Twelve Promises to Covenant Israel

Over the past few months I have studied various scriptures about what “the Lord has promised He will do for covenant Israel” as President Nelson invited us. Since he specifically mentioned that we should put together a list of these, I have compiled a list of various promises from the Lord that I have found in my study. His blessings He has promised for His people who covenant with Him are truly amazing, and here are twelve the scriptures teach us about:

·         He will give His power to saints across the world who will covenant with Him: “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory” (1 Nephi 14:14). Another passage also promises: “If thou wilt hearken to my voice, which saith unto thee: Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on my name, and you shall receive my Spirit, and a blessing so great as you never have known…. And it shall come to pass that power shall rest upon thee; thou shalt have great faith, and I will be with thee and go before thy face” (Doctrine and Covenants 39:10-12). Through the covenant of baptism He promises us power. The temple also offers the same promise as the prayer on the dedication of the Kirtland Temple suggests: “And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them…. Let the anointing of thy ministers be sealed upon them with power from on high” (Doctrine and Covenants 109:22, 35). Those who covenant in the temple will go forth with power.  

·         Covenant Israel will prosper. One of my favorite passages about what the Lord will do for Israel is found in the Law of Moses: “And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways” (Deuteronomy 28:1-9). He summarized, “Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do” (Deuteronomy 29:9). If Israel will keep her covenant with the Lord, she will prosper.

·         He will give the House of Israel great knowledge: “Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief…. Yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel” (Ether 4:14-15). This is encompassed in the gospel itself which the Lord promised would be preached to covenant Israel: “Thou shalt preach the fulness of my gospel, which I have sent forth in these last days, the covenant which I have sent forth to recover my people, which are of the house of Israel” (Doctrine and Covenants 39:11).

·         Covenant Israel will come to know Jesus Christ: “He hath covenanted with all the house of Jacob, even so shall the covenant wherewith he hath covenanted with the house of Jacob be fulfilled in his own due time, unto the restoring all the house of Jacob unto the knowledge of the covenant that he hath covenanted with them. And then shall they know their Redeemer, who is Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (3 Nephi 5:25-26). The Prophet Joseph prayed this which is surely being fulfilled: “And may all the scattered remnants of Israel, who have been driven to the ends of the earth, come to a knowledge of the truth, believe in the Messiah, and be redeemed from oppression, and rejoice before thee” (Doctrine and Covenants 109:67).

·         He promised to bring forth the Book of Mormon: One of His covenants with Israel was to bring the Book of Mormon to light in the latter days. He promised to Joseph of Egypt: “A seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and unto him will I give power to bring forth my word unto the seed of thy loins…. And the words which he shall write shall be the words which are expedient in my wisdom should go forth unto the fruit of thy loins. And it shall be as if the fruit of thy loins had cried unto them from the dust” (2 Nephi 3:11). He told the Nephites when He was among them: “Therefore, when these works and the works which shall be wrought among you hereafter shall come forth from the Gentiles, unto your seed which shall dwindle in unbelief because of iniquity; For thus it behooveth the Father that it should come forth from the Gentiles…. And when these things come to pass that thy seed shall begin to know these things—it shall be a sign unto them, that they may know that the work of the Father hath already commenced unto the fulfilling of the covenant which he hath made unto the people who are of the house of Israel” (3 Nephi 21:5-7). A major part of the Lord’s covenants with Israel is that He would bring unto them the Book of Mormon so that they would more fully understand all of His covenants with them and it would aid in gathering His people.

·         He will gather His Saints: Many scriptures promise that He will gather Israel together in the last days. “And he gathereth his children from the four quarters of the earth; and he numbereth his sheep, and they know him; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd; and he shall feed his sheep, and in him they shall find pasture” (1 Nephi 22:25). Another passage reads, “And after the house of Israel should be scattered they should be gathered together again; or, in fine, after the Gentiles had received the fulness of the Gospel, the natural branches of the olive tree, or the remnants of the house of Israel, should be grafted in, or come to the knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer” (1 Nephi 10:14). Nephi also wrote, “Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to make bare his arm in the eyes of all the nations, in bringing about his covenants and his gospel unto those who are of the house of Israel. Wherefore, he will bring them again out of captivity, and they shall be gathered together to the lands of their inheritance; and they shall be brought out of obscurity and out of darkness; and they shall know that the Lord is their Savior and their Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel” (1 Nephi 22:11-12).

·         He will remember covenant Israel: Isaiah recorded these words of Jehovah: “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee” (Isaiah 49:15). This promise to remember His people is evident in the allegory of the olive tree. Zenos recorded, “Have I slackened mine hand, that I have not nourished it? Nay, I have nourished it, and I have digged about it, and I have pruned it, and I have dunged it; and I have stretched forth mine hand almost all the day long” (Jacob 5:47). He never stops seeking to “nourish” the house of Israel and gather His people. Alma put it this way, “He remembereth every creature of his creating, he will make himself manifest to all” (Mosiah 27:30). He will not forget His people.

·         He will fight Israel’s battles: “And I, the Lord, would fight their battles, and their children’s battles, and their children’s children’s, until they had avenged themselves on all their enemies, to the third and fourth generation” (Doctrine and Covenants 98:37). He repeated a similar promise in another revelation to the Prophet Joseph: “For behold, I do not require at their hands to fight the battles of Zion; for, as I said in a former commandment, even so will I fulfil—I will fight your battles” (Doctrine and Covenants 105:14). In the prayer dedicating the Kirtland Temple we find similar language: “And if they shall smite this people thou wilt smite them; thou wilt fight for thy people as thou didst in the day of battle, that they may be delivered from the hands of all their enemies” (Doctrine and Covenants 109:28). The Lord has promised covenant Israel today that He will fight their battles. He similarly promised anciently to Joshua: “For the Lord hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath been able to stand before you unto this day. One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the Lord your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you” (Joshua 23:9-10).

·         He will ultimately deliver us from our trials: Mormon wrote this about the people of Alma at Helam: “I will show unto you that they were brought into bondage, and none could deliver them but the Lord their God, yea, even the God of Abraham and Isaac and of Jacob. And it came to pass that he did deliver them, and he did show forth his mighty power unto them, and great were their rejoicings” (Mosiah 23:22-24). As they suffered under the oppression of Amulon, “The voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: “Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.” Because they were His covenant people He would not leave them comfortless but did visit and strengthen them: “And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions” (Mosiah 24:13-16). Alma applied this lesson to his sons when he taught them: “I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day” (Alma 36:3). “And now my son, Shiblon, I would that ye should remember, that as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day” (Alma 38:5). As Israel trusts in God, He will deliver them from all their trials.  

·         Covenant Israel will receive the Holy Ghost: Nephi promised, “If ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost” (2 Nephi 31:13). Those who enter the waters of baptism are indeed those who covenant with Him. To His people the Lord similarly promised, “And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you” (3 Nephi 18:7). The Prophet Joseph received this marvelous promise that is surely for all those who covenant with the Lord: “The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:46).

·         Israel will have joy: “And they shall be filled with songs of everlasting joy. Behold, this is the blessing of the everlasting God upon the tribes of Israel, and the richer blessing upon the head of Ephraim and his fellows” (Doctrine and Covenants 133:33-34). The Prophet Joseph wrote of a specific reason that covenant Israel could have joy: “Let all the saints rejoice, therefore, and be exceedingly glad; for Israel’s God is their God, and he will mete out a just recompense of reward upon the heads of all their oppressors” (Doctrine and Covenants 127:3).

Covenant Israel will be saved: In surely the greatest promise to covenant Israel, the Lord said this: “And Israel shall be saved in mine own due time; and by the keys which I have given shall they be led, and no more be confounded at all” (Doctrine and Covenants 35:25). In another revelation He affirmed, “And from thence, whosoever I will shall go forth among all nations, and it shall be told them what they shall do; for I have a great work laid up in store, for Israel shall be saved, and I will lead them whithersoever I will, and no power shall stay my hand” (Doctrine and Covenants 38:33). He summarized again in a later revelation: “And in that day all who are found upon the watch-tower, or in other words, all mine Israel, shall be saved” (Doctrine and Covenants 101:12). Those who are of covenant Israel—who keep those covenants—will be saved. And this “gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 14:7).