The Abrahamic Covenant & Your Lineage | Russell M. Nelson: Thanks for the Covenant (LDS)

Send us Fan MailWhat is the Abrahamic covenant, and what does your patriarchal blessing lineage really mean? In this LDS (Latter-day Saint) episode, Tia Smith shares one of her favorite talks — Russell M. Nelson's 1988 BYU devotional "Thanks for the Covenant" — which traces how the house of Israel came to be, and helps you understand who you are and where you stand in the promises made to the fathers.Given in 1988, when Russell M. Nelson was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (he became President of the Church in 2018), the talk walks through a sweeping panorama: the Lord's covenant with Abraham, renewed with Isaac and again with Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel); the tender family history of Jacob, Leah, Rachel, and the birth of the twelve tribes; and the Hebrew law of the birthright, which passed from Reuben to Joseph, and then, through Jacob's blessing, to Joseph's son Ephraim. President Nelson explains why this ancient history has everything to do with your identity today: the lineage of Judah was entrusted with preparing the world for the Savior's first coming, while the lineage of Joseph — through Ephraim and Manasseh — was assigned to lead the gathering of Israel and prepare the world for His second coming. He teaches that your patriarchal blessing declares your lineage and links you to that covenant, that the temple endowment and sealing confer the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and that "Abrahamic tests" and submissive suffering are part of being sanctified.Tia frames it for the week's study of the gathering: once we understand the promises made to the fathers, we can lay hold on them in our own lives, in the temple, and for our posterity. Knowing who we are — children of the covenant, heirs according to the promise — changes the direction of our lives, our choices, and even whom we marry.Q: What is the Abrahamic covenant, in simple terms?A: In this talk Russell M. Nelson describes it as the covenant God made with Abraham — later renewed with Isaac and Jacob — including the promises that Christ would come through Abraham's lineage, that his posterity would inherit certain lands, and that all nations of the earth would be blessed through his seed. It was restored in the latter days through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and members enter it through baptism and, more fully, through temple ordinances.Q: What does my patriarchal blessing lineage mean?A: President Nelson teaches that your patriarchal blessing declares your lineage in the house of Israel — most often Ephraim or Manasseh, the line of Joseph chosen to lead the gathering of Israel — and links you to the Abrahamic covenant. He calls it personal scripture that reminds you of your connection to the past and helps you claim your future potential through faithfulness.Q: Why were the tribes of Ephraim and Joseph given the role of gathering Israel?A: The episode explains that responsibility divided by lineage: Judah's line prepared the world for the Savior's first coming, while Joseph's line, through Ephraim and Manasseh, was assigned to lead the gathering and prepare the world for the Second Coming. Tia Smith connects this to why covenant-keeping Latter-day Saints today are so central to the gathering of Israel on both sides of the veil.▶️ WATCH & LISTEN🎬 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thinningoftheveil🌐 Website: https://www.thinningoftheveil.com🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinning-of-the-veil/id1753511394🟢 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jWCfMHkZXwnSwy2b98J4M🎵 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a0a45561-d4c2-46d3-af8d-a1e967a21a25📖 BOOKPatterns of Revelation — Spiritual Foundations for Hearing God's Voice: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW36MG9B📱 CONNECTInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinning.of.the.veilFacebook Group (Gathering of the Gatherers): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1429562078443774Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/thinningoftheveil💛 SUPPORT THE SHOWVenmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/thinningoftheveilPayPal: https://paypal.me/thinningoftheveil✉️ Have you had a thinning of the veil experience? Email [email protected] — your testimony may be exactly what someone needs to hear.#ThinningOfTheVeil #SpiritWorld #TempleWork #FamilyHistory #LDS #LatterDaySaints #GatheringOfIsrael #MinisteringAngels #FamilySearch #PersonalRevelationCITATIONS:Russell M. Nelson, "Thanks for the Covenant", BYU, Nov. 22, 1988: https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/russell-m-nelson/thanks-covenant/Support the show