Just Follow the Prophet

I have been persecuted for believing that others could have dreams, visions and prophecy and be commanded to share them. I wrestled much with the Lord to know if I should be open to people sharing these sacred, personal experiences. The Lord led me to many scriptures and words of the prophets such as; Samuel the Lamanite (Helaman 13-15), Eldad and Medad (Numbers 11:25-29) and a great talk by Elder Dallin H. Oaks entitled, "Spiritual Gifts," Ensign, September 1986. https://www.lds.org/ensign/1986/09/spiritual-gifts?lang=eng

Dieter F. Uchtdorf made this great observation about when one receives additional light and truth and what happens as they share it. “Some might believe us. Most would ridicule, oppose, or perhaps even seek to silence or harm us. Some might attempt to apply logic, reason, and facts as they know them to show that we are misguided, foolish, or even dangerous. They might condemn us for attempting to mislead others.
But of course, these people would be completely mistaken. They might be well-meaning and sincere. They might feel absolutely positive of their opinion. But they simply would not be able to see clearly because they had not yet received the more complete light of truth” (Receiving a Testimony of Light and Truth, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, General Conference, October 2014).

He continued,  “The Everlasting and Almighty God, the Creator of this vast universe, will speak to those who approach Him with a sincere heart and real intent.
He will speak to them in dreams, visions, thoughts, and feelings.
He will speak in a way that is unmistakable and that transcends human experience. He will give them divine direction and answers for their personal lives” (Ibid).

As I tried to share the beautiful insights that I received from being open to other's experiences, I was told often to, "Just Follow the Prophet!" I would say, "I am. That is why I'm using the words of the prophets to try and share what they've shared in how we ought to be open to other's experiences, dreams, visions and prophecies. We can take these things to the Lord and pray to know if they are true. The Spirit testifies of all truth and we need to ask God to confirm or deny if something is true or not" (Moroni 10:3-5, Moroni 7, James 1:5-6 etc). I would try to explain but I've been deemed a heretic and apostate.

I came across this gem in the Joseph Smith Translation of Luke 14:34-37, "So likewise, whosoever of you forsaketh not all that he hath he cannot be my disciple. Then certain of them came to him, saying, Good Master, we have Moses and the prophets, and whosoever shall live by them, shall he not have life? And Jesus answered, saying, Ye know not Moses, neither the prophets; for if ye had known them, ye would have believed on me; for to this intent they were written. For I am sent that ye might have life. Therefore I will liken it unto salt which is good; But if the salt has lost its savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned?"

The way I interpret this is Jesus is saying, "if ye understood Moses, the prophet, then ye would believe in Me." In our day, if we believe the prophets, then we are open to applying what they are teaching. I believe there is ample evidence in the scriptures and the words of the latter-day prophets to justify and bear witness to us that we ought to be open to other's being able, willing and commanded to share what they are learning from God and then we go to the Lord for our own confirmation, just as the saints did when Joseph Smith shared his vision or when any person has shared sacred communication from heaven to them. We are agents for ourselves and ought to trust God more than man.

We ought not to limit the ways in which God will answer our prayers. I testify that God has communicated to me and countless others through various means. The one thing in common is that by the power of the Holy Ghost the communication comes to and penetrates the heart and mind deeply in a very personal way (Moroni 10:3-5). May God bless us as we turn to Him in faith, believing He will answer us in His own way and timing. Let us be meek enough to receive the light through whatever means He brings it to us on the wings of His Holy Spirit.

Leaving the Garden and Temple to Progress to Exaltation

Eve and Adam were in the Garden of Eden and were in the presence of God. They had all the security and safety they could possibly need but there was one problem, there was a separation between them and God, their Father. They communed and walked and talked with Him but they were not like Him. He was an exalted being and had a knowledge of good and evil and had learned all things. We learn by study and also by faith (D&C 88:118; D&C 109:7). Faith can only be developed in a fallen experience, otherwise, there would be no opportunity to exercise faith. We could have a very long discussion on faith but that is not the point of this post for now.

So, there they were, enjoying being in the presence of Father but recognize a huge gap in their personal development. They must have wrestled and asked how they could become like Him or was it ok to seek to become like Him.

There is a great verse in 2 Nephi chapter 2 verse 19 in the Book of Mormon, "And after Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit they were driven out of the garden of Eden, to till the earth." That seems like a pretty simple verse but it hit me yesterday that if we read it like this, "And after Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit they were driven out of the [temple and out of the presence of Father] to till the earth. The temple is Father's House. It's the "House of the Lord," as we have inscribed on our temples. The Garden of Eden is a place where God dwelt. It's a home for Him. So, why would Eve and Adam purposely leave His presence? 2 Nephi chapter 2 explains why. Some of those reasons were to learn the difference between good and evil and learn to prize the good. They would learn by experience those things that they had studied. Faith would now play a huge factor in their development. They would have to believe in and follow Father to greater happiness even though they were shut out of His presence. The only way they could now return would be through a process of changing, repenting, and becoming clean and holy. Though they were determined to change and repent to become holy like Father, they would have scars and stains from their mortal, fallen experience on earth. This leads us to a great sacrifice to satisfy the demands of justice that mercy might be extended to those that repent or change. This leads us to our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, who pays the demands of justice that He might extend mercy to us.

So, these are beautiful doctrines but the main message that I felt this time in verse 19 was a question and some wonderful thoughts the Lord took me down. The thought was this, "would Father ever inspire someone to do something that would keep them out of His presence, like partake of the  forbidden fruit, to become more like Him in the end?" "Are there multiple 'falls' in our lives?"

As I look back upon my life, God has taken me to some interesting stages and levels of development. He will require great obedience and sacrifices to be completely faithful to a doctrine or principle that I understand, then He will require great obedience and sacrifice to be obedient to another principle or doctrine I previously did not understand or even one that I thought was forbidden. It would be like Eve. She had conflicting commandments, first, to multiply and replenish the earth and second to not partake of the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. She partook of the forbidden fruit in order that she might be obedient to the first commandment.

What is our first purpose in this earth or mortal experience, that we might gain eternal life. Moses 1:39 states that Father's work and glory is to bring about our immortality and eternal life. We will all be resurrected and gain immortality so the question is will we be resurrected to a body and spirit that is exalted, one like Father's? John 17:3 explains that eternal life or life eternal is to come to know God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. We come to know Them by becoming like Them. You can't really know or understand someone if you are not like them. I have learned that truth by experience. We may think we understand or know someone but it isn't possible until we're in their shoes. That happens by walking in the paths they walk. Alma 7:11-13 has a great discourse about this truth. It explains that Jesus could have learned through the spirit what to do to succor His people but only through physical experience, suffering our pains, sicknesses, infirmities and sins could He truly know how to succor His people. So, to know someone you truly have to go through what they go through. That is an interesting truth.

So this leads one to ponder descending and ascending. Eve and Adam fell, or descended, that they might ascend to the throne of God, having become like Him. If they are to become like Him, then from what we just discussed, wouldn't it be logical that they will eventually have to descend below all things to ascend above all things? "He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth;" (Doctrine and Covenants 88:6).

This is leading to a very long discussion. I guess that is expected because the gospel principles and doctrines are all so intricately connected to all others. My point is that we can expect to have "falls" in our lives if we really want to come to know Father and Jesus Christ. Eve was willing to leave the garden, the temple, and so I wonder what that means for each of us? What will God require of us that we might come to know Him?

What are your thoughts?

The One Being Sweet, the Other Bitter

"...it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter" (2 Nephi 2:15).

The word order on this suggests that the forbidden fruit was sweet. We learn more about if the forbidden fruit was sweet or bitter in the temple. The word order in this sentence also suggests that the tree of life was bitter. The question is asked, "how can this be?"

Let's look at how the forbidden fruit can be "sweet." Adam and Eve were commanded to "multiply and replenish the earth." They were also commanded to not partake of the forbidden fruit. To multiply and replenish the earth they would need to procreate. That would involve a sexual experience with their spouse, where they would have a "sweet" experience with their spouse. That would also lead to pain, if viewed from a position of not wanting any responsibility. For Eve would have to bear the child through excruciating pain. She would then raise and nurture the child unto God. That involves some pain as she would see her child make good and bad choices. Watching her child choose the good would bring her joy and watching her child choose evil would bring her pain.

I have heard from women who are in tune with their bodies that they are now finding joy in that pain. (This is a topic for a different post).

Adam would also experience the "sweet" in the procreation process. Then he would have the pain of providing for the child.

Again, a man may find great joy in providing for his family but that takes effort to find joy in one's work.

Now, once one has partaken of the forbidden fruit, they fall. This leads to redemption only in and through Jesus Christ paying the demands of justice through the atonement. That is a "sweet" experience and joyous to the soul. When one repents, they feel the love of God for them individually. They feel they are valued of God, of Father and Jesus Christ. Father allowed them to come to earth to learn and grow through experience and this would mean they'd fall. That fall would necessitate an expiation, the atonement of Jesus Christ, which leads to redemption as one repents. That is SWEET! Anyone who has repented, changed and turned to Christ (https://www.lds.org/ensign/1988/08/the-meaning-of-repentance?lang=eng), knows of the sweet experience of true repentance.

Now, let's evaluate how the tree of life could be bitter. We know partaking of the tree of life keeps one immortal and in the state they are in. As Adam and Eve partook, they stayed in the garden as immortal beings. Once they partook of the forbidden fruit, they fell and had to leave the presence of God. They became mortal (2 Nephi 2). So that sounds "sweet," to live in the presence of God partaking of the tree of life, right? Wrong! Why wrong? Because being in the presence of God without a mortal experience means there was no opportunity for growth, no chance to exercise agency to fail or to succeed. No time to learn to prize the good. So, even though the security of the garden seemed nice, it really was "bitter" as it kept them from growth and development. It also kept them from needing the Savior to redeem them.

It is interesting to now pause and look at the two plans presented in the Grand Council in heaven. Once plan by Lucifer was that not one soul would be lost (Moses 4:1). Jesus said He would suffer the consequences of our actions but taking upon Him the demands of justice. It became "bitter" for Him for us to obtain eternal life, to be in the presence of God. Of course, His love for us outweighed the bitterness of His experience in suffering for our sins. I believe that His love for us is what gave Him the strength to carry out the Father's plan and suffer the bitterness of hell in our behalf, that we might live again and be clean again before Father. So, the tree of life really was bitter in this way too.

The real power comes in the application of this doctrine and these principles. How many times do we hold ourselves back from moving forward because of the pain or the lack of security that will come if we move forward. God's plan is not to have perfect security and comfort. His plan invites us to experience some bitterness that we might grow and develop.

There is much more the scriptures say on this topic but I'll let this be for now. Elder Dallin H. Oaks has some great insights into this doctrine, "Opposition in All Things," April 2016, General Conference.

To Act for Ourselves

I came across 2 Nephi 2:16 in my scripture study and the phrase, "to act for himself," stuck out to me. We are enticed that we might act for ourselves and choose the one or the other. The cross reference to this was Alma 12:31. It speaks of them breaking the temporal command and therefore, "becoming as gods, ​​​knowing​ good from evil, placing themselves in a state to ​​​act​, or being placed in a state to act according to their wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good..." We can choose between good and evil. If it's not a decision of choosing between good and evil then it reads that "to act according to their wills and pleasures..." I thought that was an interesting commentary. We choose according to our "wills" and "pleasures." If we don't feel God directing us one way or the other then our will is probably aligned with Him and He is letting go of our hands (like a father and mother letting go of the hand of a toddler learning to walk) and letting us use our agency to act and do what we want. If our wants line up with God then we are becoming more godly. He is involved in the details of our lives but a huge detail, the biggest detail is helping us arrive at an exalted life, like His. Certainly this would involve less and less of His "holding our hands" as we learn to become as He is. Sometimes we want to give our agency to someone else, to make the decision for us so we can absolve ourselves of the responsibility of our actions. This is Satan's plan. Liberty and independence is God's plan. He gives laws to help us but the more righteous we are, the less laws are needed to keep us in the right way. The converse is true too, the more wicked we are, the more laws we need. 

We can see how this gift of agency, the ability to act for ourselves, leads us to the absolute necessity of a Savior, one who would pay the price of justice that mercy might be extended to us as we act for ourselves. This happens because as we act for ourselves we make mistakes and sin. When we repent we can draw upon the atonement of Jesus Christ to pay the price of justice. 

Real Prayer From Our Hearts

3 Nephi 19:24 shows us how to pray. Few words for they were given what to pray and they were filled with desire. This is a heart experience. 3 Nephi 19:33 shows what happens when our hearts are filled with desire, their hearts are opened and they understand in their hearts. When I have my most meaningful prayers, my mind is calm, my desires are pure, focused, full of faith and belief and my desires are solely upon the Lord and His will. I understand the answers in my heart. As President Packer has explained, "The Holy Ghost speaks with a voice that you feel more than you hear." (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1994/10/personal-revelation-the-gift-the-test-and-the-promise?lang=eng).