The Salt of the Earth

Thoughts on our second day on quarantine.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ tells his followers that they "are the salt of the earth," but if the salt loses its flavor, "its's there forth good for nothing, but be cast out." As much as we love our sodium intake daily, the symbolism of salt has deep meaning in the ancient Jewish culture and would have been even more relevant to the culture and religious practices of the time. While there are many interpretations to be drawn, here are a few especially poignant. 

The Covenant of salt
Salt was an essential preservation and often referenced in scripture and Mosaic rituals as a symbol of remembrance and preservation. This is most clearly seen in relation to sacred covenants. Both Numbers 18 and 2 Chronicles mention "a covenant of salt." The term salt was a direct reminder that a covenant is something that needs to be actively preserved. 

As "the salt of the earth," we have the privilege of unprecedented access to the savings and exalting ordinances of God. However, if we do not actively work to honor those covenants, we lose their power and protection. 

Endure is another word to use in conection with preservation in terms of modern-day applications. God's covenants are enduring. All we love and cherish endures into eternity because of Jesus Christ. By making and keeping covenants, we are able to utilize that power more prominently in our life. 

The Contamination of Salt
Elder Carlos E. Asay, while serving as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, shared some entering facts on how salt loses its savor, namely, that it only occurs through contamination. 

" A world-renowned chemist told me that will not lose its savor with age. Savor is lost through mixture and contamination. Similarly, priesthood power does not dissipate with age; it, too, is lost thought mixture and contamination... Flavor and quality flee a man when he contaminates his mind with unclean thoughts, desecrates his mouth by speaking less than the truth, and misapplies his strength in performing evil acts."

Christ was clear that salt becomes useless when it loses its savor. If savor is literally lost though contamination then we symbolically lose savor in our souls through the contamination of transgression and sin.

By remaining true, we can bring the light of Jesus Christ to the world, effectively so much more to the bland truths of a fallen world. 

Salt has long been used to preserve, flavor, and purify. Salt also had religious meaning for the Israelites. It was associated with the ancient practice of animal sacrifice under the law of Moses (Leviticus @: 13);(Numbers 18:19) When salt loses its savor, it becomes ineffective or "good for nothing" ( Matthew 5: 13.) I had a Aha moment when I realized that this happens when it is mixed with or contaminated by other elements. As disciples of Christ, we keep our savor by avoiding spiritual contamination from the world. This allows us to fulfill our preserving and purifying work as the salt of the earth.

Con amor,
Vero