For he that diligently seeketh shall find – even the mysteries of God – 1 Nephi 10:19
19 For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round.
My mind is just racing with excitement as I contemplate this scripture and what it means to all of God’s children, and I just pray that I can convey what is in my heart. To start off, I would like for you to seriously ponder this question; if you were about to tell the whole world about one of, if not the greatest, spiritual experience of your life, how would you set it up or prepare them to receive and then desire to obtain for themselves an experience of this magnitude? What an interesting thing that is to contemplate.
Well, Nephi sure nailed it. This verse is one of the powerful verses he uses to setup, prepare, and lead us to desire to obtain for ourselves.
I have always thought that Nephi just wanted to see the dream that Lehi had received, and then was given so much more; but as I studied this ponderize scripture and how it tied in to Nephi’s whole experience, I realized that he wanted to see, hear, and know for himself all that his father had seen and prophesied by the power of the Holy Ghost.
1 Nephi 10:17–18
17 And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all the words of my father, concerning the things which he saw in a vision, and also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith on the Son of God—and the Son of God was the Messiah who should come—I, Nephi, was desirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him, as well in times of old as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of men.
18 For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him.
This is where it gets exciting, Nephi understood the role of and the power of the Holy Ghost and he knew how to access that power.
When the Savior visited the Nephites after his resurrection, He taught them about the role of the Holy Ghost.
3 Nephi 11:35–36
35 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost.
36 And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one.
Nowhere in that chapter does the Savior mention that the Holy Ghost will comfort us, protect us, or perform any of the other roles that we hear so much about. Not to say that the Holy Ghost doesn’t perform those and many other tender mercies in our lives, but let me offer another perspective, when we find Christ and see, hear, and know Him for ourselves, what greater comfort, protection, and so so much more can you receive than from Him? Thus, this is the overarching and most important role of the Holy Ghost, to testify of the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
Nephi had this faith and knew that the power of the Holy Ghost, is a gift of God, and that this gift is given unto all those who repent and diligently seek after him. He also believed and knew that if such a person diligently sought after Christ, he would find Him. Lastly, he had faith and knew that this was the same power and the same pattern set forth by God in all ages of time and that all were on a level or equal opportunity to seek and find Christ. With this belief, faith, and knowledge he diligently sought Christ and found Him and truly the mysteries of God were unfolded unto him.
We may say in our hearts, how blessed and special Nephi was. We may dreamily wish we were more like Nephi and were more blessed of the Lord, and yet in that same thought, we allow our doubt to darken our minds, and tell ourselves, that we are no Nephi and the Lord makes no such things known unto us? Does that sound familiar? This is the attitude and the language of Laman and Lemuel in 1 Nephi 15:9. Let us not just dream, let us not allow our doubt to steal away our belief and faith in Christ, but rather let us repent and diligently seek after Christ until we find Him.
I ask myself and I ask all who read these words, will you have such belief and faith to diligently seek after Christ in all that you think, do, and say until you too find Him and see, hear, and know Him for yourselves by the power of the Holy Ghost? What a glorious day that will be, for at that day you will be taught at His feet and He will unfold before your eyes His great mysteries. How truly glorious indeed will that day be.
Craig
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