Obedience and Sacrifice, the Path to Ascend

Whenever I read of Nephi's vision where he saw the things that his father saw, I desire the same. I also want to see for myself.  What was it that brought about this abundant revelation for Nephi? I Ne. 11:1 outlines Nephi's state of mind and heart. First he desired to know and he believed that the Lord was able to make them known unto him.  He sat pondering in his heart.  He was in a condition to receive revelation.

But that is not all.  Nephi had previously proven himself to the Lord.  He was first obedient, both to his father and to the Lord.  He had prayed for a confirmation of his father's teachings and directions to leave Jerusalem.  The Lord softened his heart and he responded by following his father into the wilderness.

Nephi had also sacrificed!  He left behind Babylon in the fullest sense.  He departed from his comforts, his home, his friends and acquaintances and the future he had most assuredly planned for. Obediently he returned (at the request of the Lord and his father Lehi) to Jerusalem and obtained the plates.  Again and again he petitioned the Lord to give him the faith to do all that was required of him.  He continued to sacrifice.

Obedience and sacrifice - therein lies the beginning of the path to further light and knowledge.

Obedience to the Lord.  Obedience to the promptings of the spirit.  Obedience to those who are in a position of stewardship over us even when they exhibit weakness as Lehi did on occasion.

The law of sacrifice comes into play when we lay our own wills and agendas on the alter.  Sacrifice is a principle of redemption.  Through our own small sacrifice we ascend in the pattern of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son.

Most often obedience and sacrifice are reflected in our laboring in the vineyard for our Master among his children.  Lehi, Nephi, Jacob, Mosiah, King Benjamin, Abinidi, Alma, the brother of Jared, Mormon and Moroni all had the greater things revealed to them in the process of serving diligently in the fold of God through rain or shine, through faithfulness or waywardness.  It wasn't about them.  It was about the Lord and his work.  We lose ourselves to find ourselves.

The Lord's Law of Witnesses

18 Therefore, I would that ye should know, that after the Lord had shown so many marvelous things unto my father, Lehi, yea, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, behold he went forth among the people, and began to prophesy and to declare unto them concerning the things which he had both seen and heard.

(Book of Mormon | 1 Nephi 1:18)

Truth is found in layers.  It seems that God repeats patterns on many levels and that is one way we recognize truth.  In Matthew 18 the Lord declares "....that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established."  This pattern is evident in the Lord's work.  The Book of Mormon is a second witness to the Bible.  The Doctrine and Covenants acts as a third witness. There are authorized witnesses to ordinances.  Counselors in a presidency or bishopric are witnesses to the actions and decisions of the president or bishop.   

Individually, the Lord provides for more than one witness to our souls by how revelation is given us. We have eyes to see, ears to hear, minds to perceive, hearts to understand.  Like Lehi in the above verse, prophets both see and hear the truths of God.  They then become a witness and declare with their mouths what they have seen and heard. 

We can call upon God to confirm truth to our souls through the law of witnesses and ask to see and hear and feel and understand.

His Whole Heart Was Filled....

15 And after this manner was the language of my father in the praising of his God; for his soul did rejoice, and his whole heart was filled, because of the things which he had seen, yea, which the Lord had shown unto him.

(Book of Mormon | 1 Nephi 1:15)

As I read this verse this morning my attention was arrested by the last part of that sentence.  "...and his whole heart was filled, because of the things which he had seen....."  If our hearts can be filled with the things that we see, should we not take care to see things that contain truth and will fill our hearts with light?  Conversely, what happens to our hearts when we see violent and graphic material? What happens to our hearts when we read that which is lacking in truth?  How can we have pure hearts if our eyes are perusing  uncleanliness?  As we live in a society brimming over with deceptions and worldliness it becomes vital that we actively choose to place our sight upon the word of the Lord.

Another related scripture:

5 I say unto you, my sons, were it not for these things, which have been kept and preserved by the hand of God, that we might read and understand of his mysteries, and have his commandments always before our eyes, that even our fathers would have dwindled in unbelief,

(Book of Mormon | Mosiah 1:5)

Taking in the Refugees.....Needed Salvation for Ourselves

soschilderensvillages.com

In the book of Alma in the Book of Mormon, the poor of the Zoramites who were cast out of their land went with Alma to the land of Jershon,*  There these refugees were taken in and given food and clothing and lands for their inheritance,  They weren't just given temporary aid but they were welcomed as brothers and sisters and permanently assimilated into the society of the people of Ammon who had once been Lamanite refugees themselves and were given lands by the Nephites.

8 Now the people of the Zoramites were angry with the people of Ammon who were in Jershon, and the chief ruler of the Zoramites, being a very wicked man, sent over unto the people of Ammon desiring them that they should cast out of their land all those who came over from them into their land.
9 And he breathed out many threatenings against them.  And now the people of Ammon did not fear their words; therefore they did not cast them out, but they did receive all the poor of the Zoramites that came over unto them; and they did nourish them, and did clothe them, and did give unto them lands for their inheritance; and they did administer unto them according to their wants.

(Book of Mormon | Alma 35:6 - 9)

Today there are 60 million refugees in the world, many who are women and children.  Almost entire populations from some areas are shifting in mass around the globe.  It seems that the Lord has a work to do, that his hand in some way is involved.  Who knows what purposes are being fulfilled through this massive migration!

In the mean time we have the opportunity to reach out and succor those who stand in need.  Perhaps the greater blessing and rescue is for those us who are materially secure and self-absorbed in an unending stream of self-aggrandizement and pleasure seeking.  Perhaps the opportunity to forget ourselves and share of our substance is drastically needed salvation for ourselves and will aid in lifting our own condemnation.

It is interesting to note that in the previous chapter Alma and Amulek had taught the following to the wealthy and affluent Zoramites, most of which rejected their words.  It was the poor among them who received the messsage of salvation from these servants of God.

28 And now behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after ye have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need—I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith.
29 Therefore, if ye do not remember to be charitable, ye are as dross, which the refiners do cast out, (it being of no worth) and is trodden under foot of men.

(Book of Mormon | Alma 34:28 - 29)

A few of the many pictures documenting the refugees plight.

https://www.lds.org/refugees?lang=eng&cid=rdb_v_IWasAStranger_eng_IWasAStranger#

http://www.sltrib.com/home/3719210-155/new-mormon-program-brings-surge-in

*Side note: The name, (Jershon)  though not found in the Bible, has an authentic Hebrew origin, the root *YRŠ meaning “to inherit,” with the suffix -ôn that denotes place-names, and may have the meaning “place of inheritance.”  Stephen D. Ricks, "A Nickname and a Book of Mormon Slam Dunk: Notes on the Book of Mormon names, Zeezrom and Jershon."

Seeking the Promised Gifts.....

George Q. Cannon

A needed challenge for all of us.  We have too great a tendency towards complacency.

President George Q. Cannon Wrote:

"How many of you are seeking for these gifts that God has promised to bestow?  How many of you, when you bow before your heavenly Father in your family circle or in your secret places, contend for these gifts to be bestowed upon you?  How many of you ask the Father in the name of Jesus to manifest Himself to you through these powers and these gifts?  Or do you go along day by day like a door turning on its hinges, without having any feeling upon the subject, without exercising any faith whatever, content to be baptized and be members of the Church and to rest there, thinking that your salvation is secure because you have done this?"

"I say unto you, in the name of the Lord, as one of His servants, that you have need to repent of this.  You have need to repent of your hardness of heart, of your indifference and of your carelessness.  There is not that diligence, there is not that faith, there is not that seeking for the power of God that there should be among a people who have received the precious promises we have."

George Q. Cannon,  "Receiving Gifts of the Spirit,"  Matthew B. Brown, pg. 25

The Glory of God vs Personal Aggrandizement

Greatest in the Kingdom by J. Kirk Richards

1 THESE words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

(New Testament | John 17:1)

Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.


(Pearl of Great Price | Moses 4:1)

The only legitimacy in receiving glory unto ourselves is so that we may glorify the Father, and as the Father's work and glory is to bring about the eternal life and immortality of mankind, using what small degree of praise and honor we receive in this life, for whatever reason, to serve God's children in humility allows us to not be taken in by our own quite small successes.

2 But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.

(Pearl of Great Price | Moses 4:1 - 2)

Believing in God Unto Repenatance

Baptism by J. Kirk Richards

3 For he did cry from the morning, even until the going down of the sun, exhorting the people to believe in God unto repentance lest they should be destroyed, saying unto them that by faith all things are fulfilled—

(Book of Mormon | Ether 12:3)

It is one thing to believe in God.  It is another thing to believe in God unto repentance.