“I Covenanted with Abraham”

Brant Gardner

Verse 14 is an important closure to the message the Lord has been giving. While the message certainly has import for the Book of Mormon, it is more a message of deliverance of the house of Israel than the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. For the modern LDS, this may be the story of the restoration in the latter days, but for the Lord it is the story if the permanence of the covenants with the house of Israel and with Abraham. It is this remembrance of the covenant that is the reason that the Lord emphasizes the origins of the written texts, and it is in the context of the Lord’s continuing care for the people of the covenant that brings the Lord’s warnings and displeasure upon the Gentiles who have “curse them, and hated them” (verse 5).

Polemic: A modern text might suppose to impute modern sensibilities into the text. In the case of the prevailing opinions of the Jews among the Gentile Christian world, one might expect that the historical cursing of the Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus might show in the Book of Mormon. It does not. Indeed, the Book of Mormon is pointedly against such an attitude toward the Jews. Rather than the revilings, the Book of Mormon suggests that they be revered for their covenant relationship with God. This is, of course, precisely what one would expect of Nephi, who considered himself a Jew, and an inheritor of the covenant.

Multidimensional Commentary on the Book of Mormon

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