Old Testament # 10
Birthright
Blessings; Marriage in the Covenant
Introduction
This morning I was reading the March Ensign and
read this article
It is an inspiring story of one
couple’s journey to be married in the temple and the tremendous obstacles they
overcame and the blessings the Lord put in their way to help them achieve that
goal. And then, on Instagram would you believe it, comes my favorite quote from
Elder Maxwell and one which I struggle to comply with:
The submission of
one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s
altar. The many other things we “give,” brothers and sisters, are actually the
things He has already given or loaned to us. However, when you and I finally
submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God’s
will, then we are really giving something to Him! It is the only possession
which is truly ours to give! Consecration thus constitutes the only
unconditional surrender which is also a total victory![1]
This quote is not only applicable
to this week’s lesson, but also to Kara’s challenge from last Sunday: “What can
we sacrifice to be closer to Heavenly Father?”
This week I will do things a little
differently. I have asked three couples at various stages in life to talk to us
about the impact being married in the temple has had upon their marriage. This
might take up the majority of the lesson, so this blog will serve to cover what
we probably will not get to in our Sunday School time. (Which actually it
usually does.) I am sure you have all seen the video where children are put in
front of a treat and told if they wait and do not eat it right away, they will
get double later on. Almost all of them go for the treat straight away rather
than waiting. I imagine this analogy can apply to a celestial marriage versus a
relationship outside of those confines. Although one might lead to the other
eventually, true satisfaction can only come from the sealing ordinances, those
given as the crowning ordinances of the Kingdom of God on the earth.
1. Abraham emphasizes the importance
of marriage in the covenant (eternal marriage). Genesis 24
This is a very romantic tale, but
one born out of necessity. Here in Utah it isn’t difficult (what am I saying?
Single for soo many years!) to find a member of the Church to marry. But out in
the mission field it is perhaps a more daunting task. Abraham is in Canaan and
there is no-one! We get so little information, but are so grateful for what we
have. Was Isaac OK with Abraham’s servant being sent to get him a wife? Here
are people who have sacrificed so much already that they are close enough to
receive the Lord’s help in all the important things. Including having the faith
to send a trusted servant to select a wife for Isaac.
As you listen to the three couples
on their temple marriages, whether you are married or not, see how that can
apply to you. I will look at it through the lenses of my relationship to my
Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and the impact that has had on my life.
2. Esau sells his birthright to
Jacob. Genesis 25:20–34
Bruce R. McConkie has this
instruction for us about birthright.
It appears that
anciently under the Patriarchal Order certain special blessings, rights,
powers, and privileges—collectively called the birthright—passed from
the father to his firstborn son. (Gen. 43:33.) In later ages special
blessings and prerogatives have been poured out upon all the worthy
descendants of some who gained special blessings and birthrights anciently. (3 Ne.
20:25–27.) Justification for this system, in large part, lies in the
pre-existent preparation and training of those born in the lines destined to
inherit preferential endowments.” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 87.)
This is a tough one, and I will
admit I still have a hard time reconciling the seeming subterfuge of the blind
Jacob being led by Rebekah to bless Jacob instead of Esau. But in the end, Esau
did sell his birthright: he did not value it. Perhaps it is better to
concentrate on why Esau basically made the same decision as the children in the
video—a mess of pottage now was more important than the birthright at some
indefinite time in the future.
3. Jacob marries Leah and Rachel
in the covenant, and through him the Abrahamic covenant continues. Genesis
26–29
With regard to Rebekah, in some
ways her decision in Genesis 27: 8–13 is similar to Eve’s when faced with Satan
and the tree of life. She took responsibility for making sure the patriarchal
line stayed with the one son who was worthy to carry it forward. And in Genesis
28:9 we see that Esau indeed defied his parents and married descendants of
Ishmael. Jacob then undertakes a great journey and, away from his parents’
influence, develops his own relationship with the Lord and serves many years
for Rachel.
Jacob’s ladder might need some
explanation. Here is President Marion G. Romney:
When Jacob
traveled from Beersheba toward Haran, he had a dream in which he saw himself on
the earth at the foot of a ladder that reached to heaven where the Lord stood
above it. He beheld angels ascending and descending thereon, and Jacob realized
that the covenants he made with the Lord there were the rungs on the ladder
that he himself would have to climb in order to obtain the promised
blessings—blessings that would entitle him to enter heaven and associate with
the Lord. Because he had met the Lord and entered into covenants with him
there, Jacob considered the site so sacred that he named the place Bethel, a
contraction of Beth-Elohim, which means literally ‘the House of the Lord.’ He
said of it: ‘… this is none other but the house of God, and this is the
gate of heaven.’ (Gen. 28:17.) Jacob not only passed through the gate of
heaven, but by living up to every covenant he also went all the way in. Of him
and his forebears Abraham and Isaac, the Lord has said: ‘… because they
did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered
into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are
not angels but are gods.’ (D&C 132:37.) Temples are to us all what Bethel
was to Jacob. Even more, they are also the gates to heaven for all of our
unendowed kindred dead. We should all do our duty in bringing our loved ones
through them.” (“Temples—The
Gates to Heaven,” Ensign, Mar. 1971, p. 16.
I have quoted before from President
Kimball’s books The Miracle of Forgiveness and Faith Precedes the
Miracle. And the quote I include here is just a reminder that even when it
seems as if there is no choice, there is always a choice.
Paul told the
Corinthians, “Be ye not unequally yoked together” Perhaps Paul wanted them to
see that religious differences are fundamental differences. Religious
differences imply wider areas of conflict. Church loyalties and family
loyalties clash. Children’s lives are often frustrated. The nonmember may be
equally brilliant, well trained and attractive, and he or she may have the most
pleasing personality, but without a common faith, trouble lies ahead for the
marriage. There are some exceptions but the rule is a harsh and unhappy one” (The
Miracle of Forgiveness [1969], 240).
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