Ether 2:15 - Part 1

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.

This says something about the nature of our prayers. Though we may pray daily, if our prayers are perfunctory repetitions lacking in humility, sincerity and real intent, they do not please the Lord, and we have need to repent. Prayer is not to give orders to God like a short-order cook, but to seek his will and receive instruction at his hand.

3 Nephi 18:25

And ye see that I have commanded that none of you should go away, but rather have commanded that ye should come unto me, that ye might feel and see; even so shall ye do unto the world; and whosoever breaketh this commandment suffereth himself to be led into temptation.

Jesus invites us all to come and feel and see. This invitation has meanings on many levels. We come unto Christ through the saving ordinances of the gospel. We feel his spirit and influence through the power of the Holy Ghost. We see him work in our lives through powerful evidences. We repeat, remember, and grow until the day comes when we come into his presence, feel his wounds with our hands, and see his countenance with our eyes. First spiritual and then physical. He will turn no one away or deny anyone who approaches with humility and real intent. We do not have to be perfect, for he will make us perfect. We do not have to be worthy, for he will make us worthy. But we must come to him worthily, meaning with the right desire and attitude, with a willingness to submit. He cannot ignore anyone who comes to him in this way.

3 Nephi 17:8

For I perceive that ye desire that I should show unto you what I have done unto your brethren at Jerusalem, for I see that your faith is sufficient that I should heal you.

Apparently faith is measurable. God measures our faith by our faithfulness, humility, and patience. For our faith to have power, we must be "all in". He expects is to do all we can for ourselves first and then turn to him to complete what we cannot do on our own, and then wait for him to work. It is counter to faith to rush to the Lord first while keeping a back-up plan in our hip pocket in case God does not come through to our liking.

3 Nephi 11:29

For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.

Contention is more than an event, it is a spirit or attitude. If we let ourselves be drawn into one contentious situation, that spirit will soon spread to other parts of our lives. When we are drawn into contention, we focus on being right rather than being humble and teachable. The Lord cannot work with us in a state of pride.

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.

3 Nephi 5:3

Therefore they did forsake all their sins, and their abominations, and their whoredoms, and did serve God with all diligence day and night.

Despite their seesaw history, the Nephites were capable of outstanding righteousness. They needed miracles and signs on the one hand and near annihilation on the other to finally see the light. Nevertheless, the point is that they repented. An entire population -- every living soul -- repented and was converted. It was as if the Millennium had already begun for them. It may have been a Camelot -- one brief shining moment -- instead of a city of Enoch, but they proved to themselves that they could do it with faith, humility, and a genuine desire to follow the Lord. If it was not impossible for the Nephites, it is not impossible for us today. That is the testimony this chapter leaves for us. We can overcome the world with the power and gifts of God if we live for them.

Helaman 6:17

For behold, the Lord had blessed them so long with the riches of the world that they had not been stirred up to anger, to wars, nor to bloodshed; therefore they began to set their hearts upon their riches; yea, they began to seek to get gain that they might be lifted up one above another; therefore they began to commit secret murders, and to rob and to plunder, that they might get gain.

The pride cycle seems to never end among the Nephites. They cannot stand prosperity. Remember for whom the Book of Mormon was written. Modern American society and First World countries have prospered for a long time, and now we are beginning to see the same evidence that the cycle is working among us. Wickedness, selfishness, greed and vanity are becoming rampant. We as a people worship wealth and power. God has become irrelevant. The stories of the Nephite cycle are written in the Book of Mormon to warn us of what awaits us. God will call this people to awake and repent through afflictions to come. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. What he does for one nation, he will do for others. Decline and suffering are inevitable, not to punish but to awaken and to humble. We face a time of severe testing.

Helaman 3:35

Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God.

As these people's humility grew, so did their faith in Christ. It became firm, then solid, then un-bendable, then unbreakable. Humility and faith go hand in hand. The more humble we are, the more we see the need to depend on God. The more we depend on him, the more he can help us. The more he helps us, the better we come to know him. And the better we know him, the more we trust him. Trust us another word for faith. By faith, we act with growing confidence on our beliefs.

The more thoroughly we trust God, and the more evidence we acquire of his love for, and interest, in us, the more joy we experience. How can we not feel exquisite joy when we know that the Supreme Being in the universe knows us and cares about us?  How can we not rejoice in knowing this earth, life itself, and the grand plan of salvation were created to lift us to exaltation with God?

One additional note: we do not purify and sanctify our own hearts. We can only yield them to God. It is by his power through the Savior's Atonement that our hearts are changed.

Alma 49:4

But behold, how great was their disappointment; for behold, the Nephites had dug up a ridge of earth round about them, which was so high that the Lamanites could not cast their stones and their arrows at them that they might take effect, neither could they come upon them save it was by their place of entrance.

In another war metaphor, the ridges of earth we dig up to shield ourselves from the stones and arrows of temptation vary depending based on our need. We barricade ourselves against impure thoughts by filling our minds with good things. We put up fences of humility to protect us from pride. We cut the supply line of pornography. We build walls of daily service to ward off selfishness. We prepare resorts of prayer to keep the communication line open with headquarters. We stockpile scriptures to ensure we have sustenance to withstand a siege. We make sure we have a good supply of the living water of revelation. If we are prepared, we need not fear.

Alma 38:11

See that ye are not lifted up unto pride; yea, see that ye do not boast in your own wisdom, nor of your much strength.

Pride appears when we put more trust in ourselves than in God or when we think we are superior to another. When we have pride, we compete and compare. Pride blocks out the influence of the Holy Ghost. If we are prideful in our callings, we will lack the power that comes from the Holy Ghost. Trying to fulfill a calling under our own power without God's help and support is a recipe for failure and disappointment. The best teachers of the gospel teach with quiet confidence. They do not show off or boast of their great knowledge. Diane Nelson, my seminary teacher, was such a teacher. She had a great depth of knowledge, but she never tried to overwhelm us or intimidate us or impress us. Her only desire was for her students learn and gain testimonies. She knew what she knew, and she did not have to prove it to anyone.

Alma 32:14

And now, as I said unto you, that because ye were compelled to be humble ye were blessed, do ye not suppose that they are more blessed who truly humble themselves because of the word?

Most of us find it hard to humble ourselves sufficiently before the Lord, so he allows trials and afflictions to enter our lives as mechanisms to engender humility. Trials are such a waste of time, however. How much more efficient we can be if we approach humility of our own volition without the wasted suffering that usually precedes the humbling. We will still have trials even when we have set ourselves upon the path to humility, but they are trials to refine and multiply our virtues and prepare us for sanctification. The former trials are more course and are designed merely to kick us back into the game.

Alma 29:8

For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true.

We have to be patient with the Lord and trust that he knows what he is doing. His thoughts are not our thoughts, neither is his timing our timing. We seem to always want him to hurry up, but he sees the big picture and knows when the time is right for things to happen. Whether in the affairs of nations or in our individual lives, God's wisdom is always most desirable because he always has our best interests at heart. When we learn patience, we are humble.

Alma 9:19

For he will not suffer you that ye shall live in your iniquities, to destroy his people. I say unto you, Nay; he would rather suffer that the Lamanites might destroy all his people who are called the people of Nephi, if it were possible that they could fall into sins and transgressions, after having had so much light and so much knowledge given unto them of the Lord their God;

Once we have the truth of the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are under a heavier burden of responsibility than are those who do not have the gospel. God expects more of us: more obedience, more faith, more service, more humility, and more charity. He is not going to just save us, he is going to exalt us. That is a higher standard, which requires a higher level of life.

Alma 7:22-23

And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive. And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works.

The disciple's creed. If we could live by these simple principles, we would go far in approaching a Christ-like life.

Alma 5:27

Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble? That your garments have been cleansed and made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins?

To keep ourselves blameless before God is to do our best to keep the commandments and to repent quickly when we make mistakes. When we are pardoned, we are blameless. So if we repent continuously, we can be blameless continuously.

Mosiah 23:3

And they fled eight days’ journey into the wilderness.

Alma and his people, like all repentant people, spent time in the wilderness, living in tents, subsisting on the bare necessities, stripping themselves of the world, and becoming sanctified. Because they were humble and teachable, they did not suffer in the wilderness for long. They turned the wilderness from an affliction into a home and a refuge. The wilderness is what we make it. If we fight it, it can be a miserable existence. If, however, we accept it and work with it, the wilderness can become an Eden.

Mosiah 21:14

And they did humble themselves even in the depths of humility; and they did cry mightily to God; yea, even all the day long did they cry unto their God that he would deliver them out of their afflictions.

Even when we repent, God often allows the consequences of our sins to run their natural course, not as a punishment, but as a lesson and motivation to be humble, submissive, and obedient. When we escape too easily, we fail to appreciate the great benefit God offers us through the atonement.

Mosiah 9:18

And God did hear our cries and did answer our prayers; and we did go forth in his might; yea, we did go forth against the Lamanites, and in one day and a night we did slay three thousand and forty-three; we did slay them even until we had driven them out of our land.

God will answer our proximate faith with proximate blessings. He helped Zeniff's people in the hope that they would continue to call upon him after the emergency was over so he could give them more excellent direction and deliver them sooner rather than later. Unfortunately they remained stubborn in their intentions to stay in the land against the Lord's will. Eventually the Lord withdrew his help and left them on their own. When we exercise faith to good result, we should follow up the blessing with immediate gratitude, humility, obedience and increased faith.

Mosiah 9:3

And yet, I being over-zealous to inherit the land of our fathers, collected as many as were desirous to go up to possess the land, and started again on our journey into the wilderness to go up to the land; but we were smitten with famine and sore afflictions; for we were slow to remember the Lord our God.

Zeniff was stubborn. He wanted what he wanted without regard for the Lord's will. God was eventually able to bring about good from Zeniff's folly, including the conversion of Alma, one of the greatest prophets of all time, but the good came at a very high price, including the death of another prophet and of many other people. God would not strip Zeniff and his foolish followers of their agency, but he put all the obstacles in their way that he could. We may get our way for a while, but if we are working in opposition to God's will, we will not prosper. It is good to be zealous for God. It is not good to be over-zealous for our own agenda.

Mosiah 7:33

But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage.

Repentance results in deliverance from bondage. That is the entire theme of this episode with Limhi's people. The wickedness of a group of people made them vulnerable to their enemies, who enslaved them. They could not muster the strength on their own to free themselves. God, however, had the power to release them from their mortal bondage if they would stop relying on their own strength and start relying on his. The same is true of our individual spiritual bondage. We do not have the capability to rescue ourselves, but Christ has the strength to release us if we rely on him.