In an Education Week address Tuesday, a BYU professor of ancient scripture stressed the importance of covenants and covenant-making, both in the secular and spiritual worlds.

"Covenants are so much a part of our culture," said Victor L. Ludlow, a former coordinator of the BYU Near Eastern Studies program, "that most of us may not appreciate how much we use them as a Latter-day Saint people."

The common, contemporary definition of a covenant is sometimes different from how Latter-day Saints view it. According to secular dictionaries, a covenant is "a solemn agreement between two parties." This refers to the serious, not casual, agreement of the terms.

"Solemn means a covenant is defined as being more serious than casual," Ludlow said. "That means that a covenant is a solemn agreement between God and his children containing his promises to us."

Ludlow broke down the formation of a covenant, both 'vertically' (between man and God) and 'horizontally' (between man and man) into seven basic parts. Every covenant ever made, including baptismal, temple covenants and treaties of declaration have included these elements.

First, each covenant begins with an introduction, sometimes seen as a 'preface or prologue.' This introduction merely tells what the covenant is for and explains the parties involved.

Second, the covenant is placed into a historical context. For example, the Old Testament is full of examples in which the kings of different nations would outline the past terms of a current covenant.

Third, and what most people begin to see as the beginning of covenant-making, are the stipulations. This explains "what you and the Lord covenant to do," in contemporary LDS doctrine. The stipulations can be incredibly general and vague or extremely specific, Ludlow said.

Fourth, the ritual act (or what Latter-day Saints call the "symbolic ordinance") must occur as a sign of the entering into a covenant.

Fifth, rewards and punishments of keeping and breaking the covenant are outlined. In the Old Testament, these are often referred to as "blessings and curses."

Sixth, a number of witnesses must be present at the completion of a covenant. Otherwise the covenant has no effect outside of the immediate moment.

Finally, all covenants must perpetuate beyond the immediate time frame. In gospel terminology, that time frame is "understood to be a long term type of a commitment, even eternity," according to Ludlow. But even secular covenants, such as contracts and housing mortgages, contain an outlined time in which the terms of the agreement are to be met.

Copyright Brigham Young University 20 Aug 2008