Given by the Finger of God
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
From Clement of Rome* On Truth & Ignorance
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
But We Have The Book! - Obstacles To Belief
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 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 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 do 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 by letting 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, for years, 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 personally, that he could teach with power and authority, and not only with the spirit of revelation, but also with 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, in order to help you avoid the 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 His vineyard 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, notwithstanding all their religious observances, 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; He has hope that some Gentiles will repent; 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--turn to Christ with faith in Him, relying alone upon His merits! Those who have entered into the 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 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. But don't think that being ignorant will excuse you. The question for you then would be: what would it take to arouse in you a desire to seek for truth? More on what it would take.
Next: But We Have the Book! - America
Thursday, January 2, 2025
But We Have the Book! - And It Was Written for Us
"And if it so be that they shall not believe these things, then shall the greater things be withheld
from them, unto their condemnation"
(3 Nephi 26:10).
When I say the Book of Mormon was written for us, who are we? Who are 'they,' 'them' and 'their?' Of the groups of people described in the Book of Mormon, of what group are we identified with? And by we, I mean members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I mean you--of what group are you?
Book of Mormon prophecy relates to six groups of people: 1) the Jews, 2) the lost tribes, 3) Lehi's descendants, 4) the Gentiles, 5) the fulness of the Gentiles, and 6) the salt of the earth.
Of these six groups only the Jews, lost tribes and Lehi's descendants constitute the house of Israel spoken of in the Book of Mormon, both historically and prophetically. Since most members of the church are not Jews, Lehi's descendants or of one of the lost tribes, they are identified with the Gentiles (D&C 109:60), which includes the fulness of the Gentiles or Ephraim among the nations (Genesis 49:19).
Members of the church are also called the salt of the earth, or those who have entered into the Lord's new and everlasting covenant (D&C 101:39-40).
The only prophetic reference to the salt of the earth in the Book of Mormon is found in 3 Nephi 16:15 where the Lord prophesied that the salt of the earth would lose its savor, and "thenceforth would be good for nothing but to be cast out, and to be trodden under the foot of my people, O house of Israel."
It is necessary to understand the difference between the Gentiles and the fulness of the Gentiles in the Book of Mormon.
The Book of Mormon was intended to come forth as a test to the latter-day Gentiles. If we embraced its message, we would receive greater light and knowledge. If, however, our unbelief and false traditions led us to harden our hearts against His words, we would come under condemnation. And this condemnation would come unto us because of our vanity and unbelief, having treated lightly the words of Christ recorded in the Book of Mormon (D&C 84:52-55).
This is my church, . . . and nothing shall overthrow it, save it is the transgression of my people" (Mosiah 27:13). God guarantees the integrity of His church against all external enemies, but He will not deny the members the right to transgress and destroy it. More on the Gentiles in Prophecy.
Because this series of posts is about believing the words of God in the Book of Mormon, I want to ask you a series of questions concerning your level of belief. Keep in mind that you either believe or you do not believe. "I don't know" is the same as saying "I do not believe."
Do you believe that the Book of Mormon was written for you and about you, either to bless you or condemn you?
Do you believe that you are identified with the Gentiles spoken of in the Book of Mormon?
The Gentiles are identified as those who migrated to the Americas—specifically Latter-day Saints or “my people who are of the covenant” (3 Nephi 21:11).
Do you believe that through the fulness of the Gentiles, the remnant of Lehi's seed, shall be brought to a knowledge of their Redeemer (3 Nephi 16:4)?
Do you believe that the Gentiles shall sin against His gospel (3 Nephi 16:10)?
Do you believe that the Gentiles will reject the fulness of His gospel (3 Nephi 16:10)?
Do you believe that Christ will take away the fulness of His gospel from the Gentiles (3 Nephi 16:10)?
Do you believe that Christ will then remember His covenant with His people, the house of Israel, and bring His gospel unto them (3 Nephi 16:11)?
Do you believe that you must repent and hearken unto His voice if you are to be numbered among His people, the house of Israel (3 Nephi 16:13;15)?
Do you believe that the Salt of the Earth will lose its savor and will be good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden unto the feet of the house of Israel (3 Nephi 16:15)?
Do you believe that you must know of the true points of His doctrine in order to be numbered among His people (3 Nephi 21:6)?
Do you believe that the Father will work a great and marvelous work among us, and there shall be among us those who will not believe it (1 Nephi 14:7; 3 Nephi 21:9)?
Do you believe that the Gentiles will reject His words and not believe them (3 Nephi 21:11-12)?
Do you believe that the house of Israel (Jews, 10 tribes and Lehi's descendants) will believe His words (3 Nephi 20:29-31)?
Do you believe that the Gentiles will reject the blessing of the Holy Ghost (2 Nephi 28:4-5; 3 Nephi 20:15;27)?
Do you believe that you are judged by His words in the Book of Mormon (John 12:46-50)?
Do you believe that the Gentiles are the wild branches spoken of in Enos' allegory in Jacob 5, who are grafted into the tame olive tree?
Do you believe the master of the vineyard in Jacob 5 when He says that the wild branches bring forth fruth, but none of it which is good?
Do you believe that fruit which results from being religious, like temple attendance, reading the scriptures, attending meetings, paying tithing, fasting, family activities, and not committing any of the 'serious' sins are not good fruits (3 Nephi 16:12-13)?
Do you believe that the Gentiles deny the gifts and power of God because of unbelief (Moroni 10)?
Do you believe that unless one works by the gifts and power of God, they do no good (Moroni 10:25)?
Do you believe that Christ has all power to save every person that believeth on his name and bringeth forth fruit meet for repentance (Alma 12:15)?
Do you believe that the Gentiles are lifted up in the pride of their eyes, have stumbled, because of the greatness of their stumbling block, that they have built up many churches; nevertheless, they put down the power and miracles of god, and preach unto themselves their own wisdom and their own learning, that they may get gain and grind upon the face of the poor (2 Nephi 26:20)?
Do you believe that the laborers in Zion shall labor for Zion; but if they labor for money they shall perish (2 Nephi 26:31)?
Do you believe the last days are the days of the Gentiles (2 Nephi 27:1)?
Do you believe that the Lord has poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, that He has closed your eyes (2 Nephi 27:5)?
Do you believe that you draw near unto Christ with your mouth, and with you lips you do honor Him, but that you have removed your heart far from Him, and the fear towards Him is taught by the precepts of men (2 Nephi 27:25)?
Do you believe that all churches, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, have become corrupted because of pride, and because of false teachers and false doctrine (2 Nephi 28:11-12)?
Do you believe that you must be stirred up unto repentance or the devil will grasp you with his everlasting chains, from whence there is no deliverance (2 Nephi 28:19;22)?
Do you believe and understand the doctrine of repentance (D&C 68:25)?
Do you believe that only those who repent are of His church (Mosiah 26:22; D&C 10:67-60)?
Do you believe that cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men (2 Nephi 28:31)?
Do you believe that notwithstanding that Christ has lengthened out His arm unto the Gentiles from day to day, that they will still deny Him (2 Nephi 28:32)?
Do you believe that as many of the Gentiles that will repent are the covenant people of the Lord (2 Nephi 30:2)?
Do you believe that the time speedily cometh that the Lord God will cause a great division among the people, and that the division will be caused by His words, which come as a result of His Great and Marvelous Work (2 Nephi 30:10; 1 Nephi 14:7)?
Do you believe that the voice of the Gentiles has chosen iniquity?
"Yea, well did Mosiah say, who was our last king, when he was about to deliver up the kingdom, having no one to confer it upon, causing that this people should be governed by their own voices—yea, well did he say that if the time should come that the voice of this people should choose iniquity, that is, if the time should come that this people should fall into transgression, they would be ripe for destruction" (Alma 10:19).
How many did you believe? How many did you answer 'I don't know?' You can clearly see that just saying 'I know the Book of Mormon is true,' is not sufficient.
This may be where you may want to try Alma's experiment, by desiring to believe, and planting His words in your heart.
I would like to propose that our unbelief comes from treating the Book of Mormon lightly. I have just scratched the surface with these questions. There is so much breadth and depth in the Book of Mormon. It is both a history and a prophecy, but also filled with truth and light and intelligence. The Book of Mormon tells us that the Gentiles will reject the gift given to them. And what is that gift? The Holy Ghost.
Q. And what is the purpose of the Holy Ghost, even the Spirit of truth?
A. To bring to our remembrance all the words spoken by Jesus Christ (John 14:26; 15:26).
"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come" (John 16:13 emphasis added). So even the Holy Ghost speaks only what he hears from the Father.
Think about this for a minute:
Christ only teaches what His Father commanded Him to teach--His Father's words.
The Holy Ghost only speaks what he hears from the Father.
And angels only speak the words of God (Moroni 7:31).
Christ prayed to His Father saying, "For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me..." (John 17:8 emphasis added).
Those who teach His words, teach the truth. In fact Christ prayed for them "which shall believe on me through their word..." (John 17:20).
Do you believe that we magnify our office unto the Lord by taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we do not teach them the word of God with all diligence (Jacob 1:19)?
The deceitfulness of the self-image is the most formidable barrier to belief.
This is perfectly understandable, since people have to live with themselves, but also quite dangerous, since it easily covers a multitude of sins. Thus the people of Zarahemla angrily rebuffed calls to repentance by Samuel the Lamanite. They insist on being told not what is wrong with Zarahemla—for that "ye . . . cast him out and seek all manner of ways to destroy him; . . . ye say that he is a false prophet . . . of the devil," and so on (Helaman 13:26). They only want to hear what is right with Zarahemla.
Do you only want to hear what you consider to be right with you? Forget the Book of Mormon then.
Can you see yourself, your family, your friends, your neighbors, and others, in the Book of Mormon prophecies concerning the Gentiles (D&C 84:49-53)?
Next: But We Have The Book! - Obstacles to Belief
Sunday, December 1, 2024
But We Have the Book! -- That Same Spirit
"Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world" (Alma 34:. 34).
This series is about whether or not we believe the words of God in the Book of Mormon, keeping in mind that there are ways to measure our belief in His words (D&C 84:49-53). We talk a lot about faith, but belief seems to carry a lot of weight in the Book of Mormon. But they are related in that belief is faith, and faith is believing His words. It is not about knowing His words, or even about teaching them, but about believing them. For if we believe His words we will believe in Him, we will repent and turn to Him, and then come to know His words. Then comes the Spirit of Revelation and the Spirit of Prophecy.
It is, after all, a belief or non-belief of His words that will separate us. Alma describes a desire to believe as exercising faith. It follows that believing Him is the best way to begin to exercise our faith in Him. It is the reason ministering angels declare the word of God to those they minister to (Moroni 7:25). If we just talk of faith but don't believe Him, we are just--talking.
What does Amulek mean by the term "same spirit?" He makes it clear by telling us that it is the spirit which possesses our bodies at the time we die, and the spirit that will possess our bodies in the eternal world. A question arises as to whether he is referring to the spirit world as the eternal world, or the world we enter after our bodies and spirits have become inseparable.
Regardless, the state of this 'same spirit' is THE factor in whether or not we will repent in this life. And the state of this 'same spirit' is THE factor in whether or not we will believe Him (2 Nephi 33:10). Notice the link between believing and repenting.
As I was preparing to write this post several ideas came into my mind. Because of this I can now say that I am understanding what the Lord meant when He said that His words are one Eternal Round. It is because all His words bring us back to Him and how important it is to believe His words. By believing His words we will turn to Him because His words are Him. It doesn't matter where we start on the Eternal Round, we will end up at the same starting point. If we start on the Eternal Round at belief, we end up at belief. If we start on the Eternal Round at repentance, we end up at repentance. All His words are One Eternal Round.
So with that in mind, that 'same spirit' spoken of by Amulek has everything to do with His words and whether we believe them, or at least initially, desire to believe them. Light and truth increases our intelligence, and because His words are light and truth, even His spirit, as we receive them our spirit is nourished with more light and truth, and we grow in intelligence. Our spirit is nourished and enlarged.
Joseph ties the intellect, the spirit, and the mind together when he said:
"The mind or the intelligence which man possesses, is co-equal with God himself."
What greater crime than the minimizing of such capacity? The Prophet continues,
"All the minds and spirits that God ever sent into the world are susceptible of enlargement. . . . God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself. The relationship we have with God places us in a situation to advance in knowledge."
As I thought about what Amulek said, many ideas on how our spirits are enlarged, it came to my mind that if our spirits can be enlarged they can also be contracted. We have been taught that it is the flesh that is tempted and weak and that Satan has power over the flesh. Could it be that Satan has power over the spirit as well? Yes, and the Book of Mormon makes it clear that without the Atonement, our spirits are subject to Satan, while our bodies are subject to death (2 Nephi 9:9-12).
It is another "either or" that we discover. Our spirits are either being enlarged or they are being contracted. Like with His words, we are either receiving more or losing what we have.
"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if it so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Roman 8:9). It is either or. Connect His Spirit dwelling in you with His words being found in you.
I first thought of 3 Nephi 11:1-7 where people gathered after the destruction in the land, and struggled to hear the voice speaking to them because they were conversing among themselves, and not looking toward the source of the voice, and therefore did not open their ears to hear the voice.
Hearing Him enlarges our spirit. Conversing among ourselves and not looking towards the source of the voice contracts our spirit. Even when we 'hear' according to Nephi, we will not be brought to the light if we do not ask to understand (2 Nephi 32:4).
It is our spirit that is nourished (Moroni 6:4). It is His words that keep us in the right way (2 Nephi 31:19-20).
"For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit" (Romans 8:5). When Paul says that our spirits are willing, but the flesh is weak, he teaches that a willing spirit is one that is ready to be nourished. And because the scriptures link our hearts and minds with our spirits, we can begin to understand that the 'same spirit' is the one we have either nourished or have not nourished with His light and truth.
Spirits have different intelligence and spirits grow in intelligence as they receive more light and truth. Those whose spirits have not received light and truth are subject to the flesh, and the more they are assimilated into the world, the more removed from light and truth they become. And because it is generational, it becomes more difficult to break the chain spoken of by the Lord in D&C 123, because the creeds of the fathers are so strongly riveted upon the hearts of the children, the later generations groan under the weight of its iniquity.
Another thought that came to my mind is the scripture that says "...if ye could be healed by merely casting your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in unbelief... (Alma 33:21)? If you had the opportunity to look and live, would your spirit be responsive to this test of your belief?
Joseph said: "We consider that God has created man with a mind capable of instruction, and a faculty which may be enlarged in proportion to the heed and diligence given to the light communicated from heaven to the intellect; . . . but . . . no man ever arrived in a moment: he must have been instructed . . . by proper degrees. The things of God are of deep import; and time, and experience, and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out. Thy mind, O man! if thou wilt lead a soul unto salvation, must stretch as high as the utmost heavens."
Contracted minds/spirits will not stretch any higher than what is most important to them, i.e., their god.
Another indicator of a contracted spirit is the lack of thirst for the word of God. There is no hunger. We settle for spiritual twinkies instead of light and truth. I am reminded of all the fruit that we bear, none of it is good! There is no desire to search, no desire to believe. Is that 'same spirit' one who believes that she is already good enough, that there will be some things to forgive, but because of the Lord's love, she will be ushered into the blessings of the great beyond?
"Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come" (D&C 130:18-19).
Is there no Spirit of Inquiry? Avraham Gileadi wrote:
"Paul and Silas’ missionary experience with the Jews in the synagogue at Berea reveals a telling contrast between the early saints who searched the scriptures daily to determine what God was saying in his Word and those who remained content to listen to the brethren’s preaching:
“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honorable women who were Greeks, and of men, not a few” (Acts 17:11–12).
If searching the scriptures daily to see what they said—not only what Paul and Silas preached—defined saints as “more noble” before God, then wouldn’t it profit saints today to emulate their example, especially in a day when those scriptures are beginning to be fulfilled?
Certainly, the early saints had fulltime professions like the saints do today that perhaps required the bulk of their daytime hours to sustain life. Yet, the scriptures they had and searched—most likely the words of Isaiah that predict the first and second comings of Jesus Christ—set their faith on fire.
Religious Jewish traditions to this day focus on searching the Torah to elicit the truths of God that sustain them through life’s challenges. Jews have traditionally eschewed the practices of the Gentiles such as the games and circuses these loved to attend. Even though Jews were scattered around the world, and were judged and persecuted by non-Jews for being different, God was still the center of their lives.
But isn’t being different also what characterizes church members today, and within the body of the church what characterizes persons who search the words of God? Isn’t the spirit in inquiry shared by saints and Jews ancient and modern what sets them apart from secular Jews and saints-in-name only?
Wasn’t that what distinguished Nephi, who inquired of the Lord, from his brothers, who didn’t? Do we realize that the gap between searchers and listeners-only has so widened that in just one generation almost the entire church has moved into a non-searching mode? When prophecy fails—as Isaiah says—where will the saints turn who have never exercised these spiritual skills but relied instead on what non-searchers told them?" (emphasis added)
I have raised more questions than answers in this post, and because our spirits differ in the amount of intelligence obtained, we can see that there are no two spirits that are the same. Being called upon to repent, however, does require that our spirits be in such a condition as to be receptive to the light and truth communicated to our spirits. It is not the light that is missing, but a 'willing' spirit that has not been given an opportunity to respond to the light and truth. This is just another way to see how the Book of Mormon convicts us. It contains the light and truth and whether we search it out, receive it in our hearts and desire to receive more light and truth, it will remain a contracted spirit. We have the book!