Mormon 9:7-8

9:7-8 - The more I thought about what we learned last night, the more I came to feel like, for me personally, Moroni's message wasn't so much for those "who do not believe in Christ," as it is for those "who will not believe in Christ." It might seem like the same thing, but for me there is a distinct difference and this helps me understand it better. Moroni pleads with us to "turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day." Now, we come to a topic that is absolutely incredible to me, a deal breaker for me in all religions, personal revelation. Moroni now would "speak unto you who deny the revelations of God, and say that they are done away, that there are no revelations, nor prophecies, nor gifts, nor healing, nor speaking with tongues, and the interpretation of tongues." For me personally, personal revelation is implied, and I would have a difficult time believing in a religion that denies this. I like to work backwards so let's start with the assumption that there is a God and that he created this world and everything in it, including us. Now with that, there are only 2 ways that this God can be, either he is detached and uninterested in us and our lives or he loves us deeply invested in us and very much involved in our lives. To me it only makes sense that he's the latter, because a God who creates this world and runs this universe with the order and beauty and perfection that he does, can't be a uninterested in us, it doesn't make any sense. What does make sense is that he knows and loves and and communicates with us regularly, anytime I see the beauty of a sunset, I know that God is communicating with me, that's our little signal. In the Sep 1999 Ensign article entitled "Personal Revelation" Elder L. Lionel Kendrick explained, "After we experienced our spiritual birth, Heavenly Father counseled and corrected us, and we were instructed, enlightened, and edified in His holy presence. Now that we have experienced our physical birth in mortality, He desires to continue to communicate with us and to give us counsel and direction. He does this through personal revelation, which involves preparation, prayer, and promptings. Personal revelation is one of the greatest gifts and blessings we can receive." I really like this background setup, we don't hear a lot about how things were in the premortal world, but it would make sense that we had much face to face interaction with Heavenly Father as we grew into spiritual maturity, and it would also make sense that because of this life being are ultimate growing station, that face to face interaction would be kept to a minimum and we'd need to learn to listen to Heavenly Father in other ways. Moroni's making sure that we understand that God still speaks to us in our time, maybe because he knows that we will need to ask God and receive a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon to accept it's teachings. Thinking about it that way, it's a very important principle to teach to further the work of the Lord through the teachings in the Book of Mormon. The IM quotes Elder Dallin H. Oaks as teaching, "What makes (Latter-day Saints) different from most other Christians in the way we read and use the Bible and other scriptures is our believe in continuing revelation. For us, the scriptures are not the ultimate source of knowledge, but what precedes the ultimate source. The ultimate knowledge comes by revelation. With Moroni we affirm that he who denieth revelation 'knoweth now the gospel of Christ.' The word of the Lord in the scriptures is like a lamp to guide our feet, and revelation is like a mighty force that increases the lamp's illumination manyfold. We encourage everyone to make careful study of the scriptures and of the prophetic teaches concerning them and to prayerfully seek personal revelation to know their meaning for themselves." It's like they say, you keep reading the scriptures over and over because you keep learning new things. It's interesting, as we have started the Book of Mormon over again with my kids, I remember when we started it the first time, it's when I started my blog I think, or maybe a little bit afterward, and I remember talking to the kids about what we were listening to, but now this time around, we are hearing the same stuff we heard the first time we read it, but there are so many new meanings and things that I understand in a different way. Maybe it's because I'm not the same person who listened to it the first time that we went through the Book of Mormon as a family, maybe it's because I know knew things, and maybe it's because with the "line upon line" concept, I'm learning more this time through which builds on what I've already learned, and the same will happen next time, more knowledge, more understanding. In the October 2009 general conference address entitled, "Joseph Smith- Prophet of the Restoration" Elder Tad R. Callister taught, "The third truth that Joseph Smith learned was that God still speaks to man today- that the heavens are not closed. One need but ask three questions, once proposed by President Hugh B. Brown, to arrive at that conclusion. First, does God love us as much today as He loved the people to whom He spoke in New Testament times? Secondly, does God have the same power today as He did then? And third, do we need him as much today as they needed him anciently? If the answers to those questions are yes and if God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, as the scriptures so declare, then there is little doubt: God does speak to man today exactly as Joseph Smith testified." And it's not just that God speaks to ONE man today, it's that God speaks to EVERY man today. We do have a prophet who oversees the affairs of the Church, but he doesn't receive information for me about which job I should take, honestly, that would be great, for the prophet to call me at home and say, "the Lord wants you to take the job out of state" I would love that.

I'm really short on time tonight so, we'll continue this tomorrow.