He Is There

When the Savior appears to the Nephites (3 Nephi 11), the very first thing He wants them to know is who He is, “I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning” (11).

After establishing that He is the long awaited Messiah, He invites them to come forward to “feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world” (14). Thus the second thing He wants them to know is that He is real.

As I’ve pondered on this I’ve come to realize that it is just as important to Him that we know that He is real as it was that the Nephites knew He is real. But instead of appearing to us, He communicates His reality in other ways. Sometimes we hear His voice directing us. Sometimes we feel His presence comforting us. And sometimes we receive miracles and tender mercies that let us know He is very much aware of our needs and is nearby waiting to fulfill those needs.

The problem is that too often we are too busy or too preoccupied to notice that He is trying to reveal Himself to us. So take time today to reflect and notice how He is revealing Himself to you. For it is a certainty that He is.

The Process of Revelation

In the account of the Jaredites we read of the time that the brother of Jared was building barges to take he and his people to the Promised Land. It is a story we are all familiar with, but one that has been misinterpreted often. In the account we are told that the Brother of Jared encountered two problems with these barges that he didn’t know how to solve. When this is taught it is too often explained that the lesson of the story is that we should think things through and then take our plans to the Lord for approval.

But that is not what happens here. The Brother of Jared recognizes that there are two problems. The barges are so air tight that the inhabitants will not have enough air, and they are dark inside. So he goes to the Lord and asks how to solve the problems. The Lord immediately tells him how to fix the air problem. He tells the Brother of Jared to make holes with coverings in the floor and in the ceiling of the barge then when they need air they can open the top hole to let air in and if water gets in with the air they can open the bottom hole and push it out. Air problem solved.

The Lord then asks the Bother of Jared how he would like to solve the light problem. But even then He tells the Brother of Jared that windows won’t work and neither will fire. With these qualifications in mind and with the invitation from the Lord given to come up with a solution, the Brother of Jared then determines that if the Lord will touch 16 stones he has molten out of rock, it will solve the problem. He makes the stones, takes them to the mountain top, and asks the Lord to touch them. The Lord obliges and the stones provide light for the journey.

The important thing to note here is that the experience does not begin with the Brother of Jared thinking everything through and solving the problems. It begins and ends with prayer. The Brother of Jared takes his concerns to the Lord and is given one answer and told to think through the other problem. While it is good for us to use our own intellect and try to work out our own problems, every step of that process needs to be accompanied by prayer. If we are truly yoked with the Lord, He will be part of every thought and every solution, not just someone we turn to at the end for the stamp of approval.