3 John 14:23—The appearing of the Father and the Son, in that verse, is a personal appearance; and the idea that the Father and the Son dwell in a man’s heart is an old sectarian notion, and is false.
As Joseph Smith was going through the Old and New Testament, in the spirit of revelation, with the intent of clearing up some of the translation errors, as only a true Prophet might do, he undoubtably had many questions. I am grateful for his example, which is borne out in the Doctrine and Covenants in several instances where he obviously takes a pause and asks the Lord a question about something he is working on, then records the answer as it was revealed to him by the Spirit. There is only one tiny teeny little problem with doing that. Once you have a truth revealed to you by God, you are obliged to live accordingly. In other words, be careful what you ask for. Look what happened when he asked about the wives and concubines of the Prophets of old.
I was trying to remember the last time I tried asking, and it would have to be yesterday. I was wondering how it was possible for God to dwell in our heart, or maybe when I heard the answer then I asked the question. Isn’t that usually what happens? It seems all the questions have been asked, and God just has to guide you to His answers in the scriptures. I love daily scriptures. I always hear something I’ve not thought about before. It’s those little perks that wake me up, and jolt me, that let me know where I’m at in the process.
Personally, I am thankful to God for guiding somebody to put all the resources online that I could possibly need to be able to find the answers quickly. I am especially thankful for the audio resources, and for the iTouch. I can listen to Ensigns, lessons, scriptures, speeches, all of high quality. I can carry all the resources to church and read the scriptures, lessons, Ensigns. It is a blessing I am particularly grateful for.
I think Joseph Smith was bold in his statement above when he said “the belief that the Father and the Son can dwell in your heart was an old sectarian notion, and was false”, but why shouldn’t he be? He saw them as they are. He was also bold in other doctrine. But again, why shouldn’t he be? He was the Prophet of the restoration. He was tutored from the age of 14 by God and Angels. He had reason to be bold, confident in the truth he was trying to teach. How much did he have to hold back? Man, I want to know.
Sections 129, 130 & 131 are not revelations from God. They were not included in the original Doctrine and Covenants, but were added later. These sections are instructions given to the people by Joseph Smith. These sections give you a glimpse into what Joseph Smith knew and who he actually was, and I would say, “WOW”.
However, I am grateful for the knowledge I have, and I think I have learned from Joseph Smith to rather be patient and wait until God thinks we are ready for His greater knowledge. There’s the sealed 2/3 of the Book of Mormon, the complete record of the Revelation of John, the books of scripture kept by the lost Tribes of Israel. But as long as I’m hearing things for the first time in the works we have, that tells me I still have study to do with what He has entrusted to our care. I shouldn’t be in a hurry. Wasn’t it Charlotte in Charlotte’s Web who said, “the hurrier I go, the behinder I get”?
This post is definitely one of my spokes:
SPOKES: Where I spend my time defines my values & priorities or what is important to me. Label your 16 spokes accordingly.
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