2 Nephi 11
As a qualifier, Nephi states that both Isaiah and his brother Jacob had seen his Redeemer (see vs 2-3). There is not clarification in these verse as far as whether this is seeing with the natural eyes or with the spiritual eyes. I submit that in these cases, each is developed enough spiritually, or at least purified enough personally to see with their spiritual eyes.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God," (Matt 5:8).
While in the flesh, the Lord was daily before the people, working great miracles, and the people believed him not to be the Lord their God. (see John 12:37-41)
This is my second day on this topic. When I reread the post title, Joseph Smith's personal testimony of the Savior came to mind, "For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father— " (Doctrine and Covenants 76:21).
A second thought came to me. Why would we trust the witness of someone who had seen God? Because as Christ has said, their hearts are pure. In other words, the testimony of one who has seen God is influenced by none other motive than pure desire to do what is right. Theirs is a witness that can be trusted.
We live in a world of deceit, where all manner of evil is crafted by man to ensnare us. Yet, there are men with pure intent. There is a pattern in the word of God to be able to discern such righteousness. First they will testify that they have seen God or that they know beyond doubt of His reality. Second, their witness will be ratified to us individually through the power of the Holy Ghost, if our personal motives are pure.
As a qualifier, Nephi states that both Isaiah and his brother Jacob had seen his Redeemer (see vs 2-3). There is not clarification in these verse as far as whether this is seeing with the natural eyes or with the spiritual eyes. I submit that in these cases, each is developed enough spiritually, or at least purified enough personally to see with their spiritual eyes.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God," (Matt 5:8).
While in the flesh, the Lord was daily before the people, working great miracles, and the people believed him not to be the Lord their God. (see John 12:37-41)
This is my second day on this topic. When I reread the post title, Joseph Smith's personal testimony of the Savior came to mind, "For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father— " (Doctrine and Covenants 76:21).
A second thought came to me. Why would we trust the witness of someone who had seen God? Because as Christ has said, their hearts are pure. In other words, the testimony of one who has seen God is influenced by none other motive than pure desire to do what is right. Theirs is a witness that can be trusted.
We live in a world of deceit, where all manner of evil is crafted by man to ensnare us. Yet, there are men with pure intent. There is a pattern in the word of God to be able to discern such righteousness. First they will testify that they have seen God or that they know beyond doubt of His reality. Second, their witness will be ratified to us individually through the power of the Holy Ghost, if our personal motives are pure.
I am of the firm belief that we should never believe someone who says that they have seen God on their own word, but I don't think that's what you were saying to do anyway. Just as we are to test The Lord in his promises (pay tithing, pour out a blessing; Live the Word of Wisdom, given great treasures of knowledge and destroying angel will pass you, etc.), I believe that any man who is willing to say that they have seen God, is also saying that they will submit themselves to be tested in Spirit and in Truth. The Lord does not take personal visits lightly, and will ratify to the listeners whether what is being said is true or not.
ReplyDeleteAlso, one must always question the motives of a person who is saying that they have seen God. He does by all means still send Heavenly visitors, and in rare occasions, visit himself, but how often do you hear a General Authority talk about their visit from God, hmm? Not often, because IF they have had an experience like that, the nature of it is FAR too sacred to be discussed offhand. It is the type of thing that is only spoken of under the prompting of the Holy Ghost, so when a person tells an entire congregation, it is our job to seek for the Holy Ghost, and see if it will give the Seal of Approval to his experience, or if this person is only serving themselves. Such a thing is not to be taken lightly, after all.
Good post, and thought provoking.
Thank you Dysmas for sharing. The thing that most impressed me again about these verses was that Nephi felt this, having actually seen God, validated their witness or teachings.
ReplyDeletePerhaps this is not so much a pattern for us, but it works for one prophet speaking about another prophet. They say in effect, "Here is the witness of this man who has seen God. His is a first hand account of the reality of God." This is what our current prophets do when they make reference to the prophet Joseph Smith and others. They don't talk about their own experiences, but clearly their own experience is what has qualified them to teach us about where to find true testimonies of our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Again, thanks for sharing.
-Brent