Covenants as Dispensations of God's Word

Covenants are nothing more nor less than God giving promises-his word-to men. God's promise to Nephi and to Enoch were covenants with them. We find no one in scripture-not one individual-who exercised the powers God gave to Enoch without them first having the same experience with God that Enoch had.

Joseph said,

You, no doubt, will agree with us, and say, that you have no right to claim the promises of the inhabitants before the flood; that you cannot found your hopes of salvation upon the obedience of the children of Israel when journeying in the wilderness, nor can you expect that the blessings which the apostles pronounced upon the churches of Christ eighteen hundred years ago, were intended for you. Again, if others' blessings are not your blessings, others' curses are not your curses; you stand then in these last days, as all have stood before you, agents unto yourselves, to be judged according to your works. (TPJS, p. 12)

Because we cannot dictate the words of God, we cannot initiate a covenant. We can, however, respond to God's invitation to live a certain way, and by so doing come to the point where he makes a covenant with us by declaring his word to us.

God restored the priesthood through Joseph Smith. He did so in two ways: first, he restored to Joseph the authority to ordain to the lower and higher priesthoods. These priesthoods authorize the bearer to organize churches, baptize, etc, but they do not automatically bring you back into the presence of God. For this reason, the second more important restoration of the priesthood through Joseph was the restoration of the knowledge of the covenants God has made with his children. Consider that every account we have of the fullness of the priesthood being conferred from God occurs in scriptures restored by (in the case of the Pearl of Great Price and the Bible translation) or delivered through (in the case of the D&C) Joseph Smith. These covenants are exceedingly important. They are what differentiate our church from the greater restoration movement that was pervasive in Joseph's day.

The Campbellite Christianity of 1830 Kirtland sought to restore the New Testament doctrines of faith, repentance, and baptism. When Joseph arrived, he offered something different. Joseph was not restoring the New Testament church-his mission was to restore the covenant of God with Israel, which covenant was not that a certain genealogical lineage had hope for eternal life, but that God would make a covenant of eternal life with all those who obtained and lived by God's word to them. As God said, "I am the Lord thy God; and I give unto you this commandment-that no man shall come unto the Father but by me or by my word, which is my law, saith the Lord."¹ Interestingly, the Campbellites did not believe that the Holy Ghost was an essential element of salvation. However, it is impossible to receive revelation-and thus covenants-by any other means.