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?

"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."