These series of posts are not to benefit those who accepted the Lord’s 2017 Covenant. Feedback from those who believe has been overwhelmingly positive, and may well be unanimous in accepting the new text, Covenant of Christ. Just yesterday I got an email from a woman whose gratitude for the new book brought tears of joy to my eyes as I read her tender message.
But the text is not solely for use by those who believe the Lord has begun anew the forward progress of the restoration. The book is to help all who believe the Book of Mormon to understand the content through modern English.
The hope is that LDS, Fundamentalists, Community of Christ, and others who study the Book of Mormon will welcome this new version and consider benefitting from the content. The text was originally prepared by the authors to come forward for this generation. And events now happening are discussed in the book’s prophecies. Therefore, it is important for people living today to learn the wisdom, warnings, guidance and testimony provided by writers who were inspired by Jesus Christ for our benefit.
We have a political season underway in the United States at this moment. The divided political camps are both making the same plea to the public. Both claim that the “other party” is evil, not to be trusted, lying and dangerous. It doesn’t matter which side you hear, the message is the same, only the identities are switched.
Listen to the description of the “other party” that airs nightly on Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, Daily Wire, Newsmax, Washington Post, New York Times, and even the Wall Street Journal. Go to any other news source and compare messages. The messaging is to fear and distrust the rival political party and those who will vote contrary to the viewpoint being advocated.
The ultimate objective of the messaging is exposed in Covenant of Christ. When the leader of one faction wanted to violently overthrow his opponent, it required him to dehumanize his target, and stir up anger to motivate violence: “As soon as Amalickiah obtained the kingdom he began to manipulate the Lamanites against the Nephites. Indeed, he appointed men to speak to the Lamanites from their towers accusing the Nephites. In this way, he influenced them against the Nephites, so that in the latter end of the 19th year of the judges’ rule, having carried out his scheme to that point, having been made king over the Lamanites, he also made it his aim to rule over the entire land, and all the people who lived there, the Nephites as well as the Lamanites. So he had advanced his plan, since he had hardened the Lamanites’ hearts and blinded their minds and stirred them up to anger, so much so that he collected a large army willing to attack the Nephites.” Alma 21:31. It was the tools he used that are being used again today to manipulate the public and motivate violence: “Amalickiah had, in this way, been obtaining power by fraud and deceit[.]” Id, 32.
Bloomberg News today said the United States is now the third-most likely nation to experience widespread civil violence next year. If angry political voices are able to stir up the public for a long enough time, there will be resulting violence.
It has been the trajectory of two prior civilizations that occupied the Americas to disintegrate into violence and upheaval when they abandoned worship of the God of this land: Jesus Christ. The purpose of Covenant of Christ is to forewarn this generation about that destiny awaiting us, if we follow that same path.
We still have time to repent and return to following the Lord. These posts are to persuade everyone who is willing to read Covenant of Christ and consider just how relevant the warnings in that book are for where we find ourselves right now.