Ether 2:15 - Part 2

And the brother of Jared repented of the evil which he had done, and did call upon the name of the Lord for his brethren who were with him. And the Lord said unto him: I will forgive thee and thy brethren of their sins; but thou shalt not sin any more, for ye shall remember that my Spirit will not always strive with man; wherefore, if ye will sin until ye are fully ripe ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And these are my thoughts upon the land which I shall give you for your inheritance; for it shall be a land choice above all other lands.

God is merciful and forgives sins. Jesus commanded his disciples to forgive seventy times seven, and surely the Father keeps his own commandments, so he is pretty patient with sinners. Nevertheless, he apparently has a limit to his patience. Though he is infinite, he is not infinitely patient. We can reach a point in our willful, rebellious, intentional sinning that the Lord stops inviting us and enticing us to turn to him. He does not close the door on our possible repentance, but it will be much more difficult for us to recognize and turn from our sins when his Spirit is withdrawn from us. Far better is it for us to repent daily, even though we remain weak, than to think we can postpone our repentance to the last minute. If we wait for the last minute, we will likely miss that minute and slip past the grasp of mercy completely.

Mormon 2:26

And it came to pass that when they had fled we did pursue them with our armies, and did meet them again, and did beat them; nevertheless the strength of the Lord was not with us; yea, we were left to ourselves, that the Spirit of the Lord did not abide in us; therefore we had become weak like unto our brethren.

If we insist on relying on our own strength, the Spirit of the Lord will withdraw. We will then see how truly weak we really are. Sometimes we need to be reminded of how dependent we are upon the power of God in our lives. When we become proud and self-sufficient, the Lord gives us a taste of what life would be like without him. I for one do not want to be without God in the world.

3 Nephi 20:9

Now, when the multitude had all eaten and drunk, behold, they were filled with the Spirit; and they did cry out with one voice, and gave glory to Jesus, whom they both saw and heard.

The end result of our partaking of the sacrament should be a filling by the Holy Spirit. If we make the covenants of the sacrament with sincerity, full purpose of heart, and real intent, we are promised to have Christ's Spirit. The Holy Ghost is the manifestation of the Spirit of Christ. It can come to us immediately, even as it did for the multitude who were in Christ's very presence.

According to the words of the sacramental prayer, we only have to be willing to make and keep the covenants. If we are willing at that moment, then in that moment we can be filled with his Spirit.

Now, the vicissitudes of life and the realities of mortality may break down our wills and thwart our desires, and chances are that we won't make it through the day without stumbling in our determination, and we may find ourselves withdrawn from the Spirit by degrees. We know we are going to fall from grace again, and God knows it. Nevertheless, in that precious moment, we can be filled.

The Lord will take whatever opportunity we give him, however brief and fleeting, to give us a taste of the spiritual banquet he has in store for us, in the hope that his gift will taste sweeter than the worldly satisfactions of the natural man. He is anxious for us to break the cycle of habit, weakness, and temptation and to turn to him. For every tiny step we take in his direction, he runs to us and takes us in his arms and cheers us on. He weeps for us when we lose our grip and stumble in the wrong direction, but if our heart is right, he knows we'll be back soon. And so he waits anxiously while we grope our way back to the sacrament table again and start over. He is so pleased when we try, even though we both know we will fail. The victory of mortality is in the trying. God blesses us when we try.

3 Nephi 19:9

And they did pray for that which they most desired; and they desired that the Holy Ghost should be given unto them.

Though these people had been in the very presence of the resurrected Christ and had heard him speak with his own voice, they wanted more than anything to have the Holy Ghost. Why? Because the Holy Ghost is the manifestation of the spirit of Christ, which he had promised they could always have with them. As life-changing as seeing the Savior would be, the Holy Ghost can change our lives even more. He does not address our eyes and ears but rather our minds and hearts. He will work continuously, if we let him, to change us and purify us and sanctify us. Though we may see with our eyes that Christ lives, that is no proof that we will live. The Holy Ghost testifies to us, however, that we will live, and it is that testimony, combined with faith in Christ, that gives us hope. These disciples wanted that hope that comes through the Holy Ghost.

3 Nephi 11:6-7

And behold, the third time they did understand the voice which they heard; and it said unto them: Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him.

Twice a voice from heaven spoke to the people, trying to get their attention. The first time, only a few understood the voice. The next time the voice spoke, perhaps a few more understood and tried to get those around them to hear. Everyone finally stopped talking and started listening, this time anticipating the voice with ears ready to hear and minds ready to understand. When the voice spoke for the third time, everyone heard for everyone was prepared to listen. How many messages do we miss because we are preoccupied, or we don't think the Spirit will actually communicate with us, or we hear but we question what we heard?

3 Nephi 11:3

And it came to pass that while they were thus conversing one with another, they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn.

Often the feeling described when a person has a close encounter with the Holy Spirit is burning. The burning feeling is the pure elements of our soul reacting to the purifying fire of the Holy Ghost. It lights us up, and a byproduct of light is heat.

3 Nephi 11:22

And again the Lord called others, and said unto them likewise; and he gave unto them power to baptize. And he said unto them: On this wise shall ye baptize; and there shall be no disputations among you.

The Master wants his people to be unified. That does not mean we become robots. It means we learn from each other in humility and meekness. We do not contend for our opinion with hot emotions. Our discussions and councils are not about winning and losing but about coming to consensus as we are led by the Holy Spirit. This is how we avoid disputations.

Helaman 8:11

Therefore he was constrained to speak more unto them saying: Behold, my brethren, have ye not read that God gave power unto one man, even Moses, to smite upon the waters of the Red Sea, and they parted hither and thither, insomuch that the Israelites, who were our fathers, came through upon dry ground, and the waters closed upon the armies of the Egyptians and swallowed them up?

When the Holy Spirit prompts us to testify, we should not avoid or ignore the prompting. To be constrained is to be compelled or driven forcefully to do something. For Latter-day Saints, the familiar feeling in fast and testimony meeting that forces you out of your seat to make the long walk to the pulpit is the constraint of the Spirit.

Alma 57:21

Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them.

We defeat the adversary through exact obedience. We must trust that we are receiving good instructions, and then we must do all in our power to follow those instructions. We call this being diligent in keeping the commandments. It us our only sure defense. We do not keep commandments to earn points or to buy our way into heaven, but to minimize the damages of mortality and to protect ourselves from the constant attacks of Satan from the outside and the traitorous natural man on the inside. Christ saves us and redeems us, but he can work only with a willing heart that can be taught by the Holy Spirit. Blessings are predicated on obedience to law. When we keep the commandments, we qualify ourselves to receive the Holy Ghost, who teaches us how to come unto Christ and receive salvation from his hand.

Alma 56:22

And it came to pass that we kept spies out round about, to watch the movements of the Lamanites, that they might not pass us by night nor by day to make an attack upon our other cities which were on the northward.

Who is our spy who can tell us what the adversary of our souls is up to? Is it not the Holy Spirit?

Alma 38:12

Use boldness, but not overbearance; and also see that ye bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love; see that ye refrain from idleness.

To bridle means to restrain, guide or control. A passion is a strong emotion. To be an effective servant and teacher, it is important to control our strong emotions so we can be sensitive to the Holy Ghost. The Spirit speaks most often through our feelings. If our emotions are out of control, the Spirit will not be able to communicate with us. Without the Spirit, we cannot teach. In addition, love -- the greatest passion -- needs room in our hearts to flourish. If we are filled with negative emotions, love cannot grow. Without love, we can neither teach nor serve. Unbridled passions are a characteristic of the natural man. We have to rely on the atonement and the grace of Christ to overcome the natural man and bridle his passions.

Alma 37:40

And [the Liahona] did work for them according to their faith in God; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles should point the way they should go, behold, it was done; therefore they had this miracle, and also many other miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day.

Faith is manifest in works. As long as Nephi's family believed that the Liahona pointed them in the right direction and they followed it, God caused the spindles to point out their course. As soon as they stopped following the Liahona and tried to choose their own way, the device stopped working. No sense in giving directions that people won't follow. The same is true of the Holy Spirit. As long as we believe we can receive direction from the Spirit and follow diligently the direction we receive, the Spirit will keep working with us. But as soon as we quit listening and decide our own way is better, the Spirit will stop trying to coach us. No sense in giving us directions we won't follow.

Alma 32:28

Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.

To give place for the seed is to exercise agency in the direction of faith. We decide to let the seed of belief in, and the we choose to let it grow. The longer we allow the seed of belief to mature in us, the more telling the results. We will feel ourselves changing. As long as we choose to believe, we make room for the Holy Ghost to work on us. We do not change ourselves, but our choices enable God to work on us through the influence of his Spirit. One of the signs that the Holy Ghost is working on us is increased enlightenment or knowledge. Enlightenment is not knowing more facts, but understanding and appreciating more truth.

Alma 26:15

Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting light, yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love; yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work.

What a contrast between being encircled by darkness and being encircled by love! Satan must be very crafty to get us to make such a ridiculous choice. If we could see our lives through God's eyes, the right way would be so obvious that we could not possibly go wrong. But instead, he has placed the veil between him and us so we get to make a real choice.  From our vantage point, Satan's shiny chains can look as attractive as the Lord's light. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil can seem just as attractive and inviting as the tree of life. Without the guidance of, first, the Spirit of Christ and, then, the Holy Ghost, we might never figure it out. Thankfully the Spirit of Christ is given to every person who comes into the world. We don't have to be fooled.

Mosiah 5:2

And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.

One form of a testimony is a mighty (powerful) change of heart that makes evil unattractive and creates in us a desire to do only good. The natural man, the enemy to God, loses his grip on us, and the Spirit of God gets a firmer hold upon our hearts and our desires. Remember that king Benjamin's people were already believers. So this mighty change can happen to us throughout our lives in the Church. It can happen many times and any time that we try to get closer to the Lord.

Words of Mormon 1:7

And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will.

We do not have to know the purpose behind everything God asks of us. If we are willing to be obedient, he can do great things with us and through us. When do our best to follow the Spirit, God will direct us, and we can be instruments in the Master's hands.

Jarom 1:4

And there are many among us who have many revelations, for they are not all stiffnecked. And as many as are not stiffnecked and have faith, have communion with the Holy Spirit, which maketh manifest unto the children of men, according to their faith.

Humility is the seedbed of faith.  The two virtues go hand in hand. Humility and faith yield obedience, which coupled with repentance invites the Holy Ghost. Through the Holy Ghost we receive knowledge by revelation. Greater knowledge of God engenders greater humility and faith, which spawns greater obedience. And so the cycle goes toward perfection. God is the finisher of our faith, but we choose to start it.

Second Nephi 32:5

For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do.

The Holy Ghost is the ultimate teacher. He will show us everything we need to come unto Christ and return to Heavenly Father. The challenge is to learn to listen and to obey faithfully and immediately. We have to learn the language of the Spirit.