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])
