Knowing God Through Covenant Action

In the time of the New Testament, Jewish weddings often began in the evening. After the groom had paid the price for betrothal, he could spend a year or more preparing a bridal chamber. On the evening when the chamber was completed, and without any other warning about the day or time when the wedding was prepared, a trumpet and a shout heard across a small town would tell the bride that the groom was on his way to fetch her. Ten bridesmaids, hearing the trumpet, would gather outside the bride's home with lamps glowing to light the groom's path inside. The bride would then be collected and carried on a litter as the groom led a procession back to the his home for a seven-day wedding feast.

In the Parable of the Ten Virgins, the wedding trumpet sounds at midnight, long after anyone would have expected. The bridesmaids, who are all asleep, scramble to get to their places. In the process, five of the bridesmaids realize they are out of oil and miss the procession to the wedding feast entirely. Procuring oil at that time of night was nearly impossible, but when they finally had what they needed they went to the groom's home to join the wedding feast. To their surprise, they were turned away because, as the groom explained, "Ye know me not" (JST Matthew 25:11).

Of course, we are represented by the bridesmaids in the parable and the Lord is the groom. We can prepare for his second coming as we reflect his light and walk a procession of covenants that lead us back to him. To enter into his kingdom and the place prepared for us and his church, we must come to know "the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [he] hath sent" (John 17:3).

We learn about God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, through scripture study and the words of living prophets. These are the map. As we follow their counsel, we will find the treasure of truly knowing God through our actions.

We become familiar to him as we serve others (Mosiah 2:17). As we exercise the faith to repent and make covenants, we become his sheep and are known of him and learn to recognize his voice (Mosiah 26:21-27, John 10:14). In doing the Lord's will, which we often learn through quiet revelations to our mind and heart, we prepare our light for the procession back to His heavenly kingdom (Mosiah 5:13-15, 3 Nephi 14:21-23).

We do not know the day nor the hour when the Son of God will return; but through faithful, covenant action we can be prepared to hear his voice and be known of him.

The Lord Will Deliver Us

"Nephi Bound" by Jeremy Windborg

There were many Sundays growing up when my family would gather on the couch to watch Charlton Heston play the part of Moses in The Ten Commandments. We watched a lot of westerns, so we knew Yul Brynner, who played the part of Ramses, was a formidable opponent. Though the movie doesn’t follow the scriptural account perfectly, we were always impressed by Joshua’s courage, disgusted with Dathan’s lack of values, disappointed in the hardness of the Pharoah’s heart, and amazed by the miracles the Lord used to deliver his people from Egypt.

Because we knew the story of Moses well, it became a standard for the faith we should have in our family. When difficult challenges came along, a parent or a sibling might say something like, “If the Lord could deliver the Israelites, don’t you think He can help you with the challenge you have now?”

Nephi gave the same encouragement to his murmuring brothers. They had left their home and all their precious things behind. Now, near the same Red Sea that the Lord parted to deliver the Israelites, they were commanded to return for the brass plates. Laman and Lemuel did not believe they could succeed, but Nephi urged them to have faith in the Lord. “Therefore let us go up;” he said, “let us be strong like unto Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of the Red Sea and they divided hither and thither, and our fathers came through, out of captivity, on dry ground… Now behold ye know that this is true… wherefore can ye doubt? Let us go up; the Lord is able to deliver us, even as our fathers, and to destroy Laban, even as the Egyptians” (1 Nephi 4:2-3).

As readers of Nephi’s ancient record, we are promised in the introductory first chapter that Nephi would show us “that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance” (1 Nephi 1:20). We then learn that not only did the Lord deliver Nephi and his brothers from Laban through Nephi’s faithful action, but Nephi’s family was delivered from Jerusalem before it was destroyed because of the faith of his father, Zoram was delivered from servitude because of his faith in what Nephi taught him, Nephi was faithfully delivered from his brothers’ frequent persecutions, and future Gentiles, including many of our ancestors, would act on the promptings of the spirit to be delivered from captivity and cross the sea from Europe to the Americas.

In one of my favorite stories, Nephi, who says he was large in stature, is bound with cords. With his physical strength neutralized, Nephi’s strong faith won’t allow him to lose hope. He simply knows the Lord will deliver him, though he doesn’t seem to know exactly how, so he prays, “O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me the strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound” (1 Nephi 7:17).

Like Nephi, and maybe a lot of other guys, there are times when the only way I can see out of a dilemma is if I were to turn into some kind of superhero with the incredible strength of Superman or the Hulk. Nephi knew the Lord could do it; and undoubtedly the Lord could have answered Nephi’s prayer in this way. Instead, the Lord, whose ways are higher and often more subtle than our ways, answered Nephi’s prayer for deliverance by loosening the cords that held him captive.

Through Nephi’s life, the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt, other stories in the Book of Mormon, and often in our own lives, we can observe at least seven different ways the Lord delivers us. We are delivered when our own hearts are softened, as Nephi’s heart was softened to believe the words of his father (1 Nephi 2:16). Sometimes others’ hearts are softened, like the Pharoah’s daughter who retrieved Moses from the river and was moved to raise him as her own (Exodus 2:1-10).

The Lord can deliver us with strength to bear our physical, mental and emotional burdens, like the women in Nephi’s family who were able to bear, nurse and raise their children in the wilderness. The Lord can also give us a way to escape, especially when we pray to escape temptation, even if it means parting a metaphorical Red Sea to help us keep His commandments.

We can be delivered through inspiration to find a solution, as Nephi’s family was delivered from hunger when he learned how to craft a new bow. Or we may be delivered by someone else’s inspiration to help us, as Jethro was inspired to help Moses learn to delegate authority or Laman and Lemuel were inspired to help Nephi build a ship.

Finally, the Lord can deliver us from uncertainty, worry and fear through His miraculous power. The Lord blessed the Israelites with manna from heaven and water from the rock. He sent an angel to deliver Nephi from his abusive brothers. President Nelson has promised that “as [we] choose to let God prevail in [our] lives, [we] will experience for [ourselves] that our God is ‘a God of miracles’ (Mormon 9:11).”

Nephi also wrote so that we could find another kind of deliverance: “For the fulness of mine intent is that I may persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved” (1 Nephi 6). In this purpose, Nephi is joined by all of the prophets who wrote upon the pages that became the Book of Mormon.

Mormon himself testified that the Book of Mormon was written to persuade those in our day “that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God,” that the biblical record of Christ’s ministry and Atonement are true, and that we should “repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and lay hold upon the gospel of Christ” (Mormon 5:14-15, 7:7-9). If we do this, we can be delivered from death and hell and “it shall be well with [us] in the day of judgment” (Moroni 7:10).

Nephi had experience with this kind of deliverance. He lamented that, “Notwithstanding the great goodness of the Lord, in showing me his great and marvelous works, my heart exclaimeth: O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities. I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me. And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins” (2 Nephi 4:17-19).

“Nevertheless,” he continues, “I know in whom I have trusted. My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep. He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh. He hath confounded mine enemies, unto the causing of them to quake before me. Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night-time” (2 Nephi 4:19-23).

Perhaps Nephi is the first author in the Book of Mormon so that we will know his story well and his faith can become a standard for the faith we should have in our lives. Like Nephi, our hearts have groaned because of our sins and we have struggled with some of the challenges that come into our lives. Nevertheless, as we let God prevail in our lives, He will deliver us as He delivered the children of Israel and as He delivered Nephi. He will deliver us from our own hard hearts and from others’ harmful intentions. He will calm our anxieties and help us escape temptation. He will deliver us from our unbelief and ignorance, our sin, and our regret. He will help us to have the courage of Joshua and to overcome even the most formidable of the opponents to our salvation.

Inheriting the Gift of Eternal Life

As Jesus Christ taught in the coasts of Judea, "there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" (Mark 10:17).

This was a question the Savior had answered before. To a Pharisee inquiring by night, the Lord taught that the Son of man would be lifted up "that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:14-15). 

On another occasion, Christ was confronted by a lawyer who asked, "Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou has answered right: this do, and thou shalt live" (Luke 10:25-28).

To the one who had come running and kneeled before him, Christ expounded: "Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me" (Mark 10:18-21).

The scriptures teach that the work and glory of God is to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). Eternal life, in particular, is "the greatest of all of the gifts of God" (D&C 14:7).

Certainly, the clandestine Pharisee, the confrontational lawyer, and the rich young ruler understood that eternal life is something of extraordinary value and profound religious significance. It was worth the risk to find Jesus by night or setting great status aside to run and kneel at the Savior's feet. Yet, like their countrymen who were disappointed when Christ shared the gospel rather than loaves and fishes, each of these inquirers were ultimately disappointed by the Savior's instruction to change something about themselves. They sought eternal life as a sort of fountain of youth and "received not, because they asked amiss, that they may consume it upon their lusts" (James 4:3). 

Like these inquirers, we also misunderstand when we think of eternal life merely as the life that comes after death and lasts forever. As sons and daughters of God, it is true that we will be resurrected and live again after we die. "For as in Adam all die," Paul wrote, "even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:22). We believe, as Amulek taught, that our mortal bodies will be raised to immortal bodies that can never die again (Alma 11:45). This is an incredible gift from a loving Heavenly Father, but he wants to give us more than an existence without illness or death. He desires to give us all he has (D&C 84:37-38).

In Doctrine and Covenants Section 19, we read:

For, behold, I am endless, and the punishment which is given from my hand is endless punishment, for Endless is my name. Wherefore-- Eternal punishment is God's punishment. Endless punishment is God's punishment... Therefore I command you to repent-- repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore-- how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not. For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I" (D&C 19:10-17).

Eternal punishment is the name of God's punishment. In the Garden of Gethsemane, this punishment "caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit" (D&C 19:18).

Likewise, eternal life is the name of God's life. It includes eternal families, or families modeled after His in both duration and character. It includes sharing in His work and experiencing His eternal joy. As promised in the Abrahamic Covenant, with eternal life we also obtain eternal progression and glory as our posterity, like His, grows more numerous than the stars in the sky or the sands of the sea.

We obtain the blessing of eternal life from God "by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated" (D&C 130:20-21). The Lord recognizes that the gift of a lifestyle or a quality of life can only be sustained if we have learned the live the principles upon which that lifestyle is built. So many young heirs of great material wealth waste their inheritance because they do not understand the work and discipline necessary to build such a fortune. The Lord desires his gift to last much longer than fortunes in this world, so he gives us commandments to teach us how to succeed and help us begin now to live as he lives. In this way, the gift of eternal life is less like opening a present on Christmas morning and more like developing a gift for playing the piano or building furniture. As we develop wisdom, learn discipline and master the principles he has taught, we begin to inherit eternal life now because it is the natural consequence of our obedience to the law upon which it is predicated. We then inherit not only all the Lord has, but also all that he is.

"From such teachings," Elder Oaks has taught, "we conclude that the Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts-- what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts-- what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become" (Oaks, Dallin H. The Challenge to Become. Ensign. November 2000.).

President Marion G. Romney shared that service, as an example, "is not something we endure on this earth so we can earn the right to live in the celestial kingdom. Service is the very fiber of which an exalted life in the celestial kingdom is made" (Romney, Marion G. The Celestial Nature of Self-Reliance. Ensign. November 1982.). As we learn to live as He lived, including selfless compassion and service to others, we become as He is and obtain the blessings He enjoys.

Even so, our best efforts, however diligent, cannot meet the high threshold of obedience required to obtain the blessing of eternal life. The Lord summarized his commandments when he told us to "be ye therefore perfect" (Matthew 5:48). We "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "Therefore nothing [or no one] entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end. Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day" (2 Nephi 27:19-20). 

God "so loved the world" that he provided legal means for us to inherit a blessing beyond our capacity for obedience. He "gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved" (John 3:16-17).

Through the gift of "an infinite and eternal sacrifice" (Alma 34:10), we can obtain blessings beyond our capacity for obedience through an agreement, a contract, with terms that are within our grasp. We enter that agreement through baptism, wherein we covenant and promise to remain willing to keep the commandments as best we can. We will repent and stay focused on our goal of becoming like God. If we choose not to meet these terms, the Lord will still provide many great and wonderful blessings; but if we desire all that he has, we must learn to be all that he is.

Along the path that leads to eternal life, we, like the Three Inquirers in the New Testament, may wonder from time to time what we must do to inherit eternal life. As the rich young ruler in Matthew's account of that encounter, we may approach the Lord on bended knee to ask, "What lack I yet?" We can expect a response like those in scripture with direction and guidance about how we can repent and change to be more like our Savior. He will encourage us through the power of His spirit with brief experiences with the eternal peace and joy we desire. And, step by step, if we are faithful unto the end, we will inherit "a crown of immortality and eternal life in the mansions which I [the Lord] have prepared in the house of my Father" (D&C 81:6).

The Brother of Jared's Journey to the Temple

Readers of the Book of Mormon know well the story of the Brother of Jared. Like Noah, Lehi and others, the Brother of Jared was instructed to build barges to bring his family to a promised land. When challenges arose during the construction of the barges, the Brother of Jared turned to the Lord for answers. The Lord helped the Brother of Jared understand how to modify the water-tight vessels for air and explained that the wind would propel the barges in the right direction. When the Brother of Jared asked for light for the barges, the Lord responded with a question: "What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?" (Ether 2:23).

While the Lord may have been asking for the Brother of Jared's effort and ideas to light the barges, his question was also an invitation for greater spiritual light amid the darkness of the world. Just as the Lord had volunteered the wind when the Brother of Jared asked for air, the Lord generously responds to the Brother of Jared's inquiry for light with a question that will lead him to the divine light and knowledge available through temple worship.

The story of the Brother of Jared begins in the ancient city of Babel, a predecessor to Babylon in modern-day Iraq. A play on the Hebrew balal, which means "to mix or confound," ancient tradition (Josephus, Antiquities, 1.4) states that Babel was known as "the gate of God." Here at the symbolic gates of heaven, Nimrod, the power-hungry grandson of Ham and great-grandson of Noah, sought to build a tower to reach the heavens.

By virtue of its goal, Nimrod's tower was likely some version of a temple. Aware of the floods that had previously destroyed the wicked, the Tower of Babel was built high and thick and from bricks and mortar so as to be water tight. Its construction was a mockery of God, to whom Nimrod preached it was cowardice to submit, and many traditions hold that it was Nimrod's desire to use the tower to break in to heaven, dethrone God, avenge mankind of the flood that destroyed it, and place himself as the new ruler of heavens and of earth.

It was in this wicked society that Jared and his brother pleaded with the Lord for unity (or at-one-ment) for their family and a small band of believers. The Lord answered each prayer with compassion and, when the Brother of Jared had cried "this long time," the Lord ultimately promised to go before the Brother of Jared's face, deliver him and his friends from the evil around them, lead them to a promised land, and make Jared and his brother the heads of a great nation (Ether 1:33-43).

Intertwined with the the Lord's promises for temporal and political blessings for the Jaredites are each of the core elements that would become known the Abrahamic Covenant in the succeeding generation: priesthood, posterity and a promised land. Because the Jaredites had faithfully rejected the false doctrines of the world and its heretical temple, the Lord covenanted to reveal the doctrines of the gospel and bring them back into his presence through authorized temple ordinances.

Preparation to receive the promised blessings lasted for many years. The Jaredites were tested and refined as they wandered in the wilderness, built barges on several occasions to cross many waters, endured trials and chastisement, collected animals and seeds, and lived four years in tents on the seashore. As the Jaredites' obedience and sacrifice increased, so did their privileges with the Lord.

"And it came to pass that the Lord did go before them, and did talk with them as he stood in a cloud, and gave directions whither they should travel... being directed continually by the hand of the Lord" (Ether 2:5-6).

"And it came to pass... that the Lord came again unto the brother of Jared, and stood in a cloud and talked with him. And for the space of three hours did the Lord talk with the brother of Jared" (Ether 2:14).

Finally, the Jaredites were ready to construct the barges that would carry them across the ocean; and the Brother of Jared was prepared for the greater light and knowledge the Lord promised to give him. With water-tight barges now modified for greater air flow, the Brother of Jared prays, "O Lord, behold I have done even as thou hast commanded me; and I have prepared the vessels for my people, and behold there is no light in them. Behold, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that we shall cross this great water in darkness?" (Ether 2:22).

After many years of preparation, the Brother of Jared's word choice, as relayed by Moroni, is intentional. Water is associated with life: it is present at our birth and when we are born again through baptism. Christ turned water into wine at the beginning of his ministry, a symbol of his transcendence of the earthly condition. Nimrod had also been keenly aware that water could be used to destroy corruption and refresh the life on earth.

The depth of the Brother of Jared's question, asked with emotion and perhaps some fatigue, includes the veiled plea, "Must we go our entire lives without the full light and blessings of the gospel and the at-one-ment we first desired?" The omniscient Lord responds with the same compassion noted frequently in these verses: "What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?" (Ether 2:23). 

The Brother of Jared must have recognized the invitation in the Lord's reply, because he seems to know what to do next. Though the Lord had been speaking to him from a cloud, the Brother of Jared, like others in the Old Testament who sought to commune with the Lord, climbed a particularly high mountain, Mount Shelem, to seek further light and knowledge.

"Shelem," like "shalom," refers to peace with God and, more specifically, the peace offering and priestly atoning that was part of the law of sacrifice and a significant part of ancient temple worship. For such an offering the priest would enter the temple wearing a breastplate with sixteen stones. The number of stones-- sixteen-- was symbolic of the eye or bringing to light. An ancient priest entering the temple would also carry incense or coals in his hands that would be used to perform the sacrifice.

Prior to climbing Mount Shelem, the Brother of Jared, "did molten out of a rock sixteen small stones; and they were white and clear, even as transparent glass; and he did carry them in his hands upon the top of the mount, and cried again unto the Lord" (Ether 3:1, emphasis added). It is worth noting that some ancient rabbis believed that Noah used precious stones that shone in the ark rather than windows (Genesis 6:16, footnote a) and the Brother of Jared may have ventured this solution based on what he knew of his priestly ancestor's dealings with the Lord. Whether inspired by Noah, or an ancient temple, or in some other way, the search for physical and spiritual light brought the Brother of Jared to the precipice of a mountain-temple with sixteen white, clear stones that he had molten from a rock.

As he enters the temple environment, the Brother of Jared repeats the Lord's instructions that the Jaredites, "must be encompassed about by the floods". The first stop in an ancient temple was the "Molten Sea" that represented the great flood that covered the whole earth.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie once explained:

In Solomon's Temple a large molten sea of brass was placed on the backs of 12 brazen oxen, these oxen being symbolical of the 12 tribes of Israel. This brazen sea was used for performing baptisms for the living... In describing the molten sea the Old Testament record says, 'The sea was for the priests to wash in' (2 Chron 4:2-6). This is tantamount to saying that the priests performed baptisms in it (Mormon Doctrine, pp. 103-104).

In addition to stating the obvious about a boat crossing the ocean, the Brother of Jared appealed for the Lord's approval and redemption in the same way that a high priest entering the temple symbolically was redeemed from the Fall in order to enter the presence of God.

"Now behold, O Lord," he continues, "and do not be angry with thy servant because of his weakness before thee; for we know that thou art holy and dwellest in the heavens, and that we are unworthy before thee; because of the fall our natures have become evil continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou has given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires" (Ether 3:2).

Admitted into the temple, the Brother of Jared asks the Lord to touch the stones with his finger that they may have light. What follows reminds us of Moses' temple experience when the Ten Commandments were written with the finger of the Lord to give light to Israelites (Deuteronomy 9:10). Like Moses, Ezekiel, and others, when the Brother of Jared saw the finger of the Lord, he "fell down before the Lord, for he was struck with fear" (Ether 3:6, see also Exodus 3:6, Ezekiel 1:28).

Continuing in compassion and perhaps pleased to see the Brother of Jared accepting the invitation to come to the temple, the Lord tells the Brother of Jared to rise and commends him for his faith. Aware of the sacred nature of the temple ordinances that were about to take place, the Lord then inquires, "Believest thou the words which I shall speak?" (Ether 3:11). This is the Brother of Jared's last opportunity to withdraw rather than accepting the obligations and blessings the Lord is prepared to place on him.

When the Brother of Jared answers affirmatively, the Lord accepts the Brother of Jared's earlier appeal to enter his presence. "Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you" (Ether 3:13). The Lord then teaches the Brother of Jared face to face about the creation, the Plan of Salvation, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all the inhabitants of the earth, and many more things that cannot be written (Ether 3:14-17, 4:5).

Moroni, the editor of this account, references the Brother of Jared's temple endowment as he writes, "there never were greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared" (Ether 4:4). He records, "And because of the knowledge of this man he could not be kept from beholding within the veil... and he had faith no longer, for he knew, nothing doubting" (Ether 3:19).

Like the Brother of Jared, Moroni writes that we can also obtain the greatest knowledge manifested to mankind so that we can behold within the veil and enter the presence of the Lord. To do so, we must "repent of [our] inquity, and become clean before the Lord" through baptism. We must exercise faith, as the Brother of Jared did, and become sanctified through the gift of the Holy Ghost (Ether 4:6-7).

If we will apply these first principles and ordinances of the gospel in our lives, the Lord will, "manifest unto [us] the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations" (Ether 4:7). Further, the Lord advises us, "he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear record. For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good" (Ether 4:11). If not, we will be accursed, or spiritually separated from God and limited in our progression and potential (Ether 4:11).

As the Lord inquired of the Brother of Jared, so he inquires of us: "What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?"

"And again, verily I say unto you that it is your privilege, and a promise I have unto you that have been ordained unto this ministry, that inasmuch as you strip yourselves from jealousies and fears, and humble yourselves before me, for ye are not sufficiently humble, the veil shall be rent and you shall see me and know that I am-- not with the carnal neither natural mind, but with the spiritual" (D&C 67:10).

The Power of the Holy Ghost

John Whitmer and his family were some of the first believers in the restored gospel. John was baptized in June 1829, almost a full year before the church was formally organized. He served as a scribe for Joseph Smith and was called to be one of eight witnesses who saw and handled the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated. He was an early leader in the church with the faith and confidence of the Lord and his prophet.

When Oliver Cowdery left on a mission in the fall of 1830, John Whitmer was appointed to keep a record and history for the church. Serving as a scribe was one thing; but John hesitated to write an original work. Though he could read and write, John was a farmer, not a writer.

"I would rather not do it," he wrote at the time, but he agreed to accept the assignment if the Lord manifested that it was his will through Joseph the Seer (John Whitmer, History, 1831 - circa 1847," 24). The result is a revelation now canonized as Doctrine and Covenants Section 47.

"Behold," the Lord revealed to his prophet, "it is expedient in me that my servant John should write and keep a regular history, and assist you, my servant Joseph, in transcribing all things which shall be given you... Wherefore, it shall be given him, inasmuch as he is faithful, by the Comforter, to write these things" (D&C 47:1,4).

We often talk about the Holy Ghost, or the Comforter, as a spiritual influence that brings comfort or guides us to do what is right. The impressions of the Holy Ghost are often understood as conscience or an inner voice. In this four-verse revelation to John Whitmer however, we find inference that the Holy Ghost not only comforts and guides but actually delivers power to act as well. It shall be given him... by the Comforter to write these things.

The Holy Ghost is the third member of the godhead with our Heavenly Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. These three, distinct personages are unified in purpose. It is our Heavenly Father's plan. Through the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, power is available for us to be sanctified and redeemed from sin and death. The grace of Christ can also expand our capacity to do good. Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf has taught:

"God pours out blessings of power and strength, enabling us to achieve things that otherwise would be far beyond our reach. It is by God’s amazing grace that His children can overcome the undercurrents and quicksands of the deceiver, rise above sin, and ‘be perfect[ed] in Christ’ (Moroni 10:32)” (“The Gift of Grace,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 108).

The Holy Ghost is a messenger. He relays the words of God to our hearts and minds. The Holy Ghost is also the means whereby we receive both sanctifying and enabling power made available through the grace and Atonement of Jesus Christ.

"Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day" (3 Nephi 27:20, emphasis added).

"Ye are sanctified... [and] justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:11, emphasis added).

"For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies" (D&C 84:33, emphasis added).

"By the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things" (Moroni 10:5, emphasis added).

"And again, verily I say unto you, to some is given, by the Spirit of God, the word of wisdom. To another is given the word of knowledge, that all may be taught to be wise and to have knowledge. And again, to some it is given to have faith to be healed; And to others it is given to have faith to heal. And again, to some is given the working of miracles; And to others it is given to prophesy; and to others the discerning of spirits. And again, it is given to some to speak with tongues; And to another is given the interpretation of tongues. And all these gifts come from God, for the benefit of the children of God" (D&C 46:17-26, emphasis added).

Jesus Christ taught that "the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." He continued, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:26-27).

The Lord's peace is given to us through the power of the Holy Ghost. Paul wrote to the Galatians that "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Galatians 5:22). When the Holy Ghost is present in our lives, as evidenced by these fruits, we can be confident that we are worthy to receive sanctification and enabling power also.

Consider the verses that teach us about the stripling warriors. These two thousand faithful young men went to battle with no experience and were miraculously preserved. In preparing to go to battle, these young men poured out their souls in prayer to God. Then, the record states:

Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our deliverance in him.

And we did take courage with our small force which we had received, and were fixed with a determination to conquer our enemies, and to maintain our lands, and our possessions, and our wives, and our children, and the cause of liberty.

And thus we did go forth with our might against the Lamanites (Alma 58:11-13, emphasis added).

In addition to spiritual comfort and guidance, or as a result of it, the Lord delivered the extraordinary physical strength and mental focus these young men needed. through the Holy Ghost. After quoting the verses as emphasized above, Elder David A. Bednar taught, "Assurance, personal peace, faith, and hope initially might not seem like the blessings warriors in battle might want, but they were precisely the blessings these valiant young men needed to press forward and prevail physically and spiritually" (Power to Become, p. 43).

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear," Paul wrote to Timothy, "but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). God desires to give us greater blessings through the power of the Holy Ghost. Like John Whitmer, these blessings are conditioned on our faithfulness. When righteous action leads us to repent and to become pure through a remission of our sins, we can enjoy the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost with all of the the sanctification, peace, strength and power available through the grace and Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Perhaps this is why the sacrament prayers don't ask specifically for the forgiveness of sin or the power to move mountains, but rather "that [we] may have his Spirit to be with [us]" (D&C 20:79).

The Lord kept his promise to John Whitmer. Within a few months of his call to write, John was involved with publishing Joseph Smith's revelations, a hymnal, a Church newspaper and other works. He kept a history of the church through 1838. Modern historians largely agree that John Whitmer's history, "illuminates many important concerns of the early church, including property issues, church discipline," the New Jerusalem, "the treatment of dissidents, and the establishment of a priesthood leadership hierarchy." The history is, "particularly significant for the revelations, petitions, and letters that form a large part of his history" (Revelations in Context, 2016).

Though he perhaps felt inadequate at first, John Whitmer's obedience continues to bless the Church . In recent years, the Saints narrative history series and other works have been released based on the writings of a faithful New York farmer. Though they were young and inexperienced, the Lord answered the prayers of the stripling warriors and gave them the assurance, the courage and the strength they needed to be delivered from their enemies.

The Lord will keep his promise to us, also.

If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 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.

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:15-17, 27).

What is Our Heavenly Father Really Like?

Fourteen years ago, I sat on the second or third row of a chapel in Frankfurt, Germany, listening to prelude music and watching the rain roll down thick, cobbled windows. The whole mission was in the chapel anticipating the instruction we would receive from Elder L. Tom Perry, who had recently been assigned as the president of the European Central Area.

After the opening hymn and prayer, Elder Perry stood to address us. He did not use the microphone, but walked off the dais and stood in front of the sister missionaries in the first row. There was a short pause while he gathered himself, and then, with his typical booming voice, Elder Perry declared his testimony in two simple words: “God lives.”

I do not remember anything else he said that day, but this testimony seemed to pierce my soul to the very center. I remember the power I felt as he said it and I felt my physical frame trembling for several minutes afterward. I had been on my mission for over a year and could cite many instances before and during my service when I had felt the Holy Ghost testify of truth. I had also had many epiphanies as a high school and college student learning math, chemistry, physics, psychology and the arts. The feeling I had on that day surpassed all. I knew in that moment that God was real.

While I cannot pretend to give you the same experience here today, I can share my testimony that I know God lives. He organizes and governs all things in the universe. He knows all things, has all power, and is present in all places through His Spirit. He sees every sparrow that falls, knows every secret and wills the creation of stars, planets and solar systems. He lends each breath to all living things. All of time-- past, present, and future-- is laid before Him, yet he is not subject to our time or our timing. He is eternal, immutable and divine. We worship him as Elohim, a Hebrew name meaning the gods, but he prefers that we call him Father.

One of the great assignments of our lives is to come to know our Heavenly Father as he really is. During his great intercessory prayer on our behalf, the Savior lamented: “O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee… And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent” (John 17:25, 3).

Indeed, the world has not known Him. The Lakota tribes of North and South Dakota worshipped a “Great Spirit” they called Wankan Tanka, which means, “the Great Mystery”. Christian cultures are not any more clued in, often describing God with contradictions and portraying him in art and film as some variety of glowing orb, floating mist or unseen voice. Many people today are like those Paul found in Greece ignorantly worshipping at the altar of an "unknown God" (Acts 17:23).

This is not because God is hidden or hard to find. There is a great deal we can learn about God in the scriptures and the teachings of modern prophets. I will share some of those things here; but whatever we know about God, we really get to know Him by revelation as we draw near through prayer, serve his children on this earth, and diligently keep his commandments.

In other words, our personal relationship with our Heavenly Father, like any other relationship, requires our time and our attention. We should speak often with him, trust and rely on him and seek with a grateful heart to see his hand in our lives each day. Our testimonies will grow in proportion to our faith and our obedience; and if we look with sufficient faith, we’ll find that our eyes can be opened to see how He is in the details of our lives each and every day.

Now, with that introduction, I’d like to turn to the question suggested by Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. Who is the only true God, our Heavenly Father, and what is he really like?

Think for a moment about your idea of the perfect father. You may think of many traits your own fathers or grandfathers exhibited, or some things may be different, but I’d bet most of us are thinking of a lot of the same things. Let’s start simple and build up: he would be a man. He would be strong from hard work, but gentle with those he loves. He would love his children more than the whole world. He would respect women, especially his wife. He would be a man of faith and integrity. He would protect and provide for his family. He would teach his children discipline and help them to succeed. He would teach them how to be healthy and happy.

I have probably missed a few important things, but we’re well on our way to the point you know is coming.

Our Father in Heaven is an exalted man, separate and distinct from His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost who shares his influence. He has a body of flesh and bone just as we do (D&C 130:22). We look like him. He has a personality. He has feelings and emotions. He experiences great sorrow when his children suffer, when they sin, and when they commit horrific acts against one another. He also knows the thrill of watching his children overcome a difficult challenge or take a significant step in their journey back to him. Though he cannot always be physically with us, he loves it when we call.

Much of the world assumes that God has always been perfect; he has always been a god. We know that our Heavenly Father experienced mortality much as we do now and that he grew from grace to grace as we are are attempting to do. President Lorenzo Snow wrote the couplet, “As man now is, God once was: As God now is, man may be.”

Through eons of experience and hard work, our Heavenly Father has completed his development, so we say that he is perfect. He is perfect in his knowledge and power, but he is also perfect in his compassion, his empathy and his love for each of us. He understands what we are experiencing and he encourages us to continue in our development until we are complete. “Be ye therefore perfect,” the scriptures direct, “even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

Many in the world see God as harsh and vengeful. Martin Luther taught that “those who see God as angry do not see him rightly”. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:16-17).

“For I am persuaded,” Paul wrote, “that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:38-39). Nephi wrote that the love of God, “sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things… and the most joyous to the soul” (1 Nephi 11:22-23).

You and I are literally children of God. “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together” (Romans 8). Our Father in Heaven offers us all he has because he loves us more than the whole world.

Our Father in Heaven is not a respecter of persons. He’s not impressed by the color of your skin or the country where you were born or the job that you have or wealth you have accumulated. His commandments are in effect for those with busy schedules, those who are lonely, those who are ignorant and those who are proud. Every soul, regardless of their status or circumstance, is of great worth to him-- worth his time, worth his effort, and worth his love.

The love of God includes a profound respect for women. He does not allow us to make our Heavenly Mother a profanity and he warns against abuse of spouse or offspring with the most serious language. He has placed women in some of the most crucial roles in the plan of salvation and trusts them to nurture and prepare each generation.

One of my favorite quotes from Karl G. Maeser, considered the founder of what became BYU, is his explanation of honor. “I have been asked what I mean by ‘word of honor’”, he said. “I will tell you. Place me behind prison walls--walls of stone ever so high, ever so thick, reaching ever so far into the ground-- there is a possibility that in some way or another I may escape; but stand me on the floor and draw a chalk line around me and have me give my word of honor never to cross it. Can I get out of the circle? No. Never! I’d die first!"

Likewise, our Heavenly Father commits with his word of honor that he is bound to keep his promises when we keep his commandments. It may seem a little obvious to say that God is a man of integrity, but it is crucial to understand if we are to trust him and trust is essential to walking the path toward eternal life. God keeps every promise. He always does what he says he will do.

One of the promises God has made to each of us is that he will pour out the blessings of heaven when we pay our tithing. My wife and I put this to the test when I completed graduate school and we moved for an entry-level job in Virginia. We had two kids, no contacts, a lot of debt and not very much income.

I don’t remember a specific instance when we got a check for exactly the amount we needed or found the food we couldn’t buy on our doorstep; but I do remember that our clothes seemed to last forever. As our kids grew, and we added one more, someone was always looking to donate the size we needed. Our car never broke down. The five dollar pizzas at Little Ceasars tasted amazing. Though we were living in a small house with a possum in the crawl space, life seemed abundant and we came to know our Heavenly Father better as we earnestly prayed for him to help us provide for our family’s needs.

I testify that your Father, who is in heaven, knows the things that you need. “Therefore,” the Savior taught, “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are you not much better than they?...”

“And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you?... But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:25-26, 28-30, 33).

In addition to providing for our physical needs, our Heavenly Father is anxious to teach us how to be successful and happy. Consider for a moment what you would do if Bill Gates approached you with an offer you couldn’t refuse. Pretend for a moment that the email and the Facebook scams we’ve all seen are true. Bill Gates does want to make you a millionaire or billionaire, and here’s the deal: he’s going to give you the strategy to get there and if you can try pretty hard at it and show some persistence, he will give you the capital to make it the rest of the way. Would you do it?

God has achieved more than any of us can imagine. Even Bill Gates’ money is no object for him. Worldly strength and power are insignificant by comparison. His lifestyle and his joy are the ultimate rewards of eternity. He has cornered the market on peace and happiness; these are his currency. Yet, none of this is proprietary information. Like every good parent, he has given us commandments to protect us and help us learn and grow. He has laid out the path to follow and offers to share everything freely with anyone willing to accept his invitation. We agree to try through five saving ordinances: baptism, confirmation, ordination, endowment and sealing. Lest we fear failure, he has ensured our success within the scope of our agreement; he will provide all that we cannot so long as we sincerely try. He provided a Savior to show us how this was to be done.

Sometimes as we try to follow in our elder brother’s footsteps, course corrections are needed. Paul explained:

“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?... Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For… he [chastens us] for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness” (Hebrews 12:6-7, 9-10).

While God loves all of his children, status quo is not his goal. Rather, he is focused on maximizing our potential. He has retired from whatever profession he may have once had, he’s seen what there is to see and there are no distractions to pull him away from the work of helping you and I, his family, succeed. His ways and his timing are often different from our own, but he is keenly interested in this work and wants each of us to be wildly successful as he measures it: in joy, in peace, in love and in faith. He will not take away our agency, but he gently guides us toward decisions that will ultimately lead us to our rightful places as heirs of his kingdom.

If you will remember what you thought was an ideal father, I think you’ll find we’ve discussed many of the core attributes of that ideal in the last several minutes. Each of us has a Father in Heaven who has known us for eons of time. He has walked the path we walk, appreciates our differences and sees the potential we all have to become like him. He is our biggest fan, our protector and provider, our mentor, our counselor, our teacher, our friend, our companion and our parent. He loves each of us more than the whole world.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught, “It is one thing to know about God and another to know him. We know about him when we learn that he is a personal being in whose image man is created; when we learn that the Son is in the express image of his Father’s person; when we learn that both the Father and the Son possess certain specified attributes and powers. But we know them, in the sense of gaining eternal life, when we enjoy and experience the same things they do. To know God is to think what he thinks, to feel what he feels, to have the power he possesses, to comprehend the truths he understands, and to do what he does. Those who know God become like him, and have his kind of life, which is eternal life” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1965-73], 1:762).

I have come to know God as I have seen his influence in my life during and since my mission in Frankfurt, Germany. He has helped me find peace when all was lost, share my testimony when I couldn’t find the words, repent when I have fallen short and learn truth when I did not know the way. He has shown me what it is to be father. He has provided for my family and brought joy into our home. So it is with confidence and admiration and love and joy that I can share my testimony that God lives.

Faith Amid Persecutions

One of my favorite words in the scriptures is "nevertheless". Nephi grieved his sin and weakness before proclaiming, "Nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted. My God hath been my support" (2 Nephi 4:19-20). We can feel Nephi's faith and courage build as he then outlined the many instances when God delivered him from peril or gave him instruction when he did not know what to do.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, our Elder Brother plead with our Heavenly Father to remove the bitter cup of pain and suffering that was His Atonement for us all. "Nevertheless," he humbly submitted, "not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42).

Joseph Smith makes a similar pivot in a letter to the Saints in 1842. Himself in hiding and following decades of persecution, the Prophet prompts his testimony with a modern "nevertheless":

"Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth... a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy" (D&C 128:19). After citing many of the most wonderful events of the restoration, he concludes, "Shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad."

These and many other accounts inspire and uplift my soul when I'm weighed down with the corruption, sin and deception of the world in which we live. As more people abandon virtue, conscience and principle for doctrines of convenience, we may feel oppressed by the rising tide of manipulative voices trying to shame us into conformity. Indeed, those who are willing to speak up for truth and high morals are often persecuted on social media, in conversations and in the press.

Elder Gordon B. Hinckley stated in 1965, "We hear much in America these days of consensus. It simply means agreement, a meeting of the minds. The doctrine is abroad that whatever bears the brand of consensus is right and good. There never was a more serious fallacy. Fifty thousand Frenchmen can be wrong, as can 50 million Americans or 500 million Chinese... Consensus in matters of public and private morality is largely fruitless and often detrimental unless its roots are anchored in eternal, God-given truth" (Caesar, Circus or Christ, BYU Speeches. October 26, 1965).

Nevertheless, the Lord is mindful of us and hastening His work on the earth. The Lord revealed The Family: A Proclamation to the World in 1995 to prepare us and direct the Church through unprecedented confusion about love and gender that have arisen in recent years. The number of temples on the earth is growing quickly as faithful Saints increasingly need places to escape the claustrophobic crush of evil practices and philosophies. Prophets have been inspired to develop the Come Follow Me program to strengthen individuals and families against the increasingly targeted attacks of our adversary. Those prophets have been inspired again to say those things that the Lord would have us know at a General Conference broadcast around the world. Family history and temple work can be done with a few taps on a smartphone. The Church is reaching a larger and larger number of the world's poor and afflicted with its welfare program and partnerships.

As the Prophet Joseph Smith once said, "The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done" (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 4:540).

"What power shall stay the heavens?" the Prophet asked on another occasion. "As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints" (D&C 121:33).

Some days, when it seems we can see raging persecutions and mobs forming in even places of authority, it is valuable to remember our "nevertheless" that pivots our perspective toward faith in the eternal. The world may attempt to shame us into conformity, nevertheless the truth has been revealed to prophets in our day, and to each of our hearts, from God himself. They may threaten our prosperity, nevertheless the Lord has promised He will provide for those who ask Him. Ultimately, the world may take our lives, as opponents of Christ have done to the faithful in every dispensation, nevertheless we know the Lord will protect us and our days will not be numbered less because of oppression. The jaws of hell itself may gape open its mouth to swallow us, nevertheless it is little more than a man's puny arm attempting to redirect a massive river and cannot prevail if we remain true to the faith.

Subtle Blessings

"Windows of Heaven" by Jeff Brimley

In 1899, President Lorenzo Snow felt prompted to make the long journey by train and horse-drawn carriage from Salt Lake City to Saint George, Utah. He had been deeply troubled about the crushing debt left over from the anti-polygamy crusades of the 1880s. At the same time, there had been no rain in Saint George for many months and the Saints in that area were at risk of not being able to grow their crops that year. He had been praying anxiously about how to help the Saints and the Church, but received no answer except a feeling that he should go to Saint George.

President Snow made the long trip to Saint George and witnessed dry fields and dying livestock all along the way. Soon after his arrival, a conference was organized so the people could hear the word of the Lord from a prophet of God. He stood to speak with deeper concern from all he had witnessed but without knowing what he could possibly say to make a difference.

Suddenly, in the middle of his remarks, President Snow paused for several moments. When he resumed his sermon, he had renewed confidence and his voice was stronger. Many of the people testified afterward that they knew he was speaking under the inspiration of the Lord. He said, “The word of the Lord is: The time has now come for every Latter-day Saint … to do the will of the Lord and to pay his tithing in full. That is the word of the Lord to you, and it will be the word of the Lord to every settlement throughout the land of Zion” (quoted in LeRoi C. Snow, “The Lord’s Way Out of Bondage,” p. 439). He promised that if they would pay their tithing, rain would fall and they would be able to plant and harvest good crops that year.

In the year following President Snow’s revelation, the Saints contributed twice as much in tithing as they had the previous two years. Not only were the Saints in St. George blessed with rain, but within eight years the Church was able to pay all its debts. Since that day, the Church has continued to have enough money to carry out the Lord’s work because faithful Church members pay their tithing.

The Lord promised Malachi that if the Israelites would pay their tithing he would, “open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:7-12). After months of drought and facing the prospect of having no food for the winter, I can imagine that the people in Saint George must have been overwhelmed with gratitude at the sight of rain.

At the same time, despite paying my tithing faithfully for years, I have sometimes felt that I had room to receive a lot more. I have wondered why this promise didn’t seem to be as true for me as I imagined it could be. In seeing only with my temporal eyes, have not understood what the Lord was really offering.

Elder David A. Bednar has explained:

Often as we teach and testify about the law of tithing, we emphasize the immediate, dramatic and readily recognizable temporal blessings that we receive. And surely such blessings do occur. Yet some of the diverse blessings we obtain as we are obedient to this commandment are significant but subtle. Such blessings can be discerned only if we are both spiritually attentive and observant (see 1 Corinthians 2:14).

The imagery of the "windows" of heaven used by Malachi is most instructive. Windows allow natural light to enter into a building. In like manner, spiritual illumination and perspective are poured out through the windows of heaven and into our lives as we honor the law of tithing.

Now I can see that my family has experienced an outpouring of light and understanding on several occasions. One of those experiences occurred while I was attending graduate school in Arizona. Soon after graduation, my wife and I accepted a job in Virginia. It was a big decision that came as a shock to a lot of our friends and family members. Some of them wondered out loud how we could make a decision so suddenly that wasn't even in realm of possibilities just the day before.

Of course, we hadn't made the decision suddenly at all. Years before we decided to move, we began praying for guidance and that we would be able to find a good job after graduate school. I paid close attention when my professors, most of whom were or had been active in my chosen profession, would give career advice. I interviewed for promotions within the company where I worked and started applying for jobs in my field around the metro area where I was attending school. I was constantly looking at job ads and talking with my wife about what we wanted from life, the kinds of communities where we would like to live and jobs that would help us reach our larger goals.

Over time, my wife and I began to have experiences that helped to clarify the path ahead. One interviewer at my then-employer told me I was overqualified and another told me it would be several years before the labor union would allow me to be considered for promotion. A guest practitioner in one of my classes shared stories from working in rural communities that resonated with me. The same advice about mobility and finding a first job was repeated over and over and over again by professors, mentors, role models and career counselors.

As graduation approached I was getting anxious to find a position, but it was much easier to identify the jobs that would get us closer to our long-term professional and family goals. My wife and I knew the entry-level job titles that were most likely to lead to management opportunities, the size and type of community where we wanted to live, and which states and communities we were willing to call home. Four months after graduation, I interviewed in Virginia and accepted a position that was everything we had learned we wanted.

Looking back, there was not a single epiphany that dramatically changed our course or a grand revelatory moment where the Lord commanded us to move to Virginia. Instead, the Lord opened the windows of heaven and steadily poured out a thousand smaller experiences, thoughts and impressions that gradually opened our minds, clarified our goals and led us gently down the path to where we needed to be.

Following the guidance we have received in this and other experiences like it has led to the opportunities, challenges and understanding we have needed to progress in our lives. We have been afforded greater happiness, testimony, strength, knowledge, experience and prosperity than we could ever deserve.

Just as the blessings of tithing most often come line upon line and grace for grace, Bishop Gerald Causse shared an experience in the April 2017 General Conference that highlighted the subtle blessings of priesthood service in his life:

When I was 30 years old, I began working for a retail group in France. One day the company president, a good man of another faith, called me into his office. His question startled me: "I just learned that you are a priest in your church. Is that true?"

I replied, "Yes, that is correct. I hold the priesthood."

Visibly intrigued by my response, he further inquired, "But did you study at a theological seminary?"

"Of course," I answered, "between the ages of 14 and 18, and I studied seminary lessons nearly every day!" He almost fell off his chair.

To my great surprise, several weeks later he called me back to his office to offer me a managing director position in one of the group's companies. I was astonished and expressed my concern that I was too young and inexperienced to hold such an important responsibility. With a benevolent smile, he said, "That may be true, but it doesn't matter. I know your principles, and I know what you've learned in your church. I need you."

He was right about what I had learned in the Church. The years that followed were challenging, and I don't know if I could have had any success without the experience I acquired by serving in the Church from the time I was a young man.

The Lord has taught, “There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated-- And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated" (D&C 130:20-21). Sometimes the blessings we receive are as sudden and significant as rain to end a long drought. Quite often however, the blessings of our obedience to any principle come so quietly that we do not even notice them at the time.

This is the Lord's way: "line upon line; here a little and there a little" (Isaiah 28:10). "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Elijah stood on Mount Horeb (Sinai) and witnessed that the Lord was not in the powerful wind nor the earthquake nor the fire, but rather a still, small voice (1 Kings 19:11-13). Instead of ushering in the restoration of the gospel with a visit to a prominent minister or president, the Lord appeared to a fourteen-year-old farm boy with a third grade education and a burning desire for truth. President Snow could have been inspired to know where to dig for gold or secure a large donation, but the Lord told him to go to Saint George and teach obedience to the ancient law of tithing.

You or I may still feel from time to time that we could use more of the Lord's blessings in our lives. This can also be guidance from the Lord. At such times, I have found I get the best results when I strive to be obedient and follow the counsel of a favorite hymn:

When upon life's billows you are tempest-tossed,

When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,

Count your many blessings; name them one by one,

And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?

Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?

Count your many blessings; ev'ry doubt will fly

And you will be singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold,

Think that Christ has promised you his wealth untold.

Count your many blessings; money cannot buy

Your reward in heaven nor your home on high.

So amid the conflict, whether great or small,

Do not be discouraged; God is over all.

Count your many blessings; angels will attend,

Help and comfort give you to your journey's end.

Looking Steadfastly Toward Heaven

"Mountain Lion" by K. Baughan

One night recently, I arrived home from a business trip after dark. As I got out of my car, I heard something rustling in the bushes a few yards behind me. It sounded like something bigger than a squirrel or a cat, which always gets my imagination working. I glanced in that direction and saw the porch light reflecting off a single pair of large eyes amid the darkness of the bushes.

This experience could be unnerving for anyone, but it is even more unnerving in a rural, forested area known for bobcats, bears and mountain lions. Feeling almost certain that I was being watched by a hungry mountain lion, I stopped where I was with my car door still open and turned on my cell phone flashlight. Turning toward the bushes, I pointed the light at my stalker only to find that my hungry mountain lion was really a deer who was probably more terrified of me than I was of it. With a deep sigh of relief, and a chuckle about the whole situation, I closed the car door and went inside the house.

All of us have had experiences where we thought we saw or heard something that turned out to be much different when we looked closer, asked again or decided to investigate. What may have been muffled or shrouded in darkness can suddenly become clear when we turn to face the source of a light, movement or sound.

Following the death of Christ, there was great destruction in the Americas. Valleys became mountains, mountains became valleys, entire cities burned or fell into the ocean and many people were carried away in large tornadoes. The chaos must have been overwhelming.

When the earth settled and the fires died down, there came three days of complete darkness. The darkness was so thick, flint wouldn't spark and fires wouldn't light. Amid the blackness, and in the wake of prodigious disaster, the air was filled with sorrowful cries of grieving and regret.

Dawn finally came and scripture records there were many people gathered around the temple marveling at the transformation of the land and "conversing about this Jesus Christ, of whom the sign had been given concerning his death". Suddenly, "they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard". It was a small voice, but it pierced them to their cores. The people had just experienced fires and earthquakes, but this voice made their bodies quake on solid ground and their hearts burn without a flame.

Though the people could hear the voice and feel of its power, they could not understand its message even when it came a second time. Finally, the people "did open their ears to hear it... and they did look steadfastly towards heaven, from whence the sound came." This time they understood the voice and were privileged to hear God, our Heavenly Father, introduce His resurrected Son, the Savior Jesus Christ.

There have been many times in my life when the voice of the Lord has seemed muffled. Sometimes I have known something was there, like the eyes staring at me from the bushes, but was unable to recognize what it was. Other times it has seemed as if the answers to my prayers were being intercepted somehow so that I could not hear at all. This has been especially true when I have been discouraged or feeling rejected or lost.

In every instance, I've found the volume and clarity I needed to understand when I have turned toward the source of the messages I have sought. Praying more earnestly, studying more sincerely and striving more diligently to do the Lord's will turns our hearts and minds to Him and shines a light on the doctrines and principles we are seeking to understand.

A Higher Point of View

There's a humorous skit about a woman who visits a fortune teller to decide whether she should change careers. "The crystal ball says it would be boring," the fortune teller reports. "But," he adds, "it could be fun though."

The woman then asks about her upcoming vacation. As the fortune teller gazes into the crystal ball with horror, he reports that it will be a total disaster that will leave her lonely and crying. "But," he concludes again, "it could be fun though."

"How could that be fun?!" the woman asks.

"Anything can be fun," comes the reply. "It's all perspective really."

"Anything could be bad, too," the woman countered.

"It could be," the fortune teller agreed, "but it could be fun though."

A similar conversation occurred in the family car on the way to church a week or two ago. My wife had commented on what a good year our family has had. My first instinct was to agree. We welcomed a child to the family in April, I got a big promotion at work, we had a lot of fun traveling to new places and things seemed to be going well. It had certainly been a good year.

As I thought a little more, I paused. Yes, a lot of good things had happened, but some bad things happened, too. Our county experienced a catastrophic wildfire, flooding on two separate occasions and snow events that knocked out power. Some extended family turmoil persisted, there were months with more demands than we could meet and days when we just seemed out of sync. There were illnesses and injuries and world events that added to a pile of evidence that could convince any jury we'd just had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year.

Our perceptions can have dramatic effects on our spirituality and happiness. When I saw the world with my wife's sense of optimism, I experienced a sense of gratitude that was encouraging and uplifting. As doubts came, my hope diminished and I began to relive the stress and burdensome weight of life's difficult experiences.

Of course, we will all have hard days. We will all have questions or doubts at times, including some regarding our faith. The perspective we allow to prevail in our thoughts and attitudes will ultimately affect our actions and the happiness we choose to allow into our lives.

The Lord assures us that "my ways [are] higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:5-9). When it gets hard to see the bright side, the Lord encourages us to continue to act in faith, doing the things we already know he would want us to do; try to examine issues and situations with his eternal perspective; and then seek for truth in divinely-appointed sources including the Holy Scriptures and through prayer.

The Lord taught through the Apostle Paul:

Your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God... Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God (2 Corinthians 2:5, 9-11).

The Lord is able to help us see the world from a higher point of view if we are willing to sincerely seek after his truth. This allows us to reframe our questions and view our lives based on the Lord's standard of truth rather than accepting the world's premises or assumptions. In the context of the plan of salvation and the teachings of the Savior, for example, death is not the end of our existence, love does not justify sin and faith without works is dead. Through the lens of the gospel, we can find comfort at the passing of a loved one, courage to act on an impression and the gratitude and warmth of God's love as we remain true to the commandments he has given us.

This higher perspective is especially important in the way we view other people. Though we may be frustrated at the driver that cuts us off on the freeway, an arrogant colleague or an unhelpful customer service agent, the Lord sees the great worth and potential in all of us. He sees you and I and those that annoy us equally as "a little lower than the angels", "more precious than fine gold" and his royal heirs "crowned with glory and honour" (Psalms 8:5, Isaiah 13:12, D&C 18:10). One of the great things about the holiday season is that with just a little gratitude, patience and some kindness, we are all able to experience greater joy and peace on earth.

As a new year begins, there are certainly untold triumphs and discouraging setbacks ahead. Some we will be able to control, others will be immune to our influence. It could be the worst ever, but I think it could be fun though.

Why Bad Things Happen to Good People

One of the axioms of life is that it isn't fair. Sometimes the most generous, good people seem to have the most struggles and people we consider lazy, criminal or no-good seem to have it easy. Life's not fair--at least on the surface-- and that creates a special sort of dilemma for the faithful. It has many variations, but it is typically expressed like this: If there is a just God, and he really, truly loves us and wants us to return to live with him, why is life so hard? Or, why do so many bad things happen to good people?

For some, life's perceived unfairness can fuel doubts that grow into significant stumbling blocks to their faith. On the other hand, when we seek answers to even our most profound questions through prayer and a study of divinely-appointed sources we find answers that build our faith. The specific answer you or I may need at a particular time will most likely come through the Holy Ghost as we diligently seek to learn God's wisdom; but there are also some general principles that can guide our thoughts.

For example, consider the role of opposition in the lives of the faithful. Prophets like Moses, Nephi, Abraham and Joseph Smith all faced seemingly insurmountable opposition to their righteous efforts. Meanwhile, the Israelites, Nephi's brothers and others seeking the path of least resistance appear to have had less faith but also to have faced less opposition.

Lehi had a comfortable and prosperous life in Jerusalem. Had he ignored the Lord's commandment to go into the wilderness, he would've likely kept his prosperity for a time. He would have avoided the difficult journey across the wilderness and near death experiences when there wasn't food or when the storms threatened his ship. He would not have experienced the anguish of waiting and not knowing when he sent his sons to recover the brass plates from Laban. Perhaps even some of the conflict with Laman and Lemuel would have been entirely avoided had he only decided to do what was more comfortable and convenient.

Without such opposition, it is also very possible that none of us would have ever heard of Lehi. He would have been killed or taken captive by the Assyrians along with thousands of other Jews in Jerusalem, never obtaining the brass plates or making it to the promised land. It was his faith to obey the Lord's voice, knowing it would be a more difficult path, that helped him cross the ocean almost 1600 years before the vikings and provide the foundation for the Book of Mormon. He shared his thoughts on the matter with his son Jacob:

For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad... It must needs be that there [is] an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter. Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other (2 Nephi 2:11, 15-16).

Opposition gives us meaningful choices. Those choices always have consequences. Sometimes the bad things (and good things!) that happen to us or to those we love are simply the natural results of an earlier action. Infidelity or angry outbursts may lead to a painful divorce. One person's dishonesty in the corporate world may lead to sanctions and layoffs that affect thousands of employees. One group's public preference for a particular false doctrine may yield negative consequences for an entire society, including those standing for truth, as that doctrine is adopted in public opinion and policy. And one man's faith in God's commandment to lead his family into the desert can be the beginning of two mighty nations and the restoration of the gospel that has blessed millions.

In the apparent chaos of all our choosing and reaping consequences, there is order. The Lord is in control. He promises, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13). And again, "All things will work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28).

How do the hard things in life work together for our good? President John Taylor once explained:

I heard the Prophet Joseph say, in speaking to the Twelve on one occasion: 'You will have all kinds of trials to pass through. And it is quite as necessary for you to be tried as it was for Abraham and other men of God, and (said he) God will feel after you, and He will take hold of you and wrench your very heart strings, and if you cannot stand it you will not be fit for an inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom of God.' ... Joseph Smith never had many months of peace after he received the truth, and finally he was murdered in Carthage jail" (John Taylor, Deseret News: Semi-Weekly, Aug. 21, 1883, p. 1).

The apostle Paul wrote that "we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" and declared that as many as believed despite opposition were ordained to eternal life (Acts 14:22, 13:48). If the faithful must be tried as Abraham to inherit the Celestial Kingdom, it follows that some of the opposition we face in life may actually be blessings for earlier faithfulness and/or to inspire greater faithfulness. Just as athletes that excel have opportunities to face better competition and employees have more professional development opportunities as they climb the corporate ladder, disciples of Christ experience greater opposition to their faith as they come to know and rely on his teachings and Atonement.

Some of these experiences may be like what President Henry B. Eyring described when he explained how his father's prayers during a losing battle with cancer taught him about the deeply personal relationship between God and His children:

When the pain became intense, we found him in the morning on his knees by the bed. He had been too weak to get back into bed. He told us that he had been praying to ask Heavenly Father why he had to suffer so much when he had always tried to be good. He said a kindly answer came: 'God needs brave sons.'

And so he soldiered on to the end, trusting that God loved him, listened to him, and would lift him up. He was blessed to have known early and to never forget that a loving God is as close as a prayer ("Families and Prayer," Ensign or Liahona, Sept. 2015, 4).

Elder Eyring's dad had served others as a professor and priesthood leader most of his life, yet there was a valuable lesson for him about God's love that he could only learn through a difficult life experience of his own. That experience enhanced his prayers, reaffirmed and enriched his knowledge of who he was and God's love for him, and gave him the courage to face the end of his life.

Speaking of a man who was born blind, the Savior taught, "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but [he was born blind] that the works of God should be manifest in him" (John 9:3). This hardship was not the result of anyone's prior action but was given as a gift to inspire sufficient faith to lead the blind man and those around him to salvation.

Other times, the hardships we see others facing may be as much about teaching us to serve as they are about opposition for those involved. Elder Robert D. Hales has taught:

As the Savior's latter-day disciples, we come unto Him by loving and serving God's children. As we do, we may not be able to avoid tribulation, affliction, and suffering in the flesh, but we will suffer less spiritually. Even in our trials we can experience joy and peace...

As we follow Jesus Christ, His love motivates us to support each other on our mortal journey. We cannot do it alone. You have heard me share the Quaker proverb before: Thee lift me, I'll lift thee, and we'll ascend together eternally. As disciples, we begin to do this when we are baptized, showing our willingness to 'bear one another's burdens, that they may be light' (October 2016).

It is often said that one of the primary purposes in life is to be tested and tried. That is true, of course, but this phrase is also often misconstrued to mean that God will throw curveballs just to see if he can strike us out. God is "perfect, has all power, and knows all things" ("God the Father", Gospel Topics). He has a perfect love for each of us. He already knows what we would do in a given situation and he has no interest in embarrassing us unnecessarily; rather, his work and glory is to mold and refine us until we are prepared to inherit all that he has.

Each of us has known someone who has tried our patience. Perhaps it was a coworker, another driver on the freeway or one of our children. When we say that our patience has been tried, usually we mean it has been pushed to or even slightly beyond its normal limits. We may feel in those exasperating moments that we don't have any patience at all, but more often than not we have been even more patient than we normally consider ourselves capable and we are feeling the effects of being stretched to something more than what we were before. This is how the Lord tries us and makes us better.

There is a story by an anonymous author about a group of women studying the Book of Malachi in Bible study that illustrates how the Lord uses opposition in our lives. As they read in chapter three, verse three, they read: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what the statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study. That week, the woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She watched as the silversmith held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that, in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest so as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot - then she thought again about the verse: He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver. She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's the easy part-- when I see my image reflected in it."

Speaking to an audience of missionaries, Elder Holland taught:

I am convinced that [a disciple's life] is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are the Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him? It seems to me that [we] have to spend at least a few moments in Gethsemane. [We] have to take at least a step or two toward the summit of Calvary.

Now, please don't misunderstand. I'm not talking about anything anywhere near what Christ experienced. That would be presumptuous and sacreligious. But I believe that [all of us], to come to the truth, to come to salvation, to know something of this price that has been paid, will have to pay a token of that same price.

For that reason I don't believe [a disciple's life] has ever been easy, nor that conversion is, ... nor that continued faithfulness is. I believe it is supposed to require some effort, something from the depths of our soul ("Missionary Work and the Atonement", Provo MTC, 20 June 2000).

Life is hard because it is supposed to change who we are. Bad things happen to good people, at least some of the time, because they are ready to be put in the fire and refined into someone who reflects the image of our Savior in their countenance. They are ready to take a step or two toward the summit of Calvary and an eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom of God.

The real question then isn't why life is hard, but how we are responding to the opposition in our lives. Are we willing to give up all that we have to walk the more difficult path of a true disciple? When we are in the midst of the flames, are we willing to trust that the silversmith knows better than the silver when it has been refined?

Like Elder Eyring's father, we can get the answers we need in a difficult time through prayer and the Holy Ghost. As we come to realize that many of the hard things in our lives are actually blessings to try us, refine us and qualify us to have a seat next to Moses and Nephi in the presence of God, it becomes increasingly clear that God is in control, he is our perfect judge, and unfair as it may be, all things work together for good to them that love God.