Between the Lines: Unlocking the Scriptures with Timeless Principles While it is understood that spiritual things can be understood only by the Spirit, it is not well understood how we follow the injunction of the Lord to seek learning by faith. Such was the direction given to those invited to the school of the prophets in the early part of this dispensation and by implication to all honest truth seekers (D&C 88:118). In this chapter, let us address two companion questions: first, how faith begets faith; and second, and how we learn by faith. Resisting the Spirit It is a poor practice to resist in any form the promptings of the Spirit. Suppose the question were asked in a Gospel Doctrine class which of two converts was most likely to prove faithful: the one who felt the Spirit and sought baptism even before hearing the message or the one baptized after wearing out a dozen sets of missionaries with their many concerns and questions. The answer most likely to be given is the latter, for it is typically argued that he had studied the gospel more carefully, weighing and measuring every principle before conceding to its truth. Many Saints believe that greater spiritual strength comes from such a pattern. Consider, however, Alma’s description of the conversion process: “Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart, yea, without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before they will believe” (Alma 32:16; emphasis added). Alma is clearly telling us that the habit of conceding to the Spirit reaps greater spiritual strength than the practice of resisting it. I have posed this question to a host of Book of Mormon classes. What is most interesting about the typical response is the energy with which many resist conceding to what Alma is saying. It is rather ironic that a text suggesting that we avoid resisting the Spirit engenders so much resistance. The gospel does not require that we be mindless, nave, or blindly obedient. Yet spiritual strength is enjoyed in greater measure by those who are “believing,” as contrasted with those who habitually challenge the wisdom of heaven. Having received the testimony that Joseph Smith is a prophet, can we not just read the revelations the Lord gave through him and assume they are true even before we know what it is they are about to say? Had you lived at the time of Christ, would you have challenged Jesus’ teachings demanding references wherein some other prophet had said it first, or would you have required some other proof before believing it? I am reminded of when Elder Harold B. Lee, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, was challenged to give documentation for a gospel principle he had taught. His response was, “Harold B. Lee, on this date.” Those most open to be taught are most likely to be taught. In the book of Ether we are able to witness a very interesting and instructive conversation between the Lord and the brother of Jared. We read, “And the Lord said unto him: Believest thou the words which I shall speak?” (Ether 3:11). In effect, the brother of Jared is being asked to covenant to believe what the Lord is about to tell him before he hears what it is. Initially, we may suppose that this is a little strange. Is ours to be a blind faith, one that dispenses with the use of sense and personal judgment, or is this exactly what is involved in learning by faith? It is a foolish thing to train yourself to resist the promptings and direction of the Spirit. As you reflect upon personal experience, you will probably notice that if you respond to the initial impression to do a particular thing (excluding those impressions born of anger or fear), you will probably do something that is very kind and good. If you consistently refuse such promptings, they will cease coming. If you chose to weigh and measure these impressions you will generally talk yourself out of doing them, and the moment, opportunity, and blessing will be lost to you. There is a world of difference between gospel students who accept things in faith and those who listen in the spirit of doubt. If someone asked you a gospel question, and you responded that you could read to them from the scripture the clear answer to their question, would you not expect them to accept that answer without first having carefully evaluated it? I have had this kind of experience on a number of occasions; I have responded to a question with the words, “I will show you what the Lord said about that.” Then I have taken the scriptures without a word of commentary and read what the Lord said, only to have the person asking the question say, “Well that is just your opinion.” If we are seeking truth about matters of faith, we must learn to do it in faith, and the first lesson we must learn is to not resist the Spirit. The Book of Mormon provides us with a couple of classical illustrations of this principle. When Ammon taught King Lamoni the king covenanted with Alma, saying, “I will believe all thy words” (Alma 18:23), and again when his father was taught by Aaron we find him saying, “I will believe thy words” (Alma 23:11). Nothing less is expected of any of us. If the Spirit has affirmed that a speaker or a text represents the Lord, we listen with a believing heart and know that what is being said is true as we hear it. We read the Book of Mormon and believe the words of its prophets, we read the revelations of Joseph Smith and believe the words we read; and we know we are going to believe them before we read them. This is not blind faith, for we already know that the Book of Mormon is true-not part of it, not some of it, but all of it, and we know it before we read it. We know that Joseph Smith is a prophet, and we do not pick and chose between the revelations he received, judging some to be truth and others not. He is not a half prophet or a most-of-the-time prophet. He is a prophet, and when he speaks in the role of a prophet we accept it as such. To do otherwise is to offend the Spirit and wallow in darkness. Nephi Seeks to Obtain the Visionary Knowledge of His Father As the story of the Book of Mormon begins, father Lehi is shown a prophetic vision that teaches much relative to the plan of salvation and the history of his posterity from that day until the end of time (1 Nephi 8). His older sons, Laman and Lemuel, take offense at their father’s dream. But a younger son, Nephi, was so captivated by the truths revealed through it that he besought the Lord to see, hear, and know the things that had been revealed to his father. Consider carefully his recounting of those events. “And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all the words of my father, concerning the things which he saw in a vision, and also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith on the Son of God-and the Son of God was the Messiah who should come-I, Nephi, was desirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him, as well in times of old as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of men. “For he is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him. “For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round” (1 Nephi 10:17-19; emphasis added). In these three verses, Nephi captures the genius of the Book of Mormon and the restored gospel. Though written later in his life, in these verses he describes the feelings and thoughts of a young man perhaps of the same age of Joseph Smith when the angel Moroni appeared to him. The great doctrine being announced here is that revelation, including the knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom, is not something reserved to the old or to those holding certain offices or positions. Spirituality is not an office; it is not a position; it is not appended to age or gender. In the context of our discussion, it is the right of all who diligently seek to obtain it. Spiritual knowledge is the exclusive providence of the household of faith. It grows out of the testimony that Jesus, the Christ, is indeed the Son of God, which testimony can come only by the power of the Holy Ghost. Nephi’s experience in receiving this vision is a perfect illustration of someone seeking and obtaining knowledge by faith. It will be recalled that Nephi’s brothers claimed that they could not understand the things their father taught them. When Nephi asked why they did not ask God to help them obtain an understanding, they said, “We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us” (1 Nephi 15:9). Nephi asked in faith and obtained the knowledge he sought. Laman and Lemuel refused to do so and remained in ignorance. The point in all of this is that faith begets faith and doubt begets doubt. Some are quick to tell us that this is circular reasoning. Be that as it may, it is the divine system. The seed of faith properly planted and cared for produces the fruits of faith. The seeds of doubt, in like manner, produce in and after their own image and likeness. The First Vision Few, if any, principles are repeated more often in scripture than the injunction that we ask of God. Good people everywhere believe it their right to pray and to seek personal blessings, but what about seeking the knowledge of spiritual truths? Missionaries are constantly challenging people to pray and ask God to know if the Book of Mormon is true or to obtain a witness of the Spirit relative to the truthfulness of the First Vision. They are asking them to seek knowledge by faith. Is there, however, a single person on the face of the earth who has prayed to know if the Bible was true? If there is such a person, I have not been privileged to meet him or her. The Bible requires much more by way of faith to believe than the Book of Mormon. In fact, if one truly believes the Bible, it is a rather short step to belief in the Book of Mormon. What of a young man approaching the heavens to inquire as to which of all the churches he should join? Such an idea is inherently at odds with the dictum of the historical Christian faith that all necessary answers have already been given; Catholics may ask of their priest and the Protestants may search their Bible, but no one is to suppose that it is their right to receive a direct and personal answer to such a query. To do so would certainly be a classic illustration of seeking knowledge by faith. This is, of course, the very question that drove the youthful Joseph Smith into what we now know as the Sacred Grove. He had sought the opportunity to hear the preachers of the various denominations declare the plan of salvation as they understood it. The more he listened, the more confused he became. “Which of all these contending views is right and how shall I know it?” (see JS-H 1:10). Such were the questions that plagued his soul. In reading the Bible he came across these words written by James long years ago, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5). The passage was burned into his soul. If any man lacked wisdom he did, and how to act he did not know nor would he ever know unless he followed the injunction of James and sought knowledge by faith. He must ask in the faith and trust that he would indeed receive an answer. Given that the question has been asked and an answer given-one intended to be announced with boldness among those of every nation, kindred, tongue and people-it would not be for me in so asking to expect a personal appearance of the Father and the Son as did Joseph Smith. But I most assuredly have the right to know by the witness of the Spirit of the verity of the answer given to Joseph Smith in what we know as the Sacred Grove. In seeking and obtaining a confirmation of that question-that is, in coming to the knowledge that Joseph Smith was indeed the chosen spokesman for God to this dispensation-I am engulfed in a veritable flood of knowledge about the plan of salvation. As the agent of restoration for this dispensation, Joseph Smith freely asked of God and repeatedly received a hundredfold more by way of answer than he sought for-and so it is with us. When we obtain the affirmation of the Spirit that God spoke through Joseph Smith, we thus become rightful heirs to all that was revealed to him. Thus, by faith, we have sought and received knowledge that reaches light years beyond that possessed by those not willing to pursue such a course. This is to learn by faith. The testimony of Nephi and Joseph Smith is that God would not reveal anything to them that he would not share with anyone else who sought him on the same terms. Joseph stated the principle thus: “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, for the day must come when no man need say to his neighbor, Know ye the Lord; for all shall know Him (who remain) from the least to the greatest” (Smith, Teachings, 149). And Nephi promised, as noted earlier, that “he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round” (1 Nephi 10:19). Truth Begets Truth To seek learning by faith is to accept all that God has revealed, to embrace it, to love it, to come to know and understand it, and to live it. Thus we become rightful heirs to all that God has revealed and all that he will yet reveal. As the Savior taught, “For whosoever receiveth, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; but whosoever continueth not to receive, from him shall be taken away even that he hath” (JST Matthew 13:10-11). The most explicit text we have on this matter comes to us from Nephi who said, “Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God, and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough! “For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have” (2 Nephi 28:29-30). Truths do not fight with each other. To receive one truth is to prepare the way for another. Thus, my testimony of the Book of Mormon helps me to unlock a host of things that would otherwise be lost to me in the Old Testament. My faith in the Doctrine and Covenants unlocks a great host of things in both the Old and New Testaments. My faith in the ordinances of the temple unlock much by way of understanding relative to Eden, the fall of Adam, and the purpose of earth life. In the temple marriage ceremony we find the most comprehensive explanation of the Abrahamic covenant that we could be given. So it is that, in each instance, to embrace one truth by faith places us in a position to receive others; thus faith builds upon faith, knowledge upon knowledge, and truth upon truth. One of the distinguishing characteristics of all gospel truths is the manner in which they always open the door to more and greater truths. Be Believing Seeking understanding by faith means that we have eyes to see and ears to hear. It means that we understand the living voice of God as granted to us through the mouth of our prophet to be the most perfect of scriptural commentary. “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same” (D&C 1:38). Thus, as we study the gospel, our instruction is that we “search diligently, pray always, and be believing,” with the attendant promise that “all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith ye have covenanted one with another” (D&C 90:24). No Comments | Post or read comments FEATURES |
April 25, 2026
April 25, 2026
