The new and everlasting covenant “is the sum total of all
gospel covenants and obligations” given anciently and again restored
to the earth in these latter days. This is explained in Doctrine and
Covenants 66:2: “Verily I say unto you, blessed are you for receiving mine
everlasting covenant, even the fulness of my gospel, sent forth unto
the children of men, that they might have life and be made partakers of the
glories which are to be revealed in the last days, as it was written by the
prophets and apostles in days of old.” Because the covenant has been
restored in the last dispensation of time, it is “new,” and because it spans
all eternity, it is “everlasting.”
In the scriptures the Lord speaks of both “the” new and
everlasting covenant and “a” new and everlasting covenant. For example,
in Doctrine and Covenants 22:1, He refers to baptism as “a new
and an everlasting covenant, even that which was from the beginning.” In Doctrine
and Covenants 132:4, He likewise refers to eternal marriage as “a new
and an everlasting covenant.” When He speaks of “a” new and everlasting
covenant, He is speaking of one of the many covenants encompassed by His
gospel.
When the Lord speaks generally of “the” new and
everlasting covenant, He is speaking of the fulness of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, which embraces all ordinances and covenants necessary for the salvation
and exaltation of mankind. Neither baptism nor eternal marriage is “the” new
and everlasting covenant; rather, they are each parts of the whole. (Marcus B.
Nash, “The
New and Everlasting Covenant,” Ensign [December 2015])
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