BookII-Finding The Mark
BookII-Finding The Mark
BookII-Finding The Mark
A BLESSING HITHER
TO UNKNOWN,
BOOK II, FINDING THE MARK
How to grow the tree of life in your heart
By Max B. Skousen
PREFACE
This book is the second in a four part series in which I am sharing a journey of discovery in
my own attempt to fulfill the challenge made by President Ezra Taft Benson in 1986 during his
first conference as President of the Church. In his landmark address, he reminded the Saints of
an important revelation received by Lorenzo Snow on tithing. The dramatic results of President
Snow’s revelation brought the Church out of financial bondage and transformed its temporal
structure. Then, next, President Benson said:
NOW, IN OUR DAY, the Lord has revealed the need to reemphasize the Book of Mormon,
to get the Church and ALL THE CHILDREN OF ZION out from under condemnation, the
scourge and the judgment. This message must also be carried to the members of the Church
throughout the world...
Now, in the authority of the sacred priesthood in me vested, I invoke my blessing upon the
Latter-day Saints and upon good people everywhere...I bless you with increased understanding
of the Book of Mormon.
I promise you that from this moment forward, if we will daily sup from its pages and abide
by its precepts, that God will pour out upon each child of Zion and the Church A BLESSING
HITHERTO UNKNOWN – and we will plead to the Lord that He will begin to lift the condemna-
tion – the scourge and judgment. Of this I bear solemn witness.(Ensign, May 1986, p.78)
As I write this in the 1996, it has been ten years since President Benson announced that thrill-
ing challenge and promise conveyed by the Lord through him to the Church. President Benson
continued that theme at each of the five conferences which followed, making six in all, covering
the first three years of his presidency.
Then in his next conference, his seventh, he stopped calling the Church out from under its
condemnation. To me, it was as if the Spirit had restrained him from saying more, perhaps for
the same reason that Nephi said he was stopped. "And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit
stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and
the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor under-
stand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be."(2
Nephi 32:7)
As we read those harsh words, let's remember that Nephi was not talking about Laman and
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Lemuel, nor their followers. He was speaking directly to his own loved ones and faithful follow-
ers who were too fearful to join him in entering into a perfect brightness of hope in Christ.
So after six conferences, President Benson spoke no more to the Church about his revelation.
Instead, at his seventh conference, he gave some warm encouragement to our senior saints. In his
eighth conference, he sent his love and encouragement to the children of the world. As it turned
out, that was his farewell public blessing. His deteriorating health ended his extensive speaking
career, but not his great love for the Savior, His Church and the Book of Mormon.
MY PURPOSE IN SHARING
The contents of these books are not offered for doctrine, nor do I claim that they represent an
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official position of the Church. These concepts are my own views, based upon my experiences
and understanding which have come from those blessings. And as I have tried to make clear, my
views have continued to deepen and broaden as time goes on.
I have been interested in what people have experienced in their hearts as they have read Book
I, Looking Beyond the Mark. Some have become angry, some say they were merely confused.
Others seem to have found themselves moving to deeper levels of love and joy than they have
ever known. For this, I truly thank the Lord. That is my constant prayer in sharing these very
personal views and experiences.
There is the old saying, "When the student is ready, the teacher appears." God is the teacher.
He is also the One that opens the eyes of the blind, if they would be healed. I am so grateful for
the degree that He has opened my eyes. Because of this, my love and testimony has increasingly
deepened for His Church, for those who carry the heavy responsibilities of presiding over it, for
His sacred scriptures and for the teachings and decisions of the Brethren. My testimony is that
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God's greatest work on the face of the earth.
This is to me an all consuming state of knowing. It is no longer a matter of belief, it is a matter
of comprehending just how our Church, which has been under such limiting condemnation for so
many years, is to eventually do ALL that it has been assigned to do. The way the Lord led me
out of my burdens of disbelief to a greater understanding of His Church is the part of the story
which will have to wait for Book IV, but it is the most thrilling part of what I want to share.
May the Lord bless you with absolutely ALL that you are ready to receive and no more than
that for now. I am sure that whatever that is, it can fill your heart to overflowing again and again.
Max B. Skousen
(Oct. 28, 1921 - Nov. 16, 2002)
For more information, visit:
www.maxskousen.org
Chapter I
LOOKING AGAIN AT
PRESIDENT BENSON’S CHALLENGE
So what has happened in more than ten years since President Benson promised that, if we
would sup daily from the Book of Mormon and abide by its precepts, there would be poured out
upon each child of Zion and the Church a blessing hitherto unknown?
I know from my own personal sources that President Benson was pleased by the multitude
of Latter-day Saints who took the Lord's challenge seriously. Many reported to him that as they
pondered the messages of those sacred pages more intently, they had begun to hunger as never
before for the greater spiritual blessings so forcefully testified to by the Nephite prophets—to be,
literally, spiritually born of God, receiving His image in their countenances, experiencing a
mighty change in their hearts, being truly baptized by fire and the Holy Ghost and fully sanctified
by the pure love of Christ.
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PRESIDENT BENSON'S DEEP CONCERN
While President Benson was still functioning in his office, he was also grieved that there
was such a minority among the saints, even those in high office, who recognized the wonderful
opportunity the Lord was now giving the Church as a body. How few were true seekers of the
spiritual fullness. Yet, he was even more concerned that many of those who experienced a
quickening of the Spirit began coming to him burdened with heavy hearts. They told him of their
dismay as they continued attending Church to find that little was changing. It was still business
as usual. Overall, the members were still being fed gospel milk instead of the gospel meat which
they had been inspired to hunger for in their deeper study of the Book of Mormon.
In his second conference, for all the Church to hear, President Benson quoted from the Doc-
trine and Covenants, Section 84, which described what would be required of us in order to come
out from under the judgment of the Lord:
sively, in the Book of Mormon. As President Benson has said, "when used together, the Bible
and the Book of Mormon confound false doctrines.” (Ensign, March, 1994, pp. 60 & 64)
SUMMARY
Remembering the new covenant is being willing to recognize and forsake our barriers to
fulfilling it. The Lord said that we do have barriers, and those barriers are our vanity and unbe-
lief. Elder Dallin Oaks renewed that challenge for the whole Church, and the Church is truly on
the move to greater spirituality. Yet the real task is to understand that the new covenant is not
just more of the same preparatory gospel, but is the fullness of the gospel which comes from
moving from the tree of knowledge to the tree of life.
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Chapter II
MORONI’S DEFINITION OF
THE NEW COVENANT
It is my experience that the greatest, clearest definition of the new covenant was written by
Moroni as he finished his father's sacred plates. He declared that the new covenant, which he
called "the covenant of the Father," is our Heavenly Father's contractual guarantee that those
who truly and wholeheartedly come unto Christ shall experience the purity, holiness, love, peace
and joy of BEING PERFECT IN HIM—NOW! Present tense! Moroni testified to such a bless-
ing categorically, specifically and assuredly.
I took special note that Moroni put this powerful declaration as the very last words on the
gold plates. His statement bares witness as a COVENANT-SEAL, like documents were sealed
in ancient times with a large drop of melted sealing wax and then imprinted by a signet ring of
the one in authority. So, in a way, Moroni put his final seal on the covenant of the Book of Mor-
mon in these two closing verses, followed only by two short sentences of farewell.(Moroni 10:32-34)
In doing so, he was witnessing to those of us who would live in these latter days that God can
and will make those who TRULY COME UNTO CHRIST perfect, pure and holy, without spot,
not by struggle, but by the miracle of His grace.
These two verses of Moroni's covenant-seal were quoted in my first book of this series and
will be quoted again in Book III and IV because I believe that they describe a magnitude of bless-
ings which have been "hitherto unknown" by most of us for these many generations of Latter-day
Saints. Here is what Moroni declared:
heavenly magnitude they absolutely guarantee that the Father will provide in and through His
ever new, yet eternal covenant. By simply coming unto Christ, we would experience being per-
fected in Him by the grace of God.
But Moroni’s words also weighed heavily on my heart. On the surface, his words seem to to-
tally correspond to what Elder Oaks defined as the new covenant. Sure, I thought, I could be per-
fect in Christ, but first Moroni said that I must deny myself, not just some, but ALL OF MY
UNGODLINESS“If ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness!” Isn't that what we covenant
when we promise to keep ALL OF THE COMMANDMENTS? And is not that what Elder Oaks
was saying as well? Yet, is anyone, including Elder Oaks, doing them all?
Over the years, try as I would, I found many clearly stated requirements of godliness seem-
ingly beyond my ability. Certainly, I had not rid myself of ALL my
pride, (Alma 5:29)
impatience, (I Thessalonians 5:14)
envy, (Galations 5:21)
procrastination, (Alma 13:27)
selfishness, (D&C 56:8)
materialism, (Jacob 2:17)
judging, (Matthew 7:1)
intolerance, (Matthew 7:2)
unholy thoughts, (Matthew 5:28)
—just to name a few of the elements which are not godly.
Nor was I a possessor of those things which are godly, such as being
thankful for ALL things, (D&C 59:7) nor did I have
an eye single to the glory of God, (D&C 88:67) nor was I
filled with the light as Christ is in the light,
(I John 1:6-7)
truly confessing His hand in all things, (D&C 59:21)
loving God with all my heart, might, mind and soul (Matthew 22:37)
fully loving others even as myself, (Matthew 22:39)
and being perfect even as your Father in Heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)
Yet, again, wasn't that what Moroni said I would have to do? Deny myself of ALL
UNGODLINESS, so that I could be perfect in Christ, having such a total remission of my sins
that I would be holy, without spot. Isn't that the new covenant which the Lord says I must not
only remember, believe and say, but DO?
SUMMARY
Moroni specified precisely how we will find the answer, which is to truly come unto Christ
and believe His words of promise that in Him and by Him, we will be made perfect in His love,
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which is pure and holy without spot. I acknowledge that I pretended to believe and perform, in-
stead of finding the many ways I was still looking “around” and “beyond” the pure love of Christ,
which the Father promises will produce the very results He declared in His new and everlasting
covenant.
Section I
Chapter III
WHAT IS A PARADOX?
The dictionary defines a paradox as “two seemingly contradictory statements, both may
nonetheless be true.” I have tried to think of many different ways to break this idea of how the
Lord teaches in paradoxes. I was trying to break the news to you gradually so that this reality
will not come as much of a shock to you as it did to me. But we might as well go for broke and
start wrestling with the fact that God deals in paradoxes, i.e., contradictions. That is not what we
have been taught to expect from God so it can come as a mind shattering surprise. But you might
as well get used to this idea because this book is about paradoxes which are foolishness to the
wise. Who are the wise? They are those who are heavily laden with all of the wealth of fixed
religious conclusions which give them only one way of seeing eternal reality. The religiously
orthodox despise paradoxes.
What do I mean by God revealing contradictions? Well, let’s take the wonderful belief we
have that “as man is, God once was, and as God is, man may become.” That means God has
certainly changed just as we will change, does it not? We are also assured many times that God
“is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (2 Nephi 27:23, 29:9; & Moroni 10:19) Oops! So which is the
ultimate truthhas God changed in the past or has He always been the same? We will deal with
this later, but these two contradictory statements are what we can call a paradox. When both are
understood clearly, even though they seem to contradict each other, we will see how both are lit-
erally true.
I would now like to introduce you to one of the most helpful principles I have found. This
principle helps explain why it appears that God is often contradicting Himself. It is to see that
God reveals His truths on progressive steps or levels, each of which appears to be in opposition
or contradiction to each other. Remember, there must be opposition in all things or there is no
existence. (2 Nephi 2:11) So please read on.
SUMMARY
In our pride and vanity, we believed there is only one way to come to Christ, and that is
through His restored kingdom of God. But truly coming to Christ is, ultimately, that which hap-
pens on the inside, in the heart, rather than how we show up on the outside. It is not only with
our lips, which are the beliefs of the mind, but especially in our hearts that we must give up our
life to Christ. So the gospel plan is filled with contradictions, called paradoxes, in which the
mind, if it is honest, will allow the heart to yield to the purifying power of Christ.
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Chapter IV
The temporal law of good and evil represents the major portion of the
tree of knowledge, with all of its dos and don’ts. So we show it as the lower
portion of the forbidden tree of knowledge.
Of course those chosen people in the building would be suspicious of an alternative way.
Lehi reported that he saw
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a great and spacious building, and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth. And it
was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress
was exceedingly fine, and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers to-
wards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit...Behold the world and the wis-
dom thereof, yea, behold the house of Israel hath gathered together. (1 Nephi 8:26-27 & 11:35)
Since these people had God’s law, the preparatory gospel, we could say that they repre-
sented those who are in the first level, and in their self content (vanity), they were condemning
those who were trying to eat the fruit from the tree of life, which we could assume is the fourth
level. In their self righteous judgmentalness based upon their loyalty to the divinely revealed law
of God, they were sure that the only way anyone could be righteous was to be where they were
and doing what they were doing in the established and orthodox Church of God.
♠ THE SECOND LEVEL THE SPIRITUAL LAW
THE STRAIT AND NARROW PATH
In the vision, those who sought for the tree of life first had to leave behind their vanity and
unbelief, and second, get on the other side of the river where they could seek, reach and partake
of the fruit laden tree of life. It turns out that this was not an automatic achievement. Those who
chose to seek the tree were undoubtedly encouraged when they saw a strait and narrow path
which would safely lead them directly to the tree of life. This strait and narrow path is the sec-
ond level.
As we will consider in Chapter VII, Lehi described two levels to the God’s law. The first
level is the temporal law and the second level is the spiritual law, the strait and narrow path. This
path was very clearly defined, suggesting that it symbolizes a very precise, structured approach to
God, but more in the spiritual level of the law rather than the temporal level. So it is still on the
tree of knowledge, but on a higher level.
Those who are blessed by the Spirit gain the strait and narrow path and
believe they are at the very door of the tree of life. But since they are still
into struggle and resistance, they have only moved to a higher level of the
tree of knowledge.
To reach the path, they had to give up their place in the glorious, “heavenly” building which
was no longer satisfying their hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Their new found joy
and confidence must have been great because it looked like the strait and narrow path was the
final answer. All they had to do, it appeared, was carefully stay on the path and eventually reach
the tree. They could rest assured that having found the path, gaining the tree would be just a mat-
ter of effort and time. But not so. Lehi reports:
They did come forth, and commence in the [strait and narrow] path which led to the tree.
And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist
of darkness, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, they
wandered off and were lost. (1 Nephi 8:22-23)
Even though the path looked like it was all that was needed, yet it ultimately failed when
the mists of darkness blinded their sight and they would lose their way. So the second level
works and then it doesn’t work.
The iron rod, the chastening of the Lord, is symbolized in the garden of
Eden story as the flaming sword, which guards the way of the tree of life, to
cleanse by fire the repentant who have given up the tree of knowledge.
Nephi was told that the MISTS OF DARKNESS were the temptations of the devil and the
iron rod is the word of God. We will find that the temptations of the devil on the strait and nar-
row path are very different than his temptations given to those in the building. We will also find
that what is meant by the word of God is not the law of God, for that again is represented by
those in the great and spacious building. Since Christ is the Word, we will find a much more
spiritual meaning.
In this stage of sanctification, Christ testifies that he chastens and rebukes those He loves.
He does not spare the rod, if you can see the interesting metaphor. So the iron rod might symbol-
ize the same level as the flaming sword which was placed to protect the tree of life from being
reached prematurely.
PURE LOVE OF CHRIST
; THE FOURTH LEVEL
THE FRUIT OF THE TREE OF LIFE
Obviously those who finally reach the tree of life and partake of the fruit would represent
the fourth level. It would appear that this level is finally the truly safe and secure harbor. Don’t
count on it! This stage is also wrought with dangers. Pride and conceit can still overwhelm the
achiever of this priceless blessing.
Notice what Lehi saw happening to the first group that reached the tree and partook of the
fruit.
And after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree they did cast their eyes about
as if they were ashamed. And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the
other side of the river of water, a great and spacious building... and they were in the
attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and
were partaking of the fruit. And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed,
because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths
and were lost. (1 Nephi 8:25-28)
So they had left the building, found the strait and narrow path, followed the iron rod
through the mist, reached the tree and had feasted on its fruit, yet partaking of that fruit did not
protect them from being devastated by ridicule and condemnation. That scoffing was probably
coming from their own families and friends across the river, otherwise it probably would not
have hurt so much. So what did they do? They did not want to go back, so they found other
ways of filling their needs, ways that were forbidden and so they were lost, at least for a time.
The tree of life, the beauty exceeding of all beauty, representing the pure
love of God which is shed into the hearts of the children of men, thus is the
most desirable above all, and the most joyous to the soul.
Notice that those seen in the vision who started on the strait and narrow path had to have al-
ready stopped trusting in the support and false security of the great and spacious building. Obvi-
ously, most of those in the building did not give it up but just stood in contempt of those who
did. Yet, most of those on the path, when they were blinded by the mist, refused to give up trust-
ing in the path. Only a few were willing to grope around and find something very different,
grasping the very end of the iron rod. Finally, when they reached the base of the tree, they had to
let go of the security of the iron rod in order to free their hands so that they could reach up high
enough to obtain some of the fruit and eat. But even on this glorious level, they could fail.
What did they fail to do at this point? I think we will see that they did not make the con-
version from having the fruit to becoming the fruit. After all, that is the purpose of eating and
drinking. We become what we eat and drink. That is the ultimate result of having God’s perfect
love shed into our hearts. We no longer look to the outside for our inner love, joy and peace, but
to that which we have become within. From then on, drinking deeply of the fountain of living
waters and partaking of the fruit of the tree that is grown in the heart must come from within.
One would no longer need to hang onto the tree or sit beside the fountain. Instead, one has be-
come the tree, the fountain. There is no more spiritual separateness.
Some will not want to give up hanging onto such a rich, ultimate possession as the tree and
the fountain, but eventually they will discover that what they hold onto will also be lost. Experi-
encing the completeness in Christ does not come from without, but from within.
Finding the mark involves finding and giving up each of these levels, INCLUDING THE
LAST. That is the greatest paradox of all.
not required, it is offered. What we gain is greater love, joy and peace than we could have ever
imaginedin fact, totally different than we could imagine. Yet, to add one more paradoxif we
need it, we can’t have it.
SUMMARY
The reason that God deals in paradoxes is that the gospel comes on levels. To be taken seri-
ously enough to make each level work, it is essential that those at that particular level believe that
they have finally found the whole truth of God. Only then, at best, will they give their heart and
soul to try to make it work to perfection. So each level is stated in absolute terms. When it
works but, at the same time, does not work, then and only then, will the true seeker hunger and
thirst after more enlightenment. That is when the door to the next level will open There are two
levels on the tree of knowledge, (1) the temporal law and (2) the spiritual law. There are two lev-
els on the tree of life, (1) the chastening to be stripped of pride, called the iron rod or flaming
sword and (2) the gift of His love, which is the fruit growing on the tree itself.
Chapter V
We Latter-day Saints tend to be great literalists when it comes to the accounts in the scrip-
tures. We want to convert most of the stories into exact, historical facts. This is especially true
with the creation and Garden of Eden story. We want to believe it literally occurred in exactly
the way it is described and at a very specific time, totally changing the earth and everything
which dwells upon it about 6,000 years ago. “Well,” you might ask, “didn’t it?”
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If I answer, “Possibly, but not necessarily,” you might be as shocked as I was when the pos-
sibility occurred to me. More on this later. Just hang in there, because being ambivalent in this
way may help you understand parts of the temple Endowment much better. Remember, we are
assured that the Endowment is primarily symbolic.
symbol this day.” I failed to follow that advice and wanted to have everything laid out in firm,
clear concrete. Instead, I have found that the temple, from top to bottom, is designed to repre-
sent, to symbolize, to demonstrate a deeper understanding of light and truth, for those who have
eyes to see and ears to hear.
Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Counsel of the Twelve, in his book on the temple, wrote:
The reason the teaching of the gospel often times is so difficult is that ideals in the
gospel are such intangible things as faith, repentance, love, humility, reverence, obe-
dience, modesty, and so forth. The dimensions of size and shape and color and tex-
ture just do not serve us there.
In teaching the gospel we do not re-create the material world around us; we deal
with the intangible world within us. It is far easier to re-create the visible, tangible
world around us in alphabetical symbols than to re-create spiritual ideals and have
them understood. And yet it can be done, and it can be done most effectively by using
symbols. (Boyd K. Packer, You may claim the blessings of The Holy Temple, Bookcraft, 1980, p. 40)
Elder Packer then quotes the teachings of our great scientist-Apostle, Elder John A. Widsoe,
from his book, Temple Worship, who stated:
We live in a world of symbols. We know nothing, except by symbols. We make a
few marks on a sheet of paper, and we say that they form a word, which stands for
love, or hate, or charity, or God or eternity. The marks may not be very beautiful to
the eye. No one finds fault with the symbols on the pages of a book because they are
not as mighty in their own beauty as the things which they represent. We do not
quarrel with the symbol G-O-D because it is not very beautiful, yet represents the
majesty of God. We are glad to have symbols, if only the meaning of the symbols is
brought home to us...
There are men who object to Santa Claus, because he does not exist! Such men
need spectacles to see that Santa Claus is a symbol; a symbol of the love and joy of
Christmas and the Christmas spirit. In the land of my birth there was no Santa
Claus, but a little goat was shoved into the room, carrying with it a basket of Christ-
mas toys and gifts. The goat itself counted for nothing; but the Christmas spirit,
which it symbolized, counted for a tremendous lot.
We live in a world of symbols. No man or woman can come out of the temple en-
dowed as he should be, unless he has seen, beyond the symbol, the mighty realities for
which the symbols stand. (Elder John A. Widsoe, Temple Worship, p. 62)
compass with the point down is opposite to what the Masons do, who also trace their ceremonies
back to the Temple of Solomon, having their sign of the compass with the point up. Being
dressed with the left and then with the right is also very symbolical. Each of the four tokens and
signs correspond to the four levels of the gospel. The sign of the square has one measuring line
going horizontal and the other going vertical, with the horizontal representing the law and the
vertical representing love. One without the other just does not work.
SUMMARY
We so easily forget that parables and symbols are used by the Lord to conceal as much as to reveal. There are
many different levels of meanings in stories, even in words. Seen this way, the Temple Endowment is a masterpiece
of symbolic communication by the Lord and is easily misunderstood by those who are unaware of the possible
deeper meanings. As we gain better understanding of the different levels of the gospel, everything in the universe
begins to teach us of the wonderful mysteries of God.
Chapter IX
ONLY THOSE ON THE SECOND LEVEL ARE READY FOR THE THIRD LEVEL
To those who have only known the first level, the outward, temporal law of the gospel, as
proud inhabitants of the great and spacious building, it may seem impossible, or at least improb-
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able, that such a permanent perfection in Christ’s love could ever be attained in this frail mortal
life. However, as Lehi saw, those who have experienced being on the strait and narrow path by
the blessings of Spirit and have been wrought upon by the Holy Ghost, can begin to understand
with a brighter faith and hope, even though the path, itself, cannot take them there.
By the blessings of the Spirit in the spiritual law, they will have tasted enough of the power
of His love to have a real hope, a genuine faith, coming from their own experience that, with
Christ, such a spiritual state might really be possible. Yet, because they are still living by fixed
ideals, they will have also found that even after such blessings, they are still falling short of their
ideal of what perfection in Christ is supposed to be. It is only through this “misery,” as Nephi
described it, that we may finally give up our prideful knowledge of “what out to be” and YIELD.
Remember, we yield ONLY when we give up the struggle. Yielding is not struggling. We yield
when we stop trying to go ahead and, instead, step aside to wait.
For my Spirit is sent forth into the world to ENLIGHTEN THE HUMBLE AND
CONTRITE, and to the condemnation of the ungodly. (D&C 136:31 & 33)
Thirteen years earlier, in the bitter winter of 1833 when the Saints were first driven from
the central gathering place of Zion in Jackson County, the Lord revealed that His hand was in
their suffering and humiliation.
Therefore, they must needs be chastened and tried, even as Abraham, who was com-
manded to offer up his only son. For all those who will not endure chastening, but deny me,
cannot be sanctified. (D&C 101:4-5)
SUMMARY
As fallen man finally realizes that he cannot fulfill all of the demands of the forbidden tree
of knowledge, he is ready to be led away from his worship of knowledge to face the flaming
sword. The purpose of the trial by fire, the flaming sword, is to break him free from all of his
beliefs about what ought to be, which makes him carnal, sensual and devilish. As he is stripped
of the pride of always needing to be right, he is able to see more and more of the illusions of his
conclusions. Only in this way does he gradually become willing to be thankful for all things, just
the way they are, “willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even
as a child doth submit to his father.” (Mosiah 3:19)
Chapter X
Personally, I had long assumed that the Liahona was another representation of the love of
God like the tree of life, but that could not be the case. The Liahona worked only when they
were living righteously by faith. When they were not, the Liahona would FAIL because their
faith and righteousness failed. In contrast, the pure love of Christ is something that “never
faileth.”
For many years I found these two definitions, the Iron Rod Saints and the Liahona Saints,
useful descriptions and helped to clarify the two main types of active, diligent members—(1)
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those who were religious by being satisfied to be studying and outwardly obeying the law of the
gospel, and (2) those who were not only active, but also were experiencing deeper, inner bless-
ings of the Spirit. For the most part, the Liahona Saints were trying to live by faithful obedience
to the spirit of the law which they still looked to as the source by which they were earning their
eternal exaltation. Calling them Liahona Saints seemed to be appropriate.
I also thought that the title of Iron Rod Saints was a good name for the letter-of-the-law
members. Much later, however, I changed my mind. The reason is that the allegory of the iron
rod began to have a very different meaning, one which had little to do with rigid obedience to the
law.
IS THE “WORD” THE “LAW?”
As we have mentioned earlier, when Nephi saw his father’s vision, he asked the angel to
tell him the meaning of the iron rod. He was told:
The rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain
of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God, and
I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God. (1 Nephi 11:25)
Yes, like most members, I had been assuming that the word of God is “the law of God,”
i.e., the commandments, just as I had understood that the living waters represented the law of the
gospel. We sing the beautiful hymn, “Hold to the Rod,” because we have understood that hold-
ing to the rod is to earnestly try to keep the commandments and, thereby, reach the tree of life.
So the title, Iron Rod Saints, was used to define those who concentrated on the literal meaning of
the law of the gospel and the importance of learning what strict obedience is required, defending
that understanding and trying to conduct their lives in strict obedience to it.
in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were
partaking of the fruit. (1 Nephi 8:26-27)
And the multitude of the earth was gathered together; and I beheld that they were in a
large and spacious building...And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Behold
the world and the wisdom thereof; yea, behold the HOUSE OF ISRAEL hath gathered to-
gether to fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And it came to pass that I saw and
bear record, that the great and spacious building was the pride of the world, and it fell, and
the fall thereof was exceedingly great. (1 Nephi 11:35-36)
I think it is safe to assume that a good share of the mockers were zealous Israelites with
their holy law, their priesthood ordinances and their God created, prophet-led organization. Their
hostile judgment against those at the tree of life must have come from their desire to promote and
defend their way of life, actually their holy law of righteousness. They clearly demonstrate that
Lehi was correct in declaring that the knowledge of good and evil, even on the spiritual level,
cuts everyone off from totally experiencing the perfect oneness with Christ.
So Lehi watched, fascinated, as only some of those blinded on the path felt around until
they took hold of the end of the rod. Only these relatively few followed the rod, hand over hand,
making their way through the bewildering mist of darkness to finally reach the gloriously white
tree, “the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty; and the whiteness thereof did
exceed the whiteness of the driven snow.”
29
John, the Beloved, began his gospel with a testimony of the Word being none other than
Christ.
In the beginning was the WORD
and the WORD was with God,
and the WORD was God...
All things were made by Him...
In Him was life,
and the life was the light of men.
(John 1-5)
In the next chapter we will consider the way that Christ chastens those He loves to open
their hearts to the most precious of all gifts, His pure and perfect love.
SUMMARY
The third level of the gospel is designed to take the journey from the tree of knowledge into
a purifying process. Only in this way are we ready to accept the gift of the pure love of Christ.
Liahona Saints are those members who have moved to the wonderful but vulnerable, strait and
narrow path. They are on the higher level of the spiritual law, being guided by the Holy Ghost,
as Lehi was with the sacred Liahona. But Liahona Saints can still be blinded and disoriented by
becoming proud of their inspired knowledge. This vanity, which is Lucifer’s most subtle tempta-
tion, is an appropriate way to understand the mists of darkness, blinding those on the path. Only
when we give up trying to guide ourselves by our own conclusions, will we take hold of the iron
rod. Christ, the chastening iron rod, will gradually destroy our arrogance of knowing only one
way to see the multiple and diverse ways God’s hand is in ALL things.
30
Chapter XI
YIELDING TO
CHASTENING OF CHRIST
This chapter will deal with the transition from being a Liahona Saint, one who is en-
joying the spiritual gifts of grace on the strait and narrow path, to becoming a true Iron
Rod Saint, one who is willingly and cheerfully (most of the time) going through the flam-
ing sword by submitting to the chastening of Christ.
Remember who it is who got us to partake of the tree of knowledge in the first place. It is
Satan’s particular pleasure to have us continually embracing the tree of knowledge by
making fixed conclusions out of our heavenly inspirationthat we thus know for sure
what is right, what is wrong, what we are to do and what will happen. That is exactly
what the devil has in mind to get us off the path that is supposed to lead us to perfect, un-
conditional love. More on this critical subject later.
This becoming vain and proud in concluding about God’s ultimate truth is what
Paul said the Corinthians were doing. They were receiving many blessings of the Spirit,
for he acknowledged “that in everything ye are enriched by Him, in all utterance, and in
all knowledge...so that ye come behind in no gift, waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:5-7) But what were they doing with their revealed knowledge? They
were contending one with another. “For whereas there is among you envying, and strife,
and divisions, are ye not carnal and walk as men?” (I Corinthians 3:3)
SUMMARY
Since we have all lived much of our lives on the tree of knowledge by which we drew
a feeling of comfort, security and “humble” superiority by being “right,” the purpose of
the chastening of the Lord is to open up our hearts to be more like a little child, fully
teachable. To do that, we can refuse to convert our revelationswhether they are a sense
of knowing, a burning in the bosom, a flash of inspiration, a dream-vision, or even an
open vision or visitationinto a conclusion about the one and only “TRUTH.” Instead,
we treasure such information as AN INTERESTING POSSIBILITY and stay open, teach-
able, resilient and spontaneous, i.e., as Christ told Nicodemus, like the wind.
Chapter XII
THE PURE LOVE OF CHRIST
The Fourth Level of the Gospel
The first three levels of the gospel are preparatory for this final state of being, the gift of
eternal life by possessing the pure love of Christ. This is the “rest” Christ offered those who
would come unto Him. This is the second comforter, the peaceable things of immortal glory, the
truth of all things. This is the calling and election made sure, the promise of eternal life. This is
walking in the light as Christ is in the light, having no darkness, where fear is no longer. Thus by
the grace of God, one is made perfect in Him, becoming holy, without spot.
That tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most desirable above all other fruits;
yea, and it is THE GREATEST OF ALL THE GIFTS OF GOD. (1 Nephi 15:36)
What a glorious promise! But do we fathom the depth of the promise? I know I had
thought I comprehended God because I understood that He was an exalted, glorified and per-
fected man. As John said, however, "God is LIGHT." It is His infinite beingness, His eternal
Presence, the light of truth, by which we are to perceive how we are IN Him and BY Him. It is
to comprehend the ONE God, infinite and eternal, to which the Book of Mormon bears such
powerful witness.
THEY “IS” ONE GOD
In my earlier scriptural study, I had concentrated so much on the individual separateness of
each member of the Godhead that I did not realize that they are one in much more than purpose
and power. We are assured, however, that in some infinite way they join together as ONE GOD.
In their individuality, they are each a God-Being. But in their infinite presence through the living
light which shines forth, THEY "IS" ONE GOD. The verb "is" is singular. They IS one God.
Nephi wrote,
This is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost, WHICH IS ONE GOD, WITHOUT END. (2 Nephi 31:21)
Alma taught,
Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which IS ONE ETERNAL
GOD. (Alma 11:44)
Mormon testified,
Unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which is one God (Mormon 7:7)
Original translation 1830)
Even the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon, in their testimony, declared,
And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, WHICH IS ONE
36
GOD. (The Testimony of Three Witnesses)
Sometimes the declaration uses the plural verb, "are." Christ said, during His visitation to
the Nephites,
Behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one;
and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one. (3 Nephi 11:27)
In other words, the Father and I are one God. In the Doctrine and Covenants we read,
Which Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one God, infinite and eternal, without end. (D&C 20:28)
"I AM THE TRUE LIGHT THAT IS IN YOU AND YOU ARE IN ME."
Yes, the Lord promised us that the day would come when we are to comprehend even God,
being quickened in Him and by Him. Then, immediately, the Lord gave these additional thrilling
words of promise:
qualified for that wonderful blessing. Could our unbelief be something as basic as our lack of
understanding, even denying, the One Infinite and Eternal God?
Nephi declared,
For He is the same yesterday, today and forever. (I Nephi 10:18)
In our modern revelations, we read,
Therefore showing that He is the same God, yesterday, today, and forever. (D&C 20:12)
Well, has God progressed from man or has He forever been the same? At first I didn't want
to think about the obvious contradiction. I wondered if this is one of the mysteries we are told to
leave alone? If I let myself think about it, the more confused I became. How was I to reconcile
two apparently diametrically opposing concepts about God? As unbelievable as it may seem,
when I more fully comprehended the infinite and eternal God, I began to understand how these
two concepts, without compromising the complete accuracy of each, do not contradict each other.
In the next chapter we will go into this further to discover how both really are true.
SUMMARY
What a thrilling promise the Lord has given to us, that He will enable us to comprehend that
which is infinite and eternal. There is no way we could do that and not have His love springing
from our hearts. That love may engender incredible feelings of joy and awe from time to time,
but it is the comprehending God that establishes the perfect trust which casts out all fear. But
first we must come face to face with the fact that we really do not comprehend the light which is
the source and life of all things. When we do comprehend that light, we enter into a world which
is totally transformed in glory and dominion. It is not the world we have thought it is. God is not
only what we think He is. Christ is not only what we think He is. All of them are much, much
more than we had ever dared imagine. And so are we!
Chapter XIV
derstanding Paul was really talking about when he described comprehending "the breadth, and
length, and depth and height." Perhaps this is what President Benson meant when he promised
us that each child of Zion and the Church would receive a blessing hitherto unknown. Would
this not be what the Lord promises that we are to experience exactly what Paul described as the
blessing "FOR ALL SAINTS?" As the Lord has promised, when our eye becomes single to His
glory, it is then that we are to "COMPREHEND ALL THINGS."
SUMMARY OF SECTION I
THE FOUR LEVELS OF THE GOSPEL
As I promised you, this book has much to do with paradoxes. It also has much to say about
giving up our life that we might find it. The surprise is that we will find ourselves dying to each
step as we experience a broken heart at the level we are on and open ourselves to be taught on the
next level. We are even to die to dependence upon the outer gift symbolized by the tree of life,
the love of God, because as we experience who we are, that we are already individualizations of
the one, infinite God, then we know that everyone else is also, as well as what the universe is and
what God is. For God is Infinite and Eternal Life, and at that stage of perfection or completion in
Christ, we will have experienced “gazing into heaven” and know for ourselves that we too are
Infinite and Eternal Life.
Section II
Chapter XV
Thus, the "new covenant," the "new and everlasting covenant" the early Saints had re-
ceived and treated lightly by the time the quoted revelation was given, INCLUDED ALL OF
THE COMMANDMENTS AND ORDINANCES OF THE GOSPEL. (Ensign, March 1994, p. 64)
As I have mentioned, for most of my life I would have also defined the new covenant in
this way—that we are not to just say, but we are to do ALL that God has commanded. By this
definition, however, we are all put on notice that we will not and can not be removed from the
condemnation, scourge and judgment until we are keeping ALL the commandments that God has
given us.
COULDN'T WE DO IT IF WE JUST TRIED HARDER?
"Well," I had asked myself many times in my younger years, "surely there must be a way if
we just tried harder!" But harder, even harder yet, still never makes our obedience complete. As
I had gone deeper and deeper into my belief that most anyone can keep all the commandments if
they would just try hard enough, the answer I found is that no one can and no one has. Believe it
or not, this includes Christ himself. No one can keep ALL the law because, for one of many rea-
sons, the law contradicts the law in places! Christ was perfect, not by the law, but by His love.
When we covenant that we will keep all the law which God asks us to do, we automatically
become covenant breakers if we fail to do so. This is another one of those divine paradoxes.
That painful realization was the beginning of my own spiritual death on the second level, pre-
paratory to my spiritual rebirth, giving up on the spiritual law on the tree of knowledge, and go-
ing through the flaming sword toward the tree of life.
What a contrast between those two trees! On the tree of knowledge of good and evil, there
are hundreds of commandments, counting both temporal and spiritual. On the tree of life, there
are only two fundamental commandments (1) to love the Lord with all of our heart, mind,
strength and soul, and (2) to love our neighbor as ourselves. As Christ said, upon these two
commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Why is that? Because without this gift of
love, not only for God, but also ourselves and our neighbors, the law becomes tinkling brass and
sounding symbols.
THE NATURAL MAN CANNOT FULFILL
THE COMMAND TO HAVE PERFECT LOVE
We recall that the angel told king Benjamin that the natural man is an enemy to God and
will be forever and ever unless he yields. Simply stated, under the fall, the natural man feels cut
off, separated, vulnerable and needy. Perfect love is about perfect union, which cannot exist until
the results of the fall are neutralized by the fruit from the tree of life.
Yet the tree of knowledge also includes these two commands to love God totally and our
neighbor as ourselves. In fact, when Moses gave the law, this commandment to love God with
all their heart was actually given greater emphasis than any other part of the law. They were to
write this particular commandment on parchment and seal it in amulets, called phylacteries, to be
worn on the forehead or arm and also placed on their door posts. As we know, Christ also made
both of those commandments primary in the law of the gospel as well.
Well, regardless of what I thought and how I struggled, as a "natural man," I realized that I
did not love God consistently with ALL my heart and soul, let alone, love my neighbor as myself.
Sure I could try and greatly improve, but though there were times when I felt filled with the pure
love of Christ, I became discouraged when I failed to retain those feelings on a permanent basis.
I call this the yo-yo effect. Painfully, I remembered what James had said, "For whosoever shall
keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." (James 2:10)
44
THE COVENANT HAS TO DO WITH GRACE
In fact, Elder Oaks, in his BYU address, makes this point extremely clear. He stressed that
even if we were to keep, as we might mistakenly think we can, ALL of the commandments, it
would still not be enough. Here is more from his landmark talk:
In short, in order to escape condemnation, not only "to say" but also to do according to
that which the Lord has written, we must give diligent heed to the words of eternal life and
live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God...
Men and women unquestionably have impressive powers and can bring to pass great
things. But after all our obedience and good works, we cannot be saved from death or the ef-
fects of our individual sins without the grace extended by the atonement of Jesus Christ.
The Book of Mormon makes this clear. It teaches that "salvation doth not come by the
law alone." In other words, salvation does not come simply by keeping the commandments.
"By the law no flesh is justified." Even those who try to obey and serve God with all their
heart, might, mind and strength are "unprofitable servants." Man cannot earn his own sal-
vation. He cannot be cleansed by personal suffering for his own sins." (Ensign, March, 1994, pp. 60-
67)
IS DOING THE BEST WE CAN ENOUGH?
These are strong, clear, but conflicting words. "Salvation doth not come by the law alone,"
and "we MUST...live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God." Without saying
so openly, his words are designed to conceal the Catch 22 trap which is inherent in the tree of
knowledge of good and evil.
COME UNTO THE FATHER AND HE WILL TEACH YOU THE COVENANT
Earlier in this chapter, in quoting Elder Oaks describing the verses in Section 84 which said
we must be remembering the new covenant, he referred to an earlier verse, Verse 48 in this same
Section 84. Let’s read his statement again:
I believe this “new covenant” mentioned in verse 57 is the same as “the covenant'“ de-
scribed in verse 48, which the Father teaches and “has renewed and confirmed upon” those
who come unto Him. (Ensign, March, 1994)
There are many pearls of great value in Verse 48 of Section 84 and the surrounding verses
which we will refer to in later chapters, but at this point we will concentrate on what the Lord has
to say about this covenant that the Father teaches ALL who hear the voice of the Spirit and come
unto Him.
46. And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit
enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkenth to the voice of the Spirit.
47. And everyone that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit cometh unto God, even the Fa-
45
ther.
*** 48. And the FATHER teacheth him of the COVENANT which He has renewed and con-
firmed upon you, which is confirmed upon you for your sakes, and not for your sakes only,
but for the sake of the whole world.
49. And the whole world lieth in sin, and groaneth under the darkness and under the bond-
age of sin. (D&C 84:46-49)
AN UNEARNED GIFT
I do not say this to boast, though to many it may sound like I am doing just that. The rea-
son I freely testify to such a blessing is that I found that it is totally an unearned gift of a loving
Father. It is not an attainment like I used to think it would have to be. It was yielding, and yield-
ing, as I will remind you time and time again, is not struggle, self-improvement nor efforting.
Not that struggle is bad, for it can be very worthwhile and I have tried to do my share. But strug-
gling is not what the Father will reveal to us as His new covenant. Then what is it? As Lehi told
Laman and Lemuel, it is waking up from a deep sleep. (2 Nephi 1:13) Waking up need not be a
struggle if we really want to wake up.
So in the next chapters, we will look at what descriptions of the new covenant I found, first
in the Bible, then in the Book of Mormon, then in the Doctrine and Covenants, and finally in the
Pearl of Great Price.
SUMMARY
To correctly understand the new covenant requires giving up our long held beliefs taught to
us in the preparatory gospel. When we look at the possibility that the new covenant has to do
with the promise of receiving the pure love of Christ, then we can better understand why it is that
only the Father, through His son Jesus Christ, can shed the miracle of His love into our hearts.
That love is to see beyond separateness, beyond fear, beyond doubt. This state of knowing the
Father is the result of being permitted to gaze into heaven even for a short time, thus knowing
more than we would by reading and comprehending all the books that have ever been written.
This seems to be the way that those who come to the Father, begin to do, rather than merely to
say, what is written.
Chapter XVI
Jeremiah was brutally persecuted for telling the people about their pending destruction be-
cause they were under a curse, eventually to be scattered into all nations on earth.
Well, what do you know about that! Jeremiah is about to be told exactly what this new
covenant is that God is going to make with Israel. What is it God will do in that day of gathering
and restoration? Will He give us more commandments, more knowledge of good and evil? No,
evidently not, for he had already told Jeremiah to rebuke the leaders who were always reminding
the people, hypocritically, of carrying “the burden of the Lord.”
Interestingly, that is what we are still doing when we tell the saints that they must DO ALL
THE COMMANDMENTS. We all know how that burden feels, don’t we? So Jeremiah was
instructed to tell the priests and the prophets to cut it out! “And the burden of the Lord shall ye
mention NO MORE; for every man’s word shall be his burden.” (Jeremiah 23:33-38)
Would not the offer Christ gave to his fellow Jews in the temple at Jerusalem describe what
Jeremiah was told would happen? “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his
belly shall flow rivers of living water.” Living waters represent the perfect love of God “which
sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men.” (1 Nephi 11:22-25)
Those words of Christ and what the Lord revealed to Jeremiah tells us a great deal about
this "blessing hitherto unknown" promised by President Benson, which blessing is to be poured
out on each child of Zion and the Church.
WOW! Now are you beginning to really get the picture? Truly, doesn’t it almost take your
breath away?
THE PRIESTHOOD CAN START WALKING
IN THE LIGHT OF NOONDAY
As we relate this marvelous promise spoken by the Savior and given to Jeremiah to the Lat-
ter-day instructions to remember and do the new covenant, we can see that it is the restored
Church which is called to be custodians of this covenant for the whole world. What a great chal-
lenge that is! Let's reread a part of that passage about the roll our priesthood is to serve with the
Father teaching the covenant to those who come unto Him.
And everyone that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit cometh unto God, even the Fa-
ther. And the Father teacheth him of the covenant which He has renewed and confirmed
upon you, which is confirmed upon you for your sakes, and not for your sakes only, but for
the sake of the whole world. (D&C 84:47-48)
Does this not mean that we are to make a major shift from the old covenant? Instead of
only emphasizing the burden of the Lord in all the dos and don’ts, we can start preparing people
for this true spiritual rebirth. We “do” the new covenant when we enable the saints "to heark-
eneth to the voice of the spirit," which will bring them to the Father who will put His law in their
inward parts and write it in their hearts.
For the [outward, preparatory] law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better
hope did, by which we draw nigh unto God [the Father]...For if that first covenant had been
faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them,
He saith [quoting the Lord speaking to Jeremiah]:
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of
Israel and with the house of Judah. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fa-
thers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because
they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the
Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts, and I will be to them a
God, and they shall be to me a people.
And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know
the Lord; for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their un-
righteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. [End of Paul’s quo-
tation of Jeremiah]
In that He saith, a new covenant, He hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and
waxeth old is ready to vanish away... How much more shall the blood [perfect love, the living
water] of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offereth Himself without spot to God, purge
your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 7:19; 8:7-13; 9:14)
That was God's latter-day promise, a NEW COVENANT, even though Moses did not call
these blessings by that name. Instead of being under the curse because of their vanity and unbe-
lief, their eventual repentance would enable God to circumcise their hearts. In the last days,
when Israel would finally begin to truly return to the Lord, not just with their lips, but also with
51
SUMMARY
In this important chapter, you have been led through a number of lengthy but vital refer-
ences which explain what the new covenant is really all about, which is God’s promise to trans-
form the heart of not only His chosen people, but people throughout the world. The Book of
Mormon helps us understand that this circumcision of the heart is symbolical of leaving the for-
bidden tree of knowledge, going through the flaming sword, and partaking of the fruit of the tree
of life and the fountain of living waters. Through modern revelation, we find that the Restored
Church was given the priesthood to coordinate that strange act as the Lord pours out His Spirit on
the world, in preparation for the Second Coming.
52
Chapter XVII
In that same revelation, as we have already considered, we are told what the difference will
mean when the darkness that we are is able to comprehend that light. Let’s read it again:
53
The light shineth in darkness,
and the darkness comprehendeth it not; nevertheless,
the day shall come when you shall comprehend even God,
BEING QUICKENED IN HIM AND BY HIM.
[So] then shall ye know that ye have seen me, that I am,
and that I AM THE TRUE LIGHT THAT IS IN YOU,
AND THAT YOU ARE IN ME;
OTHERWISE YE COULD NOT ABOUND [EXIST].
(D&C 88:49-50)
What we are being told so clearly is that we are really one in and of God. There really is no
separateness. So if we found someone who had been blessed with such an experience, we would
want that person to help us comprehend what they gained from that experience, right?
When Nephi had the marvelous experience of seeing the vision of the tree of life, he was
being shown about Heaven, but he was not “gazing into heaven.” Yes, for a time, he was filled
with the fire of the pure love of God, even unto the consuming of his flesh. Yet, even at middle
age, as we have seen, he was not in the rest but in the agony of the spiritual law. It was only later
that he found the rest that his younger brother Jacob had received in his youth.
Although Alma was converted and saved from hell by Christ after three days of torment, he
too had much to learn before he grew the tree of life in his heart.
Chapter XVIII
OF GODLINESS, how great is it! For, behold, I am endless, and the punishment which is
given from my hands is endless punishment, for Endless is my name. Wherefore, eternal
punishment is God’s punishment. (D&C 19:6-11)
The Lord is not only calling this one of His mysteries, He is saying that if we could just
comprehend this one mystery, we would enter into the REST. Why is that? It is because the key
to “the mysteries of godliness” is that godliness is not about a fixed knowledge of how things
have got to be. Instead, it is about a love which comprehends all things. All things include every
possible point of view. Otherwise, how would perfect love enable one to BELIEVE ALL
THINGS?
WHY DID GOD TELL US, AND US ALONE,
ABOUT THE THREE DEGREES OF GLORY?
Let’s contemplate for a moment about the glorious vision Joseph and Sidney received re-
garding the Three Degrees of Glory. Notice that we have held that vision close to our bosoms as
a wonderful conclusion. Why did we need to know all about The Three Degrees? Was it to
work on our hearts so that we would strive, struggle and effort more? Of course. Did it work?
You know it worked. Thus, are we not all anxiously trying to qualify for the top level of the top
kingdom and get all of our loved ones there? Of course! But who for? For whose glory? Pri-
marily, for our own joy and glory, of course. Then, is that pure intent? No! Yet it works as a
great motivator for both the faithful “Great and Spacious Building Saints” who are motivated by
the letter of the law and it works for the spiritual “Liahona Saints” who are motivated by the
spirit of the law.
IS TO KNOW YOURSELF
TO GAZE INTO HEAVEN
But again, what is this gift of the pure love of God that is shed abroad into the hearts of the
children of men? How is it different from such things as glorious visions and the ministering of
angels, all of which are still a part of the preparatory gospel? It is simply that to be shown
ABOUT Heaven supports our separateness from Heaven, but “gazing into heaven” is to experi-
ence BEING heaven. That is the difference!
In such an awakening, we directly experience who we really are as infinite spiritual indi-
vidualizations (children) of an infinite and eternal God. It is to have the veil of the fall removed.
This is, simply, the fullness of the gospel. As President Hunter reminded the Church and as we
discussed in Chapter XXII in Book I, “The gospel...is not the peculiar property of ANY ONE
PEOPLE or any one age... It embraces all truth. It circumscribes all wisdom.” (Ensign, November 1991, p.
19)
Such experiences of enlightenment have been given many names. One that I particularly
like is the term, cosmic consciousness, because it is both very descriptive and cuts across all cul-
tures.
COSMIC CONSCIOUSNESS
We Latter-day Saints may not like the word “cosmic” because it sounds less spiritual and
more scientific, at best, and New Age, at the worst. But the word cosmic merely means “pertain-
57
ing to the universe, as distinct from the earth.” But in the sense of relating to consciousness, the
dictionary says that it means “infinitely or inconceivably extended.” How do you like that for an
appropriate definition for truly “gazing into heaven?” In such a cosmic conscious experience,
you would not be in the process of trying to understand Heaven, you would literally become
aware that you are heaven.
Remember, that is the purpose of eating the fruit from the tree of life and drinking the water
from the fountain of living waters. We are to become what we eat and what we drink. That is
why the pure love of Christ passeth knowledge. When one has discovered the pure love of
Christ, one has discovered the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:19)
glimpse into the infinite and eternal, there is no need to repeat. It never becomes boring, you can
be assured.
SUMMARY
As we understand the symbolism of the forbidden tree, we see that each of us has come un-
der the essential fall by partaking of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Yet, such knowl-
edge of good and evil which created the fall cannot take us out from under the fall. As long as
we want the fruit from the tree of knowledge, the Lord will oblige, both in the temporal law and
the spiritual law. That is until, and unless, we are privileged to awaken and gaze into heaven for
even a moment. Such a cosmic conscious experience allows us to go beyond the finite mind to
the infinite being that we are. Thus, we are permitted to remember what we came from, and how
this world of darkness is more perfect than we could have ever imagined. The earth experiences
allow us to experience the opposite to who and what we eternally are so that we can, sooner or
later, joyfully comprehend who and what we have always been.
Chapter XIX
the mystery of Christ... And to make all men see [to understand] what is the fellowship of the
mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been HID IN GOD [by infinite design],
who created ALL THINGS by Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 3:4 & 9)
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom [an understanding,
not a feeling], which God ordained before the world unto our glory...
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart
of man [which would be a feeling], the things [comprehensions] which God hath prepared
for them that love Him.
But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea,
THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD... For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that He may in-
struct him? BUT WE HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST. (I Corinthians 2:7, 9-10, 16)
members of the Church can read all these scriptures and never see what you are seeing. They can
read this book and just not get it. I am not revealing anything in this series that God has not al-
ready revealed, yet only those readers who have been given eyes to see will see the mystery. And
what is the mother of all mysteries? That it really is noonday! There really is no darkness. Eve-
rything is working out perfectly for the good of all! But in order for it to work, it is not supposed
to look like it is working!
The above translation is taken from the King James Version, and as you can see, takes
some clarification. In other translations, the meaning is more clearly stated. Here is the way it
appears in the very popular New Revised Standard Version:
Now the Lord is the Spirit,
and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is freedom.
And all of us, with [our] unveiled faces,
seeing the glory of the Lord [in ourselves]
as though reflected in a mirror,
are being transformed
into the same image
from one degree of glory to another;
for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.
If that is not describing the experience of gazing into heaven, I don't know what would be.
Paul is saying that when the VEIL is removed, we will and do experience in the miracle of our
own transformation the glorious workmanship of His hand. We can look into a mirror and see
our own face as His face, our own body a His temple.
63
What we begin to see each time we look at our reflection in a mirror is the face of God, for
we are His tabernacles. (D&C 93:35) In other words, we see who we are! We see face to face, thus
we know that we are infinitely one, one with the glory of the Lord, continually being transformed
from one level of glory to another level of glory.
In case some of these thoughts leave you a little confused, just remember, these are the
kinds of things one would comprehend almost instantly by gazing into the fullness of His glory
even for a few minutes. So don't worry about them now. Remember, the pure love of Christ is
the “mind of Christ,” which is something the natural mind cannot fathom, even if it thinks it al-
ready understands and believes.
So now we see even more clearly what the new covenant is about. It is about a whole new
way of seeing life, a whole new way of seeing God, a whole new way of seeing Christ and His
atonement, and a whole new way of seeing ourselves.
SUMMARY
If we make an ideal out of “entering into the rest” on our own time table, we will be denied.
If we “need” it we can’t have it. Instead, accept that the Lord is removing the veil from before
our eyes one phase at a time. It is not in the goal, it is in the journey. Our primary purpose of
this mortal existence under the fall is not to create or achieve eternal life. It is to experience the
opposite to eternal life, i.e., what it is like to not know we are eternal life. So God has carefully
designed the world to produce that result. When we yield to His will, which is being willing to
submit to all things the Father sees fit to “inflict” upon us, then we offer less and less resistance
to “losing” our life for His sake. We may then find that our life is what He is.
Chapter XX
Therefore I give unto you a commandment, to teach these things freely unto your chil-
dren, saying:
That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch
as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so
became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of
water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten;
that ye might be SANCTIFIED FROM ALL SIN, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this
world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory. (Moses 6:58-59)
unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into
the water...
And thus he was baptized and the Spirit of God descended upon him, and thus he was
born of the Spirit, and became QUICKENED IN THE INNER MAN. And he heard a voice
out of heaven, saying: Thou art baptized with fire, and with the Holy Ghost. This is the record
[the covenant] of the Father, and the Son, from henceforth and forever...Behold, thou art ONE
IN ME, A SON OF GOD, AND THUS THEY ALL BECOME MY SONS. Amen. (Moses 6:64-68)
SECTION III
Chapter XXI
This incredible declaration, along with many other interesting concepts given in the same
editorial, will be discussed in greater detail in Book III, Entering the Rest. But for now, you
might do well to read it over a few times to understand the significance of the idea that God has
planned everything that is going on, and then “ordered ALL THINGS according to the council of
His own will.”
One to give us a bad temper or make us an alcoholic. But when we wake up, knowing “the Lord
giveth and the Lord taketh away,” a powerful union, a divine partnership, is joined toward the
love, joy and peace promised by His indwelling Presence. After all, such human frailties are the
weaknesses which become revealed and exposed in the bright spiritual light of day as we begin to
draw closer to Christ. And those are also the weaknesses which become stronger in the oneness
with His love.
ELDER NEAL A. MAXWELL ADDS MORE DETAILS
Elder Maxwell, of the Quorum of Twelve, has written extensively on what he calls The
Doctrine of Foreordination in which God “sees, rather than foresees, the future because all
things are, at once, present, before him!” Here are some excerpts from an article in the Ensign by
this brilliant scholar:
The combined doctrine of God’s foreordination [fore-knowing] is one of the doctrinal
roads “least traveled by.” Yet it clearly underlines how very long and how perfectly God has
loved us and known us with our individual needs and capacities. Isolated from other doc-
trines, or mishandled, these truths can stroke the fires of fatalism, impact adversely upon
agency, cause us to focus on status rather than service, and carry us over into predestina-
tion...
Yet, though foreordination [fore-knowing] is a difficult doctrine, it has been given to us
by the living God, through living prophets for a purpose...In some way, our second estate, in
relationship to our first estate, is like agreeing in advance to surgery. Then the anesthetic of
forgetfulness settles in upon us. Just as doctors do not de-anesthetize a patient in the midst of
authorized surgery to ask him again if the surgery should be continued, so after divine tutor-
ing, we agreed to come here and to submit ourselves to certain experiences; it was an irrevo-
cable decision. Of course, when we mortals try to comprehend, rather than accept foreordina-
tion, the result is one in which finite minds futilely try to comprehend omniscience...
It takes no violence even to our frail human logic to observe that there cannot be a grand
plan of salvation for all mankind, unless there is also a plan for each individual. The salvation
sum will reflect all its parts.
Once the believer acknowledges that THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE ARE
BEFORE GOD SIMULTANEOUSLY EVEN THOUGH WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND
HOW THEN THE DOCTRINE OF FOREORDINATION MAY BE SEEN SOMEWHAT
MORE CLEARLY...
The omniscience of God made it possible, therefore, for Him to determine the boundaries
and times of nations. See Acts 17:26 and Deuteronomy 32:8... In the revelation given to
Moses in which the Lord says, “And all things are present with me, for I know them all.”
(Moses 1:16) God does not live in the dimension of time as do we...
But the doctrine of foreordination properly understood and humbly pursued can help us
immensely in coping with the vicissitudes of life. Otherwise, time can play so many tricks
upon us. We should always understand THAT WHILE GOD IS NOT SURPRISED, WE
OFTEN ARE...
What a vastly different view of life the doctrine of foreordination gives to us! Shorn of
this perspective, others are puzzled or bitter about life... The disciple will be puzzled at times,
too. But he persists. Later he rejoices and exclaims over how wonderfully things fit together,
realizing only then, THAT WITH GOD THINGS NEVER WERE APART!
...The doctrine of foreordination is, therefore, not a doctrine of repose, it is a doctrine for
the second-milers, it can draw out of us the last full measure of devotion...It is a doctrine for
the deep believer and WILL ONLY BRING SCORN FROM THE SKEPTIC. (Neal A. Maxwell, En-
sign, February 1979)
SUMMARY
Understanding that God creates totally according to His will and pleasure in His infinite
oneness with all things, that all things were contemplated and ordered into existence, prepares us
to commit to completing the experiment suggested by Alma. Since evil and good are only in the
eye of the beholder, we may choose to see that with God everything does work for the good of
all. In fact, this is the Father’s work and glory, to complete His master plan, which includes the
fall and all it represents upon the earth.
Chapter XXII
Alma, besides two of his sons, took five great missionaries with him, including the prophet
Amulek. Also invited was Zeezron, the miraculously converted lawyer whom Alma had con-
verted during his disastrous mission to Ammonihah.
After the more popular part of the Zoramites had consulted together concerning the
words which had been preached unto them, they were angry because of the word, for it did
destroy their craft [their status quo]... Therefore they would not hearken unto the words.
And they sent and gathered together throughout all the land all the people, and consulted
with them concerning the words which had been spoken.
Now their rulers and their priests and their teachers did not let the people know concern-
ing their desires; therefore they found out privily the minds of all the people...
After they had found out the minds of all the people, those who were in favor of the
words which had been spoken by Alma and his brethren were cast out of the land [a physical
form of excommunication]; and they were many. (Alma 35:3-6)
Chapter XXIII
AN OVERALL VIEW OF
ALMA’S SERMON
Now that we have taken a more cosmic view of the Zoramites, and the role they played in
the presence of evil in the world, let us take an overall view of the sermon, itself. You may have
noticed that most of the instructions in our scriptures tell us what is required to make the transi-
tion from the natural man to the spiritual man, but Alma has some of the clearest information on
HOW to do so.
ALMA 32 CAN BE THE KEYSTONE TO COMING HOME IN THIS LIFE
In Book I, we referred briefly to Alma’s sermon on just how we are to plant and nurture the
tree of life within our hearts. If any one chapter in the Book of Mormon can qualify as “the key-
stone of our lives,” then this chapter explains, from Alma’s own personal experience, how the
Lord has prepared a way for us, also, to
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Even though it took me many decades to wake up and try his challenging experiment in the
correct way, I have since seen others do it in a few short years, some in a few months. But
whether we grow the tree rapidly or slowly, if we are going to “press toward the mark for the
prize” of eternal life in the here and now, we can better understand how to do it, as he explained,
in a way that he guaranteed really works.
I asked myself a number of specific questions about each of these six phases, and found I
had twenty-four questions in all. Together, they helped me to better understand the process of
being thankful for all things and how they fit the Four Levels of the Gospel. Only then could I
better appreciate the process of planting, nourishing and partaking of the bounteous blessings of
the tree of life.
SUMMARY
Although Alma’s instructions for running his experiment of planting the seed of faith is one
of the most loved and quoted scriptures in the Book of Mormon, it is probably one of the least
understood. Very few have ever noticed that the seed that we are to plant in the heart becomes
the precious fruit-laden tree of life. That is the tree we are to nurture as it begins to grow and not
to cast it out by our neglect, impatience and indifference. The key to that process is joyful grati-
tude for everything that is going on in our lives, including our weaknesses and uncomfortable
circumstances. The Celestial Attitude of Spiritual Gratitude, platitudinous and over-simplistic as
it sounds, is the key to nurturing the tree of eternal life within the heart.
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Chapter XXIV
UNDERSTANDING THE
NATURE OF THE EXPERIMENT
Before we consider each of these six phases in detail, let’s look at how Alma systematically
moves from the first phase to the final phase, using an experiment at the center of his instruc-
tions. He covers the first two phases by teaching them true principles, (1) the role of humility in
being teachable, and (2) the importance of faith in testing his words.
Then (3) he challenges them to test out his promises by conducting an experiment by using
just a little faith. Then if the experiment works, and they do feel a change taking place in their
heart, he coaches them how to multiply the fruits of their experiment.
He (4) congratulates them on the perfect knowledge to be gained by the success of their ex-
periment and how to use that success to find enough hope that the rest of his message will also
work. He explains the necessity of not losing that hope.
(5) The fifth phase explains how they are to use patience, trust, belief, and anticipation to
produce ultimate success.
(6) At this point Alma tells them about the ultimate blessing. He described what the final
results will be, that they will have a permanent feasting upon something that is most sweet, most
white, most pure, and most precious above all things.
By classifying the six phases as they fit into the four levels of the gospel, we can see how
the gospel is designed to move the spiritual seeker progressively toward the fullness of Christ.
The First Level of The Gospel, The Great and Spacious Building, is Seeing the Illusion of
our misconceptions.
The Second Level of The Gospel, The Strait and Narrow Path, includes both the Decision
Phase and the Experiment Phase of accepting the possibilities.
The Third Level of The Gospel, The Iron Rod/The Flaming Sword, includes both the
Changing Focus Phase and the Nurturing Phase of growing the tree.
The Fourth Level of The Gospel, The Tree of Life, is the Final Phase, Partaking of The
Fruit.
In the chart below, start at the bottom and work your way up through the four levels.
Fruit of the
Fourth the Tree VI. Final Harvesting the Fruit
of Life
Iron Rod/ V. Nurturing Growing the Tree
Third Flaming
Sword IV Change of Focus Care of seedling
Strait and III. Experiment Planting the Seed
Second Narrow
Path II. Decision Preparing Soil
Great and
First Spacious I. Seeing Illusion Clearing Ground
Building
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SUMMARY
As we look at my twenty four questions prompted by Alma’s six phases of coming unto
Christ, we can understand why words alone can never substitute for the direct revelation of Him-
self as our indwelling Lord and Savior. As we take a more careful look at the followers of the
prophet Zoram, we can see enough parallels to leave little doubt as to why the Lord’s condemna-
tion has remained over us even unto this day. However, with the bad news is the good news. As
wonderful as the Church has served us in our lives up until now, the Lord is letting us know,
“My special chosen children, you have seen nothing yet. I have a much greater work and a
wonder to do among this people!”
Chapter XXV
Lord to help us escape all misfortune and pain. If you were the Lord and you loved us as much
as He loves us, what would you give us in answer to our prayers? Would you spare us the mis-
fortune of good fortune?
REPENTANCE OF PRIDE TAKES HUMILIATION
Alma had encouraging words to the miserable, helpless people he turned to teach. As far as
they were concerned, they had no place to go but up. That is a very blessed state of mind to be
in, for even a little glimmer of hope enables one to truly seek another way. Sure, the proud can
seek repentance, but they usually only want to repent of those things which still deprive them of
self-confidence, respect and success. Usually, the last thing they want to repent of is their pride
and vanity. Those who have no pride left can be ready, willing listeners if they can shake off the
need to blame and complain.
So the first thing Alma did was to assure them that their being cast out of their churches
was the best thing that could have happened to them. My, how Alma’s enthusiastic attitude must
have shocked them. But he told them why. It was so that they could gain the greater virtue,
which is humility and wisdom. So that being the case, they really had nothing to complain about
and no one to blame.
In contrast, their successful and proud Zoramite leaders wanted these poor citizens to repent
of those things which contributed to their poverty, such as not having a positive self-image, con-
formity, neatness, cleanliness and ambition. Actually, all these qualities are well and good in or-
der to prosper more effectively in the temporal world. But those things have nothing to do with
the spiritual world. For many years I thought there was no difference between self improvement
and spiritual repentance. But gradually I began to realize that Alma was talking about a form of
repentance that is totally spiritual.
SUMMARY
The first phase of growing the tree of life is to clear a place in our hearts to plant the seed.
There are many different ways we can discover that we have been a proud dweller of the great
and spacious building. We might be very tolerant in some areas, intolerant in others. So this
phase allows us to see through the temptation of the devil on the level of pride and prejudice.
When we discover the pain of seeing that our way is not working, we can then see the hand of the
Lord in our circumstances, including the way we feel about them. Then we are free to be hum-
bled because of His wordthe message which promises the abiding of His indwelling Presence.
Chapter XXVI
our heart with the many ways we need to be right. But that judgmental tree, producing the seeds
of fear, over-runs the soil. The tender shoots of unconditional love can be quickly smothered.
So Alma will deal with this critical possibility all the way through the process.
Phase I was not designed to clear all the field, for that is not possible in this early stage of
repentance. We judge, consciously and unconsciously, in more ways than we can count. In fact,
our tree of knowledge can be more like a banyan tree, whose branches shoot aerial runners down
to the ground to take root and become another trunk of the same tree. Or we might think of our
tree of knowledge as a quaking aspen, in which the roots send up shoots which also become
trees, but really are all part of the same tree, sometimes covering acres.
Question No. 6. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO GIVE PLACE FOR A PORTION OF HIS
WORDS?
If someone of incredible wealth gave you a signed, sealed, and notarized contract that in
exactly twelve months you would receive fifty million dollars, what would your life be like for
the next year? Whether your new dreams would include plans for a beautiful mansion, world
travel, a yacht and other luxuries, and/or assisting people who need a break, you would certainly
find your life was already transformed because of the assured abundance.
Alma is talking about something much more wonderful than what we could do with such a
monetary fortune. He is promising that each and everyone of us could partake of the fullness of
God’s very own love which can be shed into the hearts of the children of men. As Nephi testi-
fied, “Yea IT IS THE MOST DESIRABLE ABOVE ALL THINGS!” And the angel added, “Yea,
and THE MOST JOYOUS TO THE SOUL.” (1 Nephi 11:22-23)
SUMMARY
As we study these pages on finding the mark, we can open up our view to the possibility
that there is much more to the promises of Christ than we had ever imagined. Then, we can al-
low ourselves to hope that, as we make some room, Christ will begin to fill our hearts with such
a blessing. That is all there is to Phase II, Preparing The Soil, with an expanded hope that Christ
really means what He says, that the gift might be possible if we reach out in faith. It is called
making a decision to hope that it might be true.
Chapter XXVII
Once a portion of the spiritual ground is cleared of the obstacles of unteachability and en-
riched with a better understanding of the promises of Christ, the season for planting God’s most
precious seed is at hand.
The potential of this seed is incomprehensible to our minds, even though the mind will find
it hard to believe such a statement. Alma acknowledged this fact to his bewildered disciples.
After all, how could they know for certain that his promises about Christ’s being able to dwell in
their hearts was true? So he challenged them to test the idea by trying an experiment regarding
the properties of this Christ-Idea itself.
that it was not a perfect knowledge
Now, as I said concerning faith even so it is with
my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a
perfect knowledge.
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But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my
words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this
desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my
words. (Alma 32:26-27)
Question No. 9. WHAT IS THE SEED OF FAITH YOU ARE TO PLANT IN YOUR
HEART?
Alma explained how to conduct an experiment with the incredible, incomprehensible mira-
cle of truly coming unto Christ.
Now, we will compare the word unto a seed.
Now, if ye give place,
that a seed may be planted in your heart,
behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed,
if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief,
that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord,
behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts,
and when you feel these swelling motions,
ye will begin to say within yourselves
it must needs be that this is a good seed,
or that the word is good,
for it beginneth to enlarge my soul;
yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding,
yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.
(Alma 32:28)
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Now, let’s get clear about what this seed of faith is. You might say, “Oh, I know. It is faith
that Christ will complete His work in my heart by growing the tree of life.”
Correct! Notice that faith in the seed deals with what Christ will do, not faith in your own
self to produce the miracle of the tree. It will require faith in yourself that you have sufficiently
cleared the ground by realizing that in and of yourself you are, by your very nature, incapable of
doing anything which is truly pure and fully holy. So the first step to planting this new type of
faith is to sincerely accept your total unworthiness, and to submit to a power which is infinitely
greater than anything you, in your mortal state, could provide. Actually, that is a great leap of
faithfaith that the one and only thing you can do in purity, with no ulterior motives, is to sur-
render, to leave it up to Him, how and when He chooses.
We remember that king Benjamin was told by an angel that we must YIELD. Remember,
“yield” means to step aside. I found that if I was to yield, I had to know from WHAT to WHAT?
He said from my own physical identity, called the natural man, to the spiritual identity, called the
“enticing of the Holy Spirit.” The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to testify within our hearts of the
reality and majesty of the cleansing and purifying power of Christ, which is the MARK.
Question No. 10. HOW CAN WE CAST OUT THE SPROUTING SEED BY OUR
UNBELIEF?
What creates unbelief? The biggest source of unbelief is doubting our own worthiness, es-
pecially the lack of real intensity of our desire. We are so accustomed to living off the tree of
knowledge of good and evil that we keep thinking, as we are taught by the preparatory gospel of
the do’s and don’ts, that we must be good enough. You can surrender that conditional thinking
when you realize that YOU WILL NEVER, EVER BE GOOD ENOUGH, NOT EVEN WHEN
YOU ARE IN THE REST!
It seems that down deep in most of us is a fear that if we went deep enough, we would find
something so dreadful that we hesitate to look. What we are most afraid of is that we might find
out, even after all of our self improving, that we are still “nothing.” Do you know the feeling?
Well, friend, the good news is that, ultimately, that is what all of us are “nothing,”
meaning NO THING. We are Spirit, and Spirit is what all things are made of, therefore it is
infinite and eternal. When we see that Spirit is really everything, then it stops being a “thing” at
all, for it has no top, bottom, middle or anything else characteristic of A THING. Infinite and
eternal God is not a thing, though as a God-Being, He certainly is. That is another paradox! In
total reality, He is much, much more than just a Being, and so are we.
Knowing our true “no-thing-ness” is the evidence of knowing, at least in part, the mind of
Christ.
As king Benjamin testified to his people who had come to this blessed understanding:
I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of
God, and YOUR OWN NOTHINGNESS, and His goodness and long-suffering towards you,
unworthy creatures [as finite human beings], and humble yourselves even in the depths of
humility. (Mosiah 4:11)
Question No. 11. IN WHAT WAY IS YOUR UNBELIEF RESISTING THE SPIRIT OF
THE LORD?
A man came to Jesus with his son who was possessed and whom the disciples had not been
able to heal. As he pleaded for his son’s life, the Lord said, “If thou canst believe, all things are
possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears,
Lord, I BELIEVE; HELP THOU MINE UNBELIEF.” (Mark 9:23-24)
Because of the fall, we are all cut off. How can we really believe when we cannot see who
94
we are? We cannot! That is where we start. Yes, we believe in a way, but unbelief is our nature,
provided by the Lord Himself. So we acknowledge the blessing of what faith we have, and sur-
render the rest of our lack of faith to Him.
SUMMARY
An experiment is done to see what happens rather than trying to fulfill a need by doing the
right thing. Alma’s experiment is to enable people to confidently move out of the great and spa-
cious building to joyfully join those on the strait and narrow path. The basis of this experiment is
to plant the seed of faith in Christ’s promise of growing nothing less than the tree of eternal life,
his pure and perfect love, within our hearts. We initiate this by arousing our faculties of both the
mind and the heart, choosing both positive thoughts and feelings to build up the power of great
desire. As the seed of faith grows and our bosom swells with anticipation and joy, we have then
come to a perfect knowledge that this is a good and rewarding path to be on.
Chapter XXVIII
Part I
CARING FOR THE SEEDLING
Phase IV The Change of Focus
Once the experiment has been completed, the seed has indeed swelled and sprouted, a shift
must take place. No longer are the seekers in limbo. Right there in their own hearts, they have a
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real, live miracle. Each has a delicate seedling of none other than Christ’s greatest gift, a baby
tree of life.
And now behold, after ye have tasted this light [of the spiritual law] is your knowledge
perfect? ... Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither must ye lay aside your faith, for ye have only
exercised your faith to plant the seed that ye might try the experiment to know if the seed
was good.
And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care,
that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us. And now behold, if ye
nourish it with much care it will get root and grow up, and bring forth fruit. (Alma 32:34-37)
our faith, we experienced our Redeemer sending us inspiration by His Holy Spirit to tell us what
to do. As we gained more of His Spirit, that is exactly what He does do. Thus we have become
Liahona Saints, trusting the Spirit to tell us everything necessary to continue successfully on our
journey.
Those wonderful inspiring instructions, accompanied with the burnings of the bosom, are
the thrilling fruits of the first comforter. So one might ask, “Why would I want to change such a
wonderful relationship with Christ?” My answer is, “Because you want to nurture the tender
seedling of the tree of life, the fruit of which takes you beyond separateness!”
liberty, there is a natural habit we will want to reduce and finally eliminate.
If you really want an extra burden of worry and concern, just expand those three questions
to include others by saying “they” instead of “I.” Did they do the right thing? Are they doing the
right thing? Will they be doing the right thing? We are so used to living by all these questions,
we might find it difficult to live without them. So what question could we ask if we stopped ask-
ing any of those questions? There is one question you can constantly ask which is the question of
eternal aliveness, a question that truly nurtures the seedling of the tree of life. It is this:
This brings us back to what Alma wanted us to do with the seed of faith in the promises of
Christ. A true experiment, remember, is to see what happens, not to produce the “right thing.”
There is no other way to live without fear. There is no other way to nurture the tree of life.
But those on either the First or Second Levels, when they hear even a suggestion of this
kind of talk, will throw up their hands in fear of what they might do if God did not give them all
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of this knowledge of good and evil. Yes, and of course they are rightif we are still under the
fall, thus carnal, sensual and devilish. Then we need to come from fear. But what happens
when we begin to come from the pure love of Christ? Paul explained how love takes care of eve-
rything, naturally and spontaneously, rather than rigidly by fixed ideals:
...love one another [with Christ’s gift of love], for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the
law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou
shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it
is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS
THYSELF.
Love worketh no ill to his neighbor, therefore LOVE IS THE FULFILLING OF THE
LAW. (Romans 13:8-10)
After Paul told the members this, he challenged them to wake up and cast off the works of
darkness, which is doing good only because one is afraid to be bad. Paul continued:
It is high time to awake out of sleep, for now is our salvation [perfection] nearer than
when we [first] believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the
works of darkness [trying to live by the commandments without the pure love of Christ], and
let us put on the armor of LIGHT [love]. (Romans 13:11-12)
Remember, the commandments are given because they are necessary for those who refuse
to walk in the light when it is noonday. That light is pure love, and it does not come from the
tree of knowledge but from the tree of life. So which tree do you chose to grow within your
heart?
THE ERROR OF TRUSTING IN THE STRAIT AND NARROW PATH
Those Liahona Saints on the spiritual law “feel” their spiritual guidance is right, of course,
because they believe that a path which leads to the pure love of Christ should be very strait and
exceedingly narrow. Yet, as they must admit, this trying to live as “perfect servants” fails to
produce the pure love of Christ, which casts out all fear in their lives. Actually, living second-
hand righteousness creates dedicated rigidity, spiritual self righteousness and inflexibility, leav-
ing little room for Christ to expand their unconditional love.
The preparation process for growing the tree of life and finally partaking of the fruit is a
step by step dying to the old way of judgmentalness. This requires becoming poor in heart even
more deeply than before.
Changing focus is not easy for Liahona Saints because those beautiful, spiritual experiences
on the strait and narrow path make them feel so confident and secure in their dependence upon
Christ. Remember, Lehi saw that when the mists of darkness blinded those on the path, most
wandered off and were lost. The reason is that up to that time, whether on the temporal law of
the written word or by personal revelation, they have diligently converted all of this information
into CONCLUSIONS of what ought to be and kept comparing these ideals with WHAT IS!
Chapter XXIX
Part II
CARING FOR THE SEEDLING
Phase IV The Change of Focus
We want to increase our understanding on the meat level of Alma’s challenge to grow the
tree of life in our hearts. This requires a change of focus from separateness to seeing that all
things are by Christ and of Christ. To assist us, if we are willing to give up the forbidden tree,
Christ will begin to reveal to us His personal, infinite Presence, line upon line, grace upon grace.
We can begin to understand that all things are exactly as He has contemplated them. But such
knowledge is a two edged sword and can cut both ways. So Alma warns us of the tenderness of
the seedling at this critical transition period.
But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought [about His promises] for its nourishment,
behold it will not get any root and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because
it hath no root, it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out. (Alma 32:38)
By combining Alma’s instruction with Lehi’s vision, since both have to do with reaching
the tree of life, we can better understand how following the strait and narrow path by our own
view of things must be exchanged for the “not knowing mind” of the iron rod.
Remember, finding the iron rod does not remove the mists of darkness. What it does do is
provide a way to safely proceed through this period of not seeing the borders of the path. We
will find ourselves in a new, paradoxical relationship with God, called the certainty in uncer-
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tainty. We no longer trust God to give us unfailing knowledge of good and evil, truth and error.
Yet, at the same time, we TRUST GOD MORE THAN EVER BEFORE. We are calling this
having a “not knowing mind” because we know that we do not know what we are “supposed” to
do yet we know that all things work out for our good.
enthusiastically do whatever it was I was called upon to do. I did not teach nor was I given the
ability to write for a number of years. Then, wonderfully, the Lord let me start telling bits and
pieces of my own story of discovery.
to bear it. Perhaps it hurts enough to make you groan from the shock. You are
frightened, bewildered, but you know you must not give up! Yet you wonder if you
can hold out. You know that the wonderful tree is still a long way off.
Then you get an idea. You take off your coat, wrap it around your hands, and
grab the rod through your coat. Now the electric shock is more bearable. “Wow!
Yes,” you say to yourself, “it still hurts but now I believe I can make it.”
At this point, you may be wondering why I am having you imagine the iron rod being
charged with electricity. Well, take my word for it! Christ just doesn’t want our blind obedience
or even our agreement any more. He wants us to take dominion within our hearts, to come from
greater love rather than pre-decided conclusions. The problem is that we do not easily surrender
our inner dependency on His law. So the Lord uses many different ways to shock us into seeing
how we have less than pure intent.
I’ll give you an example from our Church History as to how the iron rod is not painless.
There is an earlier experience Joseph had, showing how the Lord was willing to brutally and lit-
erally shock him so he could discover that, in spite of outward obedience, he had impure intent in
his needy heart.
Chapter XXX
Part III
CARING FOR THE SEEDLING
Phase IV The Change of Focus
Let’s remember that the Great and Spacious Building Saints have always been the vast ma-
jority, at least in the past. In the same way, the next largest group has been those on the strait and
narrow path, the Liahona Saints. Even fewer are those grasping the chastisement of the iron rod.
For the benefit of all three levels, the scriptures speak of the fierce wrath of God who is both
jealous and often angry. Yet the teachings of Christ have shown that those are not the true
characteristics of our Father in Heaven. Then why is the wrath of God spoken of so often, even
in the Doctrine and Covenants?
As a likeness of our inner world, what are the “nations” which are to be ruled by a rod of
iron? In a spiritual sense, it is talking about cleansing the inner vessel. Christ will come into our
hearts to bring His gift of perfect love. To do so, He must first subdue the diverse “nations” that
are in each of us, which refers to the multitudes of “conclusions” within our hearts.
Each conclusion, each decision, has become a judgmental power center and has taken on a
life of its own. It has become an entity of the self, with its own personality and determined will.
Altogether, these “nations” within the “self” must come under total submission to Christ or be
destroyed. So with Christ’s sharp sword, even a flaming sword, He will “smite the nations,” the
many “selves,” of which the natural man is made. Each of our “selves” falsely claims to know
how to rule and reign over this earthly kingdom of ours and must be overturned.
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SEEING THE INNER SYMBOLISM OF THE SECOND COMING PROPHECIES
The prophecies describing the Second Coming are not just predicting future historical
events. They also describe, symbolically, an inner Second Coming in which Christ will rule and
reign in His personal tabernacle, your body and your life, bringing about His Millennium, His
rest, in your life.
Let’s look at one of the graphic prophecies of the Second Coming and see how it may sym-
bolically describe the Armageddon which must first take place inside each of our hearts:
And it shall come to pass, that in all the land [of our heart], saith the Lord, two parts
therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
And I will bring the third part [those who are not killed] through the fire, and will refine
them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on my name, and I
will hear them. I shall say, It is my people, and they shall say, The Lord is my God. (Zechariah
13:8-9)
Does that sound like the flaming sword to you, my friend? It certainly does to me. The
sweet fruit of the tree of life brings the Millennium to the heart, called entering into the rest of the
Lord from this time henceforth until we rest with Him in Heaven.
LETTING THE LAW BECOME DEAD DOES NOT MEAN FORSAKING THE PATH
Let me emphasize again that all of these allegories are spiritual, not temporal. Recall that
both the iron rod and the path went together to the tree of life. “I also beheld a strait and narrow
path, which came along by the rod of iron.” By following the rod, one automatically stays on the
path! The difference is not in direction, it is in the focus! One works and the other does not.
One is rigid and vain. The other is spontaneous and meek, yet purposeful!
When Nephi, as an older man, finally let the law become dead, he still kept the command-
ments. Why? Did he keep them because he was afraid not to? No! Was he still trying to earn
his exaltation? No, I think not! Notice that Nephi instructed his family to do the commandments
as far as they were expedient. So why did he keep the commandments? It was because the Lord
had asked him to, that’s why!
Wherefore the law hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ because of
our faith; YET WE KEEP THE LAW BECAUSE OF THE COMMANDMENTS. (2 Nephi 25:25)
It is very easy to throw the baby out with the bath water. The shift is not in the doing, but
in the perception. Instead of coming from the old way of fearful pride in obedience, we come
from the new way of love and liberty. That shift is provided through a very thorough chastening
process which we have found is symbolized by the iron rod.
As will be emphasized throughout these four books on A Blessing Hitherto Unknown, the
Lord has put you in the Church to enable you to walk the talk without having to wander off into
forbidden paths. Fixed ideals create burdens of duty. Love creates the wisdom of free choice,
the liberty in Christ.
It is at this point that we begin to better understand these swelling motions, which brings us
to Question No. 12.
Question No. 12. WHAT ARE THESE SWELLING MOTIONS WITHIN OUR BREAST?
On the Second Level, these swelling motions are the rewards for our living by our ideals.
But as we move to the Third Level, they are not seen as rewards at all, for they have nothing to
do with our worthiness. They are unearned gifts, called grace, of a loving Christ.
Yes, on the Second Level, the swelling motions proved to us that the experiment worked.
They took us from faith to a certainty. But as we move into the Third Level of the flaming
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sword, we begin to hold these spiritual feelings more lightly. Instead of making them into an
ideal of what we crave to experience more and more, we simply acknowledge that, in spite of our
total unworthiness, His grace-filled love still abounds.
Let me use my own experience as an example of how my praying has been totally altered.
Each time I go before the Lord, I do so with a smile upon my face. I freely and lovingly ac-
knowledge that I am worthy of nothing and that He needs me for nothing. I know that we are all
unprofitable servants. I know that He could totally change the world into Heaven this very in-
stant, and someday He might, and He doesn’t have to wait on me to help Him do it.
It is in that state of mind that I go into my joyous thankfulness that He is not only blessing
me but also using me, even with all of those interesting weaknesses He has blessed me with. In
that experience, in that relationship, there are no burdens, there is no heavy labor.
So now we come to the question about enlightenment.
So we are counseled to resist the devil, but not the evil he creates. Why is that? Because if
we resist his evil, we will become what we resist. What we resist tends to persist. What we focus
on expands. In other words, we are to resist the source of darkness, but not the darkness itself.
How does that work?
We cannot have both trees at the same time, so we continually surrender to Christ our
thoughts and feelings. Remember, what He reveals at this stage are two precious things for-
giveness and gratitude! Wouldn’t that be nice if we could be in that space all the time? Oops!
We just grabbed another ideal. Actually, in our weakness, we just can’t stay in that space
CONTINUALLY. We are vulnerable to the temptation to return to our ideals of what ought to
be. When we do, we face the chastening from time to time.
Don’t laugh! The Accuser-part of our mind, our unbeliever, can’t stand the light of day.
When he is caught in the act, and we send him off, our mind and feelings of urgency instantly
clear and we are free to return to gratitude for the miracle of our life.
Remember, ANY TIME you feel a glitch or find you have a busy mind with negative or
justifying thoughts or feelings, take charge and use that polite but firm command. Don’t bother
to argue with him. If you do, he will usually win. At certain times you may be casting him out
half a dozen times in an hour. But gradually, his beer-party supplied by your anguish and misery
gradually dries up. You will find him bothering you less often.
If you do not catch him in time, he may refuse to leave. In such a case, you may have to
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confidently add to these words, “in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord.” He will go for sure, but
that doesn’t mean he won’t be back. And it could be shortly, but this time, catch him at the first
glitch.
SUMMARY
As we conclude these three chapters on The Change of Focus, it is easy to feel some over-
load as you sense the weight of following Alma’s straight forward instructions. However, in this
third and concluding chapter on Phase IV, Caring For The Seedling, you are reminded to lighten
up, allowing yourself to enjoy the ride you and Christ have prepared to experience jointly with
praise and thanksgiving. The Accuser, which Christ has wisely provided, will see to it that you
pay dearly if you listen to the judgmental approach to things. But now you know you can send
him back to hell where he belongs, any time, any day. This is called loving God with all your
MIGHT.
Chapter XXXIII
CONCLUSION
As I mentioned in the Preface, during the last four years since writing Book I, Looking Be-
yond the Mark, I had written much, using a number of different approaches to this book, Book II,
Finding the Mark.
As it has turned out, most of that material has not gone into what this book has finally
turned out to be. Possibly much of it will show up in Book III, Entering The Rest. Be that as it
may, I have been literally amazed at what the Lord has helped me put on these pages. It is so dif-
ferent than I had expected in many ways, and in other ways, it is exactly what I expected.
Using three separate sections has been helpful because it enabled us to focus on one subject
at a time, even though we were interweaving them together. Let’s review what we covered in
each of the three sections.
SECTION I
THE FOUR LEVELS OF THE GOSPEL
This understanding had been so helpful to me over the years that I kept hoping that I could
start this book out with the concept of the Four Levels.
However, every time I tried to explain these levels, I bogged down with complex conceptu-
alization. Then when I discovered that the strait and narrow path Lehi saw represented the Sec-
ond Level, I could see that his vision would be the framework for that part of this book. I hope
that it has been as useful to you as it has been to me.
SECTION II
UNDERSTANDING THE NEW COVENANT
Since the new covenant has a totally different meaning when viewed from the preparatory
gospel than it does when viewed from the fullness, I was again perplexed as to how this gulf
could be described in a way that would show the value of both approaches, even though one ul-
timately creates burden while the other creates liberation from burden.
As I started exploring the scriptural references on the new covenant, I saw that interpreting
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the meaning of the covenant from the preparatory gospel is, actually, what the OLD covenant
was all about. The old covenant cannot and will not be fulfilled, but the new covenant can and
will. In fact, that is the covenant
And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not His power, then
are ye sanctified in Christ [not in ourselves] by the grace of God, through the shedding of the
blood of Christ, WHICH IS IN THE COVENANT OF THE FATHER unto the remission of
your sins, that ye become holy, without spot. (Moroni 10:33)
So it was a thrill to see how our scriptures, not just in the Book of Mormon, but in the Bible,
the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price, all witness that the new covenant hav-
ing to do with a miracle that God will do in the hearts of the children of men.
SECTION III
GROWING THE TREE OF LIFE IN OUR HEARTS
Once we see how the bestowal of the pure love of Christ is what the new covenant is all
about, we can understand what Alma was teaching on the deeper, meat levels of the gospel. This
deeper over-standing can enable all of us to better appreciate this great prophet, along with the
entire Book of Mormon. I totally concur with President Ezra Taft Benson, when he said:
The Book of Mormon must be reenthroned in the minds and hearts of our people. We
must honor it by reading it, by studying it, by taking its precepts into our lives and transform-
ing them into lives required of the true followers of Christ. (Ensign, November 1986. pp. 79-80)
THE GARDENER
You stood before me,
seed in hand, and said, “Plant it deep
deep within your heart.” And I did.
First as the gentle tender roots took hold,
I, too, clung to the law
and all that was familiar.
But as the sprouts pushed forth
and grew into a mighty trunk
my soul opened wide and my eyes awoke,
and I could see as He sees.
Now, as I feel the branches reaching out to
embrace, enfold, and experience
The tree grows strong.
Heaven opens to my view
The fount of living water spills out
the drops of gratitude,
and I am whole.
And I give thanks for you
who gave to me the seed.
Kathi Neff