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.