Salt Crystals

Spiritual Rebirth

the Symbolism of Salt, and the Pickling of the Soul

Salt is more than just a flavor enhancer; it is a sacred symbol embedded deep in the spiritual language of covenants.

In the Tabernacle of Moses, salt played a vital role in the covenant rituals, symbolizing the enduring bond between God and His people. In ancient Israel, every offering to God was to be seasoned with salt—“the salt of the covenant” (Leviticus 2:13)—signifying preservation, permanence, and purity. Just as salt preserves and purifies, the tabernacle ordinances were designed to cleanse Israel and prepare them for communion with the Divine.

Jesus Christ called His disciples “the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13), meaning that they were to uphold righteousness, preserve divine truth, and be a spiritual influence in a decaying world.

Salt is not passive—it changes what it touches. It heals, it purifies, it preserves, and it binds.

In this light, salt becomes a covenantal metaphor: it reminds us that discipleship is not casual. It is binding, enduring, and transformational. Just as salt binds chemically and alters everything it enters, so does covenant discipleship reshape the soul.

The Symbolism and Properties of Salt Crystals

Salt has long carried sacred significance. In ancient Israel, every sacrifice was to be seasoned with salt (Leviticus 2:13), symbolizing purity, preservation, and the enduring nature of covenants.

When Christ called His followers “the salt of the earth,” He was inviting them to preserve righteousness, to heal, and to infuse the world with divine clarity and flavor.

Scientifically, salt is a crystalline compound composed of sodium and chloride ions bound by a strong electrostatic attraction. This internal lattice gives salt its stability and order—an apt metaphor for spiritual law and covenant structure. Salt crystals are:

• Stable and ordered – Symbolic of spiritual alignment and obedience to divine law.
• Preservative – Halting decay, just as the gospel preserves us from spiritual corruption.
• Enhancer – Drawing out richness, much like truth reveals meaning and purpose.

Beyond its material utility, salt also holds energetic potency. As a crystalline substance, salt can absorb impurities, transmit vibrational signals, and reinforce energetic boundaries. In many traditions—both physical and spiritual—it is used to cleanse and protect.

In covenantal terms, to become like salt is to be spiritually structured, stable, and sanctified. It is to embody divine fidelity. Thus, salt is not merely a seasoning or symbol—it is a living metaphor for sanctification, covenant integrity, and spiritual power.

When we immerse ourselves in the gospel, we take on the properties of salt: enduring truth, divine order, and preserving influence.

Covenants are in essence Crystals of Love & Light
that unite and bond us with God

A Covenant Transformation: Pickling the Soul

In our journey of discipleship and divine transformation, spiritual rebirth is not a singular moment but a continual process—“line upon line, precept upon precept.” This concept, richly illuminated through scripture, is echoed beautifully in the image, where a cucumber’s transformation into a pickle is likened to the soul’s sanctification through the gospel.

The metaphor is simple, yet profound:

"A cucumber only becomes a pickle through steady, sustained, and complete immersion in salt brine. Just as salt is essential in transforming a cucumber into a pickle, so covenants are central to our spiritual rebirth."

This visual serves as a powerful symbol for covenant discipleship. Salt, as a preservative and purifier, represents the Savior’s eternal covenant—the lasting power that preserves life, repels corruption, and seasons the soul with divine purpose. But this transformation requires more than a passing contact with truth. It necessitates full, ongoing immersion.

We don’t become spiritually reborn by a single dip into gospel living. We are transformed by our continued participation, consistency, and covenant fidelity. In other words, we must become "pickled" in discipleship—steeped in it so completely that our nature is changed at its core.

Immersed and Saturated in the Savior’s Light

Another striking highlighted phrase:

“Our souls need to be continuously immersed in and saturated with the truth and the light of the Savior’s gospel.”

The word “saturated” goes beyond casual exposure—it suggests total absorption. Like salt seeping into every fiber of a cucumber, the gospel must penetrate our heart, mind, might, and strength.

This relates closely to Doctrine and Covenants 4:2: we must love and serve God with “heart, might, mind, and strength.”

• Heart – Desire, Vision
• Might – Feel, Commitment
• Mind – Study, Diligence
• Strength – Do, Obey

This framework outlines the holistic commitment required for transformation. True rebirth encompasses not just belief but action, emotion, diligence, and obedience.

A Process, Not a Point

Another highlighted passage wisely warns:

“It is an ongoing process—not a single event.”

This echoes Alma's analogy of the seed in Alma 32. Spiritual rebirth isn’t instantaneous. It starts with a particle of faith, swells in the heart, and grows into a tree of life only through persistent nourishment and patience. That’s the process of becoming—a daily crucible of devotion, refinement, and grace.

This echoes Christ’s parable of the mustard seed in the Gospels: “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed... it shall remove mountains” (Matthew 17:20). Spiritual rebirth is not an instant transformation but a gradual unfolding. It begins with the smallest spark of faith, planted in the willing heart. With daily care, devotion, and trust in the Lord, that seed takes root and begins to grow. Over time—through persistence, trial, and grace—it matures into a flourishing tree, bearing the fruit of righteousness. This is the quiet, crucible work of becoming—a continual process of refinement and sanctification.

Salt as Covenant: Staying in the Brine

The enduring metaphor is this: A cucumber must stay in the brine to become a pickle.

We too must remain in covenant with God—continually immersed in prayer, scripture, sacrament/communion, tabernacle/temple worship, and the Spirit. Sporadic or shallow dipping, as the text warns, results in partial transformation.

Spiritual rebirth is not about dabbling in discipleship—it’s about marinating in it.

—it’s about marinating in it.

Conclusion: Becoming a Living Testimony

As The Character Arc Narrative so beautifully frames, our lives are a journey from spiritual blindness to fullness of light, from raw cucumber to covenant pickle. The ordinances and covenants of the gospel form the brine. The Savior is the salt. The Holy Spirit is the agent of permeation. And our souls are the vessels being refined and transformed.

Let us not merely be sprinkled, but saturated.
Not simply clean, but changed. Not just dipped, but delivered.

And when our countenance reflects His light, when the salt of His covenant preserves our testimony, and when our spiritual aroma bears witness of the Savior, then we will know—we are not just in the brine. We have become His.