"It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance."
Doctrine and Covenants 131:6
Here's another statement that seems to be kind of unfair on the surface. We can't possibly know everything, right? So, we're all going to be ignorant of some things, and so how does that work? ... Glad you asked. :) Let's talk about it.
In the context of the section, this verse is talking about being saved--specifically God letting us know that we will be saved through revelation. So, it could mean that being saved is not going to be a surprise. :) Being saved isn't like one of those tests we take and we aren't sure if we passed or not. We'll know. :)
I think it also means more than that though... but it isn't just normal ignorance that God is talking about here... the kind where we don't know something just because we haven't run across it before, or because we studied something else and didn't have time to study everything. I think that the type of ignorance we should be concerned about here is the chosen kind... willful ignorance, where we don't know because we are trying to block it out and pretend that we don't see it. I think we try to do that one a lot, especially when we're making bad choices. God tries to get through to us and warn us, but we specifically tune him out. We don't find out why something is wrong because we don't want to know. We don't want to have to examine our own actions and change. Or we don't pray or study because we know that God will tell us to change our ways, and we don't want to hear it.
All of this dovetails together because it's really about communication with God. He can't reveal to us that we are going to be saved, either, if we are ignoring him about something else. We'll never get to know him well enough to *be* saved if we are actively blocking him out. Today, let's avoid willful ignorance... let's humble ourselves and pray to God, pleading for him to talk to us even though we have blocked him out in the past. Let's open up our minds and our hearts and be willing to make the changes in our lives that it takes in order to be saved. They're the same ones that it takes to have a good relationship with God. Let's pray, read, attend church, and with all of it, let's be willing to learn, willing to study, and willing to know, accept, and do the Lord's will.
Doctrine and Covenants 131:6
Here's another statement that seems to be kind of unfair on the surface. We can't possibly know everything, right? So, we're all going to be ignorant of some things, and so how does that work? ... Glad you asked. :) Let's talk about it.
In the context of the section, this verse is talking about being saved--specifically God letting us know that we will be saved through revelation. So, it could mean that being saved is not going to be a surprise. :) Being saved isn't like one of those tests we take and we aren't sure if we passed or not. We'll know. :)
I think it also means more than that though... but it isn't just normal ignorance that God is talking about here... the kind where we don't know something just because we haven't run across it before, or because we studied something else and didn't have time to study everything. I think that the type of ignorance we should be concerned about here is the chosen kind... willful ignorance, where we don't know because we are trying to block it out and pretend that we don't see it. I think we try to do that one a lot, especially when we're making bad choices. God tries to get through to us and warn us, but we specifically tune him out. We don't find out why something is wrong because we don't want to know. We don't want to have to examine our own actions and change. Or we don't pray or study because we know that God will tell us to change our ways, and we don't want to hear it.
All of this dovetails together because it's really about communication with God. He can't reveal to us that we are going to be saved, either, if we are ignoring him about something else. We'll never get to know him well enough to *be* saved if we are actively blocking him out. Today, let's avoid willful ignorance... let's humble ourselves and pray to God, pleading for him to talk to us even though we have blocked him out in the past. Let's open up our minds and our hearts and be willing to make the changes in our lives that it takes in order to be saved. They're the same ones that it takes to have a good relationship with God. Let's pray, read, attend church, and with all of it, let's be willing to learn, willing to study, and willing to know, accept, and do the Lord's will.
No comments:
Post a Comment