So I got a call from the 1st Counselor in the Bishopric, Brother Hendricksen, last Monday night. What could he have wanted you may ask? To extend the invitation to give a talk of course! I agreed and the subject was given. Alma 12:9-11 and boy oh boy, am I humbled from this last week of preparing for it. Super, SUPER humbled!
I've been warned to beware of pride in my Patriarchal Blessing. I learned this last week that I have been proud. Very, very proud. I am trying to be a better person, to learn from my mistakes. Let's hope this lesson lasts my lifetime and I don't need to feel like I've been hit by a mac 10 truck of humility ever again. K? K.
On a brighter note, I feel amazing!!!!! from said mac 10 truck of humility accident. I am positive that it was not by accident that I was the one asked to speak on the subject. Quite positive. I woke up this morning and felt lighter, like a heavy weight or burden had been lifted off of my heart, mind, and spirit. The power of repentance is sweet. Oh so sweet! It comes highly recommended.
I wanted to share my talk with ya'll, so here it is. Here's a hopin that you are on the side of knowing the mysteries of God and not on the side that willingly hardens their heart like I was.
Alma 12:9-11
9) And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.
10) And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.
11) And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell.
Breakdown:
Given unto many to know the mysteries of God
Those who do know the mysteries of God are under strict command; heed and diligence which they give unto him
He that hardens his heart, receives the lesser portion of the word
He that will not harden his heart is given the greater portion of the word
How we can know the mysteries of God in full
Those who harden their hearts, lesser portion of word until they know nothings concerning his mysteries
Taken captive by the devil
Led by his will down to destruction
Chains of hell = to know nothing of the mysteries of God
I love the language of the scriptures and the fact that in these specific versus Alma is “expounding these things...” unto us. It is now our job to apply this prophets teachings into our lives, so let’s expound on the expounding…
The word “will” is used three times in just 2 of these versus. I know that our agency is given in this choice of knowing the “mysteries” of God as much as our agency is given in all other aspects of our life. Our Heavenly Father is an unchangeable being and if He has given us the choice from the beginning, He will continue to give us the choice to the end. We need to continue to choose wisely, so that we may sit with Him and our Savior in the Heavenly courts above.
So now going to the question of: How does one WILLINGLY harden their heart?
Quoting President Benson from the April 1989 General Conference, he gives us the true name for hard- heartedness, Pride. He defines and expounds on Pride as such…
“Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart, or core, is still missing.
The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen.”
Enmity means “hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.” It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us.
Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God’s. When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of “my will and not thine be done.” As Paul said, they “seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s” (Philip. 2:21).
Our will in competition to God’s will allows desires, appetites, and passions to go unbridled. (See Alma 38:12; 3 Ne. 12:30.)
The proud cannot accept the authority of God giving direction to their lives. (See Hel. 12:6.) They pit their perceptions of truth against God’s great knowledge, their abilities versus God’s priesthood power, their accomplishments against His mighty works… The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren’t interested in changing their opinions to agree with God’s.
Another major portion of this very prevalent sin of pride is enmity toward our fellowmen. We are tempted daily to elevate ourselves above others and diminish them. (See Hel. 6:17; D&C 58:41.)
The proud make every man their adversary by pitting their intellects, opinions, works, wealth, talents, or any other worldly measuring device against others. In the words of C. S. Lewis: “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. … It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone” (Mere Christianity, 1952, 109–10). … ”
So what are the repercussions from a hardened heart?
As we read in verse 10, we are told that “… he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word.” And we learn that in verse 11, that the “chains of hell” are NOT knowing the mysteries of God and the our willingness to be hard hearted, causes us to receive the lesser portion of the word until we know nothing concerning his mysteries. We are then taken captive by the devil and led by his will down to destruction.
Simply this, by hardening our hearts, we are able to be taken captive by the devil, which by his will, and I imagine with a smile on his face, we are led down to destruction. A destruction that involves “chains of hell”, not ropes, not plastic ties, not cloth, but CHAINS. These chains are built of that enmity toward God and those links that ultimately lead to it which are to quote President Kimball “self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness.”
Now that we know that PRIDE is that heart hardening tool of the adversary that actually locks the mysteries of God from us, what then would be the key to opening those hardened hearts (assuming none of us a perfect and we all have had the sin of pride in our lives)?
HUMILITY, a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
Humility that brings us to the understanding and knowledge that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that only in and thru Him can we come to know our Father in Heaven. That if we abide by His example, His teachings, we may truly know the “mysteries of God”.
Whenever I think of the opposites of Pride and Humility, I think of a scripture in 3Nephi 13:24 *Read it* “No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon.”
The Savior is our ultimate teacher:
He was asked, what is the first and great commandment? Read Matthew 22:36-38
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and will all thy soul, and will all thy mind.”
Shalt (or shall). Not must, not have to, but shall.
With all Thy Heart. Thy Soul. Thy Mind.
And what is the second great commandment? Read Matthew 22:39
Christ answers again with, “Love thy neighbor as thyself”
In Verse 40 of the same chapter
“On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Alma 12:9 “It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.”
Are we those “many” whom Alma is speaking of who have been given the “know the mysteries of God”? Or, are we the “children of men” who are not giving the heed and diligence to know the mysteries of God? Are we listening to the Prophet of the Lord? Are we giving heed and diligence unto those who impart the knowledge of those mysteries?
We know though that through a “broken” heart this promise is given.
“… he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word…”
We are not only given the promise to know the “greater portion of the word”, but we are promised that “… it is given unto him [he with a broken heart] to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.”
Is there a timing to know the mysteries of God in full? And how do we obtain those mysteries for ourselves?
How convenient, I found a quote from Elder Dallin H. Oaks that gives us insight on those exact things.
He says:
“the “mysteries of God”—must be taught and transmitted in the Lord’s way, not in the world’s way.”
When Father Lehi sought to explain his vision to his rebellious older sons and exhort them to keep the commandments of God, they fell into disputing over his words. Young Nephi, who had just experienced the glorious interpreting vision he had sought, recorded that his father had spoken “many great things unto them, which were hard to be understood, save a man should inquire of the Lord; and they being hard in their hearts, therefore they did not look unto the Lord as they ought” (1 Ne. 15:3). We need to remember Nephi’s teaching that the mysteries of God, the choicest of spiritual food, cannot be understood “save a man should inquire of the Lord.”
“The prophet Ammon gave this significant recipe: “He that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God” (Alma 26:22).”
Why is it important to know the mysteries of God? President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) explained:
“Of all treasures of knowledge, the most vital is the knowledge of God: his existence, powers, love, and promises. …
“If we spend our mortal days in accumulating secular knowledge to the exclusion of the spiritual then we are in a dead-end street, for this is the time for man to prepare to meet God; this is the time for faith to be built…
The knowledge of God and His plan of salvation is the kind of knowledge that saves, and this kind of knowledge can be obtained only in the Lord’s way.”
Elder Oaks further emphasizes that:
“God reveals Himself and His eternal truths—the spiritual food that the scriptures call the bread of life and the living water—to those who seek, who serve, who keep His commandments, and who wait and listen in humility for His teaching… The things of God must be learned in his own way, through faith in God and revelation from the Holy Ghost”
I was talking with a friend about verse 9 and he gave me some really good insight that I want to share, he said this…
“It’s interesting how many times the Prophets stop what they are saying because we, the audience aren’t/weren’t ready for it. It might actually be harmful for the recipient to receive information they aren’t ready to grasp or aren’t ready to live. Infants must drink milk before they are ready for meat.”
It is our personal choice to know the mysteries of God. It is our personal choice to choose humility over pride.
It’s simple: Love God and love our neighbor. Give heed and diligence unto God. Listen to His Prophets and we can know the mysteries of God.
The older I get the more I learn that simple does not equal easy.
Humility is not easy. Worth it, yes. Easy, no.
I know God lives. I know that He, our Father in Heaven loves us. Each of us. I know that through faith in Jesus Christ that we can return to live with Him again. I know that as we live worthily of the companionship of the Holy Ghost that our lives will be made easier and our burdens will seem light. I know that the mysteries of God will be revealed to each of us at the timing that is right for each of us. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that we can become closer to Him by abiding by it's precepts than by any other book. I know that we have a living Prophet, even Thomas S. Monson, who is leading and guiding the church in this day. I share these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.