CHAPTER 18
REST
"Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy
Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before
God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there were
many, exceeding GREAT MANY, who were made pure and ENTERED into the
REST of the Lord their God." (Alma 13:12)
To enter into the rest of the Lord is one of the greatest
experiences that can happen to a person while immortality. In fact we have
been commanded to seek after this experience.
And seek the FACE of the Lord always,
that in patience ye may possess your souls. (D&C 10l:38)
The Lord has given us the proper sequence as follows:
Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to
pass that EVERY SOUL who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth
on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall SEE
MY FACE and KNOW that I am. (D&C 93:1)
There are some other things that help prepare a person
to see the face of the Lord. To see the Lord is to receive the Second Comforter.
A person should seek to receive the First Comforter before he embarks on
a program to receive the Second Comforter. The Holy Ghost, which is the
First Comforter, grants a remission of sins and sanctifies the individual.
What is the purpose of sanctification?
Now this Moses plainly taught to the children
of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people
that they MIGHT BEHOLD THE FACE OF GOD. (D&C 84:23)
Now listen to the definition of "rest" in the next verse.
But they hardened their hearts and could not
endure his presence; therefore, the Lord in his wrath, for his anger was
kindled against them, swore that they should not enter into his rest while
in the wilderness, which REST is the FULLNESS OF HIS GLORY. (D&C
84:24)
The Lord became extremely unhappy with the people in
the days of Moses. They hardened their hearts. They just didn't want to
see the Lord. Can you imagine anyone not wanting to see the Lord? The Lord
wants us to want to see Him, in fact, He asks us to do that very thing.
Our lives should be such a reflection of the life of the Master that we
should be able to look upon Him even in His glory. The people in the days
of Enoch were just this kind of people. They wanted to see the Lord. Satan
didn't want that to happen so he embroiled them in war.
And so great was the faith of Enoch, that he
led the people of God, and their enemies came to battle against them; and
he spake the word of the Lord, and the EARTH TREMBLED, and the MOUNTAINS
fled, even according to his command; and the RIVERS OF WATER WERE TURNED
out of their course; and the roar of the lions was heard in the wilderness;
and all nations feared greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch, and
so great was the power of the language which God had given him.
....And from that time forth there were WARS AND
BLOODSHED among them; but THE LORD CAME and dwelt with his people, and
THEY DWELT IN RIGHTEOUSNESS. (Moses 7:13,16)
Satan attempted to destroy the City of Enoch. In spite
of the war his people dwelt in righteousness. Because of this the Lord
came and made His abode with them. How would
you like to live in a city where the was Lord personally present? Perhaps
He might even pay a visit to your home. You would be on your good behavior,
wouldn't you?
In a great vision Enoch was also shown,
... Zion, in process of time, was taken up into heaven.
And the Lord said unto Enoch: Behold mine abode forever. (Moses 7:21)
Enoch was then shown the destroyer. His angels were
rejoicing. The earth was veiled in his power. The rest of the people were
at his mercy. He prepared them for the greatest baptism in the history
of the world - the baptism of the whole earth -- the one baptism in which
he could rejoice. However, there were still people on the earth who wanted
to see the Lord -- that wanted to live with Him. Can you imagine how they
felt when they discovered that the people of Zion had gone? This land of
hope and righteousness was taken from the earth and they missed the flight.
But the Lord knew of their plight and in one of the most infinite acts
of mercy, outside of His atonement, He sent angels to the earth to rescue
them.
And Enoch beheld angels descending out of heaven,
bearing testimony of the Father and Son: and the HOLY GHOST fell on MANY,
and they were caught up by the powers of heaven unto Zion. (Moses 7:27)
They too were permitted to see the Lord.
Perhaps the second greatest group of people that
ever lived on the earth were the Nephites who were spared from the great
destruction at the time of the crucifixion. The people who were spared
were all permitted to see the Lord in His glory. When He appeared, He said:
Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets
testified shall come into the world. And behold, 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 which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things
from the beginning. (III Nephi 11:10,11)
The multitude, remembering the prophecies concerning
this event, fell to the earth and then the Lord instructed them:
Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust
your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails
in my hands and 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.
And it came to pass that the multitude went forth,
and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails
in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by
one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did
feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that
it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come. (III
Nephi 11:14, 15)
Many individuals have been permitted to see the Lord
in addition to the many who saw Him in Enoch's day and the many who saw
Him during His visit to the Americas. Isaiah was one of them. Listen to
his testimony.
In the year that king Uzziah died I SAW ALSO
THE LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled
the temple. (Isaiah 6:1)
This made Isaiah uncomfortable. He sorrowed as the spirit
of repentance came upon him. Then he said:
...Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am
a man of UNCLEAN LIPS, and I dwell in the midst of a people of UNCLEAN
LIPS; for mine eyes have SEEN THE KING, the Lord of hosts. (Isaiah 6:5)
Isaiah's conscience was quickened. He remembered things
that he and the people had spoken, things that were displeasing to the
Lord. The Lord recognized his feelings of guilt and took action to remove
them.
Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having
a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the
altar:
And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this
hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom
shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
(Isaiah 6:6-8)
Not only did Isaiah see the Lord but he received forgiveness
of his sins in the same experience. He also volunteered to serve the Lord.
This experience represented the same thing that happened to Enos in the
Book of Mormon. (Enos)
Another individual who was permitted to see the Lord
was the brother of Jared. He and his people had built eight vessels in
which they were to cross the ocean, but they had a slight problem. The
vessels were constructed in such a manner that no light could get into
them. They didn't want to attempt the crossing without light. The brother
of Jared made sixteen small stones. He then asked the Lord to touch them
so they would give light. I'll bet Thomas A. Edison never thought of that
method. So great was the faith of the brother of Jared, when the Lord touched
the stones, the brother of Jared saw His finger. Then the Lord showed him
His spirit body and stated:
Behold, this body, which YE NOW BEHOLD, is the
body of my spirit and man have I created after the body of my spirit; and
even as I appear unto thee to be in the spirit will I appear unto my people
in the flesh. (Ether 3:16)
Do you remember the testimony which Lehi gave near the
end of his life? He wanted his family to understand that he had seen the
Lord, and that the keeping of His statutes was vital.
But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from
hell; I have BEHELD HIS GLORY, and I am encircled about eternally in the
arms of his love. (II Nephi 1:15)
Lehi admonished his son Jacob, near this same period
of time, and reminded him that he, Jacob, had also seen the Lord.
And thou HAST BEHELD IN THY YOUTH HIS GLORY;
wherefore, thou art blessed even as they unto whom he shall minister in
the flesh; for the Spirit is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. And
the way is prepared from the fall of man, and salvation is free. (II Nephi
2:4)
Another person who was permitted to see the Lord in
his youth was the prophet Mormon. The experience happened when he was only
fifteen years of age.
And I, being fifteen years of age and being
somewhat of sober mind, therefore I WAS VISITED OF THE LORD, and tasted
and knew of the goodness of Jesus. (Mormon 1:15)
The opening of this dispensation started when a young
Joseph Smith was permitted to see the Lord and our Father in Heaven.
When the light rested upon me I SAW TWO PERSONAGES,
whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the
air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, pointing
to the other --This is My Beloved Son, Hear Him. (Joseph Smith 2:17)
One of the strongest testimonies ever recorded on this
subject was the testimony of Moroni:
And now I, Moroni, bid farewell unto the Gentiles,
yea, and also unto my brethren whom I love, until we shall meet before
the judgment-seat of Christ, where all men shall know that my garments
are not spotted with your blood.
And then shall ye know THAT I HAVE SEEN JESUS,
and that he hath talked with me FACE TO FACE, and that he told me in plain
humility, even as a man telleth another in mine own language, concerning
these things. And only a few have I written, because of my weakness in
writing. And now, I would COMMEND YOU TO SEEK THIS JESUS of whom the prophets
and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father and also the
Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them, may
be and abide in you forever. Amen. (Ether 12:38-41)
What I have attempted to show is that the Lord is pleased
with us when we desire to see Him. He wants us to live his commandments
that we might be able to see Him. This should be one of the primary goals
of the Latter-Day Saints. It is not an experience that is limited to prophets
and apostles. It is open to everyone who will qualify. The Lord said to
Joseph Smith:
He that seeketh me early shall find me, and
shall not be forsaken. (D&C 88:83)
It is obvious that many of the prophets sought the
Lord early in life and did find Him. Others saw Him later in life. For
those of us that have passed that time in our lives and have not as yet
found Him, perhaps we could seek Him "early" in the morning, and still
find Him. It is in the early part of the day when we have fresh minds,
spirits and bodies -- when we can really receive inspiration from our Heavenly
Father.
To enter into the "rest" of the Lord should be
one of the most important goals for any Latter-Day Saint. You'll get plenty
of opposition, but the Lord is on your side. With that kind of support
how can you lose?
