“And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.” (2 Nephi 25:26)
For behold, to one is given by the spirit of God that he may teach the word of wisdom, and to another that he may teach the word of knowledge by the same spirit, and to another exceeding great faith, and to another the gifts of healing by the same spirit; and again, to another that he may work mighty miracles; and again, to another that he may prophesy concerning all things; and again, to another the beholding of angels and ministering spirits; and again, to another all kinds of tongues; and again, to another the interpretation of languages and of divers kinds of tongues. (Moroni 10:9-13)
Nephi writes about how his people talk, rejoice, preach and prophesy of Christ amongst themselves. I imagine that when they gathered together to worship they spoke to one another about their experiences with Christ in dreams, visions, and encounters as well as discuss scriptures about Christ. These things were not too sacred to share amongst themselves. They rejoiced in the measure of the spirit that was poured out amongst them. They were not ashamed to share what the Lord had revealed to them in intimate moments of prayer. I can imagine that they talked about what the spirit had revealed to them during these private moments.
I like to think that we can do the same in our fellowships and church meetings, but in many of our interactions on Sundays we avoid talking about personal sacred events out of fear of judgement from others. What would it be like to share some wonderful spiritual experiences without having to be judged as seeking attention or being labeled as fringy? I often wonder if it is a symptom of gentile churches too much influenced by worldly concerns, where people can be considered too spiritual, and perhaps ungrounded in worldly reality.
It doesn’t make sense to me that one can judge a person as being too spiritual and yet never think that an angel could be too spiritual. This attitude is toxic for the development of a Zion society which will eventually commune with angels. Do we think that angels will come down to our level of spirituality or is it more correct to believe that we will have to rise to their level of spirituality before we can commune with them in Zion?
If we are ‘of the world’ our conversations will be dominated by worldly concerns and matters. If our conversations are lifted up to speak primarily of spiritual concerns then we will become like the people Nephi describes.
Joseph Smith wrote, “How vain and trifling have been our spirits, our conferences, our councils, our meetings, our private as well as public conversations—too low, too mean, too vulgar, too condescending for the dignified characters of the called and chosen of God, according to the purposes of His will, from before the foundation of the world! We are called to hold the keys of the mysteries of those things that have been kept hid from the foundation of the world until now.” (DHC vol. 3, page 295.)
It is good that we develop the gifts of the spirit and that we share them. After all that is the purpose of the gifts. “And all these gifts come from God, for the benefit of the children of God.” (D&C 46:26) One of the greatest among these gifts is the gift of prophesy. And what does it mean to prophesy? In its purest form it is to testify of Christ and His reality and to receive instruction and knowledge that He gives through personal revelation.
Some personal revelation is meant to remain secret and for the receiver alone, but I venture to say that most revelation is to be shared. Sharing things that you have experienced is one of the reasons that the revelation was given. It promotes faith and for those who have not reached the point in their spiritual progression where they receive revelation, it serves to teach them what can personally be obtained. This applies especially to our children. They all need to hear about these experiences and messages to develop the faith that such things are possible. This is what Nephi was talking about when he writes how the people talk, rejoice, preach, and prophesy of Christ.
When people relate dreams or visions that they have had, I pay attention. Why not? Why not listen when someone claims to have had a conversation with the Savior and wants to share what they have been told or seen. I don’t claim to understand everything about how the Lord works, so I assume they come from a good source unless the spirit tells me otherwise. Moroni writes, “I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the gifts of God, for they are many; and they come from the same God. And there are different ways that these gifts are administered…” (10:8) In our fellowship we often have people relating special spiritual events that have happened to them. Many times people share special messages they received and are told to tell them to the rest of the fellowship, and we have all been edified by these revelations.
I want to share with you a recent revelation or communication that one of the dear sisters in our fellowship spoke to us about. Her message was profound. I have her permission to share with you what she spoke to us about. These are her words:
“The Lord has pointed out to me that I should pray for things I haven’t prayed for before: In the life before this one we had exceedingly great faith and that we should pray the veil be partially lifted from us that we will remember this exceedingly great faith we had thousands of years before when we planned, prepared and were chosen to come to earth at this time to build and redeem Zion.”
“In Ether 1:16 the Lord says “For the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity and become clean before the Lord. And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are.“
“We are in that day now. And we have and are repenting and through the power and grace of Jesus Christ we are becoming sanctified. The Lord has asked us to pray for exceedingly great faith. The Lord has asked us to pray that we can understand the mysteries of Godliness, and to pray for the spirit of prophecy and the spirit of revelation.“
“In the Answer to the Prayer for a Covenant, the Lord prophesied (think of what is going on today):
“Men conspire to overthrow and oppress and use violence to control others through fear. My Spirit restrains the destroyer to allow those who are in the world and willing to give heed to my words time to prepare, but I will not always suffer with the wickedness of man.” (Teachings and Commandments 157:62)
“I will be with and lead my people onward through the Spirit of Truth, the Comforter, the Record of Heaven, the peaceable things of immortal glory, even the Holy Ghost which will abide with them, and you will be children of the Most-High God, fellow servants and numbered with the congregation of the just. (Church of the Firstborn) Therefore rejoice!“ (Teachings and Commandments 157:60)
“Praying for the Spirit of Prophecy, the Spirit of Revelation, for the Comforter, the record of heaven, to know the peaceable things of immortal glory and that the Holy Ghost will dwell in us and praying that we might understand the mysteries of Godliness are appropriate for us at this time. We have to step up to what we covenanted to in the place before this. This is how we will become a Zion people.”
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I don’t consider who this came from, whether she is a scholar, well spoken, or well spoken of, although I happen to know that this sister happens to be all of those and is an elect spirit, I consider the words themselves. In the words of Joseph Smith,
“This is good doctrine. It tastes good. I can taste the principle of eternal life, and so can you. They are given to me by the revelations of Jesus Christ, and I know that when I tell you these words of eternal life as they are given to me, you taste them, and I know that you believe them. You say honey is sweet, and so do I. I can also taste the spirit of eternal life. I know it is good; and when I tell you of these things which were given me by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, you are bound to receive them as sweet, and rejoice more and more.” (TPJS, p. 355)
In light of what this good sister shared with us, I have begun to pray for exceeding great faith, to understand the mysteries of godliness, to obtain the gift of prophesy and revelation. I believe that in light of the scriptures and the spirit testifying to me that seeking for these gifts is proper, and in fact essential, I have every right, and indeed an obligation, to seek these gifts.
I am going to study exceeding great faith. What is it and how do we obtain it? That will be the topic of my next post.