"Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
"And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
"And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
"And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.
"And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever."
We are familiar with this scripture and it's promise. If you read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it is true, then the Holy Ghost will let you know that it is true. We usually stop after verse 5, and today my studies led me a little farther. Everything that is good testifies of Christ, and we should not deny the power of God. We will see God's works in our lives as we exercise faith.
In summary, if we have prepared ourselves (reading the scriptures, remembering God's mercy and blessings), as we pray with sincerity and faith, by the power of the Holy Ghost we may know the truth of all things. But does that mean that God is going to reveal to us "all things"?
We think of Moses as being one who was prepared, faithful, sincere, surely one who would receive great revelations and answers from the Lord, one who DID receive visions of all the world and it's inhabitants, and yet, as he stood face to face with God, ". . .the Lord God said unto Moses: For mine own purposes have I made these things. Here is wisdom and it remaineth in me." (Moses 1:31) In other words, even with all I have shown you, there are things that I am not going to show you.
Did that mean that Moses was unworthy? That perhaps he had done something wrong in the eyes of the Lord? That anything else the Lord had revealed to him wasn't true or of value? Absolutely not. The Lord, in His wisdom, decides when and where we will receive the answers, guidance, blessings, etc., that we stand in need of.
Just because we may not receive an answer in the time frame that we are expecting, does not mean that the Lord does not have an answer to give us, or that there is no answer at all. It could mean that we may not be prepared for the answer at this time. That certain events or experiences have to take place in our lives before we can recognize the answer for what it is. Or, perhaps the Lord wants us to figure it out on our own, rather than He just hand it to us, knowing that the figuring out is what is going to strengthen us. Maybe the answer is not ours to have.
Some of us want answers to deep, complicated topics. Some of us are trying to figure out why things happen to some people, but not to others. Some of us may be trying to justify certain behaviors by looking for an answer that we want to hear, rather than obeying the one that has already been given to us.
Does this mean that we aren't sincere in our desires for answers? Does this mean that, even though the answer isn't absolutely essential for our salvation, we wouldn't really like to have it? Absolutely not. We may have devoted much time and effort in our scripture study and prayers to try to find the answers we are looking for.
And then we don't receive an answer. Does this mean that God doesn't love us, value us, care about our desires? Absolutely not.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;
"And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours." (Doctrine & Covenants 78:17-18)
I love the beauty of that scripture! We have not even begun to understand all that our Heavenly Father has for us, in His own hands, in His own time. We cannot bear (to hold up under, be capable of) all things now. Nevertheless, Heavenly Father WILL lead us along. He WILL bless us. All that He has He is willing to give us. Because. . .
". . .whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.
"And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever."
Deny not the power of God! Just because we do not receive an answer in the time frame we are expecting, does not mean that everything else we know is not true! It is all true, and one of those truths is that we may need to wait upon the Lord at certain times in our lives. He will love us through those times, He will lead us along through those times, He will work by power in our lives.
I am grateful to know that my Father in Heaven loves me and that He knows me. He knows my name. He knows my heart. He knows my spirit. He knows my testimony. He knows my needs, and my wants. I know that with that knowledge, He will provide me with what I need to fulfill my life and mission on this earth. That I will be blessed continually, despite my questions, despite my fears, despite my weaknesses, despite my pride and sins. The miracle of the Atonement of Jesus Christ! I am imperfect, flawed, lacking in all eternal knowledge, and yet, I am provided, DAILY, with forgiveness, blessings, love, support, comfort, understanding, revelations, and, when I need them, answers.
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