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The Seed of Abraham
(Abraham 2)
Abrahamic Covenant Summary
The Overarching Covenant
Covenant Element
Mortal Promise
Eternal Promise
1.
A land of inheritance to
gather to and to worship
God freely
Inherit the Earth in its
Celestial state
2.
a) A vast posterity
Innumerable posterity;
b) A noble posterity who
eternal procreation;
will bless all the families “endless lives”
of the earth with the
blessings of the Gospel
3.
Descendants have a right to
all gospel blessings,
through the priesthood
ordinances, which lead to
Eternal Life
Abrahamic Covenant Summary
The Overarching Covenant
“I WILL BE YOUR GOD; YOU WILL BE MY PEOPLE”
(Abr. 1:17-19; Gen. 17:7-8; Isaiah 41:8-10; D&C 132:28-33, 47-50)
Covenant Element
Mortal Promise
Eternal Promise
1.
A land of inheritance to
gather to and to worship
God freely
Inherit the Earth in its
Celestial state
2.
a) A vast posterity
Innumerable posterity;
b) A noble posterity who
eternal procreation;
will bless all the families “endless lives”
of the earth with the
blessings of the Gospel
3.
Descendants have a right to
all gospel blessings,
through the priesthood
ordinances, which lead to
Eternal Life
Abrahamic Covenant Summary
The Overarching Covenant
“I WILL BE YOUR GOD; YOU WILL BE MY PEOPLE”
(Abr. 1:17-19; Gen. 17:7-8; Isaiah 41:8-10; D&C 132:28-33, 47-50)
Covenant Element
Mortal Promise
Eternal Promise
1. Promised Land
A land of inheritance to
gather to and to worship
God freely
Inherit the Earth in its
Celestial state
2. Posterity
a) A vast posterity
Innumerable posterity;
b) A noble posterity who
eternal procreation;
will bless all the families “endless lives”
of the earth with the
blessings of the Gospel
3. Priesthood/Gospel
Rights
Descendants have a right to Inherit Eternal Life—the
all gospel blessings,
end result of gospel
through the priesthood
covenants
ordinances, which lead to
Eternal Life
“Ye Are the
Children of the
Covenant.”
~3 Nephi 20:26
The Spiritually Protective Power of
the Doctrine of the Seed of Abraham
Russell M. Nelson
Quorum of the Twelve
(Perfection Pending, 189)
“A giant step toward
spiritual immunity is taken
when we understand the
expression ‘children of the
covenant.’ To what covenant
did the Savior refer?
The covenant which he
made with Abraham.”
David A. Bednar
Quorum of the Seventy
(Ricks College Campus
Education Week Devotional,
June 4, 1998)
“I do not know a young
person who understands
what it means to be ‘the
seed of Abraham’ who
would violate the law of
chastity.”
Abraham’s Seed in Premortality
and the Doctrine of Election
Bible Dictionary, “Election,” p.662
Are all mortal situations—all time
periods, all places, and all possible
circumstances—equally favorable to
coming in contact with the gospel?
If there are some time periods, places, and
circumstances which offer a better chance
to come in favorable contact with the
gospel, who should get those seats?
Who should be given priority to be born in the
times, and in the places, and under the
circumstances where they will come in favorable
contact with the gospel? What criteria should
this preferential treatment be based upon?
Harold B. Lee
President
(Conference Report, Oct.
1973, pp. 7–8; or Ensign,
Jan. 1974, p. 5)
“You are now born into a
family to which you have
come, into the nations through
which you have come, as a
reward for the kind of lives
you lived before you came
here and at a time in the
world’s history … determined
by [your] faithfulness … before
this world was created....
Harold B. Lee
President
(Conference Report, Oct.
1973, pp. 7–8; or Ensign,
Jan. 1974, p. 5)
“It would seem very clear,
then, that those born to the
lineage of Jacob, who was
later to be called Israel, and
his posterity, who were known
as the children of Israel, were
born into the most illustrious
lineage of any of those who
came upon the earth as mortal
beings.”
Is God fair?
Is it fair to base our
placement in the next life on
our faithfulness in this life?
Is it fair to base our placement
in this life on our faithfulness
in the Premortal life?
Bruce R. McConkie
Quorum of the Twelve
(NWFAOF,
“This election to a chosen lineage is
based on pre-existent worthiness and
is thus made “according to the
foreknowledge of God.” (1 Pet. 1:2.)
Those so grouped together during
their mortal probation have more
abundant opportunities to make and
keep the covenants of salvation, a
right which they earned by preexistent devotion to the cause of
righteousness. As part of this election,
Abraham and others of the noble and
great spirits were chosen before they
were born for the particular missions
assigned them in this life.”
Bruce R. McConkie
Quorum of the Twelve
(A New Witness for the
Articles of Faith, p. 512)
“The greatest and most important
talent or capacity that any of the
spirit children of the Father could
gain is the talent of spirituality. Most
of those who gained this talent were
chosen, before they were born, to
come to earth as members of the
house of Israel. They were
foreordained to receive the blessings
that the Lord promised to Abraham
and to his seed in all their
generations. This foreordination is an
election.”
Melvin J. Ballard
Quorum of the Twelve
(“The Three Degrees of
Glory,” in Melvin J.
Ballard, Crusader for
Righteousness [Salt Lake
City: Bookcraft, 1966], pp.
218–19)
“There was a group of souls
tested, tried, and proven
before they were born into the
world, and the Lord provided
a lineage for them. That
lineage is the house of Israel,
the lineage of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob and their posterity.
Through this lineage were to
come the true and tried souls
that had demonstrated their
righteousness in the spirit
world before they came here.”
In the First Place
Alma 13
In the First Place
Alma 13
Qualify to receive a
body
Qualify to be
Ordained to the Holy
Priesthood
House of Israel
The “Elect”
The “Called”
The Noble & Great
The Seed of Abraham
Other Lineages
Becoming Abraham’s Seed
Children  Seed
We are related to Abraham by lineage, but we
become his “seed” by covenant.
Our connection to Abraham by lineage gives
us the right to become his seed by covenant.
Abr. 2:10; D&C 84:33-34
Russell M. Nelson
Quorum of the Twelve
(“Covenants,” Ensign,
November 2011, p. 88;
emphasis added)
“Children of the covenant have
the right to receive His
doctrine and to know the plan
of salvation. They claim it by
making covenants of sacred
significance.”
Becoming Abraham’s Seed
Paul’s perspective: Galatians 3:16
Christ is THE SEED of Abraham through
whom all of the families of the earth are
blessed.
Abraham
Isaac
Jacob (Israel)
R
S
Z
L
Judah
David
Jesus Christ
I
G
A
D
N
B
Joseph
Manasseh
Ephraim
Becoming Abraham’s Seed
Paul’s perspective: Galatians 3:26-29
We become Abraham’s seed through
covenants with Abraham’s SEED (Christ).
The Seed of Abraham
Throughout History
“In the Sight of the Nations”
Moses taught Israel:
“Behold, I have taught you statutes and
judgments, even as the Lord my God
commanded me, that ye should do so in
the land whither ye go to possess it.
“Keep therefore and do them; for this is
your wisdom and your understanding in
the sight of the nations, which shall hear
all these statutes, and say, Surely this
great nation is a wise and understanding
people” (Deut. 4:5–6).
Israel’s Historical Struggle: Staying in “the Zone”
Zone of
Optimum Influence
Become Like
the World
(In the World,
but Not of the World)
Be Isolated
From the World
Some Effective Examples
Abraham
Joseph (in Egypt)
Moses (on Egypt)
Daniel (Babylon)
Shadrach, Meshach,
Abed-nego (Babylon)
• Esther (on Persia)
•
•
•
•
Become Like
the World
• Jonah (on Assyria)
• Elisha (on Naaman
of Syria)
Be Isolated
From the World
Israel’s Historical Struggle: Staying in “the Zone”
Compromises with the World
• Israelites at Sinai (golden calves
and flesh pots of Egypt)
• King Ahab yields to Jezebel
• Sampson became like the
Philistines
• Under Samuel, the people
wanted a king “like all the
Become Like
nations” (1 Sam. 8:5, 19-20)
the World
• The constant idolatry problems
of the Northern & Southern
Kingdoms
Be Isolated
From the World
Moses:
“Who is on the Lord’s side?” (Ex. 32:26)
Joshua:
“Choose you this day whom ye will serve.”
(Josh. 24:15)
Elijah:
“How long halt ye between two opinions? if
the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal,
then follow him.” (1 Kgs. 18:21)
2 Kings 17:9-23
Israel
Judah
701 B.C.
Israel Scattered
Damascus
Blessing or Curse?
Israel
Judah
Joseph Fielding Smith
Quorum of the Twelve
(The Restoration of All
Things, p.129-137)
“The Lord always turns
punishments to the
accomplishment of his purposes.
The scattering of the Israelites
among all nations was a
punishment inflicted upon them,
but a great blessing extended to the
nations among whom they were
scattered....
Joseph Fielding Smith
Quorum of the Twelve
(The Restoration of All
Things, p.129-137)
“We see, then, how through the
scattering of Israel, especially the
descendants of the ten tribes who
mingled with the Gentile nations, the
blood of Abraham had been mixed
with the blood of the Gentiles, and in
this way the Gentiles have been
brought into the seed of Abraham,
and are therefore entitled to receive,
on conditions of their repentance, all
the blessings promised to the seed of
Abraham.”
Judah
Text
Israel’s Historical Struggle: Staying in “the Zone”
Become Like
the World
After their return from
Babylonian bondage, Judah
overcorrects and becomes
isolated and aloof from the world.
Rather than embracing the world,
they shun it and consider
themselves superior to all other
Be Isolated
nations. They believed a Messiah
From the World
was coming to save them, but not
others. They did not accept their
responsibility to “bless all
nations.”
Where were Abraham’s children during
the Dark Ages, the Renaissance and
Reformation, the founding of America,
and the Restoration of the Gospel?
Erastus Snow
Quorum of the Twelve
(Journal of Discourses,
23:186–87)
“[The Lord] has … called the children
of Abraham from among the kingdoms
and countries of the earth to first hear
and then embrace the everlasting
Gospel; and the remnants of the seed
of Ephraim who were scattered from
Palestine and who colonized the shores
of the Caspian Sea and thence made
their way into the north of Europe,
western Scandinavia and northern
Germany, penetrating Scotland and
England, and conquering those nations
and reigning as monarchs of Great
Britain, and mingling their seed with
the Anglo-Saxon race….
Erastus Snow
Quorum of the Twelve
(Journal of Discourses,
23:186–87)
“Their blood has permeated European
society, and it coursed in the veins of the
early colonists of America. And when the
books shall be opened and the lineage of
all men is known, it will be found that
they have been first and foremost in
everything noble among men in the
various nations in breaking off the
shackles of kingcraft and priestcraft and
oppression of every kind, and the
foremost among men in upholding and
maintaining the principles of liberty and
freedom upon this continent and
establishing a representative government,
and thus preparing the way for the
coming forth of the fullness of the
everlasting Gospel.
Erastus Snow
Quorum of the Twelve
(Journal of Discourses,
23:186–87)
“And it is the foremost of those spirits
whom the Lord has prepared to receive
the Gospel when it was presented to
them, and who did not wait for the
Elders to hunt them from the hills and
corners of the earth, but they were
hunting for the Elders, impelled by a
spirit which then they could not
understand; and for this reason were
they among the first Elders of the
Church; they and the fathers having
been watched over from the days that
God promised those blessings upon
Isaac and Jacob and Joseph and
Ephraim.
Erastus Snow
Quorum of the Twelve
(Journal of Discourses,
23:186–87)
“And these are they that will be found in
the front ranks of all that is noble and
good in their day and time, and who will
be found among those whose efforts are
directed in establishing upon the earth
those heaven-born principles which
tend directly to blessing and salvation,
to ameliorating the condition of their
fellow-men, and elevating them in the
scale of their being; and among those
also who receive the fullness of the
Everlasting Gospel, and the keys of
Priesthood in the last days, through
whom God determined to gather up
again unto himself a peculiar people, a
holy nation, a pure seed that shall stand
upon Mount Zion as saviors.”
The Seed of Abraham
in the Latter-days
1 Nephi 15:18
Russell M. Nelson
Quorum of the Twelve
(Ensign, November 1990, 73)
“You are one of Gods noble and great
spirits, held in reserve to come to
earth at this time. In your premortal
life you were appointed to help
prepare the world for the great
gathering of souls that will precede
the Lord’s second coming. You are
one of a covenant people. You are an
heir to the promise that all the earth
will be blessed by the seed of
Abraham and that God’s covenant
with Abraham will be fulfilled
through his lineage in these latter
days. (See 1 Ne. 15:18)”
David A. Bednar
Quorum of the Twelve
(Ensign, Nov. 2005)
“One of the primary reasons
we receive a patriarchal
blessing is to help us more
fully understand who we are
as the posterity of Abraham
and to recognize the
responsibility that rests
upon us.”
David A. Bednar
Quorum of the Twelve
(Ensign, Nov. 2005)
“We were foreordained in the
premortal existence and born
into mortality to fulfill the
covenant and promise God
made to Abraham.… That is
who we are, and that is why
we are here—today and
always.”
What is our work now in the Latter-days?
How do we bless all of the families of the earth
with the blessings of the Gospel?
TEACHING THE GOSPEL
MISSIONARY WORK
The Work of
Abraham’s Seed
CONVERT RETENTION
BLESS FAMILIES
TEMPLE WORK
FAMILY HISTORY
Ezra Taft Benson
President
(Ensign, May 1986, 77)
“The world needs the gospel, and
we are charged by command of
the Lord and through our
Abrahamic lineage to spread it….
There is no greater joy than
bringing souls to Christ.
Participation in this great work
blesses the convert, blesses the
missionary, and blesses those
who support the missionary.”
David A. Bednar
Quorum of the Seventy
(Ricks College Campus
Education Week
Devotional, June 4, 1998)
“We were foreordained, before
we ever came to this earth, to
come through a particular
lineage, even the chosen lineage
of Abraham—not because we
are better, not because we are
more special, but because we
have particular responsibilities
that we covenanted that we
would fulfill in the Premortal
existence.
David A. Bednar
Quorum of the Seventy
(Ricks College Campus
Education Week
Devotional, June 4, 1998)
“Therefore we come through a
lineage that has the birthright
blessing of the priesthood. Every
man who holds the priesthood
was foreordained to that very
responsibility in the premortal
existence. Does a young man
have a choice to go on a
mission? If you understand that
doctrine? You made the choice
before your were ever born. And
you [just] need to be reminded,
if you understand that doctrine.”
David A. Bednar
Quorum of the Seventy
(Ricks College Campus
Education Week
Devotional, June 4, 1998)
“We come to the earth as the seed
of Abraham to participate in
blessing the families of the earth.
The promise given to Father
Abraham is that through him and
through his posterity, which is us,
all the families of the earth would
be blessed. How? By our bearing
this ministry, which is the
responsibility to proclaim the
gospel, and this priesthood,
meaning the saving ordinances of
the gospel of Jesus Christ.
David A. Bednar
Quorum of the Seventy
(Ricks College Campus
Education Week
Devotional, June 4, 1998)
“… that we would carry that to the
nations of the earth. Brothers and
sisters, you and I were born to
spend our lives proclaiming the
gospel and serving others. If you
are 65, retired, and thinking
about, “Well maybe I ought to go
on a mission,” you made that
choice a long time ago. It’s
through that lineage that we came
to the earth. That’s what we were
born here to do.”
Erastus Snow
Quorum of the Twelve
(Journal of Discourses,
23:187-188)
“Now the work of carrying the
Gospel to the nations and gathering
the people, mighty as it is, is not the
chief, it is but laying the foundation
for the still greater work of the
redemption of the myriads of the
dead of the seed of Israel that have
perished without the fullness of the
Gospel, who too are heirs to the
promised blessings; but the time
had not come when they passed
away for the fulfillment of all that
God had promised Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob concerning their seed....
Erastus Snow
Quorum of the Twelve
(Journal of Discourses,
23:187-188)
“Peter, James and John and their
fellow-laborers still minister in their
Priesthood on the other side of the
veil; and Joseph Smith and his
fellow-brethren still minister in their
office and calling ...; and all the
Elders of this dispensation who prove
faithful and magnify their calling in
the flesh will, when they pass hence,
continue their labors in the spirit
world, retaining the same holy
character and high responsibility that
they assume here.
Erastus Snow
Quorum of the Twelve
(Journal of Discourses,
23:187-188)
“And these men will be engaged there
hunting up the remnants of their
fathers of the house of Joseph
through Ephraim and Manasseh; and
then all the other tribes of Israel;
while their children and children's
children remaining in the flesh,
holding the same Priesthood, are
building and will continue to build
Temples and enter into them, and
there officiate for the whole house of
Israel.”
The Millennial Fulfillment
of the Covenant
Russell M. Nelson
Quorum of the Twelve
(Perfection Pending, 205, 207)
“Have the promises of the Abrahamic
covenant been fulfilled? Partially.
Christ indeed came from the seed of
Abraham through the lineage of
Judah. That line was entrusted with
responsibility for preparing the world
for the first coming of the Lord.
On the other hand, responsibility for
preparation of leadership of the world
for the Second Coming of the Lord was
assigned to the lineage of Joseph,
through Ephraim and Manasseh….
“Joseph's was the lineage selected to
pioneer the gathering of Israel, the seed
to lead throughout the world in blessing
all the nations of the earth.”
Moroni 10:31
“And awake, and arise from the dust, O
Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful
garments, O daughter of Zion; and strengthen
thy stakes and enlarge thy borders forever,
that thou mayest no more be confounded, that
the covenants of the Eternal Father which he
hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may
be fulfilled.”
Moroni 10:31
“And awake, and arise from the dust, O
Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful
garments, O daughter of Zion; and strengthen
thy stakes and enlarge thy borders forever,
that thou mayest no more be confounded, that
the covenants of the Eternal Father which he
hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may
be fulfilled.”
“His wife hath made herself ready”
~Revelation 19:7
“Blessed are they who are called unto
the marriage supper of the Lamb”
~Revelation 19:9
All of Abraham’s Seed is Gathered & the
Promised Lands are Given:
• 2 Nephi 9:1-3
• 3 Nephi 20:21-22
• 3 Nephi 21:25-29
Rule & Reign in the House of Israel
Revelation 20:6
“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first
resurrection: … they shall be priests of God and of
Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”
D&C 43:29-30
“For in mine own due time will I come upon the earth
in judgment, and my people shall be redeemed and
shall reign with me on earth.
“For the great Millennium, of which I have spoken by
the mouth of my servants, shall come.”
Joseph Smith
President
(Teachings, p. 268)
“Christ and the resurrected
Saints will reign over the earth
during the thousand years.
They will not probably dwell
upon the earth [in the sense of
having a permanent residence
here], but will visit it when
they please, or when it is
necessary to govern it.”
“[H]e that has overcome and is
found worthy, will be made a
king of kings, and lord of lords
over his own posterity, or in
other words: A father of
fathers.”
Brigham Young
President
(J of D 10:355a-355b)
The Millennial Reign
“The kingdoms of this
world are become the
kingdoms of our Lord, and
of his Christ; and he shall
reign for ever and ever.”
~Revelation 11:15
“King of Kings, and
Lord of Lords.”
~Revelation 19:16
End