

As we continue this series on "endowment patterns" in the Book of Mormon, I hope I'll be able to draw out meaning from our list of twelve recurring details that connect back to Adam and Eve.

For reference, here is the list of details:

1. Commanded/warned (often in a dream or vision) to depart
2. The group they leave are involved in secret combinations or intend to kill them.
3. They seek to bring all who will hearken/listen
4. The new covenant people passes through a wilderness on their journey
5. "Many days"
6. Tents (a symbol of the presence of the Lord)
7. A list of animals (sometimes "of every kind")
8. They inherit a land
9. New names are given (see Genesis 2:20)
10. They obey the commandments of the Lord
11. Abundance/Prosper
12. They are usually led by a righteous patriarch/king/royal family member

I'm planning to take my time going through each of these symbols, so this part will be broken up into multiple sections.

Commanded/warned (often in a dream or vision) to depart

We read about a "deep sleep" that God caused to come upon Adam (see Moses 3:21 and Abraham 5:15). Waking up from that deep sleep is a powerful covenant symbol. Read the following verses from the Book of Mormon with this context in mind (for the sake of not making this post too long, I am only including the key phrases from these passages, but I encourage you to read the full context of each of the following passages to really get the message). I've highlighted references to "awake" in yellow, descriptions of what we are to awake from in aqua, and I've put in bold italics other key terms and phrases.

13 O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe.

14 Awake! and arise from the dust, and hear the words of a trembling parent... (2 Nephi 1)

 

28 Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. (2 Nephi 4)

 

9 Awake, awake! Put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake as in the ancient days. (2 Nephi 8 quoting Isaiah 51; see also verses 17 & 24, 3 Nephi 20:36, and Moroni 10:31)

 

11 O my brethren, hearken unto my words; arouse the faculties of your souls; shake yourselves that ye may awake from the slumber of death; and loose yourselves from the pains of hell that ye may not become angels to the devil, to be cast into that lake of fire and brimstone which is the second death. (Jacob 3)

 

40 ... I pray that ye should awake to a remembrance of the awful situation of those that have fallen into transgression. (Mosiah 2)

 

2 And the things which I shall tell you are made known unto me by an angel from God. And he said unto me: Awake; and I awoke, and behold he stood before me.

3 And he said unto me: Awake, and hear the words which I shall tell thee; for behold, I am come to declare unto you the glad tidings of great joy. (Mosiah 3)

 

7 Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word; yea, they were encircled about by the bands of death, and the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them. (Alma 5)

 

27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words ... (Alma 32)

I love this "awake from a deep sleep" symbolism. Jeff Lindsay has explored the connection between dust and chains in a series of Interpreter articles which center on the hypothesis that the Book of Moses contains source text known to authors of the Book of Mormon (part 1 here). If this topic interests you, I encourage you to read more about it. It isn't hard to find this same symbolism in our modern temple worship. The endowment is a literal gift from God, and one of the first steps in truly appreciating how sacred and important this gift is involves a spiritual awakening.

The group they leave are involved in secret combinations or intend to kill them.

My appreciation for this symbol increased as I came to understand the connection between secret combinations and the story of Cain. (See here for a detailed explanation.) Once I understood that secret combinations are Satan's mimic of the sacred covenant between God and Adam, a whole lot of seemingly random details suddenly fell into a beautiful pattern.

God's everlasting covenant offers us power and eternal "gain" as long as we are willing to follow God's way and rely upon Jesus Christ as our source of strength.  Satan offers a counterfeit to this, but it's a trap which leads to bondage and spiritual death.

Moroni, writing directly to his latter-day Gentile readers, offer us this warning, where he gives us explicit warnings about leaving these evil ways behind. I'll put in bold the descriptions of the secret combinations, and also highlight one use of "awake" as well in this passage.  References to Cain will be in orange (with verses inserted for your convenience):

23 Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get power and gain—and the work, yea, even the work of destruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of the Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if ye shall suffer these things to be.

24 Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it (Genesis 4:10), and also upon those who built it up.

25 For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar who beguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused man to commit murder from the beginning; who hath hardened the hearts of men that they have murdered the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out from the beginning.

26 Wherefore, I, Moroni, am commanded to write these things that evil may be done away, and that the time may come that Satan may have no power upon the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be persuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all righteousness and be saved. (Ether 8)

One major early hurdle we must clear as we seek to fully accept the endowment God desires to give us is to leave Satan and his evil, destructive ways behind.  We must cast him out the same way Jesus cast out unclean spirits. This is accomplished by seeing Satan's tactics for what they are and replacing his ways with God's ways (the Gospel of Jesus Christ).

In the stories I outlined in parts 1 and 2 of this series, the new covenant people must leave behind a fallen situation in which some evil people seek their death (or captivity). There is deep symbolic power in striving to identify and leave behind the elements of our current situation which keeps us bound down and subjected to Satan's power.  

They seek to bring all who will hearken/listen

The Book of Moses makes it clear that Adam and Eve taught what they had learned from God to their children.

12 And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters. (Moses 5)

1 And Adam hearkened unto the voice of God, and called upon his sons to repent. (Moses 6) 

This was done in order to keep a commandment from God:

58 And thus the Gospel began to be preached, from the beginning, being declared by holy angels 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)

As I noted in the examples in parts 1 and 2, bringing everyone who will "hearken" is an important component of the formation of a new covenant people.

That's it for this post.  In the next post (part 3b), we'll continue to find connections between the details in the endowment pattern and the story of Adam and Eve.