Chapter 14—Stranger or Friend?
King Benjamin asked his people how they could know the Lord and call Him Master if their hearts were not fully dedicated to Him. He compared this disparity to having a stranger as master.
How knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart? (Mosiah 5:13)
Because we “cannot serve two masters,” we must choose between being a friend of the world or a friend to God. The line between whose friend we really are is often and easily blurred because much of our culture, traditions, and reforms make what is strange to God seem acceptable in society, while society considers things of God to be strange.
Though he spoke to all, Hosea specifically called out Ephraim’s lineage, warning that those who prefer strange things would not realize or admit their degenerate spiritual condition. It’s a dire predicament for many. “Give not thy strength to strangers” (Sirach 26:19) but they have mixed himself among the people . . . Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not. (Hosea 7:8–9)
While they assume they are still favored of God, the reality is that their repeated failure to turn to the Lord to know Him is a serious offense:
Hear ye, O priests, and hearken, ye house of Israel, the Lord warns. For judgment is toward you . . . O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom and Israel is defiled. They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them and they have not known the Lord. And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity . . . He hath withdrawn himself from them. (Hosea 5:1, 3–6)
Even in turmoil, Ephraim will not turn to the Lord but attempts to make alliances or treaties with other nations and people, provoking God even more. When “they shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord, they shall not find him. He hath withdrawn himself from them. They have dealt treacherously against the Lord, for they have begotten strange children . . . Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke” for the Lord “will pour out my wrath upon them” (Hosea 5:6–7, 9–10). “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee” (Hosea 4:6). God’s spirit must withdraw from all who refuse to know Him, even if they claim to bear His name.
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 10:3)
A derivative of ‘strange’ (H2114) means ‘to be loathsome.’ Job says that “my breath is loathsome to my wife” or, alternately, “my breath is strange to my wife” (Job 19:17). A wife symbolizes a party of the covenant. As a type of Christ, Job’s breath (spirit, ruach, H7307) is loathsome, offensive, and repulsive to covenant makers. God desires to pour out His Spirit, but those to whom the covenant is offered reject it, think it is strange, and deny what He offers.
Another meaning of ‘strange’ is to decline or deny. God cannot be with them if they cast Him aside and make no place for Him to dwell, so “I will go and return to my place till they acknowledge their offense and seek my face” (Hosea 5:15). They are spiritual adulterers—breaking covenants, forsaking the right way, and refusing to know Him. Scripture ties adultery to being a friend to the world.
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. (James 4:4)
God’s enemies will face a day of reckoning: “Do not become an enemy instead of a friend . . . Your leaves will be devoured and your fruits destroyed and you will be left like a withered tree” (Sirach 6:1, 3).
David mourned that, “Strangers have risen against me and ruthless men seek my life” (Psalm 54:3). In the midst of great persecution, Saints are comforted to not let their hearts faint, “as though some strange thing had happened to us,” because “God hath made broad our shoulders for the burden. We glory in our tribulation because we know that God is with us, that He is our friend, and that He will save our souls.”
Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. (1 Peter 4:12–13)
God’s strange act does this very thing—providing the circumstances necessary for the fiery trial that prepares us for greater things. The righteous “all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers” sojourning on earth (Hebrews 11:13).
There is comfort in tribulation when one is a friend of God and a stranger to the world. Many who were once strangers to God repented and became His friend. When Jesus healed ten lepers, He asked, “Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this stranger?” (Luke 17:18). Jesus healed a paralyzed man and said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” And “amazement took hold on all, and they glorified God . . . saying, We have seen strange things today” (Luke 5:20, 26). When we worship the true God, we are no longer estranged from Him.
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God. (Ephesians 2:19)
Abraham, who attained such righteousness that he “hath entered into his exaltation and sitteth upon his throne” (D&C 132:29), became a friend of God because of his exceeding faith (Galatians 3:9). “Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness, and he was called the Friend of God” (James 2:23). Abraham’s life is such an example of attaining the fulness that all are commanded to “do the works of Abraham . . . and ye shall be saved” (D&C 132:32). Jesus said that “if ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham” (John 8:39). What works qualified Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to be God’s friend and receive exaltation, kingdoms, glory, and thrones?
The Dead Sea Scrolls explain that “the children of Noah went astray, together with their kin, and were cut off. Abraham did not walk in it, and he was accounted a friend of God because he kept the commandments of God and did not choose his own will. And he handed [the commandments] down to Isaac and Jacob, who kept them, and [they] were recorded as friends of God and party to the Covenant forever.” Abraham was able “to recognize the Creator, while all others were in error.” He prayed to be saved “from the errors of the children of men” (Jubilees 11:16), avoided worldly cities, didn’t seek gain, discerned priestcraft, rejected idolatry, lived in faith, offered pure sacrifice, and sought counsel only from the true God.
Abraham received all things, whatsoever he received, by revelation and commandment, by my word, saith the Lord, and hath entered into his exaltation and sitteth upon his throne . . . Isaac also and Jacob did none other things than that which they were commanded; and because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods. (D&C 132:29, 37)
Receiving revelation, literally ‘to unveil,’ is a sign of God’s favor. But we may not recognize when revelation has ceased if councils that claim His name deliberate instead of revelate. But those who seek and find God are rewarded: “Because thou hast loved to search me out, I have named thee my Friend” (Apocalypse of Abraham IX). Abraham tells us how he obtained this glorious standing.
Finding there was greater happiness and peace and rest for me, I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same; having been myself a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge, and to be a father of many nations, a prince of peace, and desiring to receive instructions and to keep the commandments of God, I became a rightful heir, a High Priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers. (Abraham 1:2)
Like Abraham, who was known for his concern for the temporal and spiritual welfare of his fellowmen, we are to care for others and “administer justice and righteousness” (Jeremiah 22:3, HCSB) to the poor, oppressed, strangers, fatherless, widows, naked, and captives (Zechariah 7:10). We must help the stranger (who departs from truth), the fatherless or orphan (has yet to become a son of God), the widow (no longer has a covenant spouse), the naked (is ashamed and not covered), the sick (has not received covenant blessings), and the captive (enslaved by sin), remaining in “captivity to the law of sin” (Romans 7:23).
Having attained knowledge and power, friends of God are sons and daughters of God who qualify to help in His work. Although “the world knoweth [them] not,” they are His servants. Christ is their master and He is no stranger to them. The opposite of being a stranger is being a friend. Those who offer acceptable sacrifice become friends of God. The term ‘friend’ is used sparingly in scripture, always in connection with those who come to Him. “Faithful friends are beyond price” (Ben Sirach 6:15). God’s friends have personal knowledge and experience with Him but strangers “have not set God before them” (Psalm 54:3).
Adam and Eve had the privilege of God’s presence in Eden, but were cast out because of transgression. They could not see His face but could hear His voice which allowed them to become “acquainted with God” by hearing His voice. A stranger does not hear or know God. Acquaintances can hear His voice, but a friend hears, sees, and knows Him.
Exaltation is given “if you are able to recognize the Chosen One” (1 Enoch 62:1). Believing God requires an accurate understanding of His character. Without sufficient faith, divine revelation, and correct understanding, we cannot know God. No wonder Satan relentlessly attempts to corrupt scripture, doctrine, and ordinances—treating scripture and things of God lightly prohibits us from finding Him. So crucial is revelation that we could never find God without it, so we are “indebted” for all revelations that help lead us to Him.
As we have been indebted to a revelation which God made of himself to his creatures in the first instance, for the idea of his existence, so in like manner we are indebted to the revelations which he has given to us, for a correct understanding of his character, perfections and attributes; because without the revelations which he has given to us, no man by searching could find out God. (Lectures on Faith 3:7)
In 1833, God called His friends to start preparing for Zion. “Verily I say unto you, my friends, a commandment I give unto you that ye shall commence a work of laying out and preparing a beginning and foundation of the city of the stake of Zion” (D&C 94:1). The honor of being called God’s ‘friend’ is reserved for those proven true and faithful.
The full benefits of Christ’s great sacrifice are reserved for those who become His friends. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you . . . I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you” (John 15:13–15). “The Lord is a friend to those who [reverence] him. He teaches them His covenant” (Psalm 25:14, NLT). A friend of God has a remission of sin and is sanctified. They are those, like Abraham, “to whom the kingdom has been given” (D&C 84:76). The responsibility to preach His gospel “in power” to all in need of repentance accompanies such a magnificent bestowal.
I say unto all those to whom the kingdom has been given—from you it must be preached unto them, that they shall repent of their former evil works; for they are to be upbraided for their evil hearts of unbelief, and your brethren in Zion for their rebellion against you at the time I sent you.
And again I say unto you, my friends, for from henceforth I shall call you friends, it is expedient that I give unto you this commandment, that ye become even as my friends in days when I was with them, traveling to preach the gospel in my power. (D&C 84:76–77)
Friends of God are rarely received, appreciated, or welcomed in the world, even among those who profess God’s name. Jesus informs those who seek higher blessings that even “your brethren” will rebel against you. If we trust His word, then affliction and persecution are expected at this level of servitude.
If the world hates you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. (John 15:18–19)
If we desire to be like Christ, we must expect to live a life like His—proclaiming saving truths, submitting fully to the Father’s will, and willingly experiencing persecution and opposition. Christ, who is “the light and life of the world,” was not well received when He was among them.
I came unto mine own, and mine own received me not; but unto as many as received me gave I power to do many miracles and to become the sons of God; and even unto them that believed on my name gave I power to obtain eternal life. (D&C 45:8)
God’s friends receive this power and can truthfully declare, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not” (1 John 3:1). Those whom the wicked admire and adore have great cause for concern because they are friends of the world. “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets” (Luke 6:26). True friends of God have forsaken the world and put their faith solely in Christ.
Go ye into the world and care not for the world; for the world will hate you, and will persecute you, and will turn you out of their [churches] . . . I will go before you. And your heavenly Father will provide for you whatsoever things ye need. (Matthew 6:25–27, JST)
Persecution for the sake of His work is reason to rejoice and be glad, for magnificent blessings await all who faithfully endure. “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile against you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Matthew 5:11–12). The message to repent is rarely accepted but God’s friends are not discouraged. True disciples
renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed . . . It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself . . . Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (2 Corinthians 4:1–9, 13–17, NIV)
Throughout history, those entrusted with His gospel usually fall away and fail to obtain His power even while they profess devotion and actively engage in worship rites. They refuse, if not break, the covenant that God invited them to enjoy. The Lord beseeches “ye people of my church and ye elders” to “listen together and hear my voice while it is called today, and harden not your hearts” (D&C 45:6).
The minute a man stops supplicating God for His Spirit and direction, just so soon he starts to become a stranger to Him and His works. When men stop praying for God’s Spirit, they place confidence in their own unaided reason, and they gradually lose the Spirit of God.
Joseph warned this generation that “you will live to see men arise in power in the Church who will seek to put down your friends and the friends of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Many will be hoisted because of their money and the worldly learning which they seem to be in possession of; and many who are the true followers of our Lord and Savior will be cast down because of their poverty.”
Even so I have sent mine everlasting covenant into the world, to be a light to the world, and to be a standard for my people, and for the Gentiles to seek to it, and to be a messenger before my face to prepare the way before me. Wherefore, come ye unto it. (D&C 45:9–10)
If we accept God’s invitation to press forward valiantly on His path, we will obtain Zion like Enoch. Zion is the abode of God’s friends who “were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (D&C 45:13). Recognizing who the true strangers and friends of God are requires strong discernment—the purpose of His strange act. “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers” on earth “for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Hebrews 13:2).
We should not confuse these strangers with those who are estranged from God. Heaven is the true home of a son or daughter of God, so strangers on earth are not estranged from heaven. They “become passersby” in mortality (Gospel of Thomas 42) to secure immortality, knowing that earth is merely a stepping stone to a better heavenly place.
[True disciples] follow Jesus, who ‘had not where to lay his head.’ Passersby do not search for earthly manna, as did their Jewish fathers, but for the ‘bread of life’ prepared in heaven [and] the Truth . . . The true disciples, therefore, are ‘strangers’ and ‘pilgrims’ passing through an earthly city in search of their heavenly home.
Philo already expressed this ‘theology of the pilgrim’ when he wrote that we are only ‘wanderers’ through the world ‘as in a foreign city, in which before birth we had no part, and in this city does but sojourn until he has exhausted his appointed span of life.’ They are homeless ‘strangers’ wandering through the lone and dreary ‘wilderness,’ whose faith alone assures them of attaining their spiritual goals.
True disciples identify with the psalmist who cried to God, “I am a stranger in the earth. Do not hide your commandments from me. My soul is [consumed] with longing after your ordinances at all times” (Psalm 119:19–20, NASB). “In this world, the [true] Christian is always a stranger. In this world, he is never at home. He can never regard this world as his permanent residence. And just because of that, he will always be liable to be misunderstood; he will always be liable to be looked upon as a strange character, who follows ways which are not the ways of other people. So long as the world is the world, the Christian must remain a stranger in it because his citizenship is in heaven.”
Friends of God walk up to their covenants. By faithfully taking steps into the darkness, they receive light, even further light and knowledge. As they overcome, they build a house of God.
The sanctuary in Ezekiel’s vision had gates to keep out the impure, unholy, and defiled. Strangers to God cannot enter His kingdom or holy temple. Just “as bad as breaking their oaths was divulging them to those not worthy to receive them, thereby debasing and invalidating them.” His Spirit must depart when a temple is defiled.
Inasmuch as my people build a house unto me in the name of the Lord, and do not suffer any unclean thing to come into it, that it be not defiled, my glory shall rest upon it. Yea, and my presence shall be there, for I will come into it, and all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall see God. But if it be defiled I will not come into it, and my glory shall not be there; for I will not come into unholy temples. (D&C 97:15–17)
A sanctuary is not always synonymous with a physical temple or a building intended to become one. Having God’s presence requires holiness, purity, mighty prayer, and the Spirit. Ordinances are essential to building a place where God can dwell.
The Lord said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary.
And thou shalt say to the rebellious . . . ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations. And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves. (Ezekiel 44:5–8)
‘Keepers’ in charge of the temple and its holy things came to be chosen by men, proving that position alone is no guarantee of God’s favor. This grievous situation was brought on when leaders permit strangers and the unclean to enter within the bounds of that which was consecrated to be holy. Strangers are not sanctified, making covenants they do not understand or are not prepared to honor. All “filthiness” must be removed to be “the house of the Lord.” Both priest and people are to blame.
[You] have broken my covenant because of all your abominations . . . No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary. (Ezekiel 44:7, 9)
While a period to repent is mercifully given, God allows their chosen leaders to remain for a time, even if they do not experience “any of my holy things” (Ezekiel 44:13). Their service in or over the temple—while being strangers to God—serves as a brilliant test of discernment for those who seek to be God’s friend.
The [priests] that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity. Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house . . . They ministered unto them before their idols and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity. They shall bear their iniquity. And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. (Ezekiel 44:10–14)
God distinguishes unholy priests from ‘the sons of Zadok,’ or sons of righteousness who do not stray from what He revealed and receive His priesthood’s power. The difference between these priests is whether or not they believe God, discern “between the holy and the profane,” offer faithful and acceptable sacrifice, and seek His face.
But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God.
They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge. And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. (Ezekiel 44:15–16, 23)
“Strangers profaned the temple” (2 Maccabees 10:5) but the deceived do not discern the difference in holy and profane. Moroni told Joseph,
You have now been shown the good and the evil, the holy and the unclean, the glory of God and the power of darkness, so that you may hereafter recognize the two powers and not be deceived by the evil one . . . and when the power of God is revealed, then those who think they are walking in truth will struggle against deception and tremble with anger. But the hearts of the faithful will be comforted. Without holy persons to assist in His great and marvelous work, the earth would be “utterly wasted at His coming” (D&C 95:1–17, 2:1–3).
Christ’s Invitation
“Call upon me while I am near,” Christ implores us, but many refuse. Carl Bloch’s powerful and symbolic painting Healing at the Pool of Bethesda captures this beautiful doctrine. Although the painting’s main character at first glance seems to be the man under the tent who was lame for 38 years before being healed by Christ (John 5:2–9), the title does not limit who the subject really is.
The painting masterfully depicts one who is healed and another who remains hesitant, although the invitation is offered to all. Following the imaginary line of Christ’s right hand points us not to the covered man who had faith to be healed, but to another—a stranger in a red cap with a bandage over his wounded leg. Zur (H2114) means stranger, but zur (H2115) also means to press together a wound, as a bandage. His red cap and bloody bandage are telling. Red, like blood, denotes sin, implying that he is not yet made clean.
Although sin has weakened him, he is still within reach of Christ’s outstretched hand. The stranger’s oversized garment is ragged, hinting that his battle from refusing to give up his sins has been long and has left him tired, worn, and weary. An injured leg hints that his ability to move forward and walk on the path is hindered by the battles of life.
He appears cautious and distrusting, reluctant to embrace what is offered, but still visibly aware and curious. The most striking characteristic of this peripheral man who suddenly becomes the center of Bloch’s masterpiece is that he maintains a tight grip on his wound instead of reaching for the Lord’s outstretched hand. And while the man in the red cap is seated near waters said to miraculously heal, his demeanor suggests that he houses a spirit who is still hesitant to submit to what is required to be healed by Christ—the source of all miracles. His much needed comfort is so close, the Savior’s outstretched hand is so near, but fear has overtaken faith for too much of his life. Although comfort and healing is offered freely and is within reach, he remains guarded, stubborn, and unsure. Can we let go of our natural man and self-serving will to reach for the Savior’s outstretched hand?
Atonement means to cover. The faithful man in the tent was covered and healed by Christ. Faith differentiates those who are covered from strangers to God who still remain naked and ashamed. The beauty of this painting comes in realizing that the Lord is reaching for the sinner who is not yet covered, the one who struggles with belief and is not reconciled with Him. The Atonement is
setting ‘at one’ those who have been estranged, denoting reconciliation between man and God. Sin is the cause of estrangement. Therefore the purpose of the Atonement is to correct and overcome the consequences of sin.
As long as we remain uncovered by the Atonement, we are strangers to God. The Atonement is offered to all through the merits of Christ, but we must come to Him to receive it. We must let go of all that holds us back and “give away all [our] sins to know” Him (Alma 22:18). By accepting His gift, we become a friend to God and are no longer estranged from Him. Perhaps this is why Joseph said,
Friendship is the grand fundamental principle of Mormonism.
Through His redemptive grace, we may become purified, holy, and sanctified. The sanctified who obtain knowledge of God and receive His promises know the difference between what is profane and holy because they have successfully navigated through the many strange things among them. They have “separated themselves from every stranger, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers” (Nehemiah 9:2, Brenton Septuagint). The righteous who obtain power in the priesthood (as opposed to receiving a priestly position) receive abundantly in the day of judgment because they know and honor His ways.
And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths. And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance. And ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession. (Ezekiel 44:23–24, 28)
The righteous “obtain a promise” of Zion. Like Abraham, they seek not for things of the world but are “looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:11, NIV).
Let me show unto you . . . a city reserved until a day of righteousness shall come—a day which was sought for by all holy men, and they found it not because of wickedness and abominations; and confessed they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth; but obtained a promise that they should find it and see it in their flesh. (D&C 45:11–14)
What glorious gifts God offers—including promises of His guidance, protection, eternal inheritance, and Zion! Is there anything that could motivate us more to forsake the world and its ways and put our faith in the only One who can grant these glorious things?
Saving faith brings promises that give us hope. Hope is the period of time after divine promises are decreed but still are yet to be fulfilled. Hope is “an anchor of the soul” (Hebrews 6:16–20). We should only seek for riches after we seek God’s kingdom and obtain hope. However, Satan encourages us to seek for riches before we have these promises and for our own gain. “After ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted” (Jacob 2:19). King Benjamin confirmed the same:
For the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may walk guiltless before God—I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants. (Mosiah 4:26)
Scripture defines the poor as having barely enough to sustain themselves “from day to day,” who have nothing to spare to even help a beggar so their wants will not be extravagant. Indulgence is not a consideration when one is focused on survival.
Some may hesitate to give others according to their wants because Babylon teaches us to have an insatiable desire for excess, which exposes the real god of our heart. But when we truly experience what heaven is willing to bestow, we want very little of what the world has to offer. It becomes easier and more rewarding to give away material possessions as we seek for knowledge and things of eternal worth.
Seek not for riches, but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich. (D&C 6:7)
Joseph said, “The best measure or principle to bring the poor to repentance is to administer to their wants.” We must also administer to their spiritual needs. If people are hungry for truth, we must be able to impart correct gospel principles that can lead them to Christ to be filled.
Imparting our substance to others helps us retain a remission of sin, which we need to administer spiritual relief and comfort to others. It makes sense that we can only comfort others spiritually if we have been comforted ourselves, and this is received through the Comforters. God sends the Holy Ghost, the first Comforter who “knoweth all things,” teaches, and brings “all things to your remembrance that I say unto you.”
“Because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come when all the saints shall dwell with God” (Moroni 8:26). The Holy Ghost as Comforter prepares us for the Second Comforter.
Wherefore, I now send upon you another Comforter, even upon you my friends, that it may abide in your hearts, even the Holy Spirit of promise . . . This Comforter is the promise which I give unto you of eternal life, even the glory of the celestial kingdom; which glory is that of the church of the Firstborn, even of God, the holiest of all, through Jesus Christ his Son . . .
Again, verily I say unto you, my friends, I leave these sayings with you to ponder in your hearts, with this commandment which I give unto you, that ye shall call upon me while I am near. (D&C 88:3–5, 62)
His personal promise of eternal life will be received by all men and women who hear His voice and come to Him. This is the process, the privilege, and the purpose of His gospel.
It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am. (D&C 93:1)
Footnotes and sources can be found HERE.