Chapter 14—The Eye of Faith
The seed of truth begins to take root inside us as we recognize God’s word as good and true.
Belief prepares us to plant the seed, and faith helps it grow, but what is the final result? The reward is found within the same words in Alma’s verse. It will ‘swelL within your breasts,’ ‘enlargE my soul,’ ‘enlighteN my understanding,’ and become ‘deliciouS to me.’
Faith begins as a S–E–E–D and ends in a L–E–N–S, an optical device used to transmit and refract light. Light coming into a lens of faith will converge (focus) into our soul and diverge (radiate) among men. An eye single to the glory of God qualifies us to receive light that radiates, even if men refuse to perceive it. Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (3 Nephi 12:16). This light, “a standard for the nations” (D&C 115:5) is exuded as the Lord’s glory is on us.
As we renounce sin, embrace truth, and receive the Spirit, our eyes open and we begin to S–E–E. “Open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law . . . The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes” (Psalm 119:18, 19:8). Awakening, or opening the eyes, requires faith. Enoch’s first verses say he was “a righteous man whose eyes were opened by God” (1 Enoch 1:2).
“Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith?” (Alma 5:15). If we do, He promises to “instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go. I will guide thee with mine eye” (Psalm 32:8). An eye of faith discerns truth from error. Having “an eye single to the glory of God” is a prerequisite for receiving a remission of sins and companionship of the Holy Ghost. which ultimately lead to knowledge of God. Being enlightened by the Spirit lets us access “the powers of the world to come” (Hebrews 6:5).
Faith must grow until we have an eye single to Him, enabling us to “taste the light” (Alma 32:35) by partaking of fruit. His word is ‘delicious’ fruit, known only to those who “tasted the good word of God” and “the heavenly gift” (Hebrews 6:4–5). To taste is to internalize, making it part of us, to experience it for ourselves. Joseph said true doctrine “tastes good. I can taste the principles of eternal life and so can you. They are given to me by the revelations of Jesus Christ.” “Taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him” (Psalm 34:8). Having testimony that it is ‘delicious,’ the S–E–E–D has filled the measure of its creation as faith is full. Without “looking forward with an eye of faith,” we can “never pluck of the fruit of the tree of life” (Alma 32:40).
Faith enables us to see God’s invisible order through spiritual eyes, forsaking what appears to be for what truly is. We must judge the ideas, doctrines, and promises of those who claim His name. The Lord warns us not to judge by outward criteria such as appearance, stature, or position. “For man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7), where the seed must be planted. “It is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night . . . I show unto you the way to judge . . . See that ye do not judge wrongfully” (Moroni 7:15–16, 18).
They “made their roads crooked; no one who walks on them will know peace” (Isaiah 59:8, CSB). Man seeks peace by forgetting God or following the world but true peace comes through obeying His commandments. A false sense of peace is found in words such as those delivered by LDS apostle Jeffrey R. Holland, who recently declared the LDS “have become mature enough” to spread across every nation. “Zion is everywhere—wherever the church is.” But expanding a religious empire is hardly building the kingdom of God. Zion has no poor, nor contention, or division. Zion is, more correctly, wherever God can dwell, which requires a holy and sanctified people.
Nephi warns not just of priestcraft, but thinking we have Zion when we do not. If Zion is not present, priestcraft exists among us. Believing God has given His power to men, that His great and marvelous work is already fulfilled, or that we can follow leaders without risk of falling are snares that keep priestcraft flourishing.
Most reject the truth that they “walk in darkness” (Ecclesiastes 2:14) and need to return to what God revealed. Believing they are already saved is more enticing than facing the brutal reality that they must step up to their covenant responsibilities because they can be led astray. They are fools who build their house on sand but believe they are solid and secure. Their “whole house” is made of “stones and bricks of sin” having “foundations of sin and deceit” (1 Enoch 99:12–13). “Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness” (Jeremiah 22:13).
Delusion has no place in ascension. Jesus said, “Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit” (Matthew 15:14, NIV). Isaiah 59 describes offenses against God using imagery of blindness that requires we feel our way.
In Lehi’s dream many were blind, “feeling their way towards that great and spacious building” (1 Nephi 8:31). People either strayed or held to “the word of God” (1 Nephi 15:24).
When Alma was asked how to “obtain this fruit” or “plant the seed, or the word” in their hearts, he responded that church was not necessary to worship—a softened heart and belief was what God required.
His gospel is worthy of all sacrifice. The veil of darkness, which is the chains of hell, are removed as we come to Him.
Faith opens the eye of understanding, lighting our soul. “Ye were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8). Believing truth transforms us into ‘people of the light’. As the “true Light” (John 1:9), His Spirit “enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings” (D&C 88:11). The closer we draw to Him, the clearer our understanding is of things of eternal worth. “God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).
Things of God are only “seen and understood by the power of the Holy Spirit, which God bestows on those who love him and purify themselves before him, to whom he grants this privilege of seeing and knowing for themselves” (D&C 76:116–117).
For footnotes and references, click HERE.
We will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—it must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me. (Alma 32:28)Alma describes the process as His word ‘beginneth to’ work in our heart: It will ‘begin to Swell within your breasts,’ ‘Enlarge my soul,’ ‘Enlighten my understanding,’ and become ‘Delicious to me.’ The first letter of each spells S-E-E-D, an easy way to remember the evidence of faith.
Belief prepares us to plant the seed, and faith helps it grow, but what is the final result? The reward is found within the same words in Alma’s verse. It will ‘swelL within your breasts,’ ‘enlargE my soul,’ ‘enlighteN my understanding,’ and become ‘deliciouS to me.’
Faith begins as a S–E–E–D and ends in a L–E–N–S, an optical device used to transmit and refract light. Light coming into a lens of faith will converge (focus) into our soul and diverge (radiate) among men. An eye single to the glory of God qualifies us to receive light that radiates, even if men refuse to perceive it. Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (3 Nephi 12:16). This light, “a standard for the nations” (D&C 115:5) is exuded as the Lord’s glory is on us.
As we renounce sin, embrace truth, and receive the Spirit, our eyes open and we begin to S–E–E. “Open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law . . . The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes” (Psalm 119:18, 19:8). Awakening, or opening the eyes, requires faith. Enoch’s first verses say he was “a righteous man whose eyes were opened by God” (1 Enoch 1:2).
“Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith?” (Alma 5:15). If we do, He promises to “instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go. I will guide thee with mine eye” (Psalm 32:8). An eye of faith discerns truth from error. Having “an eye single to the glory of God” is a prerequisite for receiving a remission of sins and companionship of the Holy Ghost. which ultimately lead to knowledge of God. Being enlightened by the Spirit lets us access “the powers of the world to come” (Hebrews 6:5).
Faith must grow until we have an eye single to Him, enabling us to “taste the light” (Alma 32:35) by partaking of fruit. His word is ‘delicious’ fruit, known only to those who “tasted the good word of God” and “the heavenly gift” (Hebrews 6:4–5). To taste is to internalize, making it part of us, to experience it for ourselves. Joseph said true doctrine “tastes good. I can taste the principles of eternal life and so can you. They are given to me by the revelations of Jesus Christ.” “Taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him” (Psalm 34:8). Having testimony that it is ‘delicious,’ the S–E–E–D has filled the measure of its creation as faith is full. Without “looking forward with an eye of faith,” we can “never pluck of the fruit of the tree of life” (Alma 32:40).
Faith enables us to see God’s invisible order through spiritual eyes, forsaking what appears to be for what truly is. We must judge the ideas, doctrines, and promises of those who claim His name. The Lord warns us not to judge by outward criteria such as appearance, stature, or position. “For man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7), where the seed must be planted. “It is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night . . . I show unto you the way to judge . . . See that ye do not judge wrongfully” (Moroni 7:15–16, 18).
He that trembleth under my power shall be made strong, and shall bring forth fruits of praise and wisdom, according to the revelations and truths which I have given you. And again, he that is overcome and bringeth not forth fruits, even according to this pattern, is not of me. Wherefore, by this pattern ye shall know the spirits in all cases under the whole heavens. And the days have come; according to men’s faith it shall be done unto them. (D&C 52:17–20)Believing error cursed the Lamanites, but covenant-making Nephites were destroyed for it. This land and people will be cursed and destroyed if they choose wickedness over righteousness and refuse truth. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12), but rejecting Him brings penalty. Ancient prophets desired to bring His gospel to those who would possess this land in latter days. “They did leave a blessing upon this land . . . that whosoever should believe in this gospel in this land might have eternal life” (D&C 10:50).
Cursed shall be the land, yea, this land, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, unto destruction, which do wickedly, when they are fully ripe; and as I have said so shall it be; for this is the cursing and the blessing of God upon the land, for the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. (Alma 45:16)God cannot tolerate deviation, sin, pride, or unbelief so repentance is crucial. “Your hearts are not drawn out unto the Lord, but they do swell with great pride unto . . . all manner of iniquities” (Helaman 13:22). Samuel the Lamanite proclaimed the repercussions of such wickedness.
For this cause hath the Lord God caused that a curse should come upon the land, and also upon your riches, and this because of your iniquities.
Yea, wo unto this people, because of this time which has arrived, that ye do cast out the prophets, and do mock them, and cast stones at them, and do slay them, and do all manner of iniquity unto them, even as they did of old time. And now when ye talk, ye say, If our days had been in the days of our fathers of old, we would not have slain the prophets; we would not have stoned them, and cast them out. Behold ye are worse than they; for as the Lord liveth, if a prophet come among you and declareth unto you the word of the Lord, which testifieth of your sins and iniquities, ye are angry with him, and cast him out and seek all manner of ways to destroy him; yea, you will say that he is a false prophet, and that he is a sinner, and of the devil, because he testifieth that your deeds are evil. (Helaman 13:23–26)Assuming leaders are prophets while rejecting those who preach His gospel of repentance is sin. Apostasy is the “process by which ‘the righteous are removed and none perceives it’.”
They “made their roads crooked; no one who walks on them will know peace” (Isaiah 59:8, CSB). Man seeks peace by forgetting God or following the world but true peace comes through obeying His commandments. A false sense of peace is found in words such as those delivered by LDS apostle Jeffrey R. Holland, who recently declared the LDS “have become mature enough” to spread across every nation. “Zion is everywhere—wherever the church is.” But expanding a religious empire is hardly building the kingdom of God. Zion has no poor, nor contention, or division. Zion is, more correctly, wherever God can dwell, which requires a holy and sanctified people.
Nephi warns not just of priestcraft, but thinking we have Zion when we do not. If Zion is not present, priestcraft exists among us. Believing God has given His power to men, that His great and marvelous work is already fulfilled, or that we can follow leaders without risk of falling are snares that keep priestcraft flourishing.
They deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel; and they say unto the people: Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept . . . for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done his work, and he hath given his power unto men. (2 Nephi 28:5)Mistaking imitative peace for the Spirit keeps us bound by sin in darkness. Satan will lull us into security, for false prophets “have seduced my people, saying Peace; and there was no peace” (Ezekiel 13:10).
Cursed be the man who . . . blesses himself in his heart and says, ‘Peace be with me, even though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart’ (Deuteronomy 29:19), whereas his spirit, parched (for lack of truth) and watered (with lies) shall be destroyed without pardon.If ‘prophets by position’ do not preach Christ’s gospel or know Him, they are foolish and blind. Their message that ‘all is well’ opposes what true prophets preach. The deceived believe their smooth words, remain zealously devoted, and are lead to hell. Being led into darkness by persuasive but erring leaders will cause our fall. “O ye wicked and ye perverse generation, ye hardened and ye stiffnecked people . . . how long will ye suffer yourselves to be led by foolish and blind guides? Yea, how long will ye choose darkness rather than light?” (Helaman 13:29).
If a man shall come among you and shall say, Do this, and there is no iniquity; do that and ye shall not suffer; yea, he will say, Walk after the pride of your own hearts; yea, walk after the pride of your eyes, and do whatsoever your heart desireth—and if a man shall come among you and say this, ye will receive him and say that he is a prophet. Yea, ye will lift him up and ye will give unto him of your substance . . . Because he speaketh flattering words unto you, and he saith that all is well, then ye will not find fault with him. (Helaman 13:27–28)Joseph said, “The moment you teach them some of the mysteries of the kingdom of God that are retained in the heavens and are to be revealed to the children of men when they are prepared for them, they will be the first to stone you and put you to death. It was this same principle that crucified the Lord Jesus Christ and will cause the people to kill the prophets in this generation.” Hebrew Matthew translates stoning as “remov[ing] those who are sent” to preach His word. Jesus “was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (John 1:10–11).
The adversary has always sought the life of the servants of God. You are therefore to be prepared at all times to make a sacrifice of your lives, should God require them in the advancement and building up of His cause . . . The lives of those who proclaim the true Gospel will be in danger; this has been the case ever since the days of the righteous Abel.Although God said, “no man shall save thee” (Deuteronomy 28:29), trusting in men became their religion. “Let every man stand or fall by himself and not for another, or not trusting another. Seek unto my Father” (JST Mark 9:44–45).
Most reject the truth that they “walk in darkness” (Ecclesiastes 2:14) and need to return to what God revealed. Believing they are already saved is more enticing than facing the brutal reality that they must step up to their covenant responsibilities because they can be led astray. They are fools who build their house on sand but believe they are solid and secure. Their “whole house” is made of “stones and bricks of sin” having “foundations of sin and deceit” (1 Enoch 99:12–13). “Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness” (Jeremiah 22:13).
Delusion has no place in ascension. Jesus said, “Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit” (Matthew 15:14, NIV). Isaiah 59 describes offenses against God using imagery of blindness that requires we feel our way.
In Lehi’s dream many were blind, “feeling their way towards that great and spacious building” (1 Nephi 8:31). People either strayed or held to “the word of God” (1 Nephi 15:24).
(1) “Other multitudes feeling their way towards that great and spacious building” include many who “were drowned in the depths of the fountain,” “were lost from his view, wandering in strange roads,” and even some who “had tasted of the fruit” but “were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them.” Afterward these too “fell away into forbidden paths and were lost” (1 Nephi 8:31–32, 28).
(2) Multitudes “came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward . . . through the mists of darkness . . . continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree” (1 Nephi 8:30, 24).How each group moved is significant. Those blind of understanding were “feeling their way toward” (1 Nephi 8:31) the great, spacious building. The others were “pressing forward that they might obtain the path which led unto the tree by which I stood” (1 Nephi 8:21). There is a difference in feeling and pressing. To feel uses our senses, perceives by touch, and is easily affected or moved. Because feeling relies entirely on natural senses, it can hinder faith. We are deceived if we believe a physical feeling must be evidence of the Spirit. Having a physical response to a testimony or experience is no guarantee of its truthfulness for Satan deceives those who do not serve or know the Lord’s voice. External evidences perceived by natural senses may help bring us to belief, but only spiritual senses convert us.
Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you . . . We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like people without eyes . . . Our offenses are many in your sight and our sins testify against us. (Isaiah 59:2, 9–10, 12, NIV)The faithful are “continually holding fast to the rod of iron” (1 Nephi 8:30) in contrast to the blind who ‘grope along the wall.’ Ezekiel also references a wall, one that fell into neglect. Its presence alone gave a sense of security to the blind and ignorant. The righteous realize the wall offers no real protection, being a hypocritical masquerade, a testament of their error and delusion. Its deteriorated condition would not withstand the Lord’s measure of exactness. “It’s as if the people have built a flimsy wall and these prophets are trying to reinforce it by covering it with whitewash!” (Ezekiel 13:10, NLT). We can be deceived by a whitewashed wall, but a flimsy wall cannot protect us from the enemy. “You have not gone up to the breaches in the wall to repair it for the people of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the Lord” (Ezekiel 13:5, NIV). Their wall of peace will be left in rubble and ruin.
So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with [‘whitewash,’ NIV] and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. (Ezekiel 13:14)God’s servants will “discover unto my people who serve me . . . the works of their brethren, yea, their secret works, their works of darkness, and their wickedness and abominations” (Alma 37:23). He will “discover to every creature who should possess the land the iniquities and abominations of his people” (Mosiah 28:15). They deviate from His gospel and refuse His sure foundation. Faulty beliefs, deceptive works, and wolves in sheep’s clothing will be revealed. Their sandy foundation will be exposed as it crumbles. The faithless and blind who grope their way in the darkness of unbelief will fall with it.
Peter compares the world in which we live to a great house filled with dense smoke, blinding smoke, produced by human unbelief, malice, ambition, greed, etc. Because of this smoke, the people who live in the house can see nothing clearly, but we must imagine them groping about with weak and running eyes, coughing and scolding, bumping into each other, tripping over furniture, trying to make out a bit of reality here and there a corner, a step, a wall and then trying to fit their desperate and faulty data together to make some kind of sense . . .
There is only one possible way to get any sure knowledge either of the building or its builder, and that is to consult one who has come from the pure air of the outside where he has viewed the house with clear detachment and spoken with its builder. Such a clear view comes only by revelation and can only be conveyed to men . . . by a true prophet.Feeling our way toward something does not ensure spiritual progress unless accompanied by “repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). The blind feel their way with physical senses, but the faithful press through mists of darkness by holding to God’s word. To press forward means we do not wander in perverse paths or worship in vain. Since faith is a principle of action and power, and pressing exerts power, the faithful ‘press forward’ to Him.
The extent of their knowledge respecting his character and glory will depend upon their diligence and faithfulness in seeking after him, until, like Enoch, the brother of Jared, and Moses, they shall obtain faith in God, and power with him to behold him face to face. (LF 2:55)Two of four groups described in Lehi’s dream never arrived at the fruit. The third group “tasted of the fruit” but became lost. Only the steadfast “came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit” (1 Nephi 8:30). We are filled by Christ’s atonement, which “makes you holy and through your belief in the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13, NLT).
When Alma was asked how to “obtain this fruit” or “plant the seed, or the word” in their hearts, he responded that church was not necessary to worship—a softened heart and belief was what God required.
Ye have said that ye could not worship your God because ye are cast out of your synagogues. But behold, I say unto you, if ye suppose that ye cannot worship God, ye do greatly err and ye ought to search the scriptures; if ye suppose that they have taught you this, ye do not understand them . . . I would ask if ye have read the scriptures? If ye have, how can ye disbelieve on the Son of God?
Behold a type was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live. But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would heal them. (Alma 33:2, 14, 19–20)We look to whom we believe, whether it be others, men of position, or Jesus Christ. Not looking to or hearkening to God hardens our heart. Israel did not “cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake” (Ezekiel 20:8) the “images they had set their eyes on” (NIV) or “the detestable idols that they looked to for help” (God’s Word).
If ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be slothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish? If so, wo shall come upon you; but if not so, then cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God. (Alma 33:21–22)Pray that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened” (Ephesians 1:18, NIV). Righteousness and faith come as we look to Christ. To Luther, righteousness is not only “looking at Christ Himself as a teacher or a giver. But I look at Him as a gift and as doctrine to me, in Himself, so that in Him I have all things. He says, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life.’ He says not, ‘I give thee the way, and the truth, and the life,’ as if He were working on me from without. All these things He must be in me, abiding, living, and speaking in me, not through me or to me, that we may be ‘the righteousness of God in Him’.”
His gospel is worthy of all sacrifice. The veil of darkness, which is the chains of hell, are removed as we come to Him.
The darkness of sin, ignorance, and unbelief, with which God’s elect, while in a state of nature, are surrounded . . . under the power of which they are to such a degree that they know nothing of God in Christ, of the way of salvation by him, or of the work of the Spirit on their souls, or of the doctrines of the Gospel in an experimental manner . . .
[Their] deliverance is wrought out for them in the effectual calling, when they are internally called and powerfully brought out of this darkness, by introducing light into them, revealing Christ in them, causing the prince of darkness to flee from them, and the scales of darkness and blindness to fall from their eyes . . . So long as a person is under the power of darkness, he cannot be meet for an inheritance which is in light.Without faith we are blind and foolish, but faith lets us see and know. “It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance” (D&C 131:6).
Faith opens the eye of understanding, lighting our soul. “Ye were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8). Believing truth transforms us into ‘people of the light’. As the “true Light” (John 1:9), His Spirit “enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings” (D&C 88:11). The closer we draw to Him, the clearer our understanding is of things of eternal worth. “God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).
Things of God are only “seen and understood by the power of the Holy Spirit, which God bestows on those who love him and purify themselves before him, to whom he grants this privilege of seeing and knowing for themselves” (D&C 76:116–117).
For footnotes and references, click HERE.