Lehi's Covenant

I consider this the most important post I've written thus far.

Most scholars believe Lehi was born between 660-640 BC. These birth dates are based on the information and clues we get from 1 Nephi that: (1) Lehi lived in Jerusalem his whole life (2) he lived there during the first year of king Zedekiah's reign around 600 BC (3) he was already married at that time with at least four kids (some of whom were old enough to be married) and (4) after eight or so years of traveling in the wilderness he and Sariah were considered "old". 

For the sake of argument, let's say Lehi was born at the earliest accepted date, around 640 BC. This means by the time king Zedekiah began his reign around 600 BC, Lehi was about 40 years old. Again, for the sake of argument, these dates are give-or-take a couple years. 

If Lehi was born around 640 BC, this also means that he grew up during king Josiah's reign, which was from 640-609 BC (2 Kings 7:5-12). For those who need a quick refresher, king Josiah's reformation was much needed. He "removed all manner of idolatrous items from the temple and purified his kingdom of Canaanite practices. Temple vessels made for Baal, Asherah, and the host of heaven were removed, idolatrous priests were deposed, the Asherah itself was taken from the temple and burned, and much more besides." [1] 

This is the politcal and religious landscape Lehi grew up in.

In addition to these bold steps, king Josiah’s high priest found "the book of the law" that was hidden away in the temple as they were repairing it (2 Kings 7:6). This record was shocking to discover because it had been lost for generations. No wonder there had been so many kings before Josiah who did evil in the sight of the Lord.

After the priest found this hidden record, king Josiah read it himself, and after learning how much he and God's people had drifted from the Lord's commands and the seriousness of keeping covenant, he:

"... gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great. And he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord. And the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant." (2 Kings 7:9)

2 Chronicles 18:3 tells us that king Josiah offered this covenant 18 years into his reign as king, which was around 623 BC. If this is true, Lehi, who "lived his whole life at Jerusalem", would have been about ~18 years old when king Josiah caused his people to repent and take this covenant. 

Therefore, Lehi, with the rest of Jerusalem, "stood to the covenant" that he would "walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all [his] heart and all [his] soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book."

In short, Lehi stood and took a covenant to honor the newly restored scriptures.

Sound familiar?

Before I continue, and just to make sure we're on the same page, here's a quick timeline of what's going on:

650 BC - Jeremiah the prophet is born (bonus info) 
648 BC - Josiah is born
640 BC - Josiah becomes king at 8 years old / Lehi born at Jerusalem
623 BC - king Josiah offers covenant / Lehi accepts covenant
609 BC - king Josiah dies
600 BC - Zedekiah begins his reign 

Moving on. 

From the short time between Josiah's reformation and the beginning of king Zedekiah's reign, those at Jerusalem had relapsed back into idolatry and apostasy. Hence, the Book of Mormon (now also known as the Covenant of Christ) begins with:

"My father Lehi lived his whole life at Jerusalem. During the first year that Zedekiah king of Judah ruled, many prophets were warning that the people must repent or the great city of Jerusalem would be destroyed. So my father, when he was alone, prayed to the Lord with his whole heart for his people." (1 Nephi 1:2).

That was quick. 

From this, we can somewhat conclude that the only people left who honored the covenant king Josiah established were Jeremiah, "many prophets", and Lehi. But of this group, Lehi was the only one not already a 'prophet' (from the current scriptural account, anyway). Therefore, it appears he was the only one receptive to the message of these prophets. 

All because he took seriously the covenant he made to honor the commandments in the scriptures. 

He knew what it was like before the reformation, and he knew what the people were going to lose.

No wonder he "prayed to the Lord with his whole heart for his people." They were there when he took the covenant! they took the covenant WITH him! They were indeed "his people".

Furthermore, it's no wonder God chose him to be another prophet who preached repentance because he was the only one who took his covenant seriously. The "many prophets" wanted them to keep the covenant they made, and Lehi did so. 

It's no wonder that Lehi would be the one God later commanded to go retrieve the brass plates (through his sons). He was worthy of stewarding them because he already honored what they taught more than anyone else around him. He merited the plates [2].  

Even after he secured the brass plates for his family, he "took the records engraved on the brass plates and carefully studied them from the beginning." (1 Nephi 1:22).

Lehi is a great example to us. Despite everyone else's attitude about their covenant, he was faithful to live it, and as a result, we now have the entire Book of Mormon or Covenant of Christ that sprung up from his seed.

Now, today, we likewise have a covenant from Christ because of that text. We, like Lehi, must, "receive the scriptures approved by the Lord as a standard to govern [us] in [our] daily walk in life, to accept the obligations established by the Book of Mormon and/or the Covenant of Christ as a covenant, and to use the scriptures to correct [ourselves] and to guide [our] words, thoughts, and deeds[.]"

I recently gave a talk in behalf of my fellowship at a conference. We wrote in part:

"The second actionable step in the 4th Nephi path is repentance. The Epistle of Jacob teaches us that sin occurs when one "knows to do good and does it not." (Ep. of Jacob 1:18.) In that light, 4th Nephi 1:1 states that each congregation truly repented of their sins, or in other words, fully committed themselves to learning and choosing what is good. So, how do we learn what "good" is? Alma 10:5 explains that after Alma and Amulek preached to the people, the people began to “repent and search the scriptures.” It appears then that the place we are initially expected to learn what is good is the scriptures."

Because of the scriptures, Lehi got a covenant. 

Because of his faithfulness to the covenant, we got more scriptures through him. 

Because of all the scriptures that have been recovered, and to the degree with which we honor them,  we now have our own covenant. 

This was God's plan all along (2 Nephi 2:2-4).

The Book of Mormon in particular really is a text that offers us "more good", by covenant, from Christ. I wish I could express better what is in my heart and the gratitude I feel. What more can I say than "repent and search the scriptures"?

Praise the God of Covenant, the God of scripture, the God of Israel! 

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[1] What Did King Josiah Reform? by Margret Barker

[2] A friend suggested to me that perhaps the "book of the law" found in the temple was the Brass Plates themselves.