October 2018 General Conference

I felt that this Conference was particularly good.  New changes to the Sunday schedule and curriculum, 12 new temples to be built, and some very pressing direction for us to take as disciples of Christ.

President Nelson invited the women to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year.  I accept that invitation.  He invited us to mark every reference to Christ as we read.  I'm also going to continue with a goal I set some time ago, that is to try to get into each person's head and heart, to feel what they were feeling at the time.  So I have to think about how I would feel if the same thing happened to me.

In the first chapter of 1st Nephi, he tells us of the dreams and visions Lehi, his father, had.  Lehi was a very spiritual person.  He first saw a pillar of fire on a rock, and he saw and heard much.  Nephi doesn't give us any more details than that, but it really had an effect upon Lehi, who went home and went to bed, "being overcome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen."

Lehi then saw another vision.  He saw the heavens open, and God sitting upon his throne and numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.  Then he saw the Christ descending out of the midst of heaven and his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day.  Then he saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the heavens.  The twelve represent the Twelve Apostles that Christ chose during his earthly mission.  That's a remarkable vision, because the Old Testament doesn't contain any prophecies that I can recall that speak of Christ having 12 apostles during his earthly ministry.

One of the Twelve gave Lehi a book, and told him to read it.  That is similar to the Apostle John being given a book.  In the book, Lehi read of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity, which would happen in a few short years.  When Lehi finished the vision, he praised God and cried "Thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish!"

God called Lehi to do a very big job -- to take his family out of Jerusalem, travel into the wilderness, cross a huge ocean, and settle in an uninhabited region.  When God asks his children to do such a big job, He prepares them for it.  Lehi's preparation included this vision of God sitting on His throne in the heavens, of Christ descending to earth for his mortal ministry, and of the Twelve Apostles that would assist Christ.  Then he saw in vision the Babylonian captivity.

I understand why Lehi was so overwhelmed.  Being so deep into the Spirit for it to even be possible is a very exhausting experience.

I believe Lehi saw these visions. But Nephi wasn't satisfied to just know that his father was telling the truth, he wanted to see for himself.  Apparently that is a very righteous thing to want, as rather than being chastised for it, Nephi was granted the visions. 

That's the question I ask myself.  Do I want to see the same things Lehi saw?  Or am I satisfied to believe on his words?  I certainly don't want to see his visions to satisfy my own vanity.  It seems, for now at least, that I am content to believe on his words.  I certainly don't fault Nephi for wanting to see for himself, I admire him for it, as he had as big a job to do as did Lehi, and he needed his own spiritual experiences.  But God hasn't called me to do such a big job.  So I am content to believe on their words.

There have been a few times when God has asked me to do a pretty big job -- such as when I left the Catholic Church to become a member of the Restored Church of Jesus Christ.  That required a lot of courage and faith to sustain me in all the changes necessary.  And God called me to do a pretty big job when Lisa and I moved from Kansas to Provo, UT.  There have been a couple more times, which I won't go into, and each time the spiritual experience or experiences made me equal to the job. 

The spiritual experiences God gives us are to prepare us for the jobs He asks us to do.  Some may object to the word "jobs," but I think the word aptly fits many situations.