In the study of 'The Messiah', for as established in item one there is but one Messiah only, one is led to come to an understanding of the 'Covenant of God' by which the Messiah is and was to come. This promise and covenant of God was given from the beginning, before the foundation of the earth. And it included the fact that Jesus Christ, the Messiah would 'pertain unto this world' (D&C 130:5) and thus be born of woman and have a rightful and covenant descent within the linage of man. And 'Blessed is he through whose seed Messiah shall come;' (Moses 7:53). This 'Blessed' promise of ancestry was a part of the Plan of Exaltation according to the Order of Heaven. That Order being the 'Patriarchal Order' or the 'Order of the Priesthood of God'. And by that right and order of Heaven was the descent given and assigned to the ancestry of Jesus Christ as a part of the Everlasting Covenant of the Fathers, the Patriarchs of the Priesthood Order of God.

God the Father had promised and covenanted with his spirit children according to the Plan of Salvation, the Gospel Plan, the Plan of Redemption, the Plan of Eternal Progression, even the Plan of Happiness, which is the Everlasting Covenant, which was based in that he would provide them with a Messiah. He anointed Jehovah, his firstborn son in the spirit to be this Messiah in the pre-existence. And when Adam fell, as explained in the previous item, God further reconfirmed these promises of covenant unto Adam that in his seed would come the promised Messiah. After the great flood, Noah took on a similar role of being ancestor to and representative of the promises and covenants of God the Father's promised everlasting covenant and the rainbow became the symbol of the Father's covenant with man. Later Father Abraham sought after the Kingdom of God and the 'promises of the fathers'. These covenants and promises where those providing salvation to the world through Jesus Christ and the right of the 'firstborn' to be from whence the world and its nations would be blessed. This included being the source of the Savior of the world coming through the lineage of Abraham, the 'appointment of God unto the fathers concerning the seed.

"And, finding there was greater happiness and peace and rest for me, I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same; having been myself a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge, and to be a father of many nations, a prince of peace, and desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God, I became a rightful heir, a High Priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers. It was conferred upon me from the fathers; it came down from the fathers, from the beginning of time, yea, even from the beginning, or before the foundation of the earth, down to the present time, even the right of the firstborn, or the first man, who is Adam, or first father, through the fathers unto me. I sought for mine appointment unto the Priesthood according to the appointment of God unto the fathers concerning the seed." ~ Abraham 1:2-4

God's promise of the Plan of Salvation and the provision of the Savior to bring redemption from the Fall of Adam, as just established, was made in the very pre-councils of Heaven. These promises where given to men, beginning with Adam, by way of covenant as entered in upon by the outward ordinances of performance of the Gospel of the Son of God. And though the outward performance of the ordinance what but the representative action of what was to be in the heart, soul, and daily action of the person, the ordinance was the act of showing compliance to and the process of openly make the covenant with God before man, God and witnesses to the fact of the commitment of the covenant undertaken.

The governing covenants that a redeemer would be provided through the posterity of man to bring man back to the presence of God, was the central point of the covenant made. In addition to the covenant that a redeemer would be provided, the oaths and further detailed covenants which set out what man's performance was to be in order to comply and come under the scope of these covenants was also set out. Christ would provide the way or the means, but man had to do his part and comply to the requisites in order to qualify. Those detailed requisite performances constituted the oaths and covenants of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as set out in the Covenant with Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Ephraim. The seed of Adam was to provide the means in the last days whereby all may qualify for the Lord's Redemption. This covenant passed on down to the promised line to Seth/Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and thence to Ephraim being blessed as the chosen son of his grandfather Jacob, to replace Reuben who was not worthy of the covenant blessings.

Simply stated as set out in the LDS Bible Dictionary, these covenant blessing of the Covenant of Abraham included the following:

1. Gospel of Baptism which is the covenant or promise of salvation or redemption at the entry level.

2. The receiving of the covenant of the Priesthood after the order of the Son of God for the administration of the affairs of God's Kingdom upon the Earth to allow the authorized performance of all the ordinances and covenants pertaining to the extended Gospel Plan of Exaltation. This would include the priesthood endowment received in the Temple of the Lord and the oaths and covenants entered in there at.

3. Celestial Marriage to be available for man in order that man may become as God is and achieve the highest degree of exaltation according to his extended works of faithfulness and performance.

(These first three covenant blessings and performances dealt with personal salvation. The next points deal with the provision of these for all the posterity of the earth, which the 'Covenant of Abraham' is more recognized as including.)

4. The promise that all these blessings would be made available for all the posterity of mankind through the seed of the covenant bearer after the order of the 'firstborn' whether it be Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, or Ephraim, thus providing redemption for all.

5. Ancestor to Christ, that is the Godly atoning provider of these covenants would come through the legal and authorized lineage of the administering bearer of the Covenant. And the last two stated administering bearers where Joseph and his son Ephraim.

6. The posterity of the covenant bears would be given lands of promise upon which their worthy livelihoods would allow then to so prosper that they could be the means of providing these covenant to the world. In fact the heir was given two portions of land compared to one on the part of the rest to help facilitate this very purpose of providing for the carrying out the responsibilities of being the head and heir of the covenant family.

(Joseph's/Ephraim's double share today is as to have obtained the very promised land of Father Adam, the Americas and the United States, from which both the physical and spiritual welfare of the world is being lead and administered to the entire world today.)

This in summary form constitutes what the entire Covenant of Abraham and the promises of the fathers constituted. There is little scriptural doubt that Ephraim was the heir to this his father's covenants. And this is what Ephraim is doing today in carrying the fullness of the Gospel to the nations of the world as allowed by the blessings of this promised land of his inheritance today. What has not been clear is how Ephraim, the heir to the Covenant of Abraham received all of the covenant but could be left out of it most central promise of being the legal ancestor to the Messiah and redeemer of the world in concert with the whole of the Covenant. The dicotomy of Ephraim being the bearer of the blessings and resposibility of the Covenat of Abraham and the Promises of the Fathers and Judah being the bloodline ancestor to the Christ is a pondery. But to this end is this discussion aimed to present that indeed Ephraim was not 'robbed' by Judah of this blessing, but that it is a mere technicality of the Law of Moses which does in fact establish Christ as both Messiah Ben Joseph/Ephaim and Messiah Ben David. Which David was himself actually of the bloodline of Judah by his 'adoptive' parent Boaz who married and raise up the firstborn son Obed, David's ancestor, to the first husband of Ruth, namely Mahlon the son of Elimelech the Ephrathite or Ephraimite of Bethlehem.

(Also see such reference as D&C 27:9-11; 84:14-16; 86:8-10; 112:32; and 128:18 and 3 Nephi 25:6; Malachi 4:6; D&C 110:15; JS-H 1:39 which teach of the promises of the fathers, who they are and that our hearts must be turned unto them.)

For the turning of the hearts of the children to their 'fathers' and the 'promises of the fathers' is to turn to the ancient fathers of the covenant to understand the promises of the covenant which included that the great Jehovah would descend from heaven and walk with us, taking upon himself the sins of the world, redeeming his children of the gospel plan, and providing the resurrection and immortality and eternal life to man. He, the Christ, the Messiah, becomes our 'Father' unto salvation. We are but His children, His sons and daughters. And it is to Him to which our hearts must most appropriately be turned that he may turn His love and mercy unto us in providing us with this salvation, immortality, and exaltation. It is not only our immediate fathers to whom our hearts turn, and it is not only to our ancient covenant bearing fathers of the promises to whom our hearts turn, but it is most importantly that our hearts turn to our Father, Jesus Christ of the Gospel and to our Father of our spirits who is in Heaven. For if we turn not our hearts unto Christ, and to His and to our Father in Heaven, then we will be lost and cursed, not returning to the presence of God in Heaven.