We Talk of Christ

And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophesies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins. (2 Nephi 25:26)

I rather think that Nephi was alluding to something more than a Sunday school lesson or a sermon when he wrote the above words. He is talking about something greater then simply listening to a sermon about Christ. It seems that when we read of the people in the Book of Mormon we tend to look at them through Gentile eyes of a person living in a Gentile world. We assume that they act and think like we do. And so, in this instance we think of the Nephites sitting in a church or class setting of some type talking about scriptures that talk of Christ, or, listening to Nephi describe his testimony of Christ. But what Nephi is saying is that his people had direct personal knowledge of Christ and they were sharing their experiences with each other. They were sharing their intimate knowledge of the Savior. They experienced Christ in ways that we have not yet, as a people, experienced Him.

I believe it was commonplace for the people of Nephi to prophesy about Christ. They spoke all the time about it to each other and to their children. It was not embarrassing, nor was it considered high-fallutin’ to declare, “I spoke to Jesus the other day…” Nor did people consider it strange as they might today if someone stood up in a Sacrament Meeting or Fellowship Meeting and talked like that. That is because it is not commonplace as it was in Nephi’s day. Do you suppose the people who met Christ in Bountiful, when He appeared to the people in Bountiful, kept it to themselves?

I have been in fellowship meetings where someone has said, quite innocently, “The spirit told me…”or,”…the Lord said to me…”. I watched some otherwise very spiritual and faithful people cringe a little bit after hearing that declaration from other folks. It seems those cringing people are still in the LDS mode… you know, thinking that you are supposed to keep those things to yourself, if you experience them at all. Only special people with “keys” are supposed to have those kinds of things happen to them. Nephi didn’t think it appropriate that his people keep it to themselves. If having a conversation with the Savior is too sacred to share with others, then why don’t the scriptures say so? We need to have those conversations about our spiritual experiences in order to strengthen each other. Read Luke 8:15 where Christ teaches that you don’t hide the light from a candle. Other people, who have not heard the voice of the Savior need to know what is possible. As explained in Lectures on Faith (Lecture Second), how would you know it was possible to have a conversation with Christ if someone didn’t demonstrate to you it was possible?

One of the Gifts of the Spirit is the “beholding of angels and ministering spirits”. I suppose that entertaining Christ could be considered a gift of the spirit under that category. The Gifts of the Spirit were not given to us for just our personal edification. They were given to strengthen and edify all the saints, so they were never meant to be kept to oneself. You can’t strengthen or edify the saints if you hide your gift under a bushel. If you are gifted with dreams about the future you need to share and if you receive a prophesy of Christ you had better well share it, unless you are specifically instructed not to share. The only explanation for saying that an audience with Christ is too sacred to reveal, is because the General Authority being quoted has never had the experience and does not want to be called out for not having had an audience with Christ. After all, if you claim to be a prophet, you probably should have some prophetic experiences.

In my honest opinion, and it is nothing more than just that–an opinion, we should be more free in sharing spiritual stories. We should share the experiences we have had with the Savior. I don’t believe you have to have a full blown “Calling and Election” episode to have an interaction with the Savior. One can encounter the Savior in dreams, in prayer, in random moments of introspective thought. It should not be rare that we have these encounters and when we do we should share them. It is true that there are some who feed upon these stories and accounts, having little faith of their own, but we need to teach what is possible and help others to experience these things themselves.

Can you imagine, like I try to imagine, a fellowship gathering where you greet each other with a brother and sisterly hug and kiss. You openly discuss with each other life’s challenges that you all are dealing without expecting any judgement. You talk freely about the impressions and answers to prayers you had during the week in dealing with life’s issues. Someone talks about their walk in the sacred garden with the Savior. You all kneel down together in a prayer circle and you all feel the presence of the angels who have come to witness. Someone in the circle declares that the Savior has come into the room while you are praying, and many acknowledge that they felt a penetrating love fill the room. You lay hands on someone who has been suffering from a debilitating ailment and he is cured. Another person has a bill demanding payment and has no idea where the money will come from, but there is sufficient funds in the tithing box because of generous offerings made. Can you imagine what having a meeting like that would be like?

But, it is difficult for us gentiles to let go of a general stubborn need, almost pathologic, to be self sufficient and work through our own problems. It is also hard to release the need to compare ourselves to others and make judgements about things we really have no inkling of what is really going on. And, heaven help us, we stubbornly cling to the idea that we know how to do something a certain way, and believe there is only one way to do it–our way. It is hard to accept that competence and success in the real world, the business world or some other arena where success is measured by material accumulation and accolades, is not really a very good yardstick for success. After all, what place does meekness and humility have in the world except to mark one as unsuitable for management. Add all of this together and we have a generation of people largely unsuitable for a Zion society.

The beginning of a Zion-like society is the whole-hearted acceptance of the word of Christ, even if that word comes from a person you judge as unqualified to receive instruction from the Savior. It is my witness that the Savior will reach out to anybody that will pay the price to listen. Why not seek out Christ and have a discussion with Him? And then share what you have learned.