But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart. Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause, and send down justice upon those who seek your destruction.
O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love; for ye may, if your minds are firm, forever. (Jacob 3:1-2)
In D&C 88:68 we read, Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will.
Brother Doxey states that “The influence of the Holy Ghost received by keeping the commandments also leads one to sanctification, or becoming holy and pure in heart, which involves forsaking all evil and learning to “love and serve God with all [our] mights, minds, and strength.” (D&C 20:31.) The process of sanctification comes gradually, over a long period of time, “overcoming every sin and bringing all into subjection to the law of Christ.” (Brigham Young, JD, 10:173.) It means yielding one’s heart to God, becoming one with the Savior in building his kingdom, and working for the eventual establishment of Zion. (See Hel. 3:35.) (Accepted of the Lord, Roy W. Doxey, July 1976)
I would like to speak about the power of joining our minds together with God and being of one mind as a step towards our process of sanctification and purification and receiving the blessing of seeing the Lord or experiencing the Second Comforter.
In Chronicles we learn that to know the Father is to serve him with a perfect heart and willing mind.(1 Chron 28:9) There are many scriptures that speak of a willing mind, a readiness of mind, a firm mind and we can be transformed by a renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2)
If we desire to see the face of God, then we will want to know the mind of the Lord and have our minds become single with God. In 1 Cor 1:10 we learn that we can become perfectly joined together in the same mind and in 1 Cor 2:16 we find that we can have the mind of Christ.
Mosiah entreats us to open our minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to us.(Mosiah 2:19)
After Alma overcame the great tribulations of his mind, he taught that as we perfect our knowledge that our minds will begin to expand. (Alma 15:3, Alma 32:34)
Moroni teaches that miracles are given to those with strong faith and a firm mind and Jacob promises that if our minds are firm that we will receive the pleasing word of God (Moroni 7:30, Jacob 3:2)
D&C 102:23 states that we obtain the mind of the Lord by revelation and I submit that as we obey the command to sincerely fast and pray that the veil will be taken from our minds and our eyes of understanding will be opened. (D&C 88:76, D&C 110:1)
Last post I spoke about releasing ourselves from emotional bondage. Our emotions and feelings come via our bodies or flesh and are a direct consequence of our thoughts; ie we think a thought then our body responds to it, whereas our intelligence or our mind come via our spirits. We will have much greater success overcoming the natural man or the temptations of the flesh if we focus on girding up the loins of our minds. (1 Peter 1:13)
Last conference Elder Christofferson stated “We are dual beings of flesh and spirit and are sometimes at war within ourselves. Jesus was also a being of flesh and spirit. He was tested; He understands; He can help us achieve unity within”.
I also shared in my last post that faith, repentance and charity are the scriptural doctrines that will help us to change. Last year, our Prophet asked us to repent daily and for me this includes giving the Saviour ALL my struggles. To repent means to change, this includes to change our minds, to open our minds and allow the spirit to enlighten our minds. I have found by tuning in and understanding what I am thinking and why, and then asking the Lord in his mercy to receive my limitations, has been a powerful pathway for peace and unity within.
One of the common deficit mindsets that I often have to repent of is a scarcity mindset. I start to fear that I dont have enough. Enough time, enough money, enough preparation, enough patience, enough knowledge, enough ‘any resources’. When we are stuck in debilitating, highly critical and negative thought patterns and opinions we blind and corrupt our minds to the blessings and opportunities that we could receive. Paul wrote to Timothy and reminded him “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
Last year along with daily repentance, President Nelson asked us to end conflict in our personal lives, and last month he reminded us that the best way to honour the Saviour is to be a peacemaker. He reminded us that "charity is the spiritual gift that helps us cast off the natural man”.
Charity includes making The Lord’s first and great commandment our first and greatest commitment, and if we love God, we will keep His commandments but my mind was opened last month when Elder Christofferson also taught us as we strive to live the second commandment we could live it even more perfectly by loving one another not only as we love ourselves but as the Lord loves us.
I know as we act in faith, repent and plead for the gift of charity, through fasting and prayer, the Holy Ghost will show us what we need to do to be purified, sanctified and prepared to see the face of God. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen
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