Marriage in the Covenant

Genesis 24:1-4
Abraham was concerned that Isaac would have to marry someone outside of the covenant, so he sent his servant to find Isaac a wife that would allow him to marry in the covenant. He was concerned that marrying outside the covenant would cause Isaac to turn away from the Lord. Abraham understands the importance of the marriage covenant. If Isaac married in the covenant there is a much greater chance that they would teach their children to believe, that the covenants would continue on. He understands that without it one cannot receive exaltation. The promises that are associated with eternal marriage are eternal. They are still just as important to us today as they were to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They are still as essential for us, and the consequences of not keeping those covenants or choosing to not enter into the covenants also still remains the same.

Genesis 24:15-67 Attributes of Rebekah
24:18-19 - She was willing to draw water for the servant as well as for his camels. Camels drink a lot of water, and yet without hesitating she offered to draw water for all of them. This shows that she is generous, quick to serve, and willing to work hard.

24:25 - She offered her home to Abraham's servant. This shows again that she is generous and willing to give of what she has to others.

24:58 - She was willing to leave with Abraham's servant so quickly after he got there. This shows that she had tremendous faith to be willing to leave all her family behind to go and be Isaac's wife.

Genesis 27:46; 28:1-4
Isaac and Rebekah were concerned that Jacob would marry one of the daughters of the Canaanites. They wanted him to have the opportunity to continue in the covenant and enter into the marriage covenant as they had.

Genesis 29:1-30
Jacob was willing to work for seven years for Rachel. When he found that he had been married to Leah instead of Rachel, he was willing to work for another seven years to be married to Rachel. Laban allowed him to marry Rachel after Leah's week of wedding festivities were over, but he still had to work for those seven years.

I am so grateful for the eternal marriage that I have been blessed with! I am so grateful to be married to a worthy man. I knew when we decided to get married that a lot of my family members would have a hard time with me getting married, I knew that school would be much harder especially if we had children while we were still in school, I knew that having children would not be easy, I knew that marriage would require a lot of faith and effort, but most importantly, I knew that it was absolutely the right thing to do. Heavenly Father had made that very clear to me. I am so grateful for the decision that I made to be married in the temple to Robby. He is incredible! I am so lucky to have him. He works so hard for our family and does so much for us. It makes me want to be the best wife to him and mother to our children that I can be! Do we have a perfect marriage? No, but we have a perfecting one. One that we are always striving to improve, make stronger, and make eternal. We are here to help strengthen each other and lead each other and our family back to Christ and our Father in Heaven! I am so grateful for Robby's leadership in our home. I hope that I can have these qualities of Rebekah and always be willing to serve my family and become the woman, mother and wife that the Lord would have me become!

Abrahamic Covenant

What is a covenant?

A covenant is sometimes between two people, but more likely it is between God and man. In a covenant, God sets the terms and we accept them. The gospel is organized so that principles and ordinances are received under covenant and are associated with a responsibility and obligation to honor them (Bible Dictionary, Covenant).

Genesis 12:1-3; 13:14-16; 15:4-7, 18; 17:1-10, 15-19; Abraham 1:18-19; 2:9-11

What Abraham Promises to Do:	What the Lord Promises to do:
·         Abraham is commanded to be perfect and to walk uprightly before God.	·         Promised Abraham land for his seed, would receive promised lands for an eternal inheritance ·         Promised Abraham would have seed as numerous as the dust of the earth and as the stars in the heavens. Through his seed all families of the earth will be blessed. ·         He was promised and given the priesthood to share the gospel

                The Abrahamic Covenant is important to me and pertains to me because I am promised these same blessing because of the covenants that I have made.  I am part of the covenant people, the seed of Abraham because of the covenants that I have entered into, particularly the covenants of baptism and eternal marriage. The Bible Dictionary teaches that “the portions of the covenant that pertain to personal salvation and eternal increase are renewed with each individual who receives the ordinance of celestial marriage.” I have the responsibility to live as Abraham did, to walk uprightly before God, and I have the responsibility to share the gospel with all people.

Doctrine and Covenants 132 helps to understand Genesis 16 and why Abraham took Hagar to wife. In D&C 132:34 we learn that God commanded Abraham and Sarah to give Hagar to Abraham to wife. Because the Lord commanded it, Abraham was not sinning. By doing this he “was fulfilling, among other things, the promises” (D&C 132:34). In verse 63 we learn that “they are given unto him to multiply and replenish the earth, according to my commandment, and to fulfil the promise which was given by my Father before the foundation of the world, and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may bear the souls of men” (D&C 132:63). Thus Abraham was fulfilling the promises made to him when he took Hagar to wife.

The name Abram means exalted father. The name Abraham means father of a multitude. The name Sarai means contentions or is another form of the name Sarah. The name Sarah means princess. These name changes are related to the covenant that was made. Abraham is an exalted father, but he is the father of a multitude. Sarah’s name is important because she is part of the covenant with Abraham. She has responsibilities to Abraham and to the Lord to be able to receive those promises of being a queen to Abraham to rule with him forever.

 

There is a huge difference between what the Bible has in the book of Genesis about Enoch and his people versus what the Joseph Smith Translation in the Book of Moses has on Enoch and his people. In Genesis all it tells us is that Enoch walked with God and that God brought Enoch to Him. In Moses we learn about Enoch's calling, we learn what the Lord did to help Enoch in all that he was required to do, we learn about what the city of Zion was like. We know that the people were of one heart and one mind, that the Lord dwelt with them, and that eventually the city of Enoch was taken up into heaven. 

Moses 6:26-31
At the time of Enoch, the Lord described the people living on the earth as a people whose "hearts have waxed hard, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes cannot see afar off". They are a people who have denied the Lord, who have sought after their own ways, and have not kept the commandments of God. When the Lord tells Enoch that he is to tell the people to repent, Enoch feels very inadequate. He feels like he is slow of speech and the people do not like him. He asks the Lord why he has found favor in His sight and why he was the one chosen to call them to repentance.

Moses 6:32-39, 47; 7:13-18, 69
The Lord strengthened Enoch to be able to do all that was required of him by promising that Enoch's mouth would be filled and the words he needed to speak would be given to him. The Lord promised that the Spirit would justify all that Enoch said. Enoch was shown things that are "not visible to the natural eye". The Lord also stayed with Enoch and walked and dwelt with Him.

I love the promise where the Lord tells Enoch that "my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify." I think that is an incredible promise. I know that I have experienced that to some degree in my life and I hope that I can continue to strive to achieve that. The Lord can take whatever it is that we are doing and make it powerful and great. When we do anything by His Spirit it has the power to influence and change lives. I know that I have experienced this as a pianist. I love to write arrangements of the hymns and primary songs. Before I play them for people I always pray to have the Spirit to testify of the truth that is in these songs to the listeners. It becomes a chance for me to bear my testimony and to share what I know is true. Then when that is truly the desire of my heart I know that the Spirit touches their hearts, touches their spirits and helps influence them for good in some way. I am so grateful for the power that comes when the Lord justifies our actions and our words. It is a real power that we can experience and help others to feel. I hope and pray that I can continue to strive to have that be a power in my own life.