THE AMERICAN COVENANT: THE COLONIES

In the 17th Century, others seeking religious freedom found their way to the Americas.  The Book of Mormon tells us that all who come here are led by God.  Nephi saw these other pilgrims in a new land.

And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance . . . the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of God was with them. (1 Nephi 13;15, 16)

The first English colony in North America was in Roanoke, Virginia. It was a bleak life.  The people were close to starving.  Their captain sailed back to England for supplies.  When he arrived, England was at war with Spain and all the merchant ships were commandeered for military service.  When the war was over, the captain acquired a ship and sailed to America.  When he arrived he found that the little community of settlers had completely disappeared without a trace.  No one knows what happened to them.

The first permanent settlement was Jamestown, also in Virginia.  It was named after King James, the monarch who commissioned men to translate and prepare what became known as the King James version of the Bible. The king commissioned a group called The Virginia Company to establish a settlement in the New World for the purpose of exploration and gain. In that second goal, they were much disappointed. They found no gold or riches as the Spanish had in South America. While the Virginia Company was about profit, they themselves saw that as a secondary goal.  Their stated main purpose was to bring Jesus Christ to America. An early tract of the Virginia Company read:

First to preach and baptize into Christian religion and by the propagation the Gospel, to recover out of the arms of the devil a number of poor and miserable souls wrapped up unto death in almost invincible ignorance; to endeavor the fulfilling and accomplishments of the number of the elect which shall be gathered from out of all corners of the earth; and add to our myte the treasury of heaven.

Their minister was the Reverend Robert Hunt.  Upon landing, he dedicated the new land to the Lord in prayer.  In his prayer, Mr. Hunt used covenantial language that was prophetic.  Said he: From these very shores the gospel shall go forth, not just to this new world, but to the entire world.

The Mayflower Compact

A colony that was founded primarily to obtain religious freedom was the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. In the early days of the Protestant Reformation, those whose beliefs did not coincided with the accepted state church (in this case, the Church of England) were severely persecuted.  One such group were the Puritans.  They sought, to the best of their abilities, to return to the pure faith of the early Church.  The persecution was so severe in England, so the group moved to Holland.  When they noticed their children taking on Dutch customs and language, they knew they had a find a place where they could practice their faith in peace.

Boarding the Mayflower

A small group of Pilgrims boarded the ship Mayflower.  They were headed for Virginia, but a storm blew them off course and they were forced to land further north in what is now the state of Massachusetts.  (I personally believe that the Lord had a hand in changing their ultimate destination so that they would be completely separated from other colonies. They landed just where God wanted them to be.)

They knew that once they were in America, they would be responsible to govern themselves. Before they ever left the ship, the men of the company met to write a document that has come to be known as the Mayflower Compact.  It reads:

We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign, King James, by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France, King, Defender of the Faith, etc.

Having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one of another, covenant, and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, offices from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony: unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names; Cape Cod, the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our sovereign lord King James, of England, France and Ireland eighteenth and of Scotland fifty-fourth, Anno Domini 1620.

He was a puritan and separatist.  

He believed the Church of England beyond reforming. 

William Bradford, the leader of the group, wrote that his life had always been directed by God:

From my years young in days of youth,
God did make known to me his truth,
And call'd me from my native place
For to enjoy the means of grace.
In wilderness he did me guide,
And in strange lands for me provide.
In fears and wants, through weal and woe,
A pilgrim, past I to and fro.

Dedicating this new land to Jesus Christ

The Mayflower Compact is the first of many sacred documents, inspired by God to prepare a land of freedom so that the Gospel could be restored.  It could never have happened in Europe because of the complex political and religious machinations of centuries. Personally, I can see in their stated purpose for the advancement of the Christian faith echoes of the American Covenant - that this land should be a free land so long as its people worship the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ.  

I have a difficult time understanding how so many modern-day Americans can believe this is not a Christian nation founded on Christian principles. In so stating, they underscore their ignorance of American history.  It is sad that our history has been rewritten by liberal Americans such that it will conforms to what is politically correct by today's standards rather than what is true and morally correct.  We, as Covenant Keepers, should keep history alive for our young people.  

Many people need a refresher course, beginning with Congress.  They are the blind are leading the blind. 

©January 2020, Dr. Kathleen Rawlings Buntin Danielson