Doctrine and Covenants 88:62-65 -- On Asking and Expediency

"And again, verily I say unto you, my friends, I leave these sayings with you to ponder in your hearts, with this commandment which I give unto you, that ye shall call upon me while I am near—
Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name it shall be given unto you, that is expedient for you;
And if ye ask anything that is not expedient for you, it shall turn unto your condemnation."
Doctrine and Covenants 88:62-65


The part right before this is a parable that we are to ponder, about the Lord visiting "every man in his hour, and in his time, and in his season" (verse 58), which is very interesting, but the part that struck me today is the idea of calling upon God when he is near... perhaps meaning when we feel the spirit, instead of just enjoying that feeling, we should use that time to communicate with the Lord verbally, not just emotionally.

I love the fact that God wants us to ask him things... he's not trying to get us to shut up and do what he says. He wants us to be curious and inquisitive and to figure things out, and to ask why, and how it works, and all of it. Adam didn't know why at first, and so God specifically asked him, I think to get him to start thinking about it.

The last part about asking for what is expedient is just a reminder I think that this isn't some unlimited wish spell where we can get gold, jewels, and large-screen televisions with the flick of a wand. I mean, honestly, God could give us those things, but the idea is not to accumulate worldly goods, but to learn ... everything. If we ask for something bad for us, we're condemned, not because God is angry, but he's worried and warning us that seeking something bad means we might actually get it, and that will be a very bad thing for us.

Today, let's call upon God and seek him diligently. When he is close, let's call upon him and learn all we can about him, the Spirit, the Gospel, the plan, the creation (world, ourselves), etc. Let's seek treasures of knowledge rather than you know... bitcoin or whatever. :)