MORONI 10
v. 4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
What are we praying to know?
One possibility: We are praying to know what it says in verse 3: to know how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men.
What are we praying to know?
One possibility: We are praying to know what it says in verse 3: to know how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men.
v. 4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Real Intent: The intention to follow through … if you don’t have that intention, you should not expect an answer.
What do you intend to do with the answer? Do you intend to keep the commandments, change your life? If not, God isn't necessarily going to tell you at this time because you don't intend to do anything with that knowledge.
There is a difference in treating God like the ultimate answer bank, just wanting to know answers to general knowledge questions vs. answers to
agency questions. When we put agency on the alter, miraculous answers can come. God what would you have me do? vs. God, I want to know something. I really intend to act vs. I just don't want to just know vs. I am going to do what you tell me to do.
Real Intent: The intention to follow through … if you don’t have that intention, you should not expect an answer.
What do you intend to do with the answer? Do you intend to keep the commandments, change your life? If not, God isn't necessarily going to tell you at this time because you don't intend to do anything with that knowledge.
There is a difference in treating God like the ultimate answer bank, just wanting to know answers to general knowledge questions vs. answers to
agency questions. When we put agency on the alter, miraculous answers can come. God what would you have me do? vs. God, I want to know something. I really intend to act vs. I just don't want to just know vs. I am going to do what you tell me to do.
v. 4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
The Tripod of Truth: How will he manifest it? Through the gifts of the Spirit…
The Tripod of Truth
1) In your heart (D&C 8:2-3)
2) In your mind (D&C 8:2-3)
3) Fruit in our lives - things that are good, experiences (Alma 32, Moroni 10:4-5)
Miracles, knowledge, faith, hope...when you see this fruit in your life, then you know that is good. The fruits of the spirit - certain fruits in your life are the way the Holy Ghosty speaks to us. Don’t reduce the Holy Ghost’s power down to just feelings.
Are the gifts of the Spirit being manifest in my life? Have I been filled with knowledge, wisdom, tongue of angels, faith, etc. It is a broader way that God can speak to us. And don't be impatient, sometimes, it takes time for fruits to grow.
The Tripod of Truth: How will he manifest it? Through the gifts of the Spirit…
The Tripod of Truth
1) In your heart (D&C 8:2-3)
2) In your mind (D&C 8:2-3)
3) Fruit in our lives - things that are good, experiences (Alma 32, Moroni 10:4-5)
Miracles, knowledge, faith, hope...when you see this fruit in your life, then you know that is good. The fruits of the spirit - certain fruits in your life are the way the Holy Ghosty speaks to us. Don’t reduce the Holy Ghost’s power down to just feelings.
Are the gifts of the Spirit being manifest in my life? Have I been filled with knowledge, wisdom, tongue of angels, faith, etc. It is a broader way that God can speak to us. And don't be impatient, sometimes, it takes time for fruits to grow.
How to Obtain Revelation and Inspiration
Elder Richard G. Scott
Elder Richard G. Scott
v. 5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
Pray and Ask: One of the great lessons each of us needs to learn is to ask. The Lord wants us to pray to Him and to ask — because that is how revelation is received.
Fast, Study, and Ponder the Scriptures: When faced with a very difficult matter, Elder Scott recommends fasting, praying to find helpful scriptures, pondering what each verse means, and praying for inspiration — then pondering and praying again to confirm understanding. He calls this a cyclical process that often leads to more impressions and increased understanding of doctrine.
Control Your Emotions: Yielding to emotions such as anger, hurt, or defensiveness will drive away the Holy Ghost. Those emotions must be eliminated, or the chance of receiving revelation is slight.
Be Careful with Humor: Loud, inappropriate laughter will offend the Spirit. A good sense of humor helps revelation, but loud laughter does not.
Take Care of Your Physical Health: Exercise, reasonable amounts of sleep, and good eating habits increase our capacity to receive and understand revelation.
Avoid Distractions: It is important that daily activities do not distract us from listening to the Spirit.
Be Humble: Humility is a fertile soil where spirituality grows and produces the fruit of inspiration. It gives access to divine power. An individual motivated by a desire for praise or recognition will not qualify to be taught by the Spirit.
Seek to Help Others: When we are acting as instruments in behalf of others, we are more easily inspired than when we think only of ourselves. In the process of helping others, the Lord can also provide direction for our own benefit.
Record Impressions of the Spirit: Inspiration carefully recorded shows God that His communications are sacred to us, and recording will also enhance our ability to recall revelation. Such recordings should be protected from loss or intrusion by others.
Be Attentive to Dreams: Revelation can also be given in a dream during the almost imperceptible transition from sleep to wakefulness. Striving to capture the content immediately allows for great detail to be recorded, as it otherwise fades rapidly.
Live Righteously and Be Obedient: We receive help from our Heavenly Father in response to our faith, obedience, and the proper use of agency.
Look for the Signs of a True Prompting: Two indicators that a feeling or prompting comes from God are that it produces peace in your heart and a quiet, warm feeling.
Elder Scott's overarching message is beautifully summarized in his closing promise: "Our Heavenly Father did not put us on earth to fail, but to succeed gloriously. As you continue to live righteously, you will always be prompted to know what to do."
Pray and Ask: One of the great lessons each of us needs to learn is to ask. The Lord wants us to pray to Him and to ask — because that is how revelation is received.
Fast, Study, and Ponder the Scriptures: When faced with a very difficult matter, Elder Scott recommends fasting, praying to find helpful scriptures, pondering what each verse means, and praying for inspiration — then pondering and praying again to confirm understanding. He calls this a cyclical process that often leads to more impressions and increased understanding of doctrine.
Control Your Emotions: Yielding to emotions such as anger, hurt, or defensiveness will drive away the Holy Ghost. Those emotions must be eliminated, or the chance of receiving revelation is slight.
Be Careful with Humor: Loud, inappropriate laughter will offend the Spirit. A good sense of humor helps revelation, but loud laughter does not.
Take Care of Your Physical Health: Exercise, reasonable amounts of sleep, and good eating habits increase our capacity to receive and understand revelation.
Avoid Distractions: It is important that daily activities do not distract us from listening to the Spirit.
Be Humble: Humility is a fertile soil where spirituality grows and produces the fruit of inspiration. It gives access to divine power. An individual motivated by a desire for praise or recognition will not qualify to be taught by the Spirit.
Seek to Help Others: When we are acting as instruments in behalf of others, we are more easily inspired than when we think only of ourselves. In the process of helping others, the Lord can also provide direction for our own benefit.
Record Impressions of the Spirit: Inspiration carefully recorded shows God that His communications are sacred to us, and recording will also enhance our ability to recall revelation. Such recordings should be protected from loss or intrusion by others.
Be Attentive to Dreams: Revelation can also be given in a dream during the almost imperceptible transition from sleep to wakefulness. Striving to capture the content immediately allows for great detail to be recorded, as it otherwise fades rapidly.
Live Righteously and Be Obedient: We receive help from our Heavenly Father in response to our faith, obedience, and the proper use of agency.
Look for the Signs of a True Prompting: Two indicators that a feeling or prompting comes from God are that it produces peace in your heart and a quiet, warm feeling.
Elder Scott's overarching message is beautifully summarized in his closing promise: "Our Heavenly Father did not put us on earth to fail, but to succeed gloriously. As you continue to live righteously, you will always be prompted to know what to do."
v. 20 Wherefore, there must be faith; and if there must be faith there must also be hope; and if there must be hope there must also be charity.
The Greatest Gifts:
1st Corinthians 13:13 - Faith, Hope, and Charity
You can have all these gifts, divine interventions, but ultimately, if they don't lead me to have faith, hope, and charity, then I am nothing.
D&C 4 - This is is what qualifies us for the work of the Lord.
Alma 7:24 - faith, hope, and charity - you will always abound in good works.
Moroni 7:48 - pray with all your heart to be filled with these things.
Faith: Trust based action in Christ
Hope: A personal assurance that God will fulfill his promises to us through Christ
Charity: Having a loving relationship with God through the grace of Christ.
In Christain art, they are usually portayed as females, three sisters.
My three daughters are each unique, but you can tell that they are related. In the same way, faith, hope, and charity are related. If you have faith, it will produce hope, if you have hope then you will experience charity. They are different gifts but they are related.
It's like a little kid jumping into a swimming pool. When you put a kid on the edge, they are a little nervous of the gap, they don't want to drown, but you leave a little discomfort. Faith is to have such trust that you will leap. Because you trust the person. Hope is when you are caught, you know he is good for his promises (not just in the heort, but personally you experience that he is good for His promises to you). He will deliver. Charity is feeling that loving embrace. That love that you are His child. The pure love of Christ.
It’s also like the ordinance of baptism … when you go down in the water, you have faith and trust that the person knows what they’re doing, when you’re under the water, you hope they bring you back up, and they do! Then you get a warm embrace, that’s the love of God, that’s charity …. That love is why we do the things we do.
If you don't have those three, it's because you are not willing to act. The difference between faith and hope. The difference is faith will save everyone, hope says He will save me. Faith says, God answers prayers. Hope says, God will answer my prayers.
Lehi ate charity. That's the fruit of the tree. It filled his soul with love. The reason we sometimes confuse it is that Lehi wanted to help people once he felt that love. Moroni 7:45 - the effects of charity. When you taste the love of God, then you will won't be selfish, wont' be easily provoked, etc.
Taste of the fruit and if you get that into your soul, the greatest fruit will be charity. You will be full of those things if you taste of true Charity - the pure love of Christ.
The reason charity never fails, is because it is not an act, it is something that you become.
The Greatest Gifts:
1st Corinthians 13:13 - Faith, Hope, and Charity
You can have all these gifts, divine interventions, but ultimately, if they don't lead me to have faith, hope, and charity, then I am nothing.
D&C 4 - This is is what qualifies us for the work of the Lord.
Alma 7:24 - faith, hope, and charity - you will always abound in good works.
Moroni 7:48 - pray with all your heart to be filled with these things.
Faith: Trust based action in Christ
Hope: A personal assurance that God will fulfill his promises to us through Christ
Charity: Having a loving relationship with God through the grace of Christ.
In Christain art, they are usually portayed as females, three sisters.
My three daughters are each unique, but you can tell that they are related. In the same way, faith, hope, and charity are related. If you have faith, it will produce hope, if you have hope then you will experience charity. They are different gifts but they are related.
It's like a little kid jumping into a swimming pool. When you put a kid on the edge, they are a little nervous of the gap, they don't want to drown, but you leave a little discomfort. Faith is to have such trust that you will leap. Because you trust the person. Hope is when you are caught, you know he is good for his promises (not just in the heort, but personally you experience that he is good for His promises to you). He will deliver. Charity is feeling that loving embrace. That love that you are His child. The pure love of Christ.
It’s also like the ordinance of baptism … when you go down in the water, you have faith and trust that the person knows what they’re doing, when you’re under the water, you hope they bring you back up, and they do! Then you get a warm embrace, that’s the love of God, that’s charity …. That love is why we do the things we do.
If you don't have those three, it's because you are not willing to act. The difference between faith and hope. The difference is faith will save everyone, hope says He will save me. Faith says, God answers prayers. Hope says, God will answer my prayers.
Lehi ate charity. That's the fruit of the tree. It filled his soul with love. The reason we sometimes confuse it is that Lehi wanted to help people once he felt that love. Moroni 7:45 - the effects of charity. When you taste the love of God, then you will won't be selfish, wont' be easily provoked, etc.
Taste of the fruit and if you get that into your soul, the greatest fruit will be charity. You will be full of those things if you taste of true Charity - the pure love of Christ.
The reason charity never fails, is because it is not an act, it is something that you become.
v. 22 And if ye have no hope ye must needs be in despair; and despair cometh because of iniquity.
It's your fault
If you don't have hope, it's because you're a sinner. As usual, it's all your fault (read this with sarcasm and annoyance at this verse)
It's your fault
If you don't have hope, it's because you're a sinner. As usual, it's all your fault (read this with sarcasm and annoyance at this verse)