I anticipate this will be the final time I post the “Discuss” series on the Covenant of Christ. However, if it is approved by a vote in the October Conference I plan to teach from it. It is, in my view, a far more understandable and relevant text for the challenges we are facing in this generation. More so than in any time since the Book of Mormon was first published in 1830, the text addresses our contemporary circumstances in alarming detail.
As the text draws to an end, the final author invites us to ask God about its truthfulness. In the Book of Mormon it states: “And I seal up these records after I have spoken a few words by way of exhortation unto you.
“Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true. And if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, and he will manifest the truth of it unto you by the power of the holy ghost. And by the power of the holy ghost, ye may know the truth of all things. And whatsoever thing is good is just and true. Wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is; and ye may know that he is by the power of the holy ghost. Wherefore, I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God, for he worketh by power according to the faith of the children of men, the same today, and tomorrow, and for ever.” Moroni 10:1-2.
This includes words like “exhortation” and “exhort” and “denieth” and “acknowledgeth” and “worketh” which are rarely (if ever) spoken today. There are, of course, subcultures that may use some of these, but the vast majority of people whom the book is intended to warn not only do not use these words, they likely would need to look them up to determine what is meant. Unfortunately, today a spell-checker will red line the words “denieth”, “acknowledgeth” and “worketh” as misspellings.
This is unfortunate because it is one of the more important passages in the entire book. This invitation/challenge goes to the heart of the book. It might well be regarded as a critically important two paragraphs, essential to accepting the book as a message from God.
In Covenant of Christ it is put in these words: “After I give a few words of counsel to you, I’ll seal up these records.
“I would urge you that when you read these things, if it’s wisdom in God for you to read them, to remember how merciful the Lord has been to mankind, from the creation of Adam all the way down until you consider these things and ponder them in your hearts. When you consider these things, I would urge you to ask God the Eternal Father in the name of Christ: Aren’t these things true? And if you ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, He’ll reveal the truth of it to you by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost, you can know the truth of all things. Anything that’s good is righteous and true. Therefore nothing good denies Christ; on the contrary, it acknowledges that He exists. And you can know He exists by the power of the Holy Ghost. Therefore I would urge you not to deny God’s power — indeed, He works by power according to mankind’s faith, the same today, tomorrow, and forever.”
I have developed a deep appreciation for the candor and plain language of Covenant of Christ. It seems to penetrate my heart and mind in a familiar, kindly voice I recognize as coming from the Lord.
This same writer (Moroni) in the Book of Ether told readers this: “Now I’ll say farewell to the Gentiles, and to my people as well, whom I love, until we come face to face before Christ’s judgment seat, where everyone will know my clothes aren’t stained with your blood. Then you’ll know I’ve seen Jesus and He has talked with me face to face, and He told me about these things in plain humility in my own language, just as one person tells another.” Ether 5:8. When Covenant of Christ addresses us in our own current language, just like one person talks with another, it accomplishes the same thing our Lord did when He spoke with Moroni, the same thing He accomplishes when He speaks to anyone.
I not only welcome the new version of the Book of Mormon, I appreciate it beyond words. To me, it is evidence that our Lord cares for, and is reaching out to, our generation just as He has done before. We have an opportunity, as past generations were given the opportunity, to be gathered as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. It gives me hope.