And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good. (2 Nephi 33:10)
Sometimes I feel it is necessary to plea--to plead with you to wake up! I want you to be awakened by the light of His everlasting words. I want you to choose mercy, and not suffer His justice. Other times I am content to let you sleep, not because you are resting, but because sometimes I am not filled with His love for you, and if you refuse to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, it is your choice and why should I care? I tried, but you were thinking of other things.
But then I think of some of Mormon's last words. He had made an oath that he would no longer assist his people, for they repented not of their iniquities. He was without hope, for he knew the judgments of the Lord would come upon them. But notwithstanding the hardness of their hearts, Mormon "did repent of the oath which" he had made (Mormon 5:1), having hope in that his written words would help the "seed of this people (to) more fully believe his gospel, which shall go forth unto them from the Gentiles" (Mormon 5:15). And what specifically did Mormon teach them? "Know ye that ye must come unto repentance, or ye cannot be saved" (Mormon 7:2 emphasis added).
I always come back to finding the hope for others as I am fed with His words. I know my words reach very few people. I do wish more would receive them, because in them they may hear the words of Christ. And when I think of the judgments of God which are about to come upon us, I can't just turn away and put my head in the sand. When I desired of the Lord to say nothing but repentance unto this generation, He called me to do so, and I do so through His words
I can magnify that calling by taking upon me the responsibility, answering your sins upon my own head, if I did not teach you the word of God with all diligence. It is only by laboring with my might, that your blood might not come upon my garments, otherwise your blood would come upon my garments, and I would not be found spotless at the last day.
My motivation is two-fold--I want to be found spotless, and I want you to be found spotless. And after tasting of His mercy and love for me, I can't stay silent for long, because at those times when I feel His love for you, I really do want you to choose His mercy and not His justice. I experience you as my brother or sister, as my children and grandchildren. I would rather that you heed His words in this life, than wait to be taught by me in the spirit world after you die.
When Oliver Cowdrey said that one word from the mouth of God strikes everything else into insignificance, he zeroes in on the source of the words--from the mouth of God. One word from the mouth of God! Can you imagine as you circle the sun once a year, in a cosmos so vast and never ending that it is impossible for us to grasp, that God has spoken?
His words matter. He uses His words to manifest Himself to us. He calls His words the sword of truth. He offers this sword of truth to all who desire it, to be used as a weapon against the falsehoods and the fiction that encompasses us.
His words accompanied by the spirit of revelation and the spirit of prophecy--are His words coming from someone who has received from Him the revelation of the truthfulness of His words. It is not enough to study, read, ponder or even search and feast. Words spoken by the spirit of revelation and the spirit of prophecy are felt and seen, and the response is either to believe them, or not believe them and let them fall by the wayside.
We should follow the pattern given by the sons of Mosiah, "...they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; ...for they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God. But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fastings; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation..." (Alma 17:3 emphasis added).
And what was the result: "...when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God" (Alma 17:3 emphasis added). Alma said the same after the truth of God's words were "made known unto (him) by the Holy Spirit of God" (Alma 5:46). He too, fasted and prayed many days that he might know of himself. "And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me" (Alma 5:46 emphasis added).
Alma had certainly heard the words taught by his father Alma and others, but it was not until the truthfulness of the words spoken and written by his father was revealed to him, that he could teach with power and authority, and not only with the spirit of revelation, but also the spirit of prophecy (Alma 5:47). He is not speaking of ecclesiastical authority, but the power and authority that comes from a personal revelation from God that all His words are truth, light, spirit, even His spirit (D&C 84:45).
Alma emphasized the importance of having the spirit of revelation and the spirit of prophecy when he said "therefore they do know of these things of which I have spoken, as I do know; the the knowledge I have is of God" (Alma 36:26 emphasis added).
Just reading the scriptures is not enough. It explains why we can sit through talks and lessons that quote the scriptures and yet are still lifeless. It is only when God's words become our words, because they have been revealed to us, that we become witnesses with first hand knowledge and can testify that we know! It is only then that we speak with power and authority!
Tim Merrill said that the "scriptures come alive with the Spirit when someone uses them to express what they have received from the Lord already! This is the best definition of 'the spirit of revelation' I have ever read." Too often we limit ourselves by reading, trying to understand, or by studying or pondering, or by feasting, or even searching. And while we may know what others have said and can quote them, we stop short of desiring, asking and receiving the revelation directly from our Father in Heaven, and therefore do not have the spirit of revelation and the spirit of prophecy, and do not teach the word of God. Otherwise we would teach with power and authority (Alma 5:45-47; Alma 17:24; Isaiah 28:9).
Enoch is an example, a type of the Lord's latter-day servant, who will speak "forth the words of God" and the people will tremble and will not be able to stand in his presence (Moses 6:47). "And the Lord said unto me: Go to this people, and say unto them--Repent, lest I come out and smite them with a curse, and they die" (Moses 7:10).
"And so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God, and their enemies came to battle against them; and he spake the word of the Lord, and the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even according to his command; and the rivers of water were turned out of their course; and the roar to lions was heard out of the wilderness; and all the nations feared greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch, and so great was the power of the language which God had given him" (Moses 7:13 emphasis added).
As for me I am just one of many preachers of His righteousness who speaks and prophecies in these last days, and teaches all who will hear, to repent, to avoid That Two-Headed Monster.
But there are many that harden their hearts against the words of God, so that they have no place in them. As a result they ignore, or worse, arrogantly esteem His written words as nothing. I have written His words, and I esteem them of great worth, especially for my friends and family. I pray for them, and I worry about them, but I cry unto God in faith, for I know He will hear my pleas.
I know that at some point, God will consecrate my prayers for the gain of my friends and family. And the words which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them, for I know that His words will persuade them to believe in Christ and turn them to Him and His goodness. His words speak harshly against turning away from Him and putting our trust in men and in the things of the world. They speak plainly of the truth and no one will be angry at the words I have written, except he shall have the spirit of the devil.
I love the glory of His words and how they have brought me to my Savior, for He has redeemed my soul from hell. I have great faith in Christ, and know that I will meet many spotless souls at His judgment-seat.
I know that He will again remember His covenant with the House of Israel, and many will be gathered to their lands of inheritance. I worry, however, about the Gentiles, of which we are numbered, for none can I hope except they repent, enter into the narrow gate and walk in the strait path which leads to eternal life until the end of the day of probation.
My prayer for you is that you will hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words, believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ, ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and He has given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good.
And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye--for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are His words!
And now I prophesy that all things which Christ and others taught concerning the house of Israel, in which Zenos likened to a tame olive tree, must surely come to pass. When He shall set His hand the second time to recover His People, is the day, even the last time, that the servants of the Lord shall go forth in His power to nourish with the word of God; and after that the end soon cometh.
They who have labored diligently in His vineyard by teaching His words, are blessed. But those who have not labored diligently in His vineyard are cursed, and shall be cast out into their own place! And the world shall be burned with fire.
How merciful is our God unto us, for He remembers the house of Israel, both roots and branches; and He stretches forth His hands unto them all the day long; but they are a stiff-necked people; but as many as will not harden their hearts shall be saved in the kingdom of God.
What we can do is repent, and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as He cleaves unto us. And while His arm of mercy is extended towards us in the light of day, hear His voice in His words, and let's not harden our hearts; for why should we die?
For after we have been nourished by the good word of God all the day long, will we bring forth evil fruit, and be hewn down and cast into the fire?
Will we reject His words? Will we be found on the wrong side of His words? For it is by His words that we will be judged. Will we reject the words of the prophets; and will we reject all the words which have been spoken concerning Christ, after so many have spoken concerning Him; and deny the good word of Christ, and the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and mock the great plan of redemption which has been laid for us in His words?
Avoid being brought to stand before God with shame and awful guilt. Remember that Justice cannot be denied, and for those who bring forth evil fruit, there awaits that lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascends up forever and ever.
So to all that hear and read these words, repent. Those who have entered into the strait gate, but have not continued in the way, grab and hold fast to His words. The same for those who have not yet entered into the strait gate.
Oh be wise; what more can I say?
As the Lord said to Enoch "Say unto this people choose ye day, to serve the Lord God who made you" (Moses 6:33). And then He said to Enoch, "Behold my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify..." (Moses 6:34 emphasis added).
The main obstacle to receiving His words is a lack of desire. We are not hungry or thirsty enough to want to feast upon His words. Unless you are seeking for something, like knowledge, truth or some validation of your life, no matter how much of the word of God is available, it will be meaningless without some desire on your part to want to know it. Without this desire you will not seek it. The question for you then would be: what would it take to arouse in you a desire to seek for truth? More on what would it take.
Next: But We Have the Book! - And It Will Convict Us!