“There are musicians
but most of us are not musicians, some lacking musical talent, but the majority
probably lacking inclination. But of those who are musically talented none ever
becomes a great musician without years of persistent, continuous work. Great
performers continue long hours of practice even though their reputations may be
international. … No athlete becomes outstanding, no mechanic becomes skilled,
no physician becomes an expert, no orator becomes great, no lawyer becomes
renowned, except by persistent practice and many, many hours of hard work. …
How foolish it would be for me to close my eyes and ears and say there are no
musicians because I am not talented to become a musician; that there are no Edisons
because I cannot become an inventor; that there are no artists because I do not
have the talents and inclinations to become an artist. Does not reason tell us
it is equally foolish for a man to declare there is no God simply because he
has not discovered him? …
“He who makes no
effort to learn of the existence of Deity will, in this life, likely not learn
there is a Deity. But his ignorance does not warrant him in declaring there is
no God.” (Joseph F. Merrill, The Truth-Seeker and Mormonism, Deseret
Book Co., pp. 76–77.)
I was asked to speak about knowing God, but as you see from the quote I just read, it is something that takes hours and hours, years and years. We don't get to a finish line and, "Now I know God. I'm done." It is a life-long endeavor. And yet, hours and years of practicing it? It can't happen just by reading our scriptures and praying. We have to actually go out and live our life.
So I turned to stories in the scriptures of people who spoke to God or Christ face to face. Who had special interactions with Him, so that I could draw conclusions of how to come to know God in our daily life.
Moses and the burning bush (in nature) Exodus 3:21
1 Now Moses kept the flock
of Jethro his father in law, thepriest of Midian: and he led the
flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of
God, even to Horeb.
2 And the angel of
the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the
midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire,
and the bush was not consumed.
4 And when
the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto
him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said,
Here am I.
Alma 30:44 But Alma said unto him: Thou hast had signs
enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say, Show unto me a sign, when ye have
the testimony of allthese thy brethren, and also all the holy
prophets? The scriptures are laid before thee, yea,
and allthings denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that
are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the
planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme
Creator.
10 Be still, and know that I am God:
I can't help thinking that if Moses had been looking at his cellphone while he was leading the flock of sheep that he would have missed the burning bush and missed God entirely. How often do we allow
ourselves to connect with God through nature? To be still? To see His hand and His works.
Mary, mother of Jesus
(in parenthood)
Being a parent gives
us the opportunity to understand how God feels about us and sees us. Even on my kids' worst days I still am able to see all their potential and goodness. But in addition to that, we have the opportunity to see God in our Children. They are so innocent, they are windows to the divine. Tell story about Max and crying about the beautiful flowers.
The woman who anointed Christ’s feet (in our service)
37 And, behold,
a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat
at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of
ointment,
38 And stood at his feet
behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and
did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet,
and anointed themwith the ointment.
There are lots of examples in the New Testament of people who interacted with Jesus. I chose this one because this woman truly recognized Jesus for who and what He was. Her act was one of respect and gratitude, but also service. When we serve we come to know better Christ who “went about doing good.” By developing Christlike attributes we will come to know Him. Jane and Christmas Stockings.
Saul/Paul (in our
sins)
13 At midday, O king, I saw
in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun,
shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.
14 And when we were all
fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew
tongue,Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee
to kick against the pricks.
16 But rise, and stand upon
thy feet: for I have appearedunto thee for this purpose, to make thee a
minister and awitness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of
those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
18 To open their
eyes, and to turn them from darkness tolight,
and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive
forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith
that is in me.
God has a higher
calling for us. He welcomes us under his wings even in our sins. Turn to Him.
He is never too far away. What can we learn of God when He calls us back from
sin. We know He is both just and merciful. He is neither a vengeful wrathful God, spurring people on to acts of terror and violence, nor a big teddy bear who expects nothing of His children. But His grace is sufficient. God saw something more in Saul of Tarsus. Even in his vast and terrible sins. The best
bishop, the best YW President, best YM pres. I have ever known have all wandered but were never
lost to their Father in Heaven.
On the Road to Emmaeus
(in those around us)
13 ¶And, behold, two of them went that
same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem aboutthreescore
furlongs.
14 And they talked together of all these
things which had happened.
15 And it came to pass, that, while
they communedtogether and reasoned, Jesus himself
drew near, and went with them.
16 But their eyes were holden that
they should not know him.
17 And he said unto them, What manner of
communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye
walk, and are sad?
18 And the one of them, whose name
was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem,
and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?
19 And he said unto them, What things? And
they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in
deed and word before God and all the people:
20 And how the chief
priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have
crucified him.
21 But we trusted that it
had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is
the third day since these things were done.
22 Yea, and certain women
also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;
23 And when they found not
his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which
said that he was alive.
24 And certain of them which
were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as
the women had said: but him they saw not.
27 And beginning
at Moses and all the prophets, heexpounded unto them in all
the scriptures the things concerning himself.
28 And they drew nigh unto
the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.
29 But they constrained
him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.
And he went in to tarry with them.
30 And it came to pass, as
he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and
brake, and gave to them.
I sometimes wonder what Christ would look like if He came in our day. He loked like everyone else at the time in Jerusalem. They didn't recognize Him by looks but by how He made them feel.
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and
precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of
the divine nature,
having escaped the corruption that is in the world
through lust.
If this is the nature of God, then I guess we know Him now, right? These are just words
to me. What do they mean, really? We are all children of God. We all have
part of His divine nature within us. Look around you. Do you see those who
exhibit faith? Virtue? Knowledge? Patience? Study them. Watch them. Try to be
like them. That is how you come to understand the nature of God.
Mary at the Tomb (in
our sorrow)
14 And when she had thus said, she turned
herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why
weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith
unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him,
and I will take him away.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned
herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
Mary recognized the Savior not because she saw Him, but because she recognized the way He said her name. It was probably one of the greatest sorrows of her life. Here she had put her faith in someone to be a Savior and now He was gone. Not just gone, His body had been stolen and probably desecrated. But then Christ called to her and she turned and recognized Him. Tell story about being angry with God. Are we allowing our sorrows to bring us nearer to God. To converse with Him and understand?
God is all around us if we will only take the time to listen and watch and recognize Him.
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