Chapter 20—The Trial of Faith
God promised to cover or endow His disciples “if ye are not of little faith” (3 Nephi 13:30). Through faith, God forgives sins, answers prayers, and provides strength to overcome temptation. Faith replaces fear and doubt, permits ministering angels, and leads to spiritual gifts. Faith brings visions, healings, miracles, knowledge, wisdom, rebirth, power over flesh (and elements), deliverance, and protection. Through faith, the atonement is effective.
Such wondrous blessings require that our faith first be tried. Trials are gifts that provide opportunities to forsake evil and receive power. Having faith in no way ensures our trials will cease. In fact, we should expect the opposite—the nearer we come to Him, the greater our trials and blessings. As we ascend, trials intensify in number and severity as seen in the lives of many holy prophets. God will not leave the faithful without comfort, so as our trials intensify so does the endowment of His spirit. “If you are faithful, I am with you . . . I am your Lord and your Redeemer” (D&C 34:11–12). While many attempt to avoid trials, enduring well endows us with His power.
Once we believe man’s ways (no matter how well-intentioned) are not God’s ways, we begin walking in faith, having few assurances. Faith confronts darkness and reveals the light of truth. Without the contrast of darkness, we could not recognize the light.
While a natural man is left to himself, the truly converted overcome the flesh. “If they . . . have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them” (Ether 12:27). Faith must be repeatedly tested to be strengthened, which is how we exercise faith. With the assistance of the Holy Ghost, ministering angels, gifts of the Spirit, and an increasingly firm knowing that, with God, we will overcome, trials strengthen our testimony that He will not forsake those who have faith in Him. “Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee” (Psalm 9:10). But
God tries our faith in several ways, including how we respond to the faith, His word as He revealed. Curses come from preaching any other gospel so truth must be preserved. When misguided men taught erroneous doctrine, Jude declared,
Although God says to ask Him for truth, LDS leadership encourages us to turn to men for answers. Apostle M. Russell Ballard recently taught, “When something has the potential to threaten our spiritual life, our most precious family relationships, and our membership in the kingdom, we should find thoughtful and faithful Church leaders to help us. And, if necessary, we should ask those with appropriate academic training, experience, and expertise for help. This is exactly what I do when I need an answer to my own questions that I cannot answer myself. I seek help from my Brethren in the Quorum of the Twelve and from others with expertise in fields of Church history and doctrine.”
Ballard had said it before: “When I have a question that I cannot answer, I turn to those who can help me. The Church is blessed with trained scholars and those who have devoted a lifetime of study, who have come to know our history and the scriptures.” Hugh Nibley differs in his views and understanding, saying,
Putting faith in men keeps us in Satan’s power. The pre-1990 LDS endowment warned participants against seeking teachers based on position or scholarly qualifications. By removing this, they discarded a warning that we could fail or fall. Such changes are stumbling blocks in the path to God, who “will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent. So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish . . . The world by its wisdom did not know God” (1 Corinthians 1:19–21, NLT, Net Bible).
“In the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy” (1 Timothy 4:1–2). “‘Many shall come in my name,’ and all of them falsely: ‘do not follow them!’ (Luke 21:8, NIV). ‘Believe none of them’!” Outward signs, titles, or charisma can deceive so judging on appearance, position, or tradition is risky. “Take heed lest any man deceive you” (Mark 13:5). Discernment is crucial because leaders and apostles can ‘transform themselves’ to appear righteous.
Apostles and prophets may claim ‘I am scripture’ when they speak, but we have a tremendous responsibility to ensure their words truly are from God. “We are to try the spirits and prove them, for it is often the case that men make a mistake in regard to these things.”
Adam demonstrated the necessity of carefully testing all messengers who sought to teach him, and we must do the same. “Do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world” (1 John 4:1, NLT). “Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15) who only appear to have light. Wolves come from inside the flock.
“The Christian masses do not realize what is happening to them; they are ‘bewitched’ by a thing that comes as softly and insidiously as the slinging of a noose.” Satan “leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord until he bindeth them with his strong cords forever” (2 Nephi 26:22). The subtle and seductive manner in which innovations pervert the gospel is confirmed by Jude, who said they “crept in unawares” (Jude 1:4), meaning to settle beside or enter secretly or stealthily. Commenting on Jude, Luther said,
“This church I have established and called forth out of the wilderness,” the Lord declared (D&C 33:5), yet their vanity and reformations drive it further “into the wilderness” (D&C 86:3). His restored church is to become His church by building on the sure rock of His gospel, for otherwise they will fall.
Moses was only able to rightfully discern because he truly had the the Lord’s spirit. In contrast, Korihor only later recognized “the devil hath deceived me; for he appeared unto me in the form of an angel and said unto me, Go and reclaim this people for they have all gone astray after an unknown God” (Alma 30:53).
The endowment encourages us to test those who claim to be of God to see if they truly have keys of divine knowledge and power. We must really understand the endowment to discern. The faithful “know that the names of Christ and Christian carry on, but find no comfort in that since those names are being freely used by impostors and corrupters whom ‘the many’ are gladly following.”
Judgment awaits so we are warned, “Contend thou, therefore, morning by morning and day after day, let thy warning voice go forth; and when the night cometh, let not the inhabitants of the earth slumber because of thy speech” (D&C 112:5). “Continue your vigorous defense of the faith that was passed down to the saints once and for all” (Jude 1:3, ISV), even that pure gospel “entrusted to God’s holy people” (NIV). Only “the pure and unadulterated religion of heaven . . . according to his revelations . . . insures eternal life” (LF 6:4).
“Their conflict was for truth; the truth of God. They contended against idolatry and departure from God. They wrestled mightily against the advancing apostasy and the encroachments” on their liberties. “And how was this conflict with error successfully carried out? The answer is supplied. It was ‘through faith.’ Through believing God; believing what He had spoken to them; obeying the voice they had heard and the command they received . . . They did not merely witness against evil, but they contended for the truth . . . We should not merely be opposed to the varied and outward forms which errors take, but we should understand and be able to witness for the truth which those errors have displaced and the doctrines of the Word of God which must replace the traditions of men.” To witness against evil and contend for truth defines a true protestant.
We are on trial for our obedience to God’s word—not what we are taught to believe, but what He really said. We must seek to understand His word so we can obey it. Only by searching His word diligently and believing truth will our eyes be opened, our hearts softened, and faith rooted in our soul to prepare us for greater things.
Faith qualifies us to receive greater things, even that “which I have caused to be written by my servant John shall be unfolded in the eyes of all the people” (Ether 4:16), among other scriptural treasures. Do we have these greater things? Because the endowment is found within current scripture, it is not the greater things promised. Greater things are withheld from the condemned. We must take His word seriously. It should alarm us that we do not have more knowledge, revelation, scripture, or miracles today because God promises it when we are faithful.
All who seek eternal life must “earnestly contend” for the faith. Contending “for the faith . . . [is] needful” (Jude 1:3). It is how we obtain “that good part” (Luke 10:42). The trial of faith proves to whom our heart belongs. It confronts false preachers and teachings. It determines if we believe “according to the words which Jesus hath spoken” (3 Nephi 26:8) and have faith to withstand the persecution that is sure to accompany it as we worship God “according to His revelations” (LF 6:4).
Opposition in All Things
God also tries our faith through personal trials, that we may obtain a good report. This was God’s plan from the beginning: “We will prove them herewith to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” (Abraham 3:25). The law of obedience is a telestial law, but many who fail to live it with exactness expect celestial glory. His approval is given “after the trial of your faith” (Ether 12:6) so opposition is essential to His plan.
For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so . . . righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. (2 Nephi 2:11)
Opposition tests our loyalty to God, offering blessings that cannot be obtained any other way. “The Lord trieth the righteous” to refine and redeem them (JST Psalm 11:5). To refine brings something to its pure state, free from profanity or imperfection. Joseph reminds us,
This “knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance” requires patience and trial, for “after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise” (Hebrews 10:34, 36). Abel sought this assurance: “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts” (Hebrews 11:4). Paul declared,
We are on trial, much like a legal trial where a judge is presented with evidence before stating the verdict. If we are judged true and faithful to God, “there is great reward” (Psalm 19:11).
Joseph encourages us to “trust in the Lord and leave the event with Him to govern in His own wise providence.” He explains, “All difficulties which might and would cross our way must be surmounted. Though the soul be tried, the heart faint, and the hands hang down, we must not retrace our steps; there must be decision of character.”
Those who seek to worship Him in spirit and truth must expect to be ridiculed, criticized, cast out, and persecuted by the zealous who do such things often while professing the name of God. Joseph said, “It always has been when a man was sent of God with the priesthood and he began to preach the fullness of the gospel that he was thrust out by his friends, who are all ready to butcher him if he teaches things which they imagine to be wrong; and Jesus was crucified upon this principle.”
All should take heed to unknowingly persecute believers who believe truth and know God. The dark side turns the world against truth and righteousness, but it will not remain victorious.
As faith increases, temptations and distractions lessen their power over our heart and mind until they no longer influence us away from the Lord. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him” (James 1:12).
In spite of obstacles, mortality becomes a burden willingly endured in anticipation of greater things. While many seek to avoid trials, overcoming obstacles gives us confidence to approach the Lord. As we continue faithful, hosts of heaven help fight our battles against evil and we realize that, in spite of overwhelming opposition, “those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16, ESV).
Faith is the weapon of defense against wickedness and evil. Hardly passive, we are to be “taking the shield of faith” into this great battle for souls. As part of the armor of godliness, with a shield of faith “ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” (Ephesians 6:16). “He is a shield to all those that trust in him” (Psalm 18:30, KJV 2000).
Knowing the glory given to God and the blessings received from enduring well, ancients looked on tribulation with joy.
Paul urges, “Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ . . . that he may please him who hath chosen him” and He will “give thee understanding in all things” (2 Timothy 2:3–4, 7). We are to examine ourself to see if we are prepared to receive glorious rewards.
Many are zealous but not for the faith, having “a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God’s righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:2–3).
“The Finisher of Their Faith”
Christ is “the beginning and the ending” (Revelation 1:8), “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). God commanded His title— “Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end”—be written because it testifies of Him. Because faith in Him is the first ordinance, He is the beginning, the author who grants authority to all who “rely alone upon the merits of Christ” (Moroni 6:4), “the Holy and Righteous One . . . the author of life” (Acts 3:14–15, NIV). He is the end to whom we must come, “the finisher of their faith” as faith becomes knowledge (Moroni 6:4).
As Christ performs the work He was commissioned to do for us and in us, faith becomes full and we rend the veil. Faith grows in light and power to become a brighter day then a “perfect day” as the Lord is manifest to the true and faith-full disciple (D&C 50:24). Having this knowledge, we are perfected in our ministry, having the testimony of Jesus, which was the purpose of the school of prophets and the Lectures on Faith.
Faith is the foundation of all righteousness and Christ is “the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4). Believing in Him is the beginning of faith, the doctrine of Christ. Having “endurance of faith on his name to the end,” we can preach His gospel with power and authority (Moroni 3:3). Only through Christ, the “author and the finisher” of faith (Moroni 6:4), can we endure to the end. To finish, teleiósis (G5050), is to perfect, “bringing the life of faith to its complete conclusion,” filling the measure of our creation.
Returning to Him is the purpose of His gospel, so we must “seek the face of the Lord always” (D&C 101:38). Fools do not “understand and seek God” but the wise “seek the Lord and his strength. [They] seek his face evermore” (Psalm 14:2, 105:4). To deny we need to see the Lord’s face renders us unfaithful.
We also must endure to “the end of the day of probation,” the period for proving our faith (2 Nephi 33:9). “Because of their faith and the repentance of all their sins and faithfulness unto the end” (3 Nephi 27:19) many obtained a crown of righteousness. When disciples asked what their end would be, Jesus replied, “Have you discovered the beginning then so that you are seeking the end? For where the beginning is, the end will be” (Gospel of Thomas 18:2). But the end is just another beginning, for the Lord’s course is one eternal round.
Without coming to Christ, we cannot be faith-full. Without looking to Him, we “must be damned” (2 Nephi 9:24) and forfeit eternal life. “Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6, NASB). Joseph said, “He is a revealer to those who diligently seek Him.” Such knowledge is the purpose and privilege of mortality, a worthy endeavor for all who seek the highest blessings.
Once proven true and faithful, we will be chosen, called up, and anointed kings and queens, priests and priestesses to God and by God—a promise that depends on our faithfulness. Ritual ordinances only prepare us symbolically to receive such blessings. No ritual replaces the need for God to ratify our ordinances. We become kings and queens having a fulness of priesthood power.
True and faithful servants powerfully testify, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). The faithful can truthfully testify with knowledge, ‘Thou art the Christ . . . I have found thee.’
For footnotes and references, click HERE.
Such wondrous blessings require that our faith first be tried. Trials are gifts that provide opportunities to forsake evil and receive power. Having faith in no way ensures our trials will cease. In fact, we should expect the opposite—the nearer we come to Him, the greater our trials and blessings. As we ascend, trials intensify in number and severity as seen in the lives of many holy prophets. God will not leave the faithful without comfort, so as our trials intensify so does the endowment of His spirit. “If you are faithful, I am with you . . . I am your Lord and your Redeemer” (D&C 34:11–12). While many attempt to avoid trials, enduring well endows us with His power.
God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13, NIV)The ‘way out’ is the relentless message of scripture—that all must repent and come to Him, without exception, for salvation. Until we do, our standing before God is not secure.
Once we believe man’s ways (no matter how well-intentioned) are not God’s ways, we begin walking in faith, having few assurances. Faith confronts darkness and reveals the light of truth. Without the contrast of darkness, we could not recognize the light.
While a natural man is left to himself, the truly converted overcome the flesh. “If they . . . have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them” (Ether 12:27). Faith must be repeatedly tested to be strengthened, which is how we exercise faith. With the assistance of the Holy Ghost, ministering angels, gifts of the Spirit, and an increasingly firm knowing that, with God, we will overcome, trials strengthen our testimony that He will not forsake those who have faith in Him. “Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee” (Psalm 9:10). But
the strength of mine house have not hearkened unto my words . . . [For] those who have hearkened unto my words, I have prepared a blessing and an endowment for them if they continue faithful . . . It is expedient in me that they should be brought thus far for a trial of their faith. (D&C 105:17–19)Contend for ‘The’ Faith
God tries our faith in several ways, including how we respond to the faith, His word as He revealed. Curses come from preaching any other gospel so truth must be preserved. When misguided men taught erroneous doctrine, Jude declared,
Ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain [ungodly] men crept in unawares . . . denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ . . . [He] destroyed them that believed not [‘did not remain faithful,’ NLT]. (Jude 1:3–5)His gospel was ‘once delivered’ to them—not learned from scholars, correlated in committee, decided by council, reformed by consensus, or discovered philosophically. It was said of the original Christian apostasy, “The Faith had ceased to vivify the whole personality; it has become a matter of the head and not of the heart, a matter of theological adhesion rather than of moral allegiance.” It became “fundamentally artificial.”
Although God says to ask Him for truth, LDS leadership encourages us to turn to men for answers. Apostle M. Russell Ballard recently taught, “When something has the potential to threaten our spiritual life, our most precious family relationships, and our membership in the kingdom, we should find thoughtful and faithful Church leaders to help us. And, if necessary, we should ask those with appropriate academic training, experience, and expertise for help. This is exactly what I do when I need an answer to my own questions that I cannot answer myself. I seek help from my Brethren in the Quorum of the Twelve and from others with expertise in fields of Church history and doctrine.”
Ballard had said it before: “When I have a question that I cannot answer, I turn to those who can help me. The Church is blessed with trained scholars and those who have devoted a lifetime of study, who have come to know our history and the scriptures.” Hugh Nibley differs in his views and understanding, saying,
In an article in the current Jewish Quarterly Review, I refer to the fierce conflict that took place in the first five centuries after Christ between the ‘literalists’ of the church and the ‘allegorists,’ or, as they called each other, the ‘anthropomorphists’ and the ‘spiritualizers.’ The latter were wholly under the sway of the University of Alexandria, and in the end they won a total victory. Ever since then the teachings of the Christian churches have been those of the old pagan universities, for when the Church lost revelation it had to turn to another source for guidance and so threw itself into the arms of the established schools of learning.
The schoolmen, as one of them expresses it, took over the office and function once belonging to the prophets and once in power guarded their authority with jealous care, quickly and violently suppressing any suggestion of a recurrent inspiration . . . By its very nature the university is the rival of the Church; its historic mission has been to supply the guiding light which passed away with the loss of revelation, and it can make no concessions to its absolute authority without forfeiting that authority.The Book of Mormon warns against asking the learned instead of God. “Wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men and denieth the power of God” (2 Nephi 28:26).
The wise, and the learned, and they that are rich, who are puffed up because of their learning, and their wisdom, and their riches—yea, they are they whom he despiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility, he will not open unto them. (2 Nephi 9:42)We are proven faithful by hearkening to teachings from above. Relying on the arm of flesh limits us to only as much as knowledge as our teacher has obtained. As scholarly or eloquent as their words may be, there is no guarantee that what they teach is truth, so we must ask God.
Putting faith in men keeps us in Satan’s power. The pre-1990 LDS endowment warned participants against seeking teachers based on position or scholarly qualifications. By removing this, they discarded a warning that we could fail or fall. Such changes are stumbling blocks in the path to God, who “will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent. So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish . . . The world by its wisdom did not know God” (1 Corinthians 1:19–21, NLT, Net Bible).
“In the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy” (1 Timothy 4:1–2). “‘Many shall come in my name,’ and all of them falsely: ‘do not follow them!’ (Luke 21:8, NIV). ‘Believe none of them’!” Outward signs, titles, or charisma can deceive so judging on appearance, position, or tradition is risky. “Take heed lest any man deceive you” (Mark 13:5). Discernment is crucial because leaders and apostles can ‘transform themselves’ to appear righteous.
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. (2 Corinthians 11:13–15)“There was no point upon which the Prophet Joseph dwelt more than the discerning of spirits . . . The prophet insisted that true religion was one of individual participation in revelation from God, but that in their zeal many could be deceived” because they do not understand the “keys of prayer and detection” taught in the endowment.
Apostles and prophets may claim ‘I am scripture’ when they speak, but we have a tremendous responsibility to ensure their words truly are from God. “We are to try the spirits and prove them, for it is often the case that men make a mistake in regard to these things.”
Adam demonstrated the necessity of carefully testing all messengers who sought to teach him, and we must do the same. “Do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world” (1 John 4:1, NLT). “Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15) who only appear to have light. Wolves come from inside the flock.
Early leaders worried constantly, and only, about the enemy within. Paganism, long dead on its feet . . . was not the real enemy at all. There were, to be sure, areas of doctrine and ritual in which paganism did present a real threat, but precisely there the church chose to surrender to the heathen.Enoch’s record concurs: “I saw that those sheep strayed and went off in many paths and . . . abandoned the house of the Lord and his tower. They went astray in everything and their eyes were blinded” (1 Enoch 89:51, 54). Through perversion, sheep became wolves but present themselves as apostles and ministers of righteousness. “In the last days, false prophets and corrupters will be plenty and the sheep will be turned into wolves” (Didache 16:3) who deny the Lord by usurping His role.
There is more than one way in which a man can deny Jesus Christ. He can deny him in the day of persecution. He can deny him for the sake of convenience. He can deny him by his life and conduct. He can deny him by developing false ideas about him.Wherever truth is established, there will be opposition and priests willing to teach philosophies of men mingled with scripture. The chosen are warned, “If thou art not aware, thou wilt fall” (D&C 3:9). Joseph warned, “You will live to see men arise in power in the Church who will seek to put down . . . the friends of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
“The Christian masses do not realize what is happening to them; they are ‘bewitched’ by a thing that comes as softly and insidiously as the slinging of a noose.” Satan “leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord until he bindeth them with his strong cords forever” (2 Nephi 26:22). The subtle and seductive manner in which innovations pervert the gospel is confirmed by Jude, who said they “crept in unawares” (Jude 1:4), meaning to settle beside or enter secretly or stealthily. Commenting on Jude, Luther said,
There is already a beginning, and preachers are at hand, to advocate other doctrines besides faith, by which the people are gently and unsuspectingly led astray from the true way. Peter’s second epistle calls attention to the same threat: ‘There shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies’ (2:1) and the like. Upon these false teachers the sentence of judgment, he says, was announced already long ago, namely, that they are condemned. This we understand now very well, since we have learned that no one can become righteous or be justified by his own works, but alone through faith in Christ; also, that he must rely upon the work of Christ, as his chief good and only support . . . Therefore where anyone now secretly introduces anything else than this doctrine of faith relating to such orders and their works, he misleads the people so that they will be condemned along with him.C.S. Lewis says the adversary approves of those who attend church, their reformed rituals allowing them to remain complacent, deceived, and unaware of the real dangers.
I am almost glad to hear that he is still a churchgoer and communicant. I know there are dangers in this; but anything is better than that he should realize the break he has made with the first months of his Christian life. As long as he retains externally the habits of a Christian he can still be made to think of himself as one . . . whose spiritual state is much the same as it was six weeks ago. And while he thinks that, we do not have to contend with the explicit repentance of a definite, fully recognized sin, but only with his vague, though uneasy, feeling that he hasn’t been doing very well lately. This dim uneasiness needs careful handling. If it gets too strong it may wake him up and spoil the whole game.Christianity continued long after Christ’s spirit departed. “As ‘the understanding of the Spirit . . . became lost . . . and the Christian had to rely on his own powers,’ that Christian became calculating, complacent, and respectable, in a word, all that the first Christian was not . . . [The later] Christian could enjoy ‘what he had been missing so long, the consideration and respect of the outside world’.”
“This church I have established and called forth out of the wilderness,” the Lord declared (D&C 33:5), yet their vanity and reformations drive it further “into the wilderness” (D&C 86:3). His restored church is to become His church by building on the sure rock of His gospel, for otherwise they will fall.
[The wise] have no illusions as to the way things are going: the church fast lost the gains it once made, the people are being led by false teachers, there is little to hinder the fulfillment of the dread (and oft-quoted) prophecy, ‘the Lord shall deliver the sheep of his pasture and their fold and their tower to destructions.’ The original tower with its perfectly cut and well-fitted stones is soon to be taken from the earth, and in its place will remain only a second-class tower of defective stones which could not pass the test . . . [They] take their leave of a church not busily engaged in realizing the kingdom, but fast falling asleep; the lights are going out, the Master has departed.Discerning evil that appears to be good—and recognizing good that the world calls evil—is the test of mortality. Satan deceives many by appearing to have light. He gives false revelations and visions and claims to possess priesthood. “Satan cried with a loud voice and ranted upon the earth, and commanded, saying, I am the Only Begotten, worship me” (Moses 1:19)—and many do. His ability to deceive is great because he imitates God.
Moses was only able to rightfully discern because he truly had the the Lord’s spirit. In contrast, Korihor only later recognized “the devil hath deceived me; for he appeared unto me in the form of an angel and said unto me, Go and reclaim this people for they have all gone astray after an unknown God” (Alma 30:53).
The endowment encourages us to test those who claim to be of God to see if they truly have keys of divine knowledge and power. We must really understand the endowment to discern. The faithful “know that the names of Christ and Christian carry on, but find no comfort in that since those names are being freely used by impostors and corrupters whom ‘the many’ are gladly following.”
A man must have the discerning of spirits before he can drag into daylight this hellish influence and unfold it unto the world in all its soul-destroying, diabolical, and horrid colors; for nothing is a greater injury to the children of men than to be under the influence of a false spirit when they think they have the Spirit of God.Not all false prophets start out as such. Remember, wolves start out as sheep. A “man of God” who warned of destruction eventually was deceived by hearkening to a prophet (1 Kings 13). Even a prophet will fall if he disobeys or trusts man.
We all know how that man of God failed after his successful conflict with king Jeroboam . . . As long as he believed and obeyed the word which he had heard from the Lord, all was well; for the path of obedience is ever the place of safety. He could say to Jeroboam, ‘If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee; neither will I eat break nor drink water in this place; for so it was charged of me by the word of the Lord.’ When the old prophet who lived at Bethel said, ‘Come home with me and eat bread,’ he got the same answer. But when the old prophet alleged that an angel had given him an order (though it was directly opposite to the solemn charge from the Lord), the man of God that came from Judah believed what the old prophet told him . . . In the case of the old prophet, we are distinctly informed that ‘he lied unto him.’ The man of God, therefore, in ceasing to believe God believed a lie!
This is called disobedience, but the word in Hebrew is . . . rebellion. Yes, it is rebellion against God to believe even an angel in a matter on which God has already spoken on His word . . . Sincerity is of no avail, for the greater the sincerity with which we believe what is not true, the more certain and real will be our ruin. It is whom and what we believe that matters. And, in the spiritual sphere, safety is found in believing only God and His truth.Whatever is not truth is a lie. The wicked “turn aside to lies” (Psalm 40:4) or “fall away to falsehood,” perpetuating lies by their unbelief.
The trial of faith is only as valid as the faith itself. A vain or false faith can only produce erroneous results . . . Faith has no saving power if it is directed toward false gods or false religious concepts and practices. Jesus taught: ‘This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent’ (John 17:3). No matter how fervent one’s supposed faith, to be ignorant of that God and his will is to be without a valid hope of salvation. A faith compounded from religious error is the ultimate ‘vanity of vanities’ (Ecclesiastes 1:2).Those who truly possess “the power of God” are “not ashamed of the gospel of Christ” (Romans 1:16). Latter-day priests and people are rebuked for being ashamed, which means we do not look to Him, believe His words, have faith in Him, or possess His power. “Why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ?” (Mormon 8:38). His gospel puts “men into possession of the power of God; for it is God’s power to save men.”
Judgment awaits so we are warned, “Contend thou, therefore, morning by morning and day after day, let thy warning voice go forth; and when the night cometh, let not the inhabitants of the earth slumber because of thy speech” (D&C 112:5). “Continue your vigorous defense of the faith that was passed down to the saints once and for all” (Jude 1:3, ISV), even that pure gospel “entrusted to God’s holy people” (NIV). Only “the pure and unadulterated religion of heaven . . . according to his revelations . . . insures eternal life” (LF 6:4).
“Their conflict was for truth; the truth of God. They contended against idolatry and departure from God. They wrestled mightily against the advancing apostasy and the encroachments” on their liberties. “And how was this conflict with error successfully carried out? The answer is supplied. It was ‘through faith.’ Through believing God; believing what He had spoken to them; obeying the voice they had heard and the command they received . . . They did not merely witness against evil, but they contended for the truth . . . We should not merely be opposed to the varied and outward forms which errors take, but we should understand and be able to witness for the truth which those errors have displaced and the doctrines of the Word of God which must replace the traditions of men.” To witness against evil and contend for truth defines a true protestant.
We are on trial for our obedience to God’s word—not what we are taught to believe, but what He really said. We must seek to understand His word so we can obey it. Only by searching His word diligently and believing truth will our eyes be opened, our hearts softened, and faith rooted in our soul to prepare us for greater things.
And now there cannot be written in this book even a hundredth part of the things which Jesus did truly teach unto the people; but behold the plates of Nephi do contain the more part of the things which [Jesus] taught the people. And these things have I written, which are a lesser part of the things which he taught the people; and I have written them to the intent that they may be brought again unto this people, from the Gentiles, according to the words which Jesus hath spoken.
And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them. And if it so be that they will not believe these things, then shall the greater things be withheld from them, unto their condemnation. Behold, I was about to write them, all which were engraven upon the plates of Nephi, but the Lord forbade it, saying: I will try the faith of my people. (3 Nephi 26:6–11)We are not ready for higher gospel truths until we understand and believe foundational ones. The Book of Mormon and all “holy scriptures [and] prophecies of the holy prophets” is given to try our faith. These “leadeth them to faith on the Lord and unto repentance” (Helaman 15:7) if we do not take them lightly.
Faith qualifies us to receive greater things, even that “which I have caused to be written by my servant John shall be unfolded in the eyes of all the people” (Ether 4:16), among other scriptural treasures. Do we have these greater things? Because the endowment is found within current scripture, it is not the greater things promised. Greater things are withheld from the condemned. We must take His word seriously. It should alarm us that we do not have more knowledge, revelation, scripture, or miracles today because God promises it when we are faithful.
All who seek eternal life must “earnestly contend” for the faith. Contending “for the faith . . . [is] needful” (Jude 1:3). It is how we obtain “that good part” (Luke 10:42). The trial of faith proves to whom our heart belongs. It confronts false preachers and teachings. It determines if we believe “according to the words which Jesus hath spoken” (3 Nephi 26:8) and have faith to withstand the persecution that is sure to accompany it as we worship God “according to His revelations” (LF 6:4).
Opposition in All Things
God also tries our faith through personal trials, that we may obtain a good report. This was God’s plan from the beginning: “We will prove them herewith to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” (Abraham 3:25). The law of obedience is a telestial law, but many who fail to live it with exactness expect celestial glory. His approval is given “after the trial of your faith” (Ether 12:6) so opposition is essential to His plan.
For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so . . . righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. (2 Nephi 2:11)
Opposition tests our loyalty to God, offering blessings that cannot be obtained any other way. “The Lord trieth the righteous” to refine and redeem them (JST Psalm 11:5). To refine brings something to its pure state, free from profanity or imperfection. Joseph reminds us,
You are not as yet brought into as trying circumstances as were the ancient Prophets and Apostles . . . who were stoned, sawn asunder, tempted, slain with the sword, and wandered about in sheep skins and goat skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and in mountains, and hid in dens, and caves of the earth; yet they all obtained a good report through faith; and amidst all their afflictions they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to receive persecution for Christ’s sake.
We know not what we shall be called to pass through before Zion is delivered and established. Therefore, we have great need to live near to God and always be in strict obedience to all His commandments.Joseph was “ever true to his God” in spite of intense persecution. He knew trials “give us the knowledge necessary to understand the minds of the ancients. For my part, I think I never could have felt as I now do if I had not suffered the wrongs that I have suffered. All things shall work together for good to them that love God.” A few years later he wrote,
And as for the perils which I am called to pass through, they seem but a small thing to me, as the envy and wrath of man have been my common lot all the days of my life . . . Deep water is what I am wont to swim in. It all has become a second nature to me; and I feel, like Paul, to glory in tribulation; for to this day has the God of my fathers delivered me out of them all, and will deliver me from henceforth; for behold, and lo, I shall triumph over all my enemies, for the Lord God hath spoken it. (D&C 127:2)The righteous faithfully endure. “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God . . . We glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed” (Romans 5:1–5). Like Joseph, Paul endured tribulations greater than most can comprehend.
[I am] in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep. In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren. In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness . . . In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me, and through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall and escaped his hands . . .
If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. (JST 2 Corinthians 11:23–27, 32–33, 12:9–10)Faith “enabled the ancient saints to endure all their afflictions and persecutions and to take joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing (not believing merely) that they had a more enduring substance” (LF 6:2). The assurance “that they were pursuing a course which was agreeable to the will of God . . . that when this earthly house of their tabernacle was dissolved, they had a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (LF 6:3) kept their faith strong.
This “knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance” requires patience and trial, for “after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise” (Hebrews 10:34, 36). Abel sought this assurance: “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts” (Hebrews 11:4). Paul declared,
But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. (Philippians 3:7–11)Although the world may choose to not be converted, it cannot escape being judged. Judgments come according to the portion of His word given. The more scripture received, the greater our responsibilities are. “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much” (Luke 16:10, NASB). “Should you in the least degree come short of your duty, great will be your condemnation. For the greater the calling, the greater the transgression.”
We are on trial, much like a legal trial where a judge is presented with evidence before stating the verdict. If we are judged true and faithful to God, “there is great reward” (Psalm 19:11).
Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind. For he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God . . . Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice. (1 Peter 4:1–2, 12)Trials often strike in areas that break our hearts and humble our spirits. While trials are personalized and details differ, the requirement to hold steadfast to His revealed word always remains. When it comes to trials, we must believe “the storm of life will be past” and “all these things shall give thee experience and shall be for thy good” (D&C 122:7).
Joseph encourages us to “trust in the Lord and leave the event with Him to govern in His own wise providence.” He explains, “All difficulties which might and would cross our way must be surmounted. Though the soul be tried, the heart faint, and the hands hang down, we must not retrace our steps; there must be decision of character.”
If we remain faithful, today’s test will become tomorrow’s testimony.But not all challenges in life are trials of faith, for sometimes life’s difficulties are just consequences of our choices, experiences that can develop faith if we permit. We must first have faith in the Lord before it can be tested.
Those who seek to worship Him in spirit and truth must expect to be ridiculed, criticized, cast out, and persecuted by the zealous who do such things often while professing the name of God. Joseph said, “It always has been when a man was sent of God with the priesthood and he began to preach the fullness of the gospel that he was thrust out by his friends, who are all ready to butcher him if he teaches things which they imagine to be wrong; and Jesus was crucified upon this principle.”
All should take heed to unknowingly persecute believers who believe truth and know God. The dark side turns the world against truth and righteousness, but it will not remain victorious.
No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. Persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.A Crown of Righteousness and Glory
As faith increases, temptations and distractions lessen their power over our heart and mind until they no longer influence us away from the Lord. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him” (James 1:12).
In spite of obstacles, mortality becomes a burden willingly endured in anticipation of greater things. While many seek to avoid trials, overcoming obstacles gives us confidence to approach the Lord. As we continue faithful, hosts of heaven help fight our battles against evil and we realize that, in spite of overwhelming opposition, “those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16, ESV).
Faith is the weapon of defense against wickedness and evil. Hardly passive, we are to be “taking the shield of faith” into this great battle for souls. As part of the armor of godliness, with a shield of faith “ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” (Ephesians 6:16). “He is a shield to all those that trust in him” (Psalm 18:30, KJV 2000).
My faith is nothing except for what it puts in front of me, and it is God who is truly my shield. My faith is only called a shield because it brings me behind the bosses of the Almighty’s buckler, against which no man can run a tilt, or into which no man can strike his lance, nor any devil either. God is a defense; and my trust, which is nothing in itself, is everything because of that with which it brings me into connection.
Faith is the condition, and the only condition, of God’s power flowing into me and working in me. And when that power flows into me and works in me, then I can laugh at the fiery darts because ‘greater is He that is with us than all they that are with them.’“Having embraced that order of things which God has established,” true disciples know enduring persecution honors Him. “The Lord tested them much and their spirits were found pure so that they might bless His name . . . These were found to have loved heaven more than their life that is in the world. Although they were trampled down by evil men and heard reproach and insult from them and were abused, yet they blessed me” (1 Enoch 108:9–10). Sacrifice is required for exaltation.
A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation. (LF 6:7)Early Christians were aware of this responsibility. “So firmly fixed in the Christian mind is the conviction that every true Christian, every saint, is, by very definition, a martyr, that when persecutions ceased devout souls felt themselves cheated . . . for tradition will not allow any other kind of church to be the true one.”
Knowing the glory given to God and the blessings received from enduring well, ancients looked on tribulation with joy.
Such was and always will be the situation of the saints of God, that unless they have an actual knowledge that the course that they are pursuing is according to the will of God, they will grow weary in their minds and faint.
For such has been and always will be the opposition in the hearts of unbelievers and those that know not God against the pure and unadulterated religion of heaven (the only thing which ensures eternal life), that they will persecute, to the uttermost, all that worship God according to his revelations, receive the truth in the love of it, and submit themselves to be guided and directed by his will, and drive them to such extremities that nothing short of an actual knowledge of their being the favorites of heaven, and of their having embraced that order of things which God has established for the redemption of man, will enable them to exercise that confidence in him necessary for them to overcome the world, and obtain that crown of glory which is laid up for them that fear God. (LF 6:4)Paul knew favorable judgment ties to an eternal crown. “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7–8). If we do not seek and “love His appearing” in this life, we cannot expect to want it more in the next. This is the test of mortality.
Paul urges, “Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ . . . that he may please him who hath chosen him” and He will “give thee understanding in all things” (2 Timothy 2:3–4, 7). We are to examine ourself to see if we are prepared to receive glorious rewards.
Those who keep the commandments of the Lord and walk in His statutes to the end are the only individuals permitted to sit at this glorious feast . . . Though [Paul] once, according to his own word, persecuted the Church of God and wasted it, yet after embracing the faith, his labors were unceasing to spread the glorious news: and like a faithful soldier, when called to give his life in the cause which he had espoused, he laid it down, as he says, with an assurance of an eternal crown.
Follow the labors of this Apostle from the time of his conversion to the time of his death, and you will have a fair sample of industry and patience in promulgating the Gospel of Christ. Derided, whipped, and stoned, the moment he escaped the hands of his persecutors he as zealously as ever proclaimed the doctrine of the Savior. And all may know that he did not embrace the faith for honor in this life, nor for the gain of earthly goods. What, then, could have induced him to undergo all this toil?
It was, as he said, that he might obtain the crown of righteousness from the hand of God. No one, we presume, will doubt the faithfulness of Paul to the end. None will say that he did not keep the faith, that he did not fight the good fight, that he did not preach and persuade to the last. And what was he to receive? A crown of righteousness.They crown themselves kings because they do not have sufficient knowledge or faith to be crowned by God Himself, “establishing their own righteousness.” Their “hope was on the scepter of [their] kingdom and on the throne of glory” (1 Enoch 63:7).
Many are zealous but not for the faith, having “a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God’s righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:2–3).
Reflect for a moment, brethren, and enquire, whether you would consider yourselves worthy [of] a seat at the marriage feast with Paul and others like him, if you had been unfaithful? Had you not fought the good fight, and kept the faith, could you expect to receive? Have you a promise of receiving a crown of righteousness from the hand of the Lord, with the Church of the First Born? Here then, we understand, that Paul rested his hope in Christ, because he had kept the faith, and loved his appearing and from His hand he had a promise of receiving a crown of righteousness.
We can draw the conclusion that there is to be a day when all will be judged of their works, and rewarded according to the same. That those who have kept the faith will be crowned with a crown of righteousness; be clothed in white raiment; be admitted to the marriage feast; be free from every affliction, and reign with Christ on the earth, where, according to the ancient promise, they will partake of the fruit of the vine new in the glorious kingdom with Him; at least we find that such promises were made to the ancient Saints.
And though we cannot claim these promises which were made to the ancients, for they are not our property merely because they were made to the ancient Saints, yet if we are the children of the Most High and are called with the same calling with which they were called, and embrace the same covenant that they embraced, and are faithful to the testimony of our Lord as they were, we can approach the Father in the name of Christ as they approached Him and for ourselves obtain the same promises.
These promises, when obtained, if ever by us, will not be because Peter, John, and the other Apostles . . . walked in the fear of God and had power and faith to prevail and obtain them; but it will be because we, ourselves, have faith and approach God in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, even as they did. And when these promises are obtained, they will be promises directly to us or they will do us no good. They will be communicated for our benefit, being our own property (through the gift of God), earned by our own diligence in keeping His commandments, and walking uprightly before Him. If not, to what end serves the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and why was it ever communicated to us?“Continue in the faith” because only “through much tribulation [will we] enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). “For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand” (D&C 58:4). If we “are humble and faithful and call upon my name, behold, I will give you the victory” (D&C 104:82).
For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. (1 John 5:4)“Diligence, faithfulness, and prayers of faith” bring victory (D&C 103:36). “Whosoever is of my church and endureth of my church to the end, him will I establish upon my rock and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them” (D&C 10:69).
“The Finisher of Their Faith”
Christ is “the beginning and the ending” (Revelation 1:8), “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). God commanded His title— “Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end”—be written because it testifies of Him. Because faith in Him is the first ordinance, He is the beginning, the author who grants authority to all who “rely alone upon the merits of Christ” (Moroni 6:4), “the Holy and Righteous One . . . the author of life” (Acts 3:14–15, NIV). He is the end to whom we must come, “the finisher of their faith” as faith becomes knowledge (Moroni 6:4).
As Christ performs the work He was commissioned to do for us and in us, faith becomes full and we rend the veil. Faith grows in light and power to become a brighter day then a “perfect day” as the Lord is manifest to the true and faith-full disciple (D&C 50:24). Having this knowledge, we are perfected in our ministry, having the testimony of Jesus, which was the purpose of the school of prophets and the Lectures on Faith.
Faith is the foundation of all righteousness and Christ is “the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4). Believing in Him is the beginning of faith, the doctrine of Christ. Having “endurance of faith on his name to the end,” we can preach His gospel with power and authority (Moroni 3:3). Only through Christ, the “author and the finisher” of faith (Moroni 6:4), can we endure to the end. To finish, teleiósis (G5050), is to perfect, “bringing the life of faith to its complete conclusion,” filling the measure of our creation.
Returning to Him is the purpose of His gospel, so we must “seek the face of the Lord always” (D&C 101:38). Fools do not “understand and seek God” but the wise “seek the Lord and his strength. [They] seek his face evermore” (Psalm 14:2, 105:4). To deny we need to see the Lord’s face renders us unfaithful.
We also must endure to “the end of the day of probation,” the period for proving our faith (2 Nephi 33:9). “Because of their faith and the repentance of all their sins and faithfulness unto the end” (3 Nephi 27:19) many obtained a crown of righteousness. When disciples asked what their end would be, Jesus replied, “Have you discovered the beginning then so that you are seeking the end? For where the beginning is, the end will be” (Gospel of Thomas 18:2). But the end is just another beginning, for the Lord’s course is one eternal round.
Blessings on one who stands at the beginning. That one will know the end and not taste death. (Gospel of Thomas 18:3)Enos, whose ascension is powerfully documented in a single chapter, rejoiced “in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality,” when he would “see [Christ’s] face with pleasure, and he will say unto me, Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father” (Enos 1:27). The faithful desire to “behold thy face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Thy likeness when I awake” (Psalm 17:15, NASB). Awakening to truth leads to putting on His likeness and seeing His face, so Nephi encouraged all to “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ” to obtain eternal life (2 Nephi 31:20).
Without coming to Christ, we cannot be faith-full. Without looking to Him, we “must be damned” (2 Nephi 9:24) and forfeit eternal life. “Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6, NASB). Joseph said, “He is a revealer to those who diligently seek Him.” Such knowledge is the purpose and privilege of mortality, a worthy endeavor for all who seek the highest blessings.
The question is asked, how were they to obtain the knowledge of God? (For there is a great difference between believing in God and knowing Him—knowledge implies more than faith. And notice that all things that pertain to life and godliness were given through the knowledge of God.) The answer is given—through faith they were to obtain this knowledge. (LF 7:18)The gospel has “as its great objects the bringing of men back into the presence of the King of heaven, crowning them in the celestial glory, and making them heirs with the Son to that inheritance which is incorruptible, undefiled, and which fadeth not away.”
[Press forward] that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:7–9)Living His gospel brings Zion, whose recipients have truth, light, knowledge, power, and enjoy the privilege of walking with God. “Blessed are they whose feet stand upon the land of Zion, who have obeyed my gospel; for they shall receive for their reward the good things of the earth and it shall bring forth in its strength. And they shall also be crowned with blessings from above, yea, and with commandments not a few, and with revelations in their time—they that are faithful and diligent before me” (D&C 59:3–4). Divine assurances are given all who “fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and profess a good profession before many witnesses . . . laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life” (1 Timothy 6:12, 19).
Come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved. (Omni 1:26)“When a man has offered in sacrifice all that he has for the truth’s sake, not even withholding his life, and believing before God that he has been called to make this sacrifice because he seeks to do His will, he does know, most assuredly, that God does and will accept his sacrifice and offering, and that he has not, nor will not, seek His face in vain. Under these circumstances, he can obtain the faith necessary for him to lay hold on eternal life” (LF 6:7).
For strait is the gate, and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it because ye receive me not in the world neither do ye know me.
But if ye receive me in the world, then shall ye know me, and shall receive your exaltation; that where I am ye shall be also. This is eternal lives—to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. I am he. Receive ye, therefore, my law. (D&C 132:22–24)Faithfulness leads to knowledge, the fulness of faith. All can receive it. “Such was and always will be the situation of the saints of God, that unless they have an actual knowledge that the course that they are pursuing is according to the will of God, they will grow weary in their minds and faint” (LF 6:4). We get weary by not relying on “the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth [who] fainteth not” and strengthens us (Isaiah 40:28).
Humankind will enter into the fire of trial and many will be made to stumble and many will perish, but those who endure in their faith will be saved from under the curse itself. (Didache 16:5)“Through faith [they] subdued kingdoms” (Hebrews 11:33), which is “not the word for fighting with weapons, as soldiers in war, but it is the word for contending or wrestling, as athletes in the arena . . . The word is katagonizomai and [it] occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It implies entering into (successful) conflict with kings and kingdoms: not with carnal weapons to obtain material issues, but with moral weapons for the upholding of spiritual truth.”
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)And so the trial of faith is of utmost worth, an opportunity to contend for the faith. To contend is to struggle, strive, or use earnest efforts to obtain, defend, and preserve. Its root is shared with a root of tenet, or that which is held true. Its Latin origins mean to strive after or stretch out. Stretching may relate to the exercise of faith or stretching the hand to receive tokens of priesthood power.
Once proven true and faithful, we will be chosen, called up, and anointed kings and queens, priests and priestesses to God and by God—a promise that depends on our faithfulness. Ritual ordinances only prepare us symbolically to receive such blessings. No ritual replaces the need for God to ratify our ordinances. We become kings and queens having a fulness of priesthood power.
All men who become heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ will have to receive the fulness of the ordinances of his kingdom; and those who will not receive all the ordinances will come short of the fullness of that glory, if they do not lose the whole.Being “compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses” to what we can become and receive at the hand of God through faith in Christ, we are admonished to
lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1–2)Jesus asks all those who desire to be His disciples, “What about you? Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15, NIV).
True and faithful servants powerfully testify, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). The faithful can truthfully testify with knowledge, ‘Thou art the Christ . . . I have found thee.’
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