If you are old enough, like me, you might remember a commercial in 1984 that Wendy’s Hamburgers aired on television. There is a trio of older women standing at a counter of a drive-in hamburger place. They look at a big bun and comment on how big it is, but, when they take off the top bun there is a tiny patty of hamburger. One of the women yells, “Where’s the Beef?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riH5EsGcmTw
One of the tell tale marks of the believers of Christ is that signs will follow them. If you are a sincere person seeking to find a community of believers that the Lord has blessed with the gifts of the spirit, I would think one of the questions you would want to ask yourself is, “Where is the Beef?” Where are the signs that this group of followers has the Lord’s blessing?
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them: they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. (Mark 16:17-18)
If you have accepted the new covenant offered by the Lord in 2017 (See http://scriptures.info/scriptures/tc/section/158) you know that the Lord is again very active in the world. Light and knowledge is being poured out upon the earth as it was through Joseph Smith 180 years ago. I wonder, though, if we are paying enough attention to living it- practicing the principles contained in the words of the covenant itself. The covenant contains a number of promises that are dependent upon the behavior of the covenant holders.
“It is not enough to receive my covenant, but you must also abide it. And all who abide it, whether on this land or any other land, will be mine, and I will watch over them and protect them in the day of harvest, and gather them in as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. I will number you among the remnant of Jacob, no longer outcasts, and you will inherit the promises of Israel. You will be my people and I will be your God, and the sword will not devour you. And unto those who will receive will more be given, until they know the mysteries of God in full.” (T&C 157:48)
A number of people I have spoken with have asked, “Since we have become a covenant people, where are the signs that are supposed to accompany a covenant people?” Where are the gifts of the spirit being manifest? Why don’t we see miracles happening amongst us? Why aren’t people healed miraculously from serious diseases and life threatening malady’s?
What do the scriptures say about recognizing a covenant or righteous people? It seems that miracles and gifts of the spirit are one of the sure signs of a covenant people. Mormon talks about the miracles that were prevalent among the covenant people in the Book of Mormon:
“God knoweth their prayers, that they were on behalf of their brethren. And He knoweth their faith, for in his name could they remove mountains; and in his name could they cause the earth to shake; and by the power of his word did they cause prisons to tumble to the earth, yea even fiery furnace could not harm them neither wild beasts nor poisonous serpents, because of the power of his word”. (Mormon 8:24)
“And these signs shall follow them that believe—in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.” (Mormon 9:24)
The Lord describes to Joseph Smith the signs that follow those who believe and are baptized, which words are recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants:
“And these signs shall follow them that believe: in my name they shall do many wonderful works, in my name they shall cast out devils, in my name they shall heal the sick, in my name they shall open the eyes of the blind and unstop the ears of the deaf, and the tongue of the dumb shall speak, and if any man shall administer poison unto them, it shall not hurt them, and the poison of a serpent shall not have power to harm them. But a commandment I give unto them that they shall not boast themselves of these things, neither speak them before the world, for these things are given unto you for your profit and for salvation.” (D&C 84:66-72; T&C 82:22)
If we are a covenant people, having received and accepted the New Covenant offered in Boise, Idaho in September 2017, where are the signs that accompany a covenant people? Where are the miraculous healings, the raising of the dead, and the angels walking among us?
I maintain that there miraculous things are happening all around us, and healings are taking place, but, many are not aware of them taking place. Why? First, people who experience miracles are sometimes reluctant to talk about it for several reasons: fear of being judged, fear of casting pearls, not wanting to share thinking they are not supposed to talk about it, or perhaps they were given specific instruction not to discuss it. Second, people may not be prepared to experience them, are not exercising sufficient faith, or are seeking them for the wrong reasons.
Seeking Signs
The Lord warns about sign seekers and declares: An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: (Matthew 12:39). One of the fears we face sharing miraculous events is that it attracts sign seekers, which is one reason why people don’t share personal experiences. I believe, however, that the warning is regarding a certain class or category of sign seekers. The warning is more about being careful when sharing spiritual experiences with the world.
And he that seeks signs shall see signs, but not unto salvation. Verily I say unto you, There are those among you who seek signs, and there have been such even from the beginning. But behold, faith comes not by signs, but signs follow those that believe. Yea, signs come by faith, not by the will of men nor as they please, but by the will of God. Yea, signs come by faith unto mighty works, for without faith no man pleases God. And with whom God is angry, he is not well pleased, wherefore, unto such he shows no signs, only in wrath unto their condemnation. Wherefore, I the Lord am not pleased with those among you who have sought after signs and wonders, and not for faith, and not for the good of men unto my glory. (D&C 63:7-12; T&C 50:3)
For verily I say unto you, they are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do; that all may be benefited that seek or that ask of me, that ask and not for a sign that they may consume it upon their lusts. (D&C 46:9)
In these last two verses the Lord differentiates between those who seek signs because of lust and those sincere and righteous individuals who seek to do the Lord’s will. If gifts of the spirit are given to benefit the saints and encourage them, it is right that we expect those gifts to be present among us. And if those gifts are present we can have assurance the Lord is working miracles within a group of covenant holders. In contrast to the belief that we should never seek for signs, the Lord only admonished not to share miracles and spiritual gifts with the world. There are those who say “If you tell about miraculous events that you experience you are only attracting the wrong kind of people.” So they keep to themselves accounts of miraculous outpourings of the spirit. Personally, I don’t believe that was what was meant in the Lord’s caution about sign seekers. Sharing miraculous accounts with people having the same spiritual orientation will benefit the group and strengthen faith. If your motivation is to get people’s attention through amazing stories and experiences, then yes, you will attract a certain sort of people, but, even then, like casting a net where all kinds of fish are caught, you will also get a few sincere people to investigate. My purpose in relating a few spiritual experiences is to teach that the Lord is active and the gifts of the spirit and miracles are manifest among us. So yes, you can look for the gifts of the spirit to be manifest and, in fact, expect them without “seeking” to consume them on your lusts.
Was it wrong for Gideon to ask for a sign that the Lord really was giving him a mission to lead the Israelites against the Midianites? Gideon was new at receiving revelation from the Lord, he only wanted assurances that it truly was the Lord speaking to him–a righteous desire. On the other hand, it was wicked for the Pharisees to ask a sign from the Lord, because their hearts were wicked and set on the prideful things of the world. They had no intention of following Christ under any circumstances, they only wanted to see a magic show.
What does it mean to consume them on your lusts? The dictionary defines lust as any overwhelming desire or craving. I look at it this way, lusting after miraculous events and spiritual experiences is an ego thing. Your ego thinks that you are special and your involvement in miraculous experiences feeds that pride. At least that is what sometimes drives the urge to experience it. But because that urge is driven by ego, once you have seen a miracle, if your heart is not pure, you will experience one of several negative responses. You may later deny the event you saw was miraculous because your heart is firmly set on the things of the world; the world can’t explain a miracle except to say it was a coincidence or there is a logical explanation for it somewhere. Or, your pride will be puffed up and the lack of humility will cause you to judge the participants of the miracle as beneath contempt, because you deem them to be lessor souls than yourself. These are the true signs of an adulterous generation. But if your heart is in the right place, your experiencing of a miracle will increase faith and strengthen your (and other’s) connection to heaven.
It is right that we not “seek” for miracles to consume on our lusts, but as fledgling spiritual beings, it is right that we look for miracles and spiritual gifts to accompany righteous teachers and covenant holders. This is one way of helping us to identify that the Lord is working with a people. We are also commanded to “seek earnestly the best gifts” (1 Corinthians 12:31). As we mature in our knowledge of spiritual things, miracles will become commonplace and we will experience spiritual gifts on a daily basis.
Another reason people may not share personal experiences is a fear that others may look at them as showing off or being ego driven to speak of miracles they have experienced. With my own fear that others may think that of me, I will share an experience I had with the spirit. While praying and being told to share a certain miraculous event I experienced, I expressed to the Lord a fear that others may think unkindly of my sharing – that my sharing would be misconstrued as being ego driven. I was rebuked with these words, “Get over it, deal with it.”
If, perhaps, you desire to obtain the gifts of the spirit but are not experiencing them, at least to the degree you think you should, you may want to look deeper into your motives for experiencing them. I have caught myself at times wanting to talk of spiritual experiences for the wrong reasons. If I am not careful, the spirit withdraws, which it has on those occasions to my sorrow. Another reason we don’t experience them to the degree we desire is that we are not paying the price. I will talk more about that in a later post.
In conclusion, it is right to expect miracles and spiritual gifts. The Lord commands us to seek them, and then when they happen we are urged to share with the faithful so that they might be edified and their faith strengthened.