3 Nephi 1-7 Faith & Revelation
Today I just want to write my thoughts on 3 verses from chapter 2, and then one verse from chapter 5.
So, how does he do that when we are already converted to the gospel? One day I found an old book of Mormon at my grandpa's house, which surprised me considering he had left the church before I was even born and never once talked about it with me. I started thumbing through and found an old laminated card with a signature and date of when my grandpa was ordained to the office of a seventy by the hands of Gordon B Hinckley.
If you are engaged in shelf #2 (what God is currently revealing to you), remembering and rejoicing in shelf #1 (all that he has revealed to you), then you are actually excited you even have things on shelf #3! (All that God will yet reveal to you). You will think of this shelf as "revelation yet to come", not doubts.
Specifically I want to talk about living in revelation and how satan attacks our faith.
The Attack on Faith
V1-2.
Satan targets the heart:
"hard in their hearts"
"imagining up some vain thing in their hearts"
"lead away and deceive the hearts of the people"
"Satan did get possession of the hearts"
And the mind:
"people began to forget"
"blind in their minds"
"blind their eyes"
"doctrine of Christ was a foolish thing"
If satan can get you to forget the great things you've seen in the past, become "less and less astonished" at the good things happening in the present, and "[disbelieve] that there should be any more signs or wonders given" in the future, then he has won.
I was amazed that he had once progressed so far in the gospel, only to fall and reject everything he once believed. I never did get the specifics of what transpired to lead him down his chosen path, but I do know how conversion (and "un-conversion"?) works.
The process of conversion goes through:
Repentance is a change our behavior.
Baptism is making a covenant. Literally immersing yourself in water.
The Holy Ghost is a promised comforting companion, here to confirm your beliefs.
Satan tries to bring us down to his level by simply reversing the process.
The process of conversion goes through:
- Faith
- Repentance
- Baptism
- Holy Ghost
Repentance is a change our behavior.
Baptism is making a covenant. Literally immersing yourself in water.
The Holy Ghost is a promised comforting companion, here to confirm your beliefs.
Satan tries to bring us down to his level by simply reversing the process.
There's no way he can corrupt our belief while our behavior, covenants, and constant companionship with the Holy Ghost remain a part of our lives.
First he seeks to get us to stop doing all the things that invite the holy ghost into our lives. (think sins of omission). When this happens, we tend to cling to the social strand of our conversion, but we've given up on the spiritual strand.
Now, without the Holy Ghost confirming my beliefs, my covenants get a little shaky. I'm not as immersed in that lifestyle as I once was.
Then my behavior seems to follow. I'm not repenting, keeping covenants, and I don’t have the spirit confirming that I even should.
Finally, with just faith holding us to God, it can easily snap with enough weight.
After reversing our conversion, satan's job isn't done. He doesn't simply remove faith, he replaces the object of it. I think we as humans need something to put our faith into. We'll call this an "ism", a lens through which you can make sense of your life. Some examples:
Hedonism
Secularism
Intellectualism
Fanaticism
Environmentalism
Conservatism
Liberalism
Consumerism
Commercialism
Whatever the ism, you'll find something to revolve your life around or just to make sense of the world.
Your behaviors will change.
You will immerse yourself in its practice.
You will seek confirmation in that decision.
If you don't find that confirmation,
You'll become less immersed,
Your behavior will change,
Till you find your new ism to revolve your life around.
Back up and down we go along the 4th article faith.... Unless, you're firm and steadfast in the one true faith. If I were to ask you what the 5 most important words in the 4th article of faith are, what would you say?
First he seeks to get us to stop doing all the things that invite the holy ghost into our lives. (think sins of omission). When this happens, we tend to cling to the social strand of our conversion, but we've given up on the spiritual strand.
Now, without the Holy Ghost confirming my beliefs, my covenants get a little shaky. I'm not as immersed in that lifestyle as I once was.
Then my behavior seems to follow. I'm not repenting, keeping covenants, and I don’t have the spirit confirming that I even should.
Finally, with just faith holding us to God, it can easily snap with enough weight.
After reversing our conversion, satan's job isn't done. He doesn't simply remove faith, he replaces the object of it. I think we as humans need something to put our faith into. We'll call this an "ism", a lens through which you can make sense of your life. Some examples:
Hedonism
Secularism
Intellectualism
Fanaticism
Environmentalism
Conservatism
Liberalism
Consumerism
Commercialism
Whatever the ism, you'll find something to revolve your life around or just to make sense of the world.
Your behaviors will change.
You will immerse yourself in its practice.
You will seek confirmation in that decision.
If you don't find that confirmation,
You'll become less immersed,
Your behavior will change,
Till you find your new ism to revolve your life around.
Back up and down we go along the 4th article faith.... Unless, you're firm and steadfast in the one true faith. If I were to ask you what the 5 most important words in the 4th article of faith are, what would you say?
Faith, repentance, baptism, holy ghost?? Wrong. "In the name Jesus Christ". Everyone in the world practices the 4th article of faith, just not with faith in the name Jesus Christ.
Faith repentance baptism holy ghost, these will always be there. It is just a matter of what are you placing that faith into.
Satan wants us to believe that placing our faith in Christ is a "foolish or vain thing", so he replaces Christ with something else. Satan would love for us to take Christ out of the equation and live the 4th article of faith with utmost devotion, as long as something else is in our focus.
Faith repentance baptism holy ghost, these will always be there. It is just a matter of what are you placing that faith into.
Satan wants us to believe that placing our faith in Christ is a "foolish or vain thing", so he replaces Christ with something else. Satan would love for us to take Christ out of the equation and live the 4th article of faith with utmost devotion, as long as something else is in our focus.
Living in Revelation
Back to the past present and future train of thought... As satan would have us forget the past, become apathetic to the present, and disbelieve in future events, Christ would have us stay true to Article of Faith #9.
We believe:
- all that he has revealed
- all that he does now reveal
- all that he will yet reveal
Think of each one of these as a shelf... a little activity I call Revelation Shelf Inventory!!
Flip side. When you have a totally barren shelf #2, a dusty cobwebbed shelf #1, an overbearing #3 can come crashing down with all the weight it has on it.
As life goes on, it's a game of rearranging the shelves. Take something He reveals to you now and move it down to shelf #1. Remember it, ponder on it from time to time, seek confirmation from the Holy Ghost that it still belongs there. Then occasionally grab something from shelf #3 and study it out. If you can't make sense of it or don't receive an answer on it, there is no problem with putting it back on shelf #3. But keep putting the work in, line upon line, here a little and there a little, all will eventually be revealed to you!
Okay last verse, 3 Nephi 5:13
"Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life."
This gave me identity and purpose for the 2 years I spent in Paraguay, and hopefully will continue to do so long after the red dirt has faded from my button up shirts.
If you had to pick a scripture to read every morning when you wake up, this isn't a bad one. A friend once told me to be sure to build your cross, every day. (metaphorically.. but somewhat literally?). When you get up, establish that vertical cross bar, plant it firmly in the ground. When your vertical relationship is set, you then have something to affix your horizontal relationships to.
"I have been called of Him" (vertical relationship)
"to declare his word among his people" (horizontal relationship)
"that they might have everlasting life" (the work and the glory)
Asi es amigo.
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