Seeking After Truth: The Kind of Heart God Requires

I like incorporating videos into my posts, because I think that seeing, hearing, and reading a message can sometimes convey messages better than reading alone.

The video below portrays a modern-day search for truth and quotes much of Joseph Smith's experience when he was 14 years old. In his day, there were many churches teaching different doctrine about Christ. These churches were preaching against each other and many contentions arose among them to the point that the different sects were condemning each other to hell. Joseph didn't know which group was right, and he felt confused and lost. One day, he read a scripture in the first chapter of James that prompted him to pray to God to know the truth. The scripture is referenced in this video:


The video depicts a few principles that are an absolute necessity when seeking after truth from God.

First, we must be seeking for truth. "Ask, and it shall be given you, seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:" -Matthew 7:7

There is no end to truth and wisdom, so we shouldn't assume that what we were raised to know as the truth is all the truth there is. There is always something new that God wants to teach us."That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light growth brighter and brighter until the perfect day."-D&C 50:24

We must ask Heavenly Father (in the name of Jesus Christ) in faith. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering." -James 1:5-6

We must ask Heavenly Father. Many people go to their pastors, bishops, or preachers and have them explain things. While they may know the scriptures very well, scriptures can be interpreted in different ways. Only the Holy Ghost has the power to testify truth to us. Asking God to know the truth is showing trust in Him to speak to us. "[Unless] I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know; for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible.” -Testimony of Joseph Smith Jr. Full Testimony

Maybe the most important element in seeking after truth is humility. Someone can ask God to know the truth. However, if they have already set their minds on what they believe the answer is, they have already shut their hearts to receiving a prompting from the Holy Ghost. This is why Christ says, "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." -Matthew 18:3 His reference to little children is referring to the humility that they possess.

My prayer for this nation and the world is that our hearts will be turned toward God and desire to seek after His truth.

Do We Really Know What We Have?

           

As written by Scott Anderson in his journal.

We had an unexpected moment in the mission field. We knocked on a door and a lady said something to us we had never heard, "Come in." Now remember, I was a German missionary. This never happened to us, not even the members would say that to us. At this point suddenly this dear lady invited us in. My companion said, "Do you know who we are?" "You want to talk religion, don't you?" she said. "Yes, we do." explained my companion.  
 
"Oh, come in. I've watching you walk around the neighborhood. I'm so excited to have you here. Please come into my study." We went in and seated ourselves and she sat down behind the desk.
 
She looked at us with a smile, then pointed to three Ph.D's hanging over her head- one in theology, the study of religion, one in Philosophy, the study of ideas, and one in European History specializing in Christianity. She then kind of rubbed her hands together and said, "Do you see this row of books here?" We looked at a well arranged row of books. She then said, "I wrote them all. I’m the Theology professor at the University of Munich. I’ve been doing this for 41 years. I love to talk about religion. What would you like to discuss?" My inspired companion said, " we'd like to talk about the Book of Mormon." She said, "I don't know anything about the Book of Mormon." He said, "I know". Twenty minutes later we walked out of the room. We had handed her a Book of Mormon and this trade off that we had been on was over. I didn't see this lady for another 8 1/2 weeks.
   
It was a small room filled with people, {when I saw her again}, as she was standing in the front dressed in white. This Theology professor at the University of Munich was well known throughout Southern Germany. She stood up in front of this small congregation of people and said, "Before I'm baptized I’d like to tell you of my feelings. In Amos 8:11, it says, "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a ^afamine of bread, nor a ^bthirst for water, but of hearing the ^cwords of the Lord." I've been in that famine for 76 years. Why do you think I have three PhD's? I've been hungering for the truth and have been unable to find it. Then 8 1/2 weeks ago, two boys walked into my home. I want you to know these boys are very nice and wonderful young men, but they didn't convert me. They couldn't; they don't know enough." And then she smiled and said, "but since the day they walked in my door I have read the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, all of Talmage's great writings, Evidence and Reconciliations by John A. Widtsoe and 22 other volumes of Church Doctrine." She then said something which I think is a challenge for everyone of us here. She said, "I don't think you members know what you have."
 
Then in her quiet, powerful way, she said, "After those years of studying philosophy, I picked up the D&C and read a few little verses that answered some of the greatest questions of Aristotle and Socrates! When I read those verses, I wept for 4 hours." Then she said again, "I don't think you members know what you have. Don't you understand the world is in a famine? Don't you know we are starving for what you have? I am like a starving person being led to a feast. And over these 8 1/2 weeks I have been able to feast in a way I have never known possible."
 
Her powerful message and her challenging question was then ended with her favorite scripture, "And ye shall ^aknow the ^btruth, and the ^ctruth shall make you ^dfree."
 
She said, "these missionaries don't just carry membership in the church in their hands, they carry within their hands the power to make the atonement of Jesus Christ full force in my life. Today I'm going into the water and I'm going to make a covenant with Christ for the first time with proper authority. I've wanted to do this all my life." None of us will forget the day she was baptized. When she got finished being baptized, she got back out and before she received the Holy Ghost , she stood and said, "Now I would like to talk about the Holy Ghost for awhile." She then gave a wonderful talk about the gift of the Holy Ghost.

 {Later in Elder Anderson's journal}
 
Two young missionaries, both relatively new, {one had been out about 5 months, the other 3 weeks}, accidentally knocked of the door of the seminary in Regensburg. 125 wonderful men were studying to become priests inside. They didn't realize this was the door they had knocked on because it looked like any other door. They were invited in. In somewhat of a panic, the man said, "I am sorry we just don't have time right now." The 2 missionaries were relieved, but then he said, "Would you come back next Tuesday and spend 2 hours addressing all 125 of us and answer questions about your church?" They agreed that they would, and ran down the road screaming for joy. They made a phone call to their mission president and cried for help. The mission president called us and said, "Do you think that dear lady that you have just brought into the church would like to come help these 2 missionaries with this assignment?" I called her to explain what was to happen, and she said, "More than I would like to eat, more than I would like to sleep, more than..." I said, "Fine, you don't have to explain."
 
We drove her to the seminary, and as we went in, she grabbed the 2 missionaries that had originally been invited, put her arms around them and said, "You are wonderful young men. Would each of you spend about 2 minutes bearing your testimony and then sit down and be quiet, please?"
 
They were grateful for their simple assignment. They bore their testimony and then seated themselves. Then she got up and said, "For the next 30 minutes, I would like to talk to you about historical apostasy." She knew every date and fact. She had a Ph.D in this. She talked about everything that had been taken away from the great teachings the Savior had given, mostly organizational, in the first part of her talk. The next 45 minutes were doctrinal.
 
She gave every point of doctrinal changes, when it happened and what had changed. By the time she was done, she looked at them and said, "In 1820, a boy walked into a grove of trees. He had been in a famine just like I have been. He knelt to pray, because he was hungry just like I have been. He saw God the Father and His Son. I know this is hard for you to believe that they could be two separate beings, but I know they are." she shared scriptures that showed that they were and then said, "I would like to talk about historical restoration of truth." she then, point by point, date by date, from the Doctrine and Covenants, put back the organizational structure of Christ's church. The last 20 minutes of her talk were absolutely brilliant. For the first time we realized that she had been their Theology professor. She continued by saying, "Last year when I was teaching you, I told you that I was still in a famine.
 
I have been led to a feast. I invite you to come." She finished with her testimony and sat down. What happened next was hard for me to understand. These 125 sincere, wonderful men stood and for the next 7 minutes, gave her a standing ovation. By the time 4 minutes had gone by, I was crying. I remember standing and looking into their eyes and seeing the tears in their eyes too. I wondered why they were applauding after the message she had given. I asked many of them later. They said, "To hear someone so unashamed of the truth, to hear someone teaching with such power, to hear someone who finally has conviction."
 
The truth is what can set us free...Do we really know what we have?

The Infinite Power of Hope

Excerpts from "The Infinite Power of Hope" by Dieter F. Uchtdorf
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/the-infinite-power-of-hope?lang=eng#watch=video

I have often thought about that night and what my mother must have endured. If I could go back in time and sit by her side, I would ask her how she managed to go on in the face of her fears. I would ask about faith and hope and how she overcame despair.

While that is impossible, perhaps today I could sit by your side and by the side of any who might feel discouraged, worried, or lonely. Today I would like to speak with you about the infinite power of hope.

 

Hope has the power to fill our lives with happiness. ² Its absence—when this desire of our heart is delayed—can make “the heart sick.” ³  Hope is a gift of the Spirit. ⁴ It is a hope that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the power of His Resurrection, we shall be raised unto life eternal and this because of our faith in the Savior.

Why is there despair?

The scriptures say that there must be “an opposition in all things.” ¹⁵ ‍ So it is with faith, hope, and charity. Doubt, despair, and failure to care for our fellowmen lead us into temptation, which can cause us to forfeit choice and precious blessings. The adversary uses despair to bind hearts and minds in suffocating darkness. Despair drains from us all that is vibrant and joyful and leaves behind the empty remnants of what life was meant to be.

Hope, on the other hand, is like the beam of sunlight rising up and above the horizon of our present circumstances. It pierces the darkness with a brilliant dawn. It encourages and inspires us to place our trust in the loving care of an eternal Heavenly Father, who has prepared a way for those who seek for eternal truth in a world of relativism, confusion, and of fear.

And what kind of existence can we hope for?
Those who come unto Christ, repent of their sins, and live in faith will reside forever in peace. Think of the worth of this eternal gift. Surrounded by those we love, we will know the meaning of ultimate joy as we progress in knowledge and in happiness. No matter how bleak the chapter of our lives may look today, because of the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we may hope and be assured that the ending of the book of our lives will exceed our grandest expectations. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” ²⁶ 

In times of distress, we can hold tightly to the hope that things will “work together for [our] good.” ...We learn to cultivate hope the same way we learn to walk, one step at a time...
Like Father Abraham, we will “against hope [believe] in hope.” 

The brighter our hope, the greater our faith. The stronger our hope, the purer our charity....The things we hope for‍ lead us to faith, while the things we hope in‍ lead us to charity.
 
Hope sustains us through despair. Hope teaches that there is reason to rejoice even when all seems dark around us.
“Press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.” ³⁹ 

And to all who suffer—to all who feel discouraged, worried, or lonely—I say with love and deep concern for you, never give in. Never surrender. Never allow despair to overcome your spirit.

Embrace and rely upon the Hope of Israel, for the love of the Son of God pierces all darkness, softens all sorrow, and gladdens every heart.

The Currant Bush

"Thank you Mr. Gardener for loving me enough to cut me down."
Excerpts from "As Many as I Rebuke, I Chasten." by Elder Todd Christofferson and "The Currant Bush" by Elder Hugh B. Brown are below:

I wanted to tell you that oft-repeated story because there are many of you who are going to have some very difficult experiences: disappointment, heartbreak, bereavement, defeat. You are going to be tested and tried to prove what you are made of. I just want you to know that if you don’t get what you think you ought to get, remember, “God is the gardener here. He knows what he wants you to be.” Submit yourselves to his will. Be worthy of his blessings, and you will get his blessings.

“The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become...The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account.

Sadly, much of modern Christianity does not acknowledge that God makes any real demands on those who believe in Him, seeing Him rather as a butler “who meets their needs when summoned” or a therapist whose role is to help people “feel good about themselves.”² It is a religious outlook that “makes no pretense at changing lives.”³ “By contrast,” as one author declares, “the God portrayed in both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures asks, not just for commitment, but for our very lives.

We should take care not to resent the very things that help us put on the divine nature. (Namely, trials and rebuke.)

Even when we encounter mean-spirited criticism from persons who have little regard or love for us, it can be helpful to exercise enough meekness to weigh it and sift out anything that might benefit us.

President Boyd K. Packer has observed that when a person in a position to correct another fails to do so, he is thinking of himself.... Eventually, much of our chastening should come from within—we should become self-correcting. One of the ways that our late beloved colleague Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin became the pure and humble disciple that he was, was by analyzing his performance in every assignment and task. In his desire to please God, he resolved to determine what he could have done better, and then he diligently applied each lesson learned.

May we also desire to strive to repent of all of our sins daily and see what improvements we can make in our lives. I can testify that, as we do so, we will receive peace in our hearts and feel God draw near to us.