The primary purpose of the Stick of Joseph is to make known the Covenants. This is evident from the Title Page (which was actually part of the Gold Plates) where we read:

Which is to show unto the remnant of the House of Isra’el how great things YHWH has done for their fathers; And that they may know the covenants of the YHWH…

And in Lechi’s blessing to his son Yosef:

Wherefore, the fruit of your loins shall write, and the fruit of the loins of Y’hudah shall write. And that which shall be written by the fruit of your loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Y’hudah, shall grow together unto the confounding of false doctrines, and laying down of contentions, and establishing shalom among the fruit of your loins, and bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days, and also to the knowledge of my covenants, says YHWH. And out of weakness he shall be made strong, in that day when my work shall commence among all my people, unto the restoring you, O house of Isra’el, says YHWH.
2Nefi 3:12 LDS (2:22-23 RLDS 2:4 SoJ)

In fact all of Chapter 2 (in the original Chapter system) of 2 Nefi, is a large Chiastic structure with “[U] bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days, [U] and also to the knowledge of my covenants” as the dual center point of the Chiasmus. (This structure goes from A to U and is far to large to insert here. We may at some point add it as a link).

The Second Covenant at Mount Moab

As the Children on Israel completed their forty years in the Wilderness they came to Mount Moab, where a second Covenant was made with them. At this event, YHWH laid out to them that if they kept the Torah faithfully, they would receive certain blessings (Deut. 28:1-14) but if they did not keep the Torah faithfully, they would face many curses (Deut. 28:15-68). Then YHWH made a Second Covenant with Israel, beside the Covenant previously made at Sinai (Deut. 29:1-30:20):

These are the words of the covenant, which YHWH commanded Moshe to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.
(Deut. 29:1)

The New Covenant in Jeremiah

In Jeremiah 31 we read a prophecy about a “New Covenant” (Brit Chadasha) which YHWH makes with the “House of Israel and the House of Judah” (Jer. 31:31):

31 Behold, the days come, says YHWH, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband to them, says the YHWH:
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, says YHWH, I will put my Torah in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their Elohim, and they shall be my people.
34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know YHWH: for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says YHWH; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
(Jer. 31:31-34)

There are several strong correlations between Jeremiah’s “New Covenant” and the second Covenant made at Moab. This is is especially important because a major aspect of the Covenant at Moab was Covenant Renewal:

1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you shall call them to mind among all the nations, where YHWH your Elohim has driven you,
2 And shall return to YHWH your Elohim, and shall obey his voice according to all that I command you this day, you and your children, with all your heart, and with all your soul;
3 That then YHWH your Elohim will turn your captivity, and have compassion upon you, and will return and gather you from all the nations, where YHWH your Elohim has scattered you.
4 If any of you are driven out to the outmost parts of heaven, from there will YHWH your Elohim gather you, and from there will he gather you:
5 And YHWH your Elohim will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and he will do you good, and multiply you above your fathers.
6 And YHWH your ELohim will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love YHWH your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live.
7 And YHWH your ELohim will put all these curses upon your enemies, and on them that hate you, which persecuted you.
8 And you shall return and obey the voice of YHWH, and do all his commandments which I command you this day.
9 And YHWH your Elohim will make you plenteous in every work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your land, for good: for YHWH will again rejoice over you for good, as he rejoiced over your fathers:
10 If you shall hearken to the voice of YHWH your ELohim, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the Torah, and if you turn unto YHWH your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your soul.
11 For this commandment which I command you this day, it is not hidden from you, neither is it far off.
12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it to us, that we may hear it, and do it?
13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, that we may hear it, and do it?
14 But the word is very near to you, in your mouth, and in your heart, that you may do it.
(Deut. 30:1-14)

This is especially significant, because the Hebrew phrase Brit Chadasha which the KJV renders “New Covenant”, could also be translated “Renewed Covenant”. This is not a new and different Covenant, but the renewal of the prior Covenant.

The Second Covenant at Moab was a New Covenant

As we have shown, the theme of the Second Covenant at Moab was that of a Renewed Covenant. Just as we read in the Second Covenant:

These are the words of the covenant, which YHWH commanded Moshe to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.
(Deut. 29:1)

We read of the New (or Renewed) Covenant in Jeremiah:

31 Behold, the days come, says YHWH, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband to them, says YHWH:
(Jer. 31:31-32)

We read of the Second Covenant at Moab:

2 And shall return to YHWH your Elohim, and shall obey his voice according to all that I command you this day, you and your children, with all your heart, and with all your soul;…

6 And YHWH your Elohim will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love YHWH your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live.
(Deut. 30:2, 6)

Likewise we read on the New (Renewed) Covenant in Jeremiah:

But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, says YHWH, I will put my Torah in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their Elohim, and they shall be my people.
(Jer. 31:33)

And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.
(Jer. 32:40)

We read of the Second Covenant at Moab:

12 That you should enter into covenant with YHWH your Elohim, and into his oath, which YHWH your Elohim makes with you this day:
13 That he may establish you today for a people unto himself, and that he may be to you an Elohim, as he has said to you, and as he has sworn to your fathers, to Avraham, to Yitzchak, and to Ya’akov.
(Deut. 29:12-13)

Likewise we read of the New (Renewed) Covenant of Jeremiah:

But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, says YHWH, I will put my Torah in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their Elohim, and they shall be my people.
(Jer. 31:33)

And they shall be my people, and I will be their Elohim:
(Jer. 32:38)

We read of the Second Covenant at Moab:

3 That then YHWH your Elohim will turn your captivity, and have compassion upon you, and will return and gather you from all the nations, where YHWH your Elohim has scattered you.

4 If any of you are driven out to the outmost parts of heaven, from there will YHWH your Elohim gather you, and from there will he gather you:

5 And YHWH your Elohim will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and he will do you good, and multiply you above your fathers.
(Deut. 30:4-5)

And we read of the New (Renewed) Covenant in Jeremiah:

Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, where I have driven them in my anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:
(Jer. 32:37)

So we can see that the New, or Renewed Covenant of Jeremiah 31 & 32 is the very Covenant renewal promised in the Second Covenant at Moab, and that the Second Covenant and the Renewed Covenant are one and the same.

Covenant Renewal and the Stick of Joseph

This brings us to the recurring theme of covenant restoration and renewal as related in the Stick of Joseph. We read in 2Nefi:

But behold, there shall be many at that day when I shall proceed to do a marvelous work among them, that I may remember my
covenants which I have made unto the children of men, that I may set my hand again the second time to recover my people which are of the house of Isra’el,
(2Nefi 29:1 LDS; 12:42 RLDS 12:8 SoJ)

Later in 3Nefi we read:

You remember that I spoke unto you and said that when the words of Yesha’yahu should be fulfilled — behold, they are written, you have them before you, therefore search them — and truly, truly I say unto you that when they shall be fulfilled, then is the fulfilling of the covenant which the Father has made unto his people, O house of Isra’el. Then shall the remnants which shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth be gathered in from the east, and from the west, and from the south, and from the north;
(3Nefi 20:11-13 LDS; 9:47-49 RLDS; 9:7 SoJ)

And it shall come to pass that I will establish my people, O house of Isra’el. And behold, this people will I establish in this land unto the fulfilling of the covenant which I made with your father Ya’akov, and it shall be a New Yerushalayim.
(3Nefi 20:21-22 LDS; 9:57-59 RLDS; 9:8 SoJ)

And I will remember the covenant which I have made with my people, and I have covenanted with them that I would gather them together in my own due time, that I would give unto them again the land of their fathers for their inheritance, which is the land of Yerushalayim, which is the promised land unto them for ever, says the Father.
(3 Nefi 20:29 LDS; 9:67-68 RLDS; 9:8 SoJ)

And then shall this covenant which the Father has covenanted with his people be fulfilled; and then shall Yerushalayim be inhabited again with my people, and it shall be the land of their inheritance.
(3Nefi 20:46 LDS; 9:84-85 RLDS; 9:10 SoJ)

And now behold, I say unto you that when YHWH shall see fit in his wisdom that these sayings shall come unto the Goyim according to his word, then you may know that the covenant which the Father has made with the children of Isra’el concerning their restoration to the lands of their inheritance is already beginning to be fulfilled. And you may know that the words of YHWH which have been spoken by the holy prophets shall all be fulfilled. And you need not say that YHWH delays his coming unto the children of Isra’el. And you need not imagine in your hearts that the words which have been spoken are vain, for behold, YHWH will remember his covenant which he has made unto his people of the house of Isra’el. And when you shall see these sayings coming forth among you, then you need not any longer oppose the doings of YHWH, for the sword of his justice is in his right hand. And behold, at that day, if you shall oppose his doings, he will cause it that it shall soon overtake you.
(3Nefi 29:1-4 LDS; 13:54-57 RLDS; 13:7 SoJ)

We see that the Covenant Renewal associated with the coming forth of the Stick of Joseph to Am-Yisrael (The People of Israel) correlates with the language of the Second Covenant of Moab and the New (Renewed) Covenant of Jeremiah 31-32. These events thus correspond with the event in which Am-Yisrael:

…shall hearken to the voice of YHWH your Elohim, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the Torah… (Deut. 30:10)

The Assembly Under Condemnation

This brings us to a revelation which Joseph Smith received on September 22nd-23rd of 1832, in which YHWH tells the Assembly that they have come under condemnation because they have “treated lightly” “the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given”. This portion of the revelation appears in a Chiastic structure with “new covenant” and “Book of Mormon and the former commandments” forming the dual center point of the Chiasmus:

[A] And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received— Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation.

[B] And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all.

[C] And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant,
[C] even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written—

[B] That they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion.

[A] For shall the children of the kingdom pollute my holy land? Verily, I say unto you, Nay.

(D&C 84:54-59 LDS; D&C 83:8 RLDS; T&C 82:20; 1835 D&C 4:8)

Now that we understand that the “new covenant” was actually the “renewed covenant” and that it is the covenant renewal promised at the Second Covenant at Moab, at which Israel “shall hearken to the voice of YHWH your Elohim, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the Torah…” (Deut. 30:10) we can see why the Assembly had come under condemnation.

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