Month: June 2023

The Fountain of Living Waters

As I was praying this morning, seeking to be filled with a greater degree of God’s love, the imagery of running water came to mind. Nephi learned that God’s love is comparable to a “fountain of living waters.” It ever flows out from Him, and down through the rest of creation to the degree that we will receive it. 

Being born into a fallen state, cut off from God, we develop a false sense of self–one that is somehow independent from God. Last week I was sitting in a Waffle House (which tends to bring in some interesting characters) and it dawned on me like never before: we’re all just different variations of cut off from God. We’ve created so much of our sense of identity in a vacuum. The unique faults, quirks, and weaknesses of all come as a result of not being connected to the One. “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us” (John 17:21). 

We are intended to be agents who extend the reach of God’s love. As it flows to us, it ought to flow through us. The way we open ourselves up to both receive and give is in the total surrender of what we call “self.” It is a concept we’ve only developed in being cut off from the source of life, and holding onto it—trying to be an independent entity—keeps us from properly aligning ourselves to the stream of God’s love. It is only in this total surrender that we actually find and become our true selves—that version of us through which truth flows. “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 16:24-25).

Ego—the false self we try so hard to hold on to–impedes the flow of this love. What we find is that as we surrender this self up to God, love flows through us as a natural consequence. It’s the surrender of this self—self-identity, self-will, self-preservation—that brings us into a justified state. It’s the continual surrender of this self, as it’s revealed to us in greater degrees, that brings about our sanctification. We must be consumed in this love.

“But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure” (Moroni 7:47-48)

We can only be like Him to the degree that we surrender the self and allow His love to “possess” us. His purpose must become our purpose; His identity must become our identity. It is the only identity whereby we can be saved: “There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives. And it shall come to pass that whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of God, for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name of Christ” (Mosiah 5:8-9).

Ask, Seek, Knock

I’ve recently been thinking about the imperative we have to seek and ask before we can receive. “Draw near to me,” the Lord says, “and I will draw near to you” (D&C 88:63). “Ask and it shall be give you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).

What the Lord seeks to offer us can be only be received through the medium of asking. Conversely, if we don’t ask, we don’t receive. When Lehi shared his dreams and revelations, Nephi sought to know the same things for himself—and so he received. When he returned from the grand vision outlined in 1 Nephi 11-14, he found his brothers disputing over the things their father had been teaching, because “he truly spake many great things unto them, which were hard to be understood, save a man should inquire of the Lord; and they being hard in their hearts, therefore they did not look unto the Lord as they ought” (1 Nephi 15:3). These two responses to Lehi’s words highlight the dividing wedge that leads to Nephi’s salvation on the one hand, and Laman and Lemuel’s damnation on the other. “Have ye inquired of the Lord?” Nephi asks. “We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us” (1 Nephi 15:8-9).

Nephi calls the condition of not asking—nor believing the Lord will reveal anything to them—having unbelief and a hardened heart.

There are several instances in the Book of Mormon where the Lord indicates that He has more to reveal, but that it can only be known and understood through proactively seeking it out. When Jesus appeared to the Nephites, for example, He explained, “This much did the Father command me, that I should tell unto [the Jews]: That other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. And now, because of stiffneckedness and unbelief they understood not my word; therefore I was commanded to say no more of the Father concerning this thing unto them” (3 Nephi 15:16-18). He later emphasized that His disciples in Jerusalem would not receive more unless they asked (3 Nephi 16:4). Along this same pattern, it’s noteworthy that Christ indicated to the Nephites that He had yet other sheep, but said nothing more.

Much of the restoration and revelation brought about through Joseph Smith was precipitated by his asking. Asking the Lord about his salvation; about his standing before God; about the proper mode of baptism; about the Lord’s will regarding this and that. Frequently, it began as he was impressed by some scripture the Spirit urged him to inquire about further, as in the case of James 1:5 before the first vision, or John 5:29 and the revelation of the three degrees of glory.

On more than one occasion, Nephi was commanded to say no more, drawing the curtains and inviting the reader to make the journey their own. “And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be” (2 Nephi 32:7).

The Lord wants us to know. He commands us to ask. Our resistance to do so damns us, as knowledge is required for salvation. Joseph Smith noted that “a man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge.” We bring ruin and destruction to our own souls by keeping ourselves in the dark, believing the Lord (who is so eager to share) will not open up to us.

Our problem is not that we disbelieve such things happen, but that we do not believe they will happen to us. There could be a number of reasons for this; false traditions, such as revelation of truth being restricted to church leaders, or a belief that others possess a talent for it which you do not. Unbelief is an anvil the Lord desires you set aside. God is no respecter of persons. He will do it for you as much as He will do it for anyone—of that you can be sure.

The prophet Joseph emphasized, “God hath not revealed anything to Joseph, but what He will make known unto the Twelve, and even the least Saint may know all things as fast as he is able to bear them” (TPJS p. 149). The smallest whisperings to the grandest visions and visitations are open to all. At the outset of the restoration, the angel Moroni recounted this prophecy to Joseph: “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit” (Joel 2:28-29).

The day will come when “they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). “And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them” (Jeremiah 31:34).

This is the Lord’s desire for all, including you. He is no respecter of persons, and blesses all according to the same laws and ordinances. He will open up, but we must first believe, ask, seek, and knock.