I Will Not Leave Thee

In her recent conference address, Sister Emily Belle Freeman described a trip she took to the Holy Land and commented on her experience at the Western Wall. She said, “When I was in Israel, I visited the Western Wall. For the Jews, this is the most holy site in Israel. It is all that remains of their temple. Most wear their finest when they visit this sacred place; their choice of garment is a symbol of their devotion to their relationship with God. They visit the wall to read scripture, to worship, and to pour out their prayers. The plea for a temple in their midst consumes their every day, their every prayer, this longing for a house of covenant. I admire their devotion.” I think I was first introduced to the devotion that faithful Jews have towards God in the book The Chosen by Chaim Potok, and I was moved by their diligence in studying and memorizing the word of God. Like Sister Freeman, I have been to the Western Wall and seen the little papers they stick in it—recording, I believe, their prayers—as they yearn to commune with God. That devotion to Him, to His temple, and to His word in the Torah should be powerful examples to us as Latter-day Saints, as we sometimes complain if the chapter of scripture we are on is more than a handful of verses. The Lord alluded to how He feels towards their devotion when He questioned those who insist the Bible contains all His word: “But thus saith the Lord God: O fools, they shall have a Bible; and it shall proceed forth from the Jews, mine ancient covenant people. And what thank they the Jews for the Bible which they receive from them? Yea, what do the Gentiles mean? Do they remember the travails, and the labors, and the pains of the Jews, and their diligence unto me, in bringing forth salvation unto the Gentiles?” (2 Nephi 29:4) Indeed, throughout the centuries the Jews have painstakingly been devoted to the words of the Lord given to ancient prophets and preserved them for their posterity and for us. I believe He would recognize still today the faithful among them who still labor exceedingly to study and memorize and live by the word of God. Indeed, we could learn a lot from their devotion.

               The focus of Sister Freeman’s message was on the covenant we make with God. She referenced what she referred to as the “five-finger promise” that the Lord gave to Jacob in the wilderness. The Lord declared, “And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of” (Genesis 28:15). Sister Freeman summarized this verse as five promises: 

·        I am with you.

·        I will keep you safe.

·        I will bring you home again.

·        I will not leave you.

·        I will keep my promise to you.

As part of covenant Israel, that is His promise to all of us who will keep our promises to Him. He will be with us now and keep us spiritually safe. He will lead us home to the Father and will not leave us if we are true to our covenants. He will keep His promises to forgive us and refine us and ultimately sanctify us to inherit all the blessings of the Father. But we must choose to have, as Sister Freeman emphasized, a committed relationship with Him. I think the Lord expressed how this can sometimes be lacking in His frustration towards the hypocritical Pharisees: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone” (Matthew 23:23). They were committed to following the prescriptions of the law, but they had no relationship with God because they had now mercy or faith or true judgment. This was evident when they declared in ultimate blasphemy to Pilate, “We have no king but Cæsar” (John 19:15). They did not have any real relationship with God. And they certainly did not have, as the Lord would emphasize to the Nephites, “a broken heart and a contrite spirit” (3 Nephi 9:20). That is how we seek to develop a relationship with Him: in addition to trying to follow the prescriptions of the law, we humble our hearts, turn to Him in our minds and in our prayers, and seek to come unto Him with all our souls.