After finishing the Book of Mormon again, I found myself wondering how I should study it next.
I’ve read it cover to cover multiple times. I’ve studied people, themes, and doctrines. But as I prayed about what to focus on this time, I felt prompted to study the five temple covenants.
At first, I wasn’t exactly sure what that would look like.
Then I had a simple idea: What if I read the Book of Mormon looking for examples of people either living (or breaking) the five temple covenants?
So that’s what I started doing.
As I read, I looked for examples of obedience, sacrifice, living the gospel of Jesus Christ, chastity, and consecration. Rather than reading each chapter and asking, “What happened?” I started asking, “What do I learn about covenant living from these people?”
The results have been fascinating already!
I see the covenant of obedience in Nephi’s willingness to follow the Lord, even when the commandment seemed difficult or impossible. I see examples of sacrifice when people give up comfort, security, or personal desires to follow God’s will.
I see the covenant to live the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the Book of Mormon as prophets teach faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. In many ways, the entire Book of Mormon is a witness of what it looks like to live that covenant.
I also notice examples related to the law of chastity. Sometimes those examples are positive, showing faithfulness and purity. Other times, they serve as warnings when individuals or societies reject God’s standards and experience the consequences.
And I see the covenant of consecration everywhere. People consecrate their time, talents, resources, and even their lives to build God’s kingdom. Missionaries leave their homes. Prophets dedicate themselves to serving others. Entire communities seek to become united and care for those in need.
The more I study this way, the more I realize that the Book of Mormon is not just teaching these covenants, it is showing us what they look like in real life.
The good news is that anyone can study the Book of Mormon this way!
Simply choose one of the five temple covenants and start looking for examples as you read. Mark verses. Take notes. Ask questions. Watch for blessings that come from covenant keeping and consequences that follow covenant breaking.
A Done-For-You Study Chart
As I’ve worked through this study, I’ve been compiling every scripture reference I could find and organizing them under each of the five temple covenants.
What started as a personal study project eventually turned into something I wanted to share.
So I created a Temple Covenant Study Chart for the Book of Mormon. It includes the scripture references I’ve found organized by covenant category. Even better, each scripture reference is linked directly to Gospel Library, so you can click on a reference and instantly open the verse.
If you’d like the “done-for-you” version, the organized chart with all the references already gathered and linked, you can find it right here.
My hope is that this resource helps you spend less time searching and more time seeing how covenant living points us to Jesus Christ on every page of the Book of Mormon. Happy studying!
Follow Becky on Instagram and Facebook!