ALWAYS LEAVE THEM WANTING 2

If you haven’t read the Thought for November 18, 2018 I would suggest you take time before reading this Thought so that it will not seem like I have jumped into this Thought without a proper introduction.

Now that you have read or perhaps reviewed last week’s Thought I will proceed with the precious few words of Jacob which, like so many of the Lord’s spokespersons, leaves us wanting more.

I feel an especial need to reinforce the counsel to seek to have our thirst further quenched from the Living Waters after drinking from the revelatory words of Jacob.

But the word of God burdens me because of your grosser crimes. For behold, thus saith the Lord: This people begin to wax in iniquity; they understand not the scriptures, for they seek to excuse themselves in committing whoredoms, because of the things which were written concerning David, and Solomon his son. Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord…

Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none; For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts… For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things. For behold, I, the Lord, have seen the sorrow, and heard the mourning of the daughters of my people in the land of Jerusalem, yea, and in all the lands of my people, because of the wickedness and abominations of their husbands. And I will not suffer, saith the Lord of Hosts, that the cries of the fair daughters of this people, which I have led out of the land of Jerusalem, shall come up unto me against the men of my people, saith the Lord of Hosts. (Jacob 2: 23-32)

Two thoughts immediately came into my mind as I was reading these verses. First, when the Lord withdraws a practice from the Father’s children, he likewise withdraws the principles and doctrines which attend that practice. Therefore, none of us should be troubled when we fall short in understanding or ignorantly condemn the practice of sacrifices in the Old Testament. Likewise, we need to accept our lack of understanding and at times misinformed comments about the practice of plural wives since the Lord has withdrawn the practice and with it the understanding of the principles and doctrines by which it was governed.

Second, as to that grosser crime, which Jacob compares as being worse than the evils attending pride, it seems that the condemnation of the wickedness and abomination of men who would in any way diminish the purity and fairness of a daughter of God is in the eyes of their Heavenly Father a far worse offence.

I am struck with the Everlasting love Heavenly Father has for His Eternal Mate and the elevated sacredness involved with the act of procreation which He has bestowed upon His mortal children.

I am struck with the importance He places on His relationship with Heavenly Mother and the faithful guardianship He expects of His sons and daughters in safeguarding the eternal attribute of creation with which he has entrusted them.

But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart. Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause, and send down justice upon those who seek your destruction. O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love; for ye may, if your minds are firm, forever. (Jacob 3: 1, 2)

Jacob seems to leave little room for variance for one who seeks to come unto the Father through His son Jesus the Christ. However, I am overcome with the feeling as I read his words, that this mighty change, as Benjamin later refers to it, is as we have been taught during the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, a process and not an event. During my own latter days, I have also been overwhelmed with the proposition that there will be many steps left in this journey when the short mortal part of it ends.

I am almost immediately left to sustain Jacobs admonition as the goal we must continually have before us and that we must always be active in our desire of obtaining it and that we must never allow anything to discourage us in continuing to pursue obtaining it.

O my brethren, hearken unto my words; arouse the faculties of your souls; shake yourselves that ye may awake from the slumber of death; and loose yourselves from the pains of hell that ye may not become angels to the devil, to be cast into that lake of fire and brimstone which is the second death. (Jacob 3:11)

There never can be enough hearkening, arousing, shaking, awakening and loosening about the efforts of the fallen one. We constantly remain in need of daily reminders of his continual desire to strip us of our Agency and keep us from seeking to be part of the fulfillment of Heavenly Father’s work and glory.

Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea. Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things.

Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man knoweth of his ways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the revelations of God. For behold, by the power of his word man came upon the face of the earth, which earth was created by the power of his word. Wherefore, if God being able to speak and the world was, and to speak and man was created, O then, why not able to command the earth, or the workmanship of his hands upon the face of it, according to his will and pleasure?

Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works… Behold, my brethren, he that prophesieth, let him prophesy to the understanding of men; for the Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us plainly, for the salvation of our souls. But behold, we are not witnesses alone in these things; for God also spake them unto prophets of old.

But behold, the Jews were a stiffnecked people; and they despised the words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought for things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall; for God hath taken away his plainness from them, and delivered unto them many things which they cannot understand, because they desired it. And because they desired it God hath done it, that they may stumble.

And now I, Jacob, am led on by the Spirit unto prophesying; for I perceive by the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that by the stumbling of the Jews they will reject the stone upon which they might build and have safe foundation. But behold, according to the scriptures, this stone shall become the great, and the last, and the only sure foundation, upon which the Jews can build. (Jacob 4:6-16)

I find great instruction in these words of Jacob, which enlighten me as to why I may fail all too often in having the Fountains of the Living Waters flow unceasingly unto my mind.

I too often fail to recognize how wanting I am in understanding and knowledge.

I too often fail to recognize the vastness of the gulf between things as I perceive them to be and as they really are.

I fail miserably in my desire to know all things, when the fulfillment of that desire was never intended to be part of our earthly passage, but we were sent to wander through clouds and sunshine to increase in our ability to walk by faith.

I preach Zen Mormonism or the necessity of limiting my thoughts and works to the now, but because I often look beyond the mark, the thinking upon tomorrow’s unknown keeps me from completing today’s assignments.

Even after the blessing of having had interactions with and instructions from the Holy Spirit, I am grateful for the words of Jacob which have allowed me to be reminded of the availability of counsel from on high.

Maybe for this reason he LEFT US WANTING MORE!!


THOUGHTS FOR A SABBATH DAY – WILLIAM L. RILEY

EDITED BY – KATHLEEN W. RILEY