Tag Archives: Second Comforter

A Tale of Two Comforters.

17 Monday Oct 2016

Posted by in Gospel Doctrine

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John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Jesus Christ promised to personally comfort any who seek to come to Him. His disciple asked how Jesus would show Himself.

21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

In His sermon on the mount, Jesus taught in no uncertain terms what is required.

Matthew 7:

13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

But what is this gate that leads to eternal life? Jesus answered this question when posed to Nicodemus.

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

A prophet who descended from the tribe of Joseph wrote in his own record in plainness what this gate is, verifying Jesus’ teachings:

2 Nephi 31:16 And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved.
17 Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.
18 And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive.

Nephi’s walk is illustrated in his two books. It is the overarching narrative expressed in his father’s vision of the tree of life. The world is the large and spacious field we read about in 1 Nephi chapter 8. Once one enters in at the gate, which is repentance and baptism of water, THEN comes the remission of sins.

So now Nephi has established by his own life’s experience and his father’s vision of the tree of life that entering the gate is receiving the First Comforter, even the Holy Ghost. Nephi, continues the narrative:

19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.
20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

tree-of-life

As we read in 1 Nephi 8, linked above, if one endures to the end of the path along the iron rod, one finally comes to the tree of life. It is the inevitable consequence of traveling a straight path between two points–between receiving the Holy Ghost and then receiving Jesus Christ. At the end of the path, the rod ends. One falls to the ground to partake of the fruit of one’s labors of pressing forward with the love of God and of ALL men. If one has the Love of God and all men (TWO greatest commandments/Golden Rule), one becomes like Christ. And what is the inevitable result of becoming like Christ?

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Or as Jesus expressed directly to one of his disciples, as I have quoted above:

John 14: 22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Both the Father and the Son visit him. And we see evidence of this in Nephi’s life, as expressed in the same chapter mentioned above:

2 Nephi 31:14 But, behold, my beloved brethren, thus came the voice of the Son unto me, saying: After ye have repented of your sins, and witnessed unto the Father that ye are willing to keep my commandments, by the baptism of water, and have received the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and can speak with a new tongue, yea, even with the tongue of angels, and after this should deny me, it would have been better for you that ye had not known me.

15 And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.

As mentioned above, if one loves God and all men, one will retain a remission of one’s sins as King Benjamin taught:

Mosiah 4:12 And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.
13 And ye will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably, and to render to every man according to that which is his due…

He goes on to teach:

26 And now, for the sake of these things which I have spoken unto you—that is, for the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may walk guiltless before God—I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants.

Jesus gave three parables in Matthew chapter 25 about those who did and did not love all men. To summarize, He declared:

Matthew 25:

31 ¶When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Therefore as one presses forward along the straight and narrow path with the Love of God in one’s heart toward all men, being merciful as God is merciful, one inevitably, finds oneself partaking of the fruit of his labors and finds rest. Thus to partake of the fruit of the tree of life is to gain eternal salvation, which is to make one’s calling and election sure. It is to personally receive comfort from the God of all the earth, even Jesus Christ, an anchor to the soul. It is to receive the Second Comforter. It is to be sealed up by the calling of His voice. The apostle Peter said the same:

2 Peter 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things,ye shall never fall

Peter acknowledges that it is the love of God and of all men, which results in knowing Jesus Christ. This doesn’t just mean knowing about Him, or reading about Him. It means actually knowing Him. Talking with Him. Seeing Him. But whoso lacks the qualities Peter lists is blind and cannot see afar off. He loses that perfect brightness of hope. He forgets that he was baptized with fire, which brings about the remission of his sins. Therefore, it is imperative to press forward to obtain the “knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” as Peter taught in his epistle.

Knowledge saves. We cannot be saved in ignorance. In other words, we cannot be saved without knowing WHO it is that saves us. Knowing Jesus Christ is parting the veil, which keeps us from His presence because of unbelief. It is this veil, as Paul teaches the Corinthians in his second epistle, that is done away in Christ. It is being redeemed from the fall of Adam. It is the end result of entering in at the way, which is the gate spoken of above and pressing forward until one reaches the end. Most give up. Most wander off in unbelief. Some end up in the great and spacious building and point fingers and mock those who have pressed forward and reached the tree to partake of eternal salvation.

In summary dear reader, to be born of the Spirit occurs upon entering in at the gate, which is the beginning of the journey to come unto Christ–literally. But your journey is NOT over until you press forward to receive the greatest gift, even eternal life, which is to KNOW Jesus Christ who then makes His abode with you. When you enter in at the gate, you are blessed with the Comforter, even the Holy Ghost, being born of the Spirit. And if and when you finally arrive at the end of the straight and narrow path, you are blessed with the Second Comforter, even Jesus Christ, thus becoming fruitful in the knowledge of He who is mighty to save.

1 Corinthians 9:23 And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.
24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.

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God’s hand in all things

14 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by in Gospel Doctrine

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I was asked to talk today on “How I can learn to see Heavenly Father’s hand in all things.” The key word in that question is see. But in order to see, we must first have our eyes open and if our eyes are open, we need to ask ourselves what it is that we are focused on. In 3 Nephi 13:19-24, we read:

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal;
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
22 The light of the body is the eye; if, therefore, thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If, therefore, the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon.

Jesus Christ is telling us to make a choice. We either focus on heavenly things or we focus on worldly things. There is only Zion and Babylon. There are only two churches, as Nephi explained many years before–the church of the Lamb of God and the church of the devil. There must be an opposition in all things and we can only choose one or the other.

When we were baptized and confirmed members of the church, we were commanded to “receive the Holy Ghost.” Only when we have obeyed and truly received this great gift can we know that we have truly been reborn. And one of the changes that is wrought in us by this literal baptism of fire is a powerful willingness to submit or to obey. It is this obedience out of love and faith that will lead us back to the Lord’s presence.

The question then begs to be asked, “have I been born again?” There are two great witnesses, which may be called to answer. The first is evidence in the fabric of your soul. If your life is filled with charity; if you have no more desire to sin; if your soul yearns for prayer and love of the Lord; if you have no more desire to accumulate wealth, power, position, worldly acclaim or honor; if all your hobbies, pastimes and possessions become nothing more than a child’s play things to be put away and forgotten; if these things are true without exception, then you have been reborn.

The second witness is the very source of truth, which is the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. I remember when I experienced that mighty change of heart in my life. The Spirit poured into me like fire that lasted many days. I knew that I had been reborn. I had received the Holy Ghost, which has been my constant companion ever since. In D&C 88: 63 and 67 we read:

63 Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
67 And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.

In ancient Egypt, after Joseph (who was sold into slavery and then freed to protect Egypt from famine) had brought his family to settle in Goshen, his family began to grow into a great nation. These Israelites had found themselves in bondage to Egypt. After their cries to the Lord, He did remember His covenant to bring them out of Egypt and lead them to a land of promise. It was His intention to bring them into His presence and not simply to free them from oppression just so that they could continue in their worldly ways. But to do this, they need to be washed and anointed and receive other ordinances. So Moses was commanded to build a tabernacle. In D&C 84:18-25 we read:

18 And the Lord confirmed a priesthood also upon Aaron and his seed, throughout all their generations, which priesthood also continueth and abideth forever with the priesthood which is after the holiest order of God.
19 And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.
20 Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest.
21 And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh;
22 For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.
23 Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God;
24 But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence; therefore, the Lord in his wrath, for his anger was kindled against them, swore that they should not enter into his rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fulness of his glory.
25 Therefore, he took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood also.

For all intents and purposes, the Israelites had a temple in their midst. Zion was in their grasp. And they rejected it. They enjoyed their freedom and their worldly ways too much. You could take the Israelites out of Egypt, but you couldn’t take Egypt out of the Israelites. And among their acts of idolatry, they built a golden calf to worship as proof.

Just as the Egyptians feared being outnumbered by the growing nation of Israel after Joseph’s death, so too did the early Americans of eastern cities fear being outnumbered by the growing membership of the early latter-day saints after Joseph Smith had restored Christ’s church. It was the Lord’s intention to bring them into His presence with the restoration of both priesthoods and the bringing forth of temple work and the establishment of New Jerusalem. However, because of divisions, contentions and their ultimate failure to follow Joseph Smith west to the Rocky Mountains and instead, convincing him to surrender after much persecution, Joseph was taken from them.

Despite ongoing persecution under Brigham Young’s leadership, the saints managed to build the Kirtland temple where ordinances could be performed. But like the ancient Israelites, the saints had failed to build up Zion. The greater (Melchizedek) priesthood was not taken, however, and Brigham Young led the saints west to the Rocky Mountains where they could try again.

Dispensations earlier, a young man named Enoch preached and prophecied to a very wicked generation. As a result of his great faith and great works, a city was built where they lived the law of consecration and where no poor lived among them. Enoch and his people walked with God and God dwelt among them. They had successfully built Zion. Because of their righteousness, they became a translated city. This is what the Lord was offering Moses and the people of Israel. This is what the Lord was offering Joseph Smith and the early latter-day saints. This is what has been offered to all the children of God in each dispensation since the days of Adam. And this is what God has been offering to us ever since.

Brothers and sisters, we have been under condemnation since the days of Joseph Smith for taking lightly our duty to obtain the fullness of the gospel, which is the fullness of the priesthood, which is the fullness of the Father. It is this fullness that parts the veil and brings us into Christ’s presence as the city of Enoch was brought into Christ’s presence. Remember that the lesser priesthood, which is the Aaronic Priesthood, is what endured with the ancient Israelites after Moses was taken from them. This priesthood contains only the preparatory gospel, which is faith, repentance and baptism.

But the greater priesthood contains much more. With the Melchizedek Priesthood, we can receive the everlasting gospel, which contains the ordinance of the baptism of fire, which is the gift of the Holy Ghost. But there are more. If Joseph Smith had published ten principles and ordinances of the gospel it might look something like this, although there are more:

Faith
Repentance
Baptism (of water)
Baptism (of fire) or gift of the Holy Ghost
Washing and anointing
Endowments
Calling and election
Second Comforter
Translation
Resurrection

In Brigham Young’s journal of discourses, we read that when God dwelt with the people of Enoch, He taught them the great doctrines and principles of translation, for that is a doctrine the same as the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, which is among the first principles of the plan of salvation.  And we may also say that the doctrine of  translation, which is intimately connected with that of the resurrection, is also one of the first principles of the doctrines of Christ. In Moses 1:39 we read:

39 For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

Brothers and sisters, it is our privilege and our duty to continue on our journey beyond the first four principles and ordinances of the gospel; to purify ourselves continually; to seek our calling and election; to seek further light and knowledge always and to be led by the Spirit and to seek the face of the Lord. This is the purpose of temple ordinances that through our obedience to covenants made and through our worthiness, we can converse with Jesus Christ through the veil and find ourselves in His embrace.

We have been promised that if we ask, we will receive. If we seek, we shall find. And if we knock, it shall be opened. We must learn to take the Spirit for our guide when we are reborn, keeping our eye single to God’s glory, to begin to see His hand in all things. In D&C 84:54-58 we read:

54 And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received—
55 Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation.
56 And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all.
57 And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, 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
58 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.

Can we remove this condemnation from us? Nephi takes great length to teach us plainly in his two books that we can. He emphasizes his entire message in a few short verses. In 2 Nephi 32:5-7 we read:

5 For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do.
6 Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do.
7 And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be.

Joseph Smith said in a sermon to the saints, “then I would exhort you to go on and continue to call upon God until you make your calling and election sure for yourselves, by obtaining the more sure word of prophecy, and wait patiently for the promise until you receive it.” Many other prophets besides Joseph preached this doctrine. They continually tried to get the saints to develop a Zion stature. To my knowledge, the last prophet to publicly teach this was Marion G. Romney in the April 1977 session of general conference. He gave a beautiful talk. To summarize, he said:

“…When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and his election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter, which the Lord hath promised the Saints, as is recorded in the testimony of St. John…I should think that all faithful Latter-day Saints “would want that more sure word of prophecy, that they were sealed in the heavens and had the promise of eternal life in the kingdom of God…”

Since 1977, I have not heard another prophet or apostle with the possible exception of Bruce R. McConkie expound on such doctrine in public. Perhaps it is because as a membership that spans the globe, we simply are not seeking these things. Sure, we attend church most Sundays; maybe we do our home teaching assignments; maybe we read our scriptures once in a while; maybe we attend the temple if we can clear our schedules. But this is not enough. This does not make our eye single to His glory. This does not develop within us a Zion stature. We are commanded to serve with all our heart, might, mind and strength. We have made covenants in the temple, especially to live the law of consecration.

The ancient Israelites failed to build Zion as did the early latter-day saints of our dispensation. Only Enoch’s people succeeded in building Zion and thus they escaped the great cleansing that was the flood. Have we bid Babylon farewell and have we begun to build Zion in our hearts and in our homes? Brothers and sisters, another great cleansing is coming and the Lord has declared that upon His house will it begin and from His house will it go forth. He called it a day wrath; a day of burning; a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning and of lamentation.

The second coming of Jesus Christ when He comes in glory with the powers of heaven will not happen until Zion exists on the Earth. Zion will not exist on the Earth until New Jerusalem is built and New Jerusalem will not be built until there are saints who have fully developed an eye single to God’s glory and to His work. We can see His hand in all things as long as we open our eyes and purify ourselves and as Nephi exhorted us: to seek knowledge! In D&C 59:21 we read:

21 And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.

I testify that the Lord’s hand is in all things even today. I testify that miracles, even great miracles have not ceased, and that angels minister to us today, and that Jesus Christ does visit men today, and that He does open when we knock. In closing, I leave you with the words of the prophet, Mormon, which he wrote in an epistle to his son Moroni, which we read in Moroni 7:

27 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men?
29 And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men.
30 For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness.
36 Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?
37 Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain…
48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure.

Amen.

Ye Ask Not

26 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by in Book of Mormon

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2 Nephi 32 is one of the most pivotal chapters of the entire Book of Mormon, in my opinion. What does it mean to come unto Christ? What does it mean to make our calling and election sure?

1 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, I suppose that ye ponder somewhat in your hearts concerning that which ye should do after ye have entered in by the way. But, behold, why do ye ponder these things in your hearts?
2 Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost?
3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.
4 Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark.
5 For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do.
6 Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do.
7 And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief*, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be.

After we were baptized, did we receive the Holy Ghost? Or did we take for granted that it was placed upon us like a mantle to give it no further thought? Now that we have all of Nephi’s words, have we followed them? He laid out his life for us, giving us a precise pattern to follow that we might be brought to the veil. And now if none of this makes sense, even after Nephi plainly explains to us in his two books, it is because we have not asked or knocked. This is what he tried drilling into Laman and Lemuel’s thick skulls:

6 And it came to pass that after I had received strength I spake unto my brethren, desiring to know of them the cause of their disputations.
7 And they said: Behold, we cannot understand the words which our father hath spoken concerning the natural branches of the olive tree, and also concerning the Gentiles.
8 And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord?
9 And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.
10 Behold, I said unto them: How is it that ye do not keep the commandments of the Lord? How is it that ye will perish, because of the hardness of your hearts?
11 Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you.

His brothers argued about doctrine. This is something we see often in life. Why? Because we do not inquire of the Lord. And is our faith sufficient to inquire earnestly? Furthermore, are we worthy of further light and knowledge? These are two important factors, as Nephi indicates in 2 Nephi 32. If we have received the Holy Ghost–if we have taken it to be our personal guide; if we have become sanctified, it is because we have put off the natural man. King Benjamin discusses this as well in the book of Mosiah.

We may need to read First and Second Nephi over and over and over again until we see the pattern–until we understand why we are still under condemnation, and how we can have this condemnation removed from us individually.

And why does Nephi write about the Spirit and of Angels and of Christ manifesting Himself in the flesh? Didn’t he experience these things? He is giving us the pattern. He is telling the reader, “what are you waiting for?” If you have entered in by the way, if you have been sanctified by the Holy Spirit and have put off the natural man–in other words, we have absolutely no desire to go back to our old sinful ways. We have no desire to be idle or idolatrous. Monday night football doesn’t mean anything to us anymore. Television, video games and all other worldly time killers seem so meaningless now. By this time, we have experience the Holy Spirit in our lives so profoundly that coming unto Christ becomes our sole desire and our primary pursuit. So Nephi asks us, “what are you waiting for?”

“Have ye inquired of the Lord?”

And if we’re still puzzling about this, read the book of Enos. Read it again.

While we LDS believe in modern day revelations, ministering of angels, and communion with our Savior, do we really believe that it is something available to each of us today? If not, then we have completely missed what Nephi and so many others have tried to teach us. Moroni makes a summary of these teachings in one final effort before sealing up the record, which we read in his seventh and tenth chapters. In chapter seven he gives us the words of his father, Mormon:

Moroni 7

26 And after that he came men also were saved by faith in his name; and by faith, they become the sons of God. And as surely as Christ liveth he spake these words unto our fathers, saying:Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you.
27 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men?
28 For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him will cleave unto every good thing; wherefore he advocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens.
29 And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men.
…
36 Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?
37 Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of *unbelief, and all is vain.
38 For no man can be saved, according to the words of Christ, save they shall have faith in his name; wherefore, if these things have ceased, then has faith ceased also; and awful is the state of man, for they are as though there had been no redemption made.
39 But behold, my beloved brethren, I judge better things of you, for I judge that ye have faith in Christ because of your meekness; for if ye have not faith in him then ye are not fit to be numbered among the people of his church.

What? We are not fit to be numbered among the people of Zion? Why not? It is because we have not diligently sought to come unto Christ. Angels call us to repentance, they teach us sacred truths. It is the Holy Spirit’s job to bring us to Christ and if we knock as Enos knocked, it will be opened–the veil will part for us. And Christ will teach us greater things. And He will introduce us to His Father.

This is the pattern. This is what Nephi painstakingly explains to us. This is what he experienced, as did Jacob and Enos, and many others. This is the entire point of of Jacob’s explanation of the allegory of the tame and wild olive trees. We are the fruit of the harvest. This is what Jacob was so excited to teach his people. It’s up to us to follow in their footsteps. This is what the Book of Mormon is about.

Have you experienced miracles in your life? Have you experienced the ministering of angels? Have you heard the Saviors voice? Have you parted the veil and found yourself in His embrace? Have you received the Second Comforter?

Have ye knocked?

Then I would exhort you to go on and continue to call upon God until you make your calling and election sure for yourselves; by obtaining this more sure word of prophecy, and wait patiently for the promise until you obtain it. –Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 299