Sunday, August 18, 2013

Foundations of testimony

I completely forgot that due to a neighboring wards stake conference our meetings were pushed back by an hour so I arrived at church and found myself with an extra hour of scripture study time. So after rifling though I landed on Doctrine and Covenants section 18. Here The Lord reassures Oliver Cowdery that he had received a spiritual witness that the things he was writing (as a scrip for the translation of the Book of Mormon) were true. Then he gave him what I thought was an interesting commandment he said "And if you know that they are true, behold, I give unto you a commandment, that you rely upon the things which are written;" I found it very interesting that that commandment give was conditional on knowledge. IF you know that they are true. So then in the next verses the lord tells him "for in them are all things written concerning the foundation of my church, my gospel, and my rock. Wherefore, if you shall build up my church, upon the foundation of my gospel and my rock, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you." The three things The Lord specified as being in the scriptures kinda jumped out to me. Oliver is being command to rely on the words which are written concerning the church the gospel and the rock. So I asked myself why does The Lord specify these three things? How will a knowledge of the foundation of the church, the gospel, and the rock (who is Christ) change Oliver's (or our) behavior to make him more favorable and prepared? Then The Lord gives him a promise that if he builds the church on the foundation of the gospel and Christ then the gates of hell would not prevail against him. Knowledge, faith and service. That's really what it comes down to. Knowing the words which are written are true. Having faith to rely on them. Then using that testimony and faith to build others we will become people who are converted. We will become like the high priest described in Alma 13 who "after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence;" or we may become as Moroni who it was said if him "yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts if the children of men."