Who the Heck is Emer?

If you have read the book of Ether in the Book of Mormon you have read about Emer. But you, like me, may not have remembered him. Relatively little is mentioned about Emer. There seems to have been very little of renown or importance about him from a historical standpoint. He was a king among the Jaredites and "the house of Emer did prosper exceedingly under the reign of Emer." (Ether 9: 16) And, "Emer did execute judgment in righteousness all his days." (Ether 9: 22)

Aside from reigning over a prosperous and successful earthly kingdom, Emer accomplished something of great personal worth and renown In his life before it was over. It is recorded of him, "yea, and he even saw the Son of Righteousness, and did rejoice and glory in his day; and he died in peace." (Ether 9: 22) Whatever else was done or accomplished in Emer's life, he seems to have accomplished the one thing that is of eternal and lasting worth and value. 

The earth's kings amass unimaginable wealth and power as they suppose. The world's museums and collections of rare and valuable antiquities are loaded with treasures of jewels, gold, silver, and art. (Matt. 6:19-21) This Jaredite king, Emer, forsook the treasures and power of men and the earth, (Matt. 16: 24-26) and attained instead a treasure the kings of the earth can never buy or acquire with earthly wealth, power, and dominion.

The kings of this earth use all of their armies, navies, and false priests to amass treasures and power. All of the reigns of the kings of this earth from the beginning of time, which included blood, and horror, the exercise of all unrighteous dominion, control, and compulsion upon the people of the earth, could not, and did not, result in the priceless treasure claimed by Emer before the end of his mortal days. The kings of this earth, if they could, would trade all of their gold and silver, their armies, and navies, all of the blood and horror of their making for the priceless treasure of eternal life. (Matt. 16: 26) Emer found it, the kings of this earth never will.

Seeing the Son of Righteousness exceeds all other endeavors, desires, and aspirations of this life. All else is simply vanity. We should follow the example of those who have been so blessed. We should allow them to be our guides. 

Nephi Receives the Second Comforter

Finally, after the course of faith building experiences, Nephi was prepared to receive the Second Comforter. Nephi records the following:

“For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot.” (1Nephi 11: 1)

After a short interview in which Nephi was required to ask, he was told, “blessed art thou, Nephi, because thou believest in the Son of the most high God; wherefore, thou shalt behold the things which thou hast desired. (1Nephi 11: 6)

I have read the account of Nephi's great vision comprising chapters 11 through 14 of 1Nephi, over and over again. I am intrigued with the interaction Nephi experiences with heaven and heavenly messengers during the course of this vision. I am convinced it was during the time of this great vision that Nephi received the initial visit from the Second Comforter. I have also become convinced after reading these chapters repeatedly, that Nephi says almost nothing specifically about his personal encounter with Christ in his record of the vision.

In his vision, Nephi is shown; the mother of Christ, (1Nephi 11: 13-18) Christ Jesus as an infant, (1Nephi 11: 20) Christ's ministry among men, (1Nephi 11: 24, 28, 31) Christ's baptism by John the Baptist, (1Nephi 11: 27) Christ's twelve apostles in Palestine, (1Nephi 11: 29) and the trial and crucifixion of Christ. (1Nephi 11: 32-33) 

I had never read the account of Nephi's vision closely enough to notice that Nephi is promised by the "spirit," "thou shalt also behold a man descending out of heaven, and him shall ye witness; and after ye have witnessed him ye shall bear record that it is the Son of God." (1Nephi 11: 7) This was to have been shown to Nephi immediately after "thou hast beheld the tree which bore the fruit which thy father tasted." After this promise from the "spirit" and after Nephi had seen the tree, the closest thing in Nephi's record that might fulfill the promise that he would "behold a man descending out of heaven," is found in 1Nephi 12: 6, Which says, "And I saw the heavens open, and the Lamb of God descending out of heaven; and he came down and showed himself unto them." "Them," referred to in this verse is the offspring of Nephi who would receive and be ministered to by Christ after His resurrection. (3Nephi 11) But, in this case, the Lord was seen by Nephi showing Himself unto "them" in the larger context of a visionary recounting of future events that were to happen among his (Nephi's) offspring. Though magnificent, Nephi's vision of Christ among his future descendants may only partially have fulfilled the promise of the spirit to Nephi that he "shalt also behold a man descending out of heaven, and him shall ye witness; and after ye have witnessed him ye shall bear record that it is the Son of God." (1Nephi 11: 7)

Joseph Smith taught:

"When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and his election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter, which the Lord hath promised the Saints, as is recorded in the testimony of St. John, in the 14th chapter, from the 12th to the 27th verses….

Now what is this other Comforter? It is no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; …when any man obtains this last Comforter, he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to time, and even He will manifest the Father unto him, and they will take up their abode with him, and the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him, and the Lord will teach him face to face, and he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God; and this is the state and place the ancient Saints arrived at when they had such glorious visions-Isaiah, Ezekiel, John upon the Isle of Patmos, St. Paul in the three heavens, and all the Saints who held communion with the general assembly and Church of the First Born." [TPJS, pp. 150-51].

Nephi received the Second Comforter. That encounter was more intimate, more personally meaningful, and relevant, than simply seeing Christ minister to his offspring in a yet future ministry. I believe Nephi's record is complete enough only to let us know that he finished the journey into Christ's presence. What happens in detail to men (or women) who are personally ministered to by Christ has never been publicly spoken, written about, or revealed in a general way. Joseph Smith said just enough publicly to let us know that he had spoken to Christ face to face; Moses, Enos, the brother of Jared, and Moroni, (among many others) provide only the briefest and scant references to their encounters with the Second Comforter. Nephi is no exception. 

Nephi did indeed see Christ and speak to Him face to face. Nephi claims later in his record,  "for he (Isaiah) verily saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen him. And my brother, Jacob, also has seen him as I have seen him;" (2Nephi 11:2-3) Nephi was speaking from a position of knowledge and pure understanding when, near the end of his record he says, "there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do." (2Nephi 32: 6) One only comes to the level of understanding by which such a statement can be made if one has had "the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to time, and even He will manifest the Father unto him, and they will take up their abode with him and the Lord will teach him face to face..." (Joseph Smith [TPJS, pp. 150-51])

There have been those few that were allowed to write the details of their instruction and interaction with the Redeemer. The brother of Jared for example was commanded to write "these things and seal them up." (Ether 3: 27-28) As a rule, however, there is no written or spoken record of the highly personal ministering that comes to an individual only from the Second Comforter.

The author of The Second Comforter Conversing With the Lord Through the Veil said this,

"You will generally not be able to tell anyone, except for close family members about these things...these mysteries are given to you only if you have the willingness and ability to honor the requirement that "you shall not impart" of them to others...Among you and your friends, associates or neighbors, there will appear to be nothing particularly noteworthy about you...This is between you and God. It must remain so." (Second Comforter Pg. 392)

And so it was, even with the mighty prophet Nephi. He leaves us as much as he was allowed to write publicly about his experience with the Second Comforter but no more. 

Nephi Desires to Know of the Redeemer of the World

After a period of no more than eight years after Lehi and his family left Jerusalem, Nephi had developed sufficient faith by his many experiences that he was now ready to receive the second comforter. Understanding the process by which Nephi came to faith is perhaps most important for those of us that are yet seeking the fullness of the gospel, which is the personal visit with the Lord. We will develop our own faith by the very same processes that Nephi developed his. We will not have the identical experiences of Nephi, but we will experience identical procedural aspects of faith building. In fact, there is no other way by which faith can be acquired. The important thing for us is that we learn to act and react to the voice of God affirmatively as Nephi always did. By doing so, Nephi developed faith and was prepared in something less than a decade to stand face to face with the Lord.

Nephi's father Lehi had received and recounted his great vision that we now call the vision of the tree of life. That vision of Lehi's, however, was only part of the things Lehi was shown. Nephi records in  1Nephi 10, other magnificent things the Lord had revealed to Lehi. These prophecies and teachings of Lehi seemed to have had particular effect on Nephi. He records the following: (1Nephi 10: 2, 4-6)

"it came to pass after my father had made an end of speaking the words of his dream, and also of exhorting them to all diligence, he spake unto them concerning the Jews—...six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem, a prophet would the Lord God raise up among the Jews—even a Messiah, or, in other words, a Savior of the world. And he also spake concerning the prophets, how great a number had testified of these things, concerning this Messiah, of whom he had spoken, or this Redeemer of the world. Wherefore, all mankind were in a lost and in a fallen state, and ever would be save they should rely on this Redeemer."

Lehi's recounting included the ministry of John the Baptist and the baptism of the Lord Jesus, the crucifixion, the resurrection, the scattering of Israel, the fullness of the gospel among the Gentiles, and the gathering of Israel back to the Lord their Redeemer. (1Nephi 10: 7-14)

After listening to all of these marvelous teachings of his father, Nephi says: (1Nephi 10: 17)

"And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all the words of my father, concerning the things which he saw in a vision, and also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith on the Son of God—and the Son of God was the Messiah who should come—I, Nephi, was desirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him, as well in times of old as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of men."

Notice the foundation of "desire" in Nephi that once again provides the beginning point for development of faith. Only this time, Nephi's "desire" will lead to his last step in faith.

What if we were to deeply consider all that is written in the Second Comforter Conversing with the Lord through the Veil, and as a result, were to say to ourselves; I am "desirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him"? (1Nephi 10: 17) After all, "he is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him. For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come..." (1Nephi 10: 18-19)

"To receive the second comforter we must allow others who have been so blessed to serve as our guides. Their instructions and testimony need to be accepted and followed." (The Second Comforter Conversing With the Lord Through the Veil pg. 15)

Nephi is among the foremost and clearest of those who have been "so blessed." If we are wise, we will allow Nephi to be our guide back to the presence of the Lord. We should consciously, with real intent, try to duplicate what Nephi did in or own lives. If we look closely, we will see that Nephi really just did the same thing over and over again as each opportunity for faith came his way. We should master this pattern and do the same. Desire, believe, ask, listen to the voice of the Lord, act in accordance with the communication from God, and look for the results that provide evidence that will increase our faith, move on to the next opportunity, repeat. Never quit trying. Persist until completed. 

"Interestingly, wherever you are in the path, the next step is always the first step all over again. Whenever you encounter the doubts and skepticism, the route through them is the same route taken to find faith in the first place." (The Second Comforter Conversing With the Lord Through the Veil Pg 66)

Finally with this last expressed "desire to know," Nephi is prepared to cross the threshold of the veil to converse there with the Lord.

Second Comforter "Hard Requests of the Lord"

“Getting light and truth from God is obtained through experiences. It is experiential rather than academic. Feeling comes before seeing, hearing, and touching... Anecdotal proof is what you must be willing to accept throughout this process. Your own experiences are going to be your guide.” The Second Comforter Conversing With the Lord Through the Veil Pg 38

When Nephi was caught away in the spirit of the Lord, (1Nephi 11: 1) it was only after a process by which he had learned by his own firsthand experience to comfortably converse with God. He had become proficient at the process by which a curiosity or "desire" was converted into belief. Then, belief became faith as Nephi learned to act on things God told him. By learning to distinguish when God was speaking to Him, Nephi was able to conform his actions into obedience to what he was told. Obedience to everything he heard from God led Nephi to God's presence. This happened naturally as Nephi obeyed because that is what God does. He leads us to Him. There is no other ultimate purpose for God's communications to us. 

If we, like Nephi, can first learn to listen, then develop the resolve to do what we are told, when we are told, we will be led to His presence just like Nephi was. All Nephi really did was obey laws (D&C 130: 20-21) that could have no other result than to lead to a face-to-face encounter with the Lord. Obedience to the directions we receive from the Lord produce results that are as sure as the result that happens when a lit match is tossed on a spot of gasoline. Eternal law dictates the resulting combustion. It cannot be avoided if the law is kept. (D&C 82: 10)

From The Second Comforter Conversing With the Lord Through the Veil:

"That is our challenge..to consistently perform In a way we know will please God. Knowing what will please God is not difficult. Mustering the will to do so is where the difficulty arises. Just because the task becomes difficult or awkward, it does not change whether God has commanded the task... If you know Gods will, you must do it. For the necessary faith to seize hold upon Gods blessings can be obtained in no other way." (Second Comforter pg. 84)

Eventually, Nephi stood over his inebriated and passed out cousin Laban with Laban's own sword in his hands. By the time of this encounter with Laban, Nephi had not only been "visited" by the Lord as in his first faith building experience when his “heart was softened,” (1Nephi 2: 16), but he had begun to hear the Lord speaking to him in his mind. (1Nephi 2: 19-24) Then, Nephi's record shows the following conversation between Nephi and the spirit of the Lord. The thing required of Nephi seemed to be counter to every feeling of civility, righteousness, and humanity. Nephi, like us when we are commanded, was expected to listen, hearken, and obey. Faith comes in no other way.


1Nephi 4: 10-18

Spirit:  Kill Laban

Nephi:  never at any time have I shed the blood of man

Spirit:  behold the lord hath delivered him into thy hands

Nephi:  I knew he had sought to take away mine own life; he would not hearken unto the commandments of the Lord; he also had taken away our property.

Spirit:  Slay him for the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands; behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in un belief.

Nephi:  I remembered the words of the Lord which he spake unto me in the wilderness, saying that: Inasmuch as thy seed shall keep my commandments, they shall prosper in the land of promise. Yea, and I also thought that they could not keep the commandments of the Lord according to the law of Moses, save they should have the law. And I also knew that the law was engraven upon the plates of brass. And again, I knew that the Lord had delivered Laban into my hands for this cause—that I might obtain the records according to his commandments.

Nephi:  Therefore I did obey the voice of the Spirit, and took Laban by the hair of the head, and I smote off his head with his own sword.

This conversational interchange between Nephi and God illustrates how patiently God leads us through a process of reasoning and persuasion in order to get us to respond. It is a demonstration of how priesthood authority ought to be used by those seeking to provoke action and results from those they lead. (D&C 121: 41-42)

The Lord's way is nearly never, "my way or the highway." Even in something as momentous as the killing of Laban in order to acquire the brass plates, the Lord sought to reason, to persuade, and to lead the mind of Nephi to a righteous conclusion. “Persuasion” is an eternal priesthood principle. (D&C 50: 10-12)

10 And now come, saith the Lord, by the Spirit, unto the elders of his church, and let us reason together, that ye may understand;

11 Let us reason even as a man reasoneth one with another face to face.

12 Now, when a man reasoneth he is understood of man, because he reasoneth as a man; even so will I, the Lord, reason with you that you may understand.

Your conversations with the Lord will very likely include reasoning and persuasion of the kind Nephi experienced. It will be important for you to know when this is happening, and when it does happen to you, you must obey, quickly. Because, "Knowing what will please God is not difficult. Mustering the will to do so is where the difficulty arises." (Second Comforter Pg 84) Further, “Keeping Christ’s commandments is not just incidental to the path back to Him. It is the path back. There is nothing optional about it.” (Second Comforter Pg 47)   

In the process of building your faith in order to bring you to Him, He will require some things that are difficult. It has to be this way in order that He may try you and prove you. If you shrink or pull back at such a moment, the Lord's purposes cannot be fulfilled in you. You may be asked to suffer embarrassment, poverty, rejection, hatred, reviling, belittling, illness, disease, or any one of a thousand other situations that will try your resolve to do what the Lord requires. But, be of good cheer, obey every word that proceeds forth from the mouth of God, (D&C 84: 44) because, as Joseph Smith said,

"When the Lord has thoroughly proved him and finds that the man is determined to serve him at all hazard. Then the man will find his calling and election made sure. Then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter which the Lord hath promised the saints."

If Nephi had failed to follow through at every command, the second comforter may have eluded him forever.

Second Comforter "Nephi's Desire"

Do you realize from the time Nephi first began to develop real saving faith, until he received the second comforter, no more than eight years had come and gone? I point this out not to create undue expectations or to suggest Nephi's timeline is to be any other person's timeline for developing sufficient faith to stand in the presence of the Lord. However, if we are wise, we will look at Nephi's experience and glean what we can from it because he is one of the foremost-recorded examples of one who has "been so blessed."

"To receive the second comforter we must allow others who have been so blessed to serve as our guides. Their instructions and testimony need to be accepted and followed." (Second Comforter pg. 15)

The Second Comforter Conversing With the Lord Through the Veil identifies a pivotal moment at which Nephi began to develop the faith that would lead him ultimately to the presence of the Lord. Of course, faith needed to grow and increase over the course of time in order for Nephi to be adequately prepared for the presence of the Lord. But faith has to begin somewhere for all of us. For Nephi, real faith began shortly after his family departed their home in the land of Jerusalem to begin a journey, the end of which, no one in the family at the time could anticipate or know.

After only three days of travel away from Jerusalem, the family stopped by the side of a river, an alter was built, an offering was made to the Lord, (1Nephi 2: 6-7) and the murmuring began. (1Nephi 2: 11-13) Nephi describes himself at the time of the family's departure and the set up of this first tent camp by the side of a river as, "exceedingly young," "large in stature," and "having great desires to know of the mysteries of God." (1Nephi 2: 16) It took only three days of travel, and some of the family had already begun to complain and murmur against their father leader. Nephi might have so easily begun to complain also. The comforts of home were only three days away and were probably sounding pretty good to everyone in the family after three days of hard travel. Nephi was not exempt from the draw of creature comforts. It no doubt crossed his mind to be ill at ease like others in the family. Instead, as pointed out in The Second Comforter, Nephi turned his self-proclaimed, "desire" into something more.

Nephi's record says, "having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father;" (1Nephi 2: 16)

The Second Comforter states:

"This short verse contains a succinct statement of how the path to a fullness of the gospel begins." (Second Comforter pg. 65) If this is so, then this statement by Nephi ought to be pulled apart and examined very closely.  Remember, in something less than eight years from the time of this statement by Nephi, he will stand in the presence of the Lord, which is the "fullness of the gospel." You, (my children especially,) will need to begin somewhere just as Nephi did. In view of the fact that the process of increasing faith is really nothing more than repeating the same steps over and over again as faith increases, we all should learn well the lesson of this seemingly simple verse of scripture. For my part, I tend to forget all too often. If we were more purposeful in our efforts to develop faith, we might also more quickly find the presence of the Lord. 

Beginning on the path, or taking the next step along the path, wherever you are, requires nothing more than "desire." Alma said, "even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe..." (Alma 32: 27) Look closely at Nephi's statement about himself; all he had to start with was "great desires to know the mysteries of God..." I want to drive the point again so we are clear, within eight years of his proclaimed "desire," Nephi stood face to face with God.

Desire and belief may be turned into faith or they may simply remain as they are, in which case, we will remain where we are on the path, or off the path as our individual case may be. In order for faith to develop for us, just as it was for Nephi, some kind of action is required. Action, or doing something because of the desire we feel is what turns desire and belief into faith. This principle is true regardless where we are on the path. One may have their calling and election made sure, then stagnate on the path at some point because the next level of desire and belief are not acted upon in order to increase faith and move along. Nephi might never have done anything despite feeling a "great desire." If he had done that, (nothing that is), his desire would never have become anything more than what it was, desire.

Nephi acted. He "did cry unto the Lord."  As a result, the Lord "visited" him. (1Nephi 2: 16) This "visit" by the Lord was perhaps no more than the conversational kind of discussion with the spirit of the Lord the author of The Second Comforter spoke about:

"After two hours of raising questions and considering answers alone in the barracks, I reached this final question: "But how do I know there even is a God? After all, there may not even be a God, and life may not have any real meaning." In response to which came this final thought:

Who do you think you have been talking with these last two hours?

It was that last thought which alarmed me. Had I really been in a conversation with God?...Perhaps this was what it meant to talk with God." (The Second Comforter pg. 62-63)

Nephi, in being "visited" by the Lord experienced nothing more than a "softening of his heart" that allowed him to believe "all the words which had been spoken by" his father. Wherefore Nephi "did not rebel against his father" like his brothers had begun to do. (1Nephi 2: 16)

The importance of the element of faith developed in Nephi from this simple experience is illustrated when, just before receiving the second comforter some eight years later, the spirit of the Lord asks Nephi,

"Believest thou that thy father saw the tree of which he hath spoken? And I said: Yea, thou knowest that I believe all the words of my father." (1Nephi 11: 4-5) The spirit then declares to Nephi, "thou shalt behold the things which thou hast desired." (1Nephi 11: 6) Again, it was “desire” that led Nephi to the final step of faith across the threshold into the presence of the Lord where faith was replaced with knowledge.

The beginnings of Nephi's faith started with nothing more than him acting on a desire that brought a "visit" from the Lord.  That visit resulted in a softened heart that allowed Nephi to believe his fathers words. Some eight years later, it would be Nephi's declaration to the spirit of the Lord that he "believed all the words of his father" that would allow the veil to part and Nephi to receive the second comforter. Nephi had learned and practiced the lesson we too must learn if we "desire" to come into the presence of the Lord.

We should practice the process of building faith by desire, action, and resulting evidence. We ought to experiment upon it. It should become second nature in us.

Second Comforter "Highly Favored Tidings"

I have found, like reading scripture, that returning to the Second Comforter Conversing With the Lord Through the Veil is almost like having never read the book to begin with. Experiences of the last couple of years have given new perspective, new faith, and the ability to see and perceive things I had not noticed before. No matter where you are on the path, or if you have not yet found your way to the path, returning to the well of living water will always provide refreshment and vital new perspective that comes with that refreshment. I am learning frequent stops to quench a dry and thirsting soul are needed on this journey in order to have strength to continue. I have found sweet satiating spiritual rehydration and revitalization as I have returned to the great well of the Second Comforter. I increasingly understand there is much more than just inspiration to start and continue a climb there.

"To receive the second comforter we must allow others who have been so blessed to serve as our guides. Their instructions and testimony need to be accepted and followed." (Second Comforter pg. 15)

The Second Comforter is itself such instruction and testimony. We really must allow those who have been so blessed to serve as our guides. I believe the Lord places those who have been so blessed among us for the very purpose of showing the way and providing encouragement. He does not leave us alone. It is for us, in our day, just as it was in the days of Alma: (Alma 13)

22 Yea, and the voice of the Lord, by the mouth of angels, doth declare it unto all nations; yea, doth declare it, that they may have glad tidings of great joy; yea, and he doth sound these glad tidings among all his people, yea, even to them that are scattered abroad upon the face of the earth; wherefore they have come unto us.

23 And they are made known unto us in plain terms, that we may understand, that we cannot err; and this because of our being wanderers in a strange land; therefore, we are thus highly favored, for we have these glad tidings declared unto us in all parts of our vineyard.

24 For behold, angels are declaring it unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his glory.

What tidings could be gladder? What news could create in us greater joy than the tidings contained in the Second Comforter that declare He awaits our coming to Him? These tidings have come to us. They are indeed made known to us in "plain terms, that we may understand, that we cannot err...we are thus highly favored, for we have these glad tidings declared unto us." Angles are declaring it unto many at this time in our land, in our very homes and families.

We need to remember, and be sure, that we never confuse the messenger with the message. Though "the voice of the Lord, by the mouth of angels, doth declare it" to us, it is not the angels that should be the focus. It is the message and the instruction given to us by His messengers that will bring us into His presence. After all, it is "the voice of the Lord" even if it comes to us by the "mouth of angels." The Lord, by His own mouth, is providing a way that we may "allow others who have been so blessed to serve as our guides. Their instructions and testimony need to be accepted and followed." We have been highly favored to receive these things "for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his glory."

Let there be no doubt, we have received these things in order that the Lord may prepare our hearts to receive "His Word" at the time of His coming in His glory. We are thus "highly favored" to have received these glad tidings of great joy. We have received these things not because we are highly favored; instead, we are highly favored because we have received the glad news. It is the tidings of joy contained in the message that is "highly favored," not the one that receives the message. Knowing what we know, and drawing near to God, cannot ever create in us a sense of pride or vanity. We are highly favored to know these things. That favor can be immediately lost if we step away from the message and instruction that have come to us from “the voice of the Lord" by the mouth of angels.

Returning to a study of the Second Comforter shows us in a very intrinsic way, "instructions and testimony" of those who have been so blessed to have received the Second Comforter. Included in that instruction and testimony of those so blessed, is the additional example of Nephi who was also blessed to receive the Lord. I have found in that instruction concerning Nephi, guidance I did not know was there before. Some of that we can discuss in additional installments.

Conversing With the Lord - "No Veil to Our Feelings"

I want to go back to one of the notes I made from The Second Comforter Conversing with the Lord Through the Veil in the last post. This concept is striking in its meaning and its importance. We should try to understand it better. For anyone that is committed to striving for the conversation with the Lord at the veil, this truth, perhaps more than any other, provides a key. By understanding this principle, we can learn to talk with, (not just necessarily "to") God. More importantly, we can learn to recognize when He in turn talks with us.

Here is the principle from "The Second Comforter Conversing With the Lord Through the Veil":

"It can be a great benefit to have both this worlds learning and still keep the sensitivity to feel what lies behind the veil. There is no veil to our feelings. The veil is to our other senses. But we have learned to trust everything but our feelings…(emphasis added) it will be necessary to go back to trusting your feelings from a time long ago in childhood."

My daughter Rebecca had a very lively relationship with unseen characters when she was small. She would literally carry on audible conversations with her unseen “friends” Ronie and Jonie. Those of us who had long ago left our childhood behind could hear only one side of Rebecca’s cute conversations with these unseen friends. But, it was clear, by the long periods of Rebecca’s silence in between her own jabbering that Ronie and Jonie were speaking with her. She played and carried on conversations for hours with people we could not see. This relationship lasted for Rebecca for a very long time. Now, at age 17, Rebecca can still tell you about Ronie and Jonie her childhood friends none of the rest of us could see. Perhaps if we had been a little more like little children ourselves, we may have been able to participate in the delightful conversation and fun. Ronie and Jonie may have been real, or they may have been imaginary. The point is, like little children, we need to understand that there is indeed communication from an unseen world. We need to learn again, as the big children we are, to hear and trust that which emanates from the unseen world.

Because there “is no veil to our feelings,” because the veil pertains to, and affects only our “mortal senses,” there is always the possibility of an open connection between heaven and us. I love the thought that the sometimes seemingly impenetrable veil cannot completely block us out from our heavenly home. We can always be connected there if we choose to accept it and learn to use that connection.   

 Joseph Smith taught:

"All things whatsoever God in his infinite wisdom has seen fit and proper to reveal to us, while we are dwelling in mortality, in regard to our mortal bodies, are revealed to us in the abstract, and independent of affinity of this mortal tabernacle, but are revealed to our spirits precisely as though we had no bodies at all."

And,

"A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon; [that is,] those things that were presented unto your minds by the Spirit of God, will come to pass; and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ Jesus."

I want to point out three examples of very personal revelation recorded in The Second Comforter. In these examples we can learn a great deal about how the Lord communicates and reveals information to us. The first of these examples is found on pages 46 and 47. The author records the following:

"I began to debate with myself: "Joseph Smith could not be a prophet because there are no prophets any more."

How do you know that?

"Because there haven't been prophets for nearly two thousand years."

Just because it has not occurred for a time, does that make it impossible to happen again?

"Well, no. But the scriptures do not say further prophets should be expected."

What about Christ's test: 'By their fruits ye shall know them.'...

...Does God not have the right to add or take away? The commandment to not add or detract is addressed to man. Why would that limit God?

"Hadn't thought of it like that..."

The second example of personal revelation is found on pages 306-308. The author records a journal entry in which he converses with the Lord in a flowing conversational style. (You should take a minute and read that account. It is too long to include here but will help you understand this principle.) The back and forth conversation between the author and another unseen person leads to discovery of the presence and attendance of the Lord during a difficult time of struggle. This recorded conversation with the Lord is beautiful and provides a marvelous example of the Lord giving comfort through revelation.

The third example is found on pages 62 and 63. There, we find the following:

"After two hours of raising questions and considering answers alone in the barracks, I reached this final question: "But how do I know there even is a God? After all, there may not even be a God, and life may not have any real meaning." In response to which came this final thought:

Who do you think you have been talking with these last two hours?

It was that last thought which alarmed me. Had I really been in a conversation with God?...Perhaps this was what it meant to talk with God."

All of these "conversations" happened inside the author's head. The revelation came without affinity to the man's mortal body. It all happened inside the author's head in the abstract in a quiet moment of reflection. Think again about the meaning of Joseph Smith's teaching:

"All things whatsoever God in his infinite wisdom has seen fit and proper to reveal to us, while we are dwelling in mortality, in regard to our mortal bodies, are revealed to us in the abstract, and independent of affinity of this mortal tabernacle, but are revealed to our spirits precisely as though we had no bodies at all."

This conversational revealing of information to our minds is pure revelation from the Lord. We all have this kind of thing going on in our minds almost always when we are reflective and quiet. I suppose this is true because "there is no veil" where our feelings are concerned. We don't often stop to pay close attention to the flow of thoughts or impressions in our minds. When we do pay attention, however, we will notice a lot of back and forth conversational type of interaction going on. We usually take credit for everything that goes on in the conversations in our heads. We tend to attribute both sides of the conversations there to our own thoughts. But, if we will attune ourselves, and pay close attention, just as in the examples from The Second Comforter, we will notice a clear difference between our own inputs to the conversation and those that come from the Lord speaking to us in our mind. This is the still small voice. It is there. There is no veil prohibiting our feelings that come from it. We need to learn to understand when it is that voice and not our own speaking. Then, when it speaks, we should respond immediately. 

I have found the lord appreciates it when we acknowledge His voice and thank Him for speaking with us. His expressions of love in return are a priceless reward. My personal experience is that, as we grow to recognize His voice, it becomes easier and easier to distinguish from all other voices. His voice has a recognizable tone and softness that is His own. Like every person’s individual voice, His tone and sound, distinguish Him as a person. King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon taught: (Mosiah 5)

12 I say unto you, I would that ye should remember to retain the name written always in your hearts, that ye are not found on the left hand of God, but that ye hear and know the voice by which ye shall be called, and also, the name by which he shall call you.

13 For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?

The Lord instructed Oliver Cowdery: (D&C 8)

2 Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.

3 Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; 

Coming to know His voice and obeying it is key to finding the presence of the Lord. How will He ever be able to lead us to Him if we cannot hear and understand, then obey His instructions to us?