Safety and Security in Covenants Mosiah 18:10

Penny is waiting for me as we take a walk through the back woods near our home.
The fall color has begun to paint itself upon the landscape. Nov 2013

I’m sitting in my writing chair. My walking companion of nearly twelve years now is tucked in close beside me, her long red nose, peppered with white is resting on my knee. She is patiently waiting for me to rise from my morning scripture time to walk with her.  I’m sure she is dreaming about the scent of rabbits or the adventure of a chase. Every now and again her deep restful breathing will change and she will raise her head and sigh deeply as if to say, “I’m here, but can we go yet?” I have promised to walk her, she has promised to make sure I get my exercise and to protect me. 

Her presence comforts me. I am aware of the safety in her friendship and as I watch her warm body rising and falling to the rhythm of life, I am reminded of her loyal companionship. As long as her mortal body will allow, she will not leave my side. She will come to me daily for love and to remind me of my daily need for friendship.  Her role in our family is to offer not only love but also protection. 

Now I reach my long fingers behind her ears and scratch them until her ears flop loosely atop her head. As I read I let my fingers move in circles on her shoulders. I hear her audible sigh of contentment.  There is a level of trust and understanding that exists between us. She helps me see how good friendships bring safety, how loyalty is love, and how trust is security.  

So I begin to think about the scriptures and what they bring to me. I begin to think about friendships and how good friendships and family ties bring me safety and security. I begin to see that each of us wants this from life, safety in our relationships with one another, the ideal that we can enjoy peace and loyalty in our friendships.

As I read my scriptures I was reminded about Abraham and how fearful life was for him. Wanting not only security from the lack of civility in a lawless and fearsome world, Abraham sought peace through the covenants of Lord. He sought to have a family that followed the counsel and laws of God. Nephi, who understood and lived by the covenants of Abraham wanted all of his family to feel of this safety, but he too had to leave the land of his inheritance to flee from his brother’ hatred. It seems that security cannot be found in the selfish ways of the world, but must first come in understanding the laws of God.

It’s time for me to rise and exercise my body. My dog loves the idea and now sits ready at the door, waiting for me to put my shoes on, to gather her leash and to fulfill my promise to her.

I realize that family is about promises. Promises we make with God, who is our measure of integrity and promises we make to one another. But of what use is the promise to one another if we love not God. If we love money, or idols or fame or any other fleeting promise what safety is secure?

That is why I walk my dog, because she has trusted me to love her and her love brings safety and security to my long day ahead. That too is why I read the words of God’s holy prophets, because they too bring an eternal perspective to the safety and security of my day. They help me understand the eternal importance of my family and the security and strength that their presence brings to my existence

.Mosiah 18: 10  Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

2 Nephi1:1-7 brought by the hand of the Lord

Grandsons of Arthur and Margaret F. Conkey 

The year was 1842 and my Great Great Great Grandfather Arthur Conkey and his wife
Margaret Ferguson Conkey left Ireland for the new world. All of their children crossed the sea with them. All except their oldest daughter Mary and her husband John Greer, who for unknown reasons decided to stay behind.  We don't know the personal stories as to why the family chose to leave their homeland, but one letter from the Campbells (another family line settled in Ontario) shows that the prosperity of the new land came quickly to those that worked hard. (Canadian Conkey Family History A-7).
 As I read these first few verses in 2 Nephi I about Lehi's family leaving Jerusalem, I was reminded of my own Conkey family's history. I wondered how many of the circumstances might be compared?

The moving of a barn across the prairie.

Lehi begins by rehearsing (vs 1)  with his children the many wonderful blessings they received in leaving Jerusalem. We remember that many of his children rebelled and presented a not so faithful attitude at the idea of traversing so many years in the wilderness in search of the promised land. (1 Nephi). The Conkey family did not have to traverse for many years but they did have to span the waters, leave loved ones, face a land barren of civilization and modern comforts, etc.  I am certain that Arthur's vision and leadership was paramount in helping his family remember the many blessings God had bestowed upon them, especially as they faced their first winter in a new land.

I wonder how many of the children understood Arthur's vision? I wonder how many of them complained (vs 2)  and even exhibited a bit of that Irish stubbornness. We know that their eldest daughter's husband chose to keep his family in Ireland. Mary Conkey and John Greer did not travel in 1842 with Arthur to the "promised land" of Ontario. They chose to forego the uncertainties of the new world and take their chances in Ireland's rocky soil and political unrest.

In addition, Mary Ann Gourley married William Arthur Conkey (Arthur & Margaret's eldest son) while they were still in Ireland. She was one of the daughter in laws who like Lehi's daughter in laws might have complained. Her obituary tells of some of their hardships.

 "in the times when only a blanket was hung up over the entrance of the humble dwelling ot protect the inmates from the fierce blasts which whistled through the trees, and from the dreaded wolves which howled close by, she, with undaunted courage took hold and mastered her share of the toil in making a home." (Canadian Conkey's Family History) 

Lehi and Arthur would have had to remind their families of the Lord's good mercy to them. No Conkey children died in transit to the new world. No children of Lehi died (that we know of ). The Lord's hand of mercy is extended to all who listen to his counsel.

Both families chose to leave their homelands at a crucial time. We know that Lehi had spiritual warning and direction. Did Arthur too heed a spirit that moved him across the waters? Consider that Lehi's exodus came a few years prior to the destruction of Jerusalem. Arthur Conkey's exodus came but six years prior to the great potato famine that took some 750,000 Irish lives.

I have to wonder about the heartache Margaret and Arthur must have felt at leaving their eldest daughter's family behind. Mary and John Greer and their four young children did not escape the sorrow of destruction as the children of Lehi did. John at age 38, a young daughter, and a son named James did not survive the famine. After burying her husband and two young children, Mary migrated to Ontario in 1850 with her two sons John and William to tell their tale. (vs 3, 4) What joy they must have felt to be reunited with their family. What perspective their story must have given to the new Canadian Conkey's faith. (vs 4)
I wondered what moved over Arthur and Margaret to leave Ireland? Is it improbable to believe that he too felt the power of the Lord directing his family to move where his family could find prosperity, protection, and freedom? Arthur did not need to see a vision to know of the devastation he had saved his family from. The loss of grandchildren and a son in law proved newsworthy enough. I believe he was aware of God's spirit guiding him. As Presbyterian's in a dominant Catholic country, I believe they must have suffered some form of persecution. One has only to look at the history of Northern Ireland to understand the strife that still surrounds this land.  It could have been that like Lehi circumstances piled against the family and worked to drive their desire to leave?

Nephi speaks in verse 5 of a covenant with God in the obtaining of the land. He speaks of how the land is "choice about all other lands." It is to be a land for his children, and to families like the Conkey's
"who should be led out of other countries by the hand of the Lord."

I know that my Conkey family was led by the hand of the Lord to this land. I believe the prophet Lehi when he testifies that "there shall be none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord." Though four generations have come since the coming of my father's people to this "promised land," I know that the Lord's hand is still actively guiding us. To my own father he gave the power of prayer that helped him leave his homeland and adapt to the jobs of the changing world.

When my Conkey family left Ireland in 1842 they used their faith in God and family to find direction. They were in the practice of serving God. The cemetery where the Conkey family rests lies within the churchyard of the Presbyterian church, a church that sits on land donated by the first Canadian Conkey's, Arthur and Margaret Conkey. Leaving Ireland meant exerting faith over the many fears they had to face, but somehow I believe they knew, like Lehi, that in this promised land of the Americas, "the righteous shall be blessed forever." (vs 7)

So as I read and consider how the Lord worked with Lehi to preserve his family, I am reminded of how he covenanted with Abraham so that he too would have a covenanted land. Clearly there is a connection between land and preservation of seed, between living a life filled with God's revelation and direction and finding a land where one can find prosperity through the blessings of hard work.

A well of water - the Lord's living water Gen 21:19, 25

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.John 4:14

In a recent trip to New Orleans  my husband and I took a ghost tour that guided us through much of the French Quarter. The tour guide shared animated stories of death and destruction, the necessary prerequisites for ghosts.  It turns out that one of our ghosts was the cause of the 1788 fire that destroyed nearly 80% of the city.

The story of  the New Orleans fire gave me reason for pause, for within this story comes the reason for the cities “well(s) of water.” But as it turns out New Orleans wells did not provide the promise of life or  protection from death that Spanish rule hoped they would. They in fact proved quite the opposite. 

As a prominent government leader and resident of the French Quarter Army Treasurer Don Vincente Jose Nunez had on a religious alter within a second story bedroom of his home, a large number of lit candles, and was prayerfully observing Good Friday when his servant called him to lunch. While downstairs the wind blew the curtains into the room full of candles causing fire to rapidly spread throughout the room.  Aware of the fire he ran 3 doors down to the church to sound the town fire bells. Within minutes the Cedar framed house hewn from the nearby swamps and used to construct almost all of New Orleans exploded. The resin that served to make cedar impervious to water also made it highly flammable.  The tragedy of the story is that the fire bells used to warn the town of just such a danger had been wrapped in silence in observation of Good Friday. With no warning and the match-light qualities of the homes, the fire consumed, within five hours, 856 of the 1100 structures.

To prevent such a catastrophic event from ever happening again, Spain decreed that all new structures must be built of brick, have iron railed balconies and courtyards that contained an inner well of water. So it is that every home within the reconstructed New Orleans had a well whereby water could be drawn for the use of cooking, drinking, bathing and most importantly putting out fire. 

The full tragedy of the fire comes not from the destruction of the town but in its rebirth. The twenty-eight years between 1789 and 1817 represented years of reconstruction. No one could have conceived that the wells of water that were placed to prevent death and destruction would prove to be the cause of the cities massive deaths. As stagnant bodies of water they  became the breeding grounds for mosquitoes, the transporter of Yellow Fever.  No records exist that allow the cataloging of death before 1817 but between the years of 1817-1905 more than "41,000 people died from the scourge of yellow fever in New Orleans." 

Not all wells of water bring life. Not all wells bring truth. As an Egyptian raised on the mighty Nile, Hagar knew the important relationship between water and life. Having been cast into the wilderness of the desert, Hagar believes what her life has taught her that without water she and her son will perish. 

Hagar stood but a short distance from a well of water that promised to save her and Ishmael and could not see it. What was Hagar's well of life? The water? Or was it her ability to hear and obey the voice of the Lord? What is it that helps us to see "the well of life" that God has provided for us? What is that we must do to help us open our eyes and find the truth that will not only fill our physical needs but also lead us into eternal life? 
  
The Lord had made a promise to her that her son would become "a nation." (21:18) Within the Lord's promise came the well of living water. Indeed the well of living water for Hagar was the covenant and promises that she and Ishmael had made with Lord when they partook of the Abrahamic covenant. Hagar's life was not spared by the existence of a well of water but by her faith in the Lord who directed her to "open her eyes" and see the well of water. 

Alone and forsaken Hagar could not see the promise of the Lord. Why? Why do most of us not see what God has promised us? In her most dire state Hagar was like most of us when life turns against us. She was angry and: 

         1. Separated (14) from all the family she had ever known.
         2. Grief stricken and left to wander in the wilderness (14).
         3. Without water (15) or food
         4. Alone (15) separated herself further from Ishmael
         5. Distraught and overwhelmed by her circumstances(16) waiting to die.
         6. Fearful (17).
         7. Given to prayer of desperation and weeping (16 & 17)

From the talk by Aileen H. Clyde I found these words about truth, living water, and Hagar. 

Consider the Savior’s image when he spoke of the necessity of discerning truth. He likens knowing the truth to receiving “living water”; that is, water that is fit to drink: pure, running water. He tells the woman at the well: “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water” (John 4:10). 

When I think of lifesaving water and of wells, I also think of Hagar (see Gen. 21:14–20). Hers is a complicated family story. She is forced alone into the wilderness of Beersheba with her young son, Ishmael. In due time the water and bread she has taken with her into the desert are consumed, and thirst and hunger overwhelm her and her little boy. Because she cannot bear to hear the cries of her son, the record tells us that she puts him in a shaded place and goes “a good way off” (Gen. 21:16). There, she lifts up her voice and weeps. In response, an angel of God speaks comfort to her and reminds her that she is not forsaken. Then, we are told, “God opened her eyes, and shesaw a well of water” (Gen. 21:19; emphasis added). We, like Hagar, are required to see “a well of water.” We, like the woman at the well, must ask of the Lord: “Give me this water, that I thirst not” (John 4:15). This is the purpose of Relief Society. It teaches us as daughters of God how to see and how to ask for that which we need of the Lord so that we need not thirst again. Remember the Prophet Joseph’s promise to us that through this society we “shall rejoice, and knowledge and intelligence shall flow.”

Hagar's life was saved and restored because of her faith in the Lord. The Lord offers each of us a well of living water. We can choose to drink of it and live. But water abounds in our life, how do we choose wisely which water will save us? How do we learn to know the living water of truth and let it be our guide?


The Spanish believed that the answer to their survival relied on the physical existence of water within a close proximity to danger.  They believed their source of water would alone aide in their survival. They could not see that their "water" had become their most imminent danger. Stagnant, separate, preserved, and unable to be cleansed, their wells served as breeding grounds for the mosquito and ironically their own death. 


Living water flows with life, action, and truth. It inspires and leads us to share and interact with one another. With each drink we are renewed and refreshed. It cannot be preserved but must be shared. Living water delivers us not only by offering our bodies its required need but by feeding our soul with its pure, clean principals. Hagar found living water when she prayed and wept unto the Lord. She again found living water when she opened her eyes to the promises that the Lord had made to her and Ishmael. Her living water filled her when she once again served herself and her son by returning unto him and sharing her knowledge not only of the well but of the angels message. She accepted the Lord's gift of love and allowed his promise to be fulfilled. Later the same well that served to save them from death becomes the means for their promised inheritance of Beersheba. Did Abraham know how this would work out when he turned Hagar and his son into the wilderness? I don't know.  But he had faith that the Lord would provide. He had faith that the Lord would keep his promise unto his seed that came through Ishmael.

This story portrays the difficulties that Hagar and Ishmael had to face before remembering the Lord's promise to them. Their life was hard. They faced challenges that at times seemed overwhelming, but when they remembered the gospel principals of prayer, obedience, service, etc. their life became filled with promise. In the 2008 General Conference Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge of the First Quorum of the Seventy spoke to the choice that we have when facing life's challenges. He says,

 The Lord’s way is not hard. Life is hard, not the gospel. "There is an opposition in all things," (2 Nephi 2:11.) everywhere, for everyone. Life is hard for all of us, but life is also simple. We have only two choices. (Moroni 7:15-17.) We can either follow the Lord and be endowed with His power and have peace, light, strength, knowledge, confidence, love, and joy, or we can go some other way, any other way, whatever other way, and go it alone—without His support, without His power, without guidance, in darkness, turmoil, doubt, grief, and despair. And I ask, which way is easier?

2008 October General Conference, The Way

In addition a talk entitled the Abundant Life helps us understand that our living water comes from the acceptance of the spiritual. Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve talks about some of the characteristics that will help us recognize the Lord's promise in our lives.

 Today, I want to list a few of the characteristics that the happiest people I know have in common. They are qualities that can transform ordinary existence into a life of excitement and abundance. First, they drink deeply of living waters. Do you seek peace of mind? Drink deeply of living waters. Do you seek forgiveness? Peace? Understanding? Joy? Drink deeply of living waters. The abundant life is a spiritual life. Too many sit at the banquet table of the gospel of Jesus Christ and merely nibble at the feast placed before them. They go through the motions-attending their meetings perhaps, glancing at scriptures, repeating familiar prayers-but their hearts are far away. If they are honest, they would admit to being more interested in the latest neighborhood rumors, stock market trends, and their favorite TV show than they are in the supernal wonders and sweet ministerings of the Holy Spirit. Do you wish to partake of this living water and experience that divine well springing up within you to everlasting life? Then be not afraid. Believe with all your hearts. Develop an unshakable faith in the Son of God. Let your hearts reach out in earnest prayer. Fill your minds with knowledge of Him. Forsake your weaknesses. Walk in holiness and harmony with the commandments. Drink deeply of the living waters of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

2006 April General Conference, The Abundant Life

As I think about water and its significance in our lives, I am filled with the idea that water alone is not enough to save us. In the town of New Orleans their stagnant water protected them from fire but invited an unseen death.  Hagar's ability to live depended not on drinking the water but on finding the water. The idea that God has made promises to me and that I must not despair but must drink daily of his living water through service, obedience, inspiration, joy, kindness, understanding, and through accepting all the blessings the gospel brings. When we partake of the Lord's covenants, his promise to us becomes our well of living water. And it flows within us. It cleanses us. It renews us and brings us Joy. 

A Father's Blessing Genesis 21:9-13

And he loveth those who will have him to be their God. Behold, he loved our fathers, and he covenanted with them, 

yea, even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and he remembered the covenants which he had made; 

wherefore, he did bring them out of the land of Egypt.

1 Nephi 17:40

What mother has not wanted the best with regard to her own child's welfare, livelihood, or inheritance? Or has done what was necessary to ensure it? What father has not grieved over his wife's anxiety and fear concerning their child's welfare and inheritance? What mother has not sought the blessings of God's higher power to help ensure her child's longevity, success or place in his kingdom? What older child has not acted out in jealousy at the birth of a younger sibling? Especially when as many as fourteen years separated them? 

The story of Sarah and Hagar  is one that carries many familiar human emotions common to family life. As I read it I was reminded of my own feelings and desires surrounding the birth of my children.  For each birth I rejoiced, prayed and hoped for the very best.  Before their birth I created a journal for them and then used it to describe their own birth experience. I created a scrapbook to document their firsts: words, steps, etc, and I made each an outfit of white to wear to their first priesthood blessing.  I would do whatever was needed to ensure that each of my children  had the best opportunities and that nothing (even my own shortsightedness) stood between them and their family inheritance: love, faith, gifts, education, time, stories, traditions, and above all the blessings that their father and his sacred priesthood could offer them. Indeed I purposefully chose to marry a man who as a priesthood bearer honored and sustained all that I hoped for with regards to my children. I purposefully chose a man who not only would love and cherish me but would understand the importance of how his priesthood power could shower down the blessing of heaven upon my children, our posterity. A man who lived worthy to both receive and give the priesthood blessings to our family. A man who respects and adheres to the example of Abraham's blessing upon his sons. 

Through no real planning of his own Abraham has found himself the father of two, not one son. 

Through his faith fulfilled Abraham found himself and Sarah the proud parents of Isaac. Ishmael came as a result of Sarah's fear that Abraham's God had failed him. Later after Sarah's faith matures, Isaac came as a result of Sarah's faith in "one who had promised." (Hebrews 11:11) 

I read allot about the relationship between Sarah and Hagar and Abraham. They all brought forth very valid points concerning their circumstances and their faults and the judgements we place on them and their actions. I believe that this story is really about a mother's love for her sons. Sarah loved Ishmael. Hagar loved Ishmael. As family they loved each other and one another's sons. Abraham loved them all. But his love of God and respect for his ability to bless them that proved to be the motivation for his action.  Even though the family appears to take a matrilineal track (with the adherence of Sara's will) it was in fact the Lord whom Abraham chose to obey. (Gen 21:12-13) It was Abraham's choice to respect his priesthood power of prayer and revelation as well as his covenants that led to setting his "bondwoman" or slave free,  into the wilderness, where the Lord could then fulfill his promise to her by providing her and Ishmael with the land of Beer-sheba. Gen 21:14-31. 

Both Sarah and Hagar desired a father's blessing for their child. Each received it. Both Sarah and Hagar desired an inheritance for their son. Each received it. The difference was not in the son but in the mother's faith and trust in the Lord's promise to them. Sarah, having learned her lesson of unbelief in Abraham's God recognizes Ishmael's mocking as disbelief and a lack of faith. Maybe a difference of perspective but none the less enough of a difference to alarm Sarah. As the guardian of Isaac's faith and the Abrahamic covenant I do not hold Sarah's actions as being ones of disgruntlement or jealousy. I see her actions as ones of protection for the faith of her covenant with God and protection of Isaac's upbringing and as a way to ensure that Ishmael does nothing to dishonor his father's love for him. I believe that Sarah's actions stemmed from her devotion to God and respect for her husband's priesthood, that she was full of truth and took her matriarchal duties to teach and uphold the covenat seriously. That she understood that nature of Isaac's divine birth.  Did she realize that God's love would ensure Ishmael's land inheritance and survival. I think yes.  Sarah was much older and wiser than Hagar.  She was aware of what faith in Abraham's "most high God" could do for all of those she loved and called family. 

Who was Hagar? Some believe she was more than an Egyptain slave given to Abraham by the Pharaoh,  that she might have been the Pharaoh's daughter, a princess born of and accustomed to royal birth. She would have had to endure a great culture shock as she left the grandeur of the Egyptian palace for the nomadic dessert. She would have been accustomed to judging a woman's usefulness not merely by her beauty but rather by her ability to give birth, hence her quick despise of Sarah when she conceived. As Sarah's slave and handmaid she would have been present at Isaac's birth. She would have been loved by Sarah or else why would Sarah have entrusted her to her husband's bed. They would have shared many intimate secrets that would have bound them to one another as sisters. 

But Hagar's inability or refusal to comprehend the faith of Abraham and Sarah becomes an issue that must be reckoned with before Isaac reaches an impressionable age. Sarah's love for Hagar and Ishmael cannot preclude her love for God who fulfilled his promise to her and Abraham. So it is to Abraham that she turns to for the fulfilling of both son's blessings and for the guidance that Abraham, as the father of both sons, must receive. 

Ishmael 

• 14 years of age at time of separation
• like Esau, Reuben or Manasseh Ishmael is the oldest brother 
• Paul refers to him as a child "born after the flesh," referring to his birth that came as a result of man's arrangements not from God's promise.  (Galatians 4: 23) 
• as a circumcised male he belonged to the covenant (Gen 17:23-27) age 13 
• Abraham rejoiced over Ishmael (17:18) "Oh that Ishmael might live before thee"
• An Angel came to protect Ishmael while in utero. (Gen 16:9)  Hagar had fled from Sarah and in order for the child to survive (the first three years were crucial) she needed Abraham's house for protection and security.
• Ishmael has his own promise from the Lord: "I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation" (Gen 17:20) 
• Ishmael's separation from Abraham and Sarah was likely a way to divide the inheritance land thus providing Ishmael with a land of his own. Was Sarah being spiteful or loving in setting a proper precedence of inheritance between Abrahams two sons? 
• Ishmael shared the blessing of posterity and land that came from the covenant (Gen 17:20)

Isaac 

• 3 years of age (or close to it) near the time of his weaning. 
• Like Jacob, Joseph, and Ephraim, Isaac was the second oldest brother
• Paul refers to him as a child that was born  "as by promise," referring to the miracle of his birth to one who was ninety years of age and past the time of women. 
• Was circumcised at the age of 8 days to ensure his place in the covenant. The token of circumcision was vital to the covenant. 
• Isaac was greatly rejoiced over and made a fuss over. Isaac was conceived by Sarah's faith because as Paul put it, "she judged him faithful who had promised." Hebrews 11:11 
• Isaac's name "to laugh" refers to the joy that Sarah and Abraham felt at his birth
• Ishmaels departure from the camp of Abraham secures Isaacs spot of inheritance. 

9  ¶ And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. - Was it Ishmael's actions, (a 14 year old son of Abraham) that caused Sarah concern or Hagar, his mother's unwillingness to discipline her son and ensure the proper guardianship of the covenant? 

10  Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.-  Is not Ishmael Isaac's older brother? Will his influence and hence Hagar's influence have profound affect upon Isaac? What will she do to ensure that her part of the covenant to raise Isaac righteously before the Lord is upheld? 

11  And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.- Ishmael is his son as is Isaac. Would Abraham have been able to see the influence of Hagar's attitude that "despised"Sarah. (16:5)

12  ¶ And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. Abraham calls upon the Lord for wisdom and receives it. 

13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.

Genesis 21:9-13 Abraham is assured that Hagar and Ishmael will be protected and watched over. 

Waiting on the Lord Genesis 21:1-8

Isaac 

Second patriarch; son of Abraham and Sarah. He was the child of a miracle, for at the time of his birth his mother, hitherto childless, was ninety years old, and his father a hundred. By the command of God the child was named "Isaac" (; in poetical language  = "laughter"), because Abraham had, covertly, laughed in incredulity when, a year previously, he had received the promise of God that a son would be born to him by Sarah (Gen. xvii. 17); so also did Sarah as, standing at the door of the tent, she heard the promise reiterated by the angel (Gen. xviii. 12). Isaac was circumcised when he was eight days old, and at his weaning the parents manifested their joy by giving a great feast. As a solicitous mother Sarah urged Abraham to send away Ishmael, his son by the servant-maid Hagar, whom she had seen mocking Isaac. At first Abraham hesitated, but at the command of God he complied with the wish of his wife; Isaac was thus declared the sole heir of his father.

Dear Sarah. 

What joy you must have felt to realize the Lord's promise in your life, fulfilled. To give birth at the age of ninety, to see the miracle of birth restored to you, a woman whose time had passed, to understand the power of God is greater than the power of nature. What joy you must have felt as you felt your son's unborn life quicken within you. And how the women around you must have fussed over you, talked about you and your miracle. How it must have given them hope and taught them of faith in the God of Abraham. 

If I could have been there? If I could have been a fly on the wall, what might I have heard? What might I have understood about your faith, your willingness to cleave unto your covenants? And the joy received because of your strength of faith. 

I love Abraham's choice of a name for your son. Isaac. So strong and so joyful. A way for you to always remember how to rejoice. You must have known that it comes from the word Yitzhak, which in Hebrew means "laughing one," or as God's promise to you it also is a reminder of how your son is a "child of the promise." I suppose God could not allow you to call your son Yitzhak, laughing one because it has so many connotations, but Isaac, this means covenant and promise and rejoicing in the fulfillment of the promise. You are so blessed to be able to have a son you can call Isaac. 

And your family was the first we know of to establish the custom of circumcision. I wonder how you dealt with this? Did you trust Abraham? Here he was with the child you were promised would bring you seed as the sands of the sea and he wants to do what? Clearly as a new custom of less than one year, it had not been fully accepted.  I wonder if you understood? How much of your actions were based on faith and how much on reason. I wonder if Isaac's circumcision played a role in his reaching the age of three when he could be weaned? I applaud your faith. When my own sons were born I questioned it and did my own research.

According to our social custom, my sons were circumcised in the hospital within hours of birth.But I remember studying how important it is to circumcise at day eight because in days 5-7  a child experiences a rise in Vitamin K which then acts as a pain killer and prevents hemorrhaging. As proof that the medical community is aware of this my second son was born with a minor heart defect that  required heart-valve surgery but the surgeons insisted on waiting to day 8 to preform it. I think it is amazing how the customs that we practice today came from revelation given to you and Abraham as you awaited the birth of a very much wanted son. I wonder how circumcision in young boys during your time helped prolong their life in a world where cleanliness was not as well established as it is today. 

In today's world most women stop bearing children by the age of 45. And you were twice past this age? Abraham was one hundred. I think I have generational problems with my youngest? I am certain that you had housemaids help you teach your son. You had a network of family and servants to help him understand his social customs and his religious rituals. But there were no grandparents to help here because you had traveled away and Abraham's father had passed. There is no mention of your family being with you.  I am thinking of how at each of my births I too was a traveler and although I could share the news with my family they were not able to attend the birth. 

And you Sarah rejoiced at the birth of your son Isaac. You rejoiced at his growth and ability to thrive in a time when children rarely made it to their third birthday. You were able to wean your child and bring him to the table for meat and honey. What a joyful day. I read somewhere a while back that the Jewish celebration of weaning was put in place to celebrate the child's ability to thrive and survive. It was a very important day. And Isaac's weaning was significant because it proved the Lord's love once again. It showed how the Lord was not only able to keep to his promise of giving Abraham a son, but he would help him thrive and survive. 

I wanted to say also that as I read "who would have said unto Abraham that Sarah should have given children suck?" I realized that you didn't use a wet nurse, but you nursed the child yourself. Wow. Another miracle. What a powerful message for God to send to all the world. He is in charge of life and birth and the milk that flows from our breasts. Having nursed six children I am very much aware of the importance it holds in passing on immunity and vitamins and fat and all of the necessary nutrition to help a child survive. 

Sarah so much is lost in your story of how you gave birth. So much is not considered because words can only tell us what happened. As a woman I am aware of your pain, your joy and your rejoicing because you chose to cleave tight to your covenants and believe in a God that promised you more than nature could itself provide. 

With love 

Your spiritual granddaughter

Abrahamic Covenant Genesis 17

     My earliest remembrance of learning about the Abrahamic Covenant came in Sunday School. Sister Price prepared each lesson with hand outs, visual aids, and treats. Her classroom table always had a table clothe on it upon which a vase of flowers sat. I loved her lessons.
     This one particular lesson was no less worthy of her effort. She gave us all a laminated list of what the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant meant to me. Although I had keen interest in her lesson there was much that I did not fully understand. Through the years I have always wanted to gain a deeper understanding. I got that the covenant was for Abraham, but not until recently did I understand the covenant was also meant for me. When I enter into a covenant with God he will take care of me - just as he did Abraham.
     Today I understand that Abraham's covenants started with his baptism, then his marriage, then his priesthood powers. As he and the Lord established a bond of trust and integrity with one another, God blessed Abraham and entrusted him with sacred powers of the priesthood. He taught him sacred truths.

About the Abrahamic Covenant, Elder Bruce R. McConkie had this to say:

Abraham first received the gospel by baptism (which is the covenant of salvation); then he had conferred upon him the higher priesthood, and he entered into celestrial marriage (which is the covenant of exhaltation), gaining assurance thereby that he would have eternal increase; finally he received a promise that all of these blessings would be offered to all of his mortal posterity. (Abra. 2: 6-11, D & C 132:29-50) Included in the mortal divine promises to Abraham was the assurance that Christ would come through his lineage, and the assurance that Abraham's posterity would receive certain choice, promised lands as an eternal inheritance. (Abra. 2: Gen 17: 22: 15-18, Gal 3)
All of these promises lumped together are called the Abrahamic covenant. This covenant was renewed with Isaac (Gen 24:60; 26: 1-4), 24) and again with Jacob. (Gen 28; 35: 9-13) ; 48:3-4) Those portions of it which pertain to personal exaltation and eternal increase are renewed with each member of the house of Israel who enters the order of celestial marriage; through that order the participating parties become inheritors of all the blessing of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (D&C 132: Rom 9:4 Gal 3:4) 

            Bruce R. McConkie Mormon Doctrine 1966 Salt Lake City BookCraft 

Once I understood the importance of the covenant in my life I was able to go back and do a reread through Chapter 17.

God Says:

• I will make my covenant ... will multiply thee exceedingly  vs 2 
• I will make thee exceedingly fruitful  v. 6
• I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed v. 7 
• I will give unto thee and unto thy seed after, the land v. 8 
• I will be their God v. 8 
• I will bless her and give her a son v. 16 
• I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant and with his seed after him v. 19 
• I will establish my covenant with Isaac v. 21 

What a strong friendship. A strong promise. Who can go wrong with the God of Abraham? 

I am grateful for my baptismal covenant, for my marriage covenant, and for the reliability of the promises God made unto Abraham... and unto me. 

• 
  

"between me and thee," Integrity Genesis 17:2

      INTEGRITY: honesty, probity, rectitude, honor, good character, principle(s), ethics, morals, righteousness, morality, virtue, decency, fairness, scrupulousness, sincerity, truthfulness, trustworthiness. Unity, unification, coherence, cohesion, togetherness, solidarity. soundness, strength, sturdiness, solidity, durability, stability, stoutness, toughness

"Between me and thee"

              I once met an older woman who talked of her life with bitter regret. She believed that by the time she reached a certain age, (she was over 75) she would have wisdom to share with those who would gather around as she recalled her life story.  She had hoped that others would see her as kind and humorous -revered. Instead- she believed – her aged body, lack of popularity and accumulated failures had earned her sarcastic disdain and disrespect. Her sarcasm tainted her. Although she was acclaimed, intelligent, witty, and insightful in her field, these talents did not bring her closer to a sense of spiritual wholeness. Integrity comes from what we give not what we gain. How we serve not how we are served. The good that we see in others not the good that we gain from others. 

        There is a misconception in life that if life is good enough to allow us the privilege of longevity we will automatically gain the respect of our peers. Integrity however, as Abraham learned, walks hand in hand with respect for life's higher power. Those who do not understand the reality, the love, and the power of God spend much of their life chasing after life's mirages of hope: youth, wealth, popularity, political power, intellect, beauty, etc. To befriend God is to learn the meaning of integrity.

       Abraham understood that in order to gain the respect, one had to give respect. Not only to God but also to family, to self, and to all those that serve you. Respect represents the beginning of friendship. Friendship can bring the sacredness of covenants. Covenants exist because two parties of integrity agree to uphold their promises toward one another.

       Who was Abraham that God should choose him to share the blessings of a covenant? Who am I that I too can enter into a covenant with my God and expect his blessings in my life? And how to I learn to repay God's blessings with sincere gratitude?  As I read these verses and considered Abram - at the age of 99- I wondered about my own relationship with God? I wonder about Abram and what he did to be called of God as one who would establish God's covenant with man. 

          Consider who Abram was and how he had proved himself to his God:

•  Obedient/ Humble - When told to leave the land of his inheritance he does 12:5
• Respectful/Grateful/ prayerful - Pious, He built altars for prayer  12:7 13:18 16:10-11
• Humble/ Trusting  Asks Sarai for help with the Egyptians 12:11 
• Peaceful/ family peace  – Abram did not want strife with Lot's servants 13:8
• Fair – gives Lot the good land and divides it 13: 11
• Honorable & dutiful – returns Lot from captivity 14: 16
• Sober – refused to take spoils of war or to make any situation that would take the credit from God, the possessor of heaven and earth 14: 23
• Truthful – gives God credit for battle victory 14: 22
• Believer/ faithful- he believed the Lord 15:6 17:3
• Ethics/ Moral Abram had Sarai deal with her servant in her own manner. 16:6

How God proves his love to Abraham: Gifts given to help him

• Visionary/ seer/ revelation  – The Lord appeared to Abram and he saw him in a vision talked with God.   12:7 15:1 15:13-16   17:3
• Protected/ Blessed - God will bless and curse those that bless or curse him 12:3
• Watched Over- God protects Abram and his family from the famine, his family, and other unseen threats. Tells him to leave/ Protects him from Egyptians 12:11
• Family/ Trusting - God promises that in Abram all families of the earth will be blessed. Will land unto Abram’s seed. Shows himself to Abram 12:2 13:15, 16

Other Qualities

• Family – Abram takes Sarai, and his brothers son Lot with him

• Aged -found his wisdom in the Lord’s guidance - 75 years old when asked to leave We are not told of his first 75 years. 12:4 

The amazing thing to consider about Abram, is that before his covenant with God 17:4 , he had almost everything that man could ever want: power, wealth,success, fame,  a wife, (two), land, political respect, security, servants, etc. He lived by his faith. But still he was missing something eternal -something bigger than life itself. This infinite part of Abraham's life, and our own life, can be found when we understand the power of integrity as they pertain to sacred covenants.  When we partake of the blessings of God's covenants: baptismal,  marriage, or others  we find eternal perspective. We begin to understand the shortness of our time, the scale of our existence, and the greatness of God's love and glory. 

No matter the success that life brings, man will always need to remember there exists a higher power. Protection, love, wholeness, and perspective are promised to those who learn that this power of God's love exists to bind us with our God.  It is the power that we call integrity and a power God said is "between me and thee." 

The Seed of Immortality Genesis 13-14

Genesis 13: Abraham's Immortality.

13: 16  And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

At the turn of the 19^th century, when pioneers began to cultivate and settle the southeastern region of our nation, the Carolina Parakeet existed in copious numbers.  Their brightly colored feathers and intelligence made them popular pets that were often captured and trained. Highly sociable birds their distress over a fallen or wounded comrade kept them from fleeing when faced with an imminent threat of gunfire.  Afterward, many were known to perch nearby on branches or over their fallen friends unaware of the hunters’ malevolent sport.  By the beginning of the 20^th century this social behavior played an important role in their eventual extinction.

Extinction sends a permanent death sting to the last of a species seed. Without seed God’s creations are but a blink in his vast universe. Without seed all that the Carolina Parakeet could have taught us about compassion, sociability, loyalty, friendship, and innate intelligence is, along with their genetic memory code, lost forever.

If extinction means to loose the perpetuation of one’s seeds, what does immortality mean? If one could find a way that their seed were ensured exponential reproduction would they not be defining one type of immortality? Abraham would not live forever, but his moral beliefs, teachings, and increase of intelligence would, if he could find a way to ensure his seeds survival. And what of our God? Would Abraham’s survival not testify to his power and love for all of mankind?

 

As I was reading how Abraham was promised that his seed would become as the “dust of the earth, ” I wondered who were Abraham’s contemporaries? Other than the “Epic of Gilgamesh” which archaeologists had to search for and is dated before Abraham’s time, we don’t know. Yes there are civilizations in China, in Asia, and other parts of the world but where are there genealogical records that tell their story? Their records did not purposefully survive to tell their tale. The key words are “purposefully survive.” Why was Abraham’s seed able to not only purposefully survive but also purposefully retain a written historical record? The answer lies in the true covenant that Abraham enters into with the God of Heaven and Earth.

I thought about Abraham and about God’s role in helping his progeny beat the odds of extinction. Clearly life was treacherous. No civil law had yet succeeded in bringing sustainable peace. As Genesis 14 points out the kingdoms were at war and barbaric practices allowed them ransack and plumage their foes.  Although Abraham was given great wealth and promised great land, his desires turned more to the protection and preservation of his family.  In order to find immortality and defy extinction, one must begin to think less about self-survival and more about family and community welfare.  Was it part of God’s plan that Abraham had to wait and sacrifice for his own seed?

The Carolina Parakeet understood the principle of caring for one another. Prior to farm settlement their system of group protection had served them well. But faced with ever changing circumstances and the threat of immoral predators the parakeet lacked the power to find evolutionary answers. Abraham must have understood that a higher power would be needed to ensure the survival of his seed. The ability to perceive, believe and understand this higher power would need to be instilled within the moral code of his seeds genetic memory.

In a time when childhood mortality, war, natural disaster, disease, famine, drought, plagues, and other expected accidents bore constant threat to one’s survival, Abraham’s contemplation of immortality through the continuation of his seed might have seemed off centered, just a bit.  Abraham begins to consider his father’s idolic religion as empty and vain.  He turned to the prophetic counsel that followed Adam’s creeds and settled in his mind the reality of one God and one creator. He defies his father’s multiplicity of Gods and listens to only one God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth. 

Abraham’s faith in the God of heaven and earth led him to understand God’s omnipotence. He becomes the chosen “son of Adam” to enter into a spiritual and binding covenant with a living and powerful God.  He begins to ponder how his family’s social behavior affects their prospect of survival. His recognition of his prosperity and success as a direct blessing from his "most high God" sets an example for his family and community.  When offered the plumage of warfare by King of Sodom, he refuses so that King of Sodom cannot say that he has made Abraham rich. (Genesis 14: 23)

 Abraham wants to make it clear where his blessings come from. He begins to consider that there are life events that he alone cannot control, but with the help of an all-powerful Creator, he might not only increase his chances for survival but through the power  and example of “exercised” faith he could ensure the survival of his seed as well. (Genesis 14:22)

Abraham’s decision to put away idol worship and serve one God sets into play a new way of thinking and considering life. When he hears God speak, Abraham listens. He teaches Sarah to listen. Together they begin a pattern of life that allows God’s power to direct and protect them. Abraham’s God is powerful. Abraham is able to converse and counsel with his God over major life decisions. Abraham is able to enter into a covenant that promises him all that he would need to ensure his immediate and eternal survival.

I love hearing stories about the Carolina Parakeet. They were not only beautiful birds to gaze upon but their behaviors toward one another causes my heart to pause and ask, “Why couldn’t they have flown away? Why couldn’t they survive? Why did this beautiful specie of a bird have to become extinct? What was lacking in their evolution that kept them unaware of the dangers? 

I believe the answer lies in understanding the importance of whom you place your faith. If we chose to place our faith in society and in our own strength we too might face extinction. But when we, like Abraham face our fears and believe in the inward power of faith in a true and living God we find a power greater than that of evolutionary selection.  Abraham became God’s man of covenant because he understood God's power of love and this inward contemplation of the power of love. He set in motion a new type of man, one that would worship not out of rote desperation, but rather out of a true power of faith. An obedience born of enlightenment and respect for divine truth. 

And this faith is what would ensure Abraham’s seed the possibility of not only the security of a happy life, but one possible of ensuring that his seed might one day be as numerous as the infinite “dust of the earth.”  

I will keep my promise Sarah

I will keep my promise (Genesis 10-12)

Sarah was a beautiful woman. Such was her beauty that it caused Abraham, the Egyptians, the servants of the Pharaoh, and the Pharaoh himself to stop and consider the power of her beauty. (Genesis 12, 14-15)  In a time and place when women were renown more for their bloom than for their courage, she stands alone as a woman of God.  She is the first woman of the Bible to be spoken of as “a fair woman to look upon.” She is also the first to teach us about how the power of faith can deliver us.

            11  Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. (Hebrews 11:11)

God made a covenant with her husband and brother Abraham. (Abraham 1, Gen 17) Together in the prosperous city of Ur, in the country of Chaldea, they lived under the auspices of their socially connected and well-known family. But the trade that had brought prosperity had also weakened their family’s spiritual roots. Abraham’s father became converted to the Egyptian God Elkenah and tried to offer Abraham up for sacrifice.(Abraham 1:6) Hence the Lord’s admonition and warning for Abraham to “get out of thy country and away from they kindred.” (Genesis 12:1)

Abraham recommits himself to God and God covenants with him. He is promised a progeny that would number the sands of the sea. In return the God will use Abraham and Sarah to build his Kingdom of God on earth. It is through this line that Jesus Christ will be born. It is through this family that the Lord’s covenant people learn what it means to make and keep sacred covenants with their God.

The question to consider is weather or not Sarah is the other part of the equation?  Was this linage to come through Sarah or her maidservant Haggai?  Was the covenant with Abraham and Sarah or just Abraham? 

Sarah must have thought more than once:  “Surely the Lord was mistaken when he said Abraham and I, (Sarah) would have a great nation?" Abraham could have had his children through any woman.  Was Sarah alone the intended matriarch of Israel? She was after-all barren. How must she have felt? A promise made to her husband and she unable to fulfill it? What must she have thought about Abraham when he confided in her? And what of Abraham's feelings? Was Sarah, the woman he loved and made marital vows with to be the matriarch of this great nation? 

Sarah and Abraham are bound to one another through familial and social customs. Sara was the daughter of Terah’s (Abraham’s father) son Haran. When Haran dies in the famine that strikes the land, Terah (per custom) marries her mother and ensures his son’s families survival. Sara then becomes Abrams step-sister (Gen 20:12) and wife.  (Bible dictionary ..Terah) This makes her covenant with Abraham double binding, meaning she would have to answer to both family and society if she chooses to dishonor her vows or break her marital covenant.

It is interesting to understand that this is the first time that biblical record mentions a one to one covenant with God and man.  Even more interesting is the understanding that this covenant initially is between Abraham and God, but because it is a marital covenant, one must consider that Sarah stands as an equal part of it. But she was barren?

Coming into Egypt the Lord and Abraham knew she was barren. The Egyptians however did not know. Had they known it would have changed the game. Her beauty was to be gathered and  cultivated for the power of Egypt- for Egypt built its kingdom on their vanities of physical beauty. Also with being barren she would be able to maybe have relations with the Pharaoh and who would know? No child would come of it? Sarah knew that God would know. She would know. 

Why is this important? She is about to be placed in a most precarious situation.  When Abraham asks her to lie for him (so that the Egyptians do not kill him), it begins an act in her life that forces her to define the power of her faith. It helps her to determine how unconditional her love for God and Abraham must become. 

Consider if you will that Sarah left a societal position of great stature to wander in the desert with Abraham.  And that when she is taken before the Pharaoh he offers her the opportunity to have all that she had lost and more. While she is with the Pharaoh (and we are not told how long this drama acted out) she cannot tell the Egyptians that she is married to Abraham, for they will surely kill him, so that they can claim her and her beauty for themselves.  She is literally between a rock and a hard place.

She must stand strong in her faith that God will deliver her. If she gives in to the Pharaoh’s attempts all will be lost – for she will forsake her family ties and her marital vows. If she tries to bargain with the Pharaoh he will see their deception as an attempt to defraud them and surely they will both die. What can she do? 

She prays and she allows her belief to give her the power to be strong in the face of great temptation. Consider also that her father in law worshiped Elkanah and Abraham himself had converted  back to his families traditional religion. Where did Sarah's faith lie? She was about to find out. 

One account I read from historical records talked about how when the Pharaoh pressed himself upon Sarah to woo her, he was physically shocked and rebuffed by an angel of the Lord. (1 Cor 16:22) He understood that this was no ordinary woman.  He understood that a God that he did not know had come to walk with her. So he asked and when the truth was told the whole truth, he was relieved to be rid of them. So great was his relief that he gave them great treasures. This could only have played out this way with the help of the Lord. Any other recourse by Sarah, by Lot, by Abraham or any other member of their family would have surely meant death and the destruction of the family.

Sarah alone had to stand strong against the temptations that the Pharaoh offered. Abraham was separated from her and could not come to her rescue. This was Sarah’s temptation. The covenant between God and Abraham was yet to occur. (Gen 17) She had to choose between the Pharaoh of Egypt and Abraham ( a desert nomad).  She had to choose between political power and the power of faith. She had to choose between material wealth and the love of her God and her husband. She had to choose between wealth, power, vanity and her covenant with the Lord.  The Lord told her “I will keep my promise.” It was her place to believe the power of his covenant.

Sarah stood strong. In her hour of temptation when the Lord tested the integrity of her faith , she championed the cause of faith and in so doing she set the path that would eventually give her what she wanted more than the Egyptians vanity, more than the position of power, more than the comforts of wealth - a family of her own. Soon the Lord will make covenants with a barren woman and a nomadic man. This covenant will bring to Sarah the one wish of her heart - a family to love. 

But not just any family – Sarah’s family becomes the covenant people of God. A family where God's love is taught, practiced and revered. All because she chose to stand strong- for Abraham and before God.