Ether 12:18-21 -- On Faith and the Veil of Unbelief

"And neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after their faith; wherefore they first believed in the Son of God.
And there were many whose faith was so exceedingly strong, even before Christ came, who could not be kept from within the veil, but truly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye of faith, and they were glad.
And behold, we have seen in this record that one of these was the brother of Jared; for so great was his faith in God, that when God put forth his finger he could not hide it from the sight of the brother of Jared, because of his word which he had spoken unto him, which word he had obtained by faith.
And after the brother of Jared had beheld the finger of the Lord, because of the promise which the brother of Jared had obtained by faith, the Lord could not withhold anything from his sight; wherefore he showed him all things, for he could no longer be kept without the veil."
Ether 12:18-21


This is so interesting, thinking about when the scriptures talk about the "veil of unbelief" (Alma 19:6, Ether 4:15) and comparing it to this idea of not being able to be kept within the veil because of faith. ... Same veil in both cases? How much are we really missing out on in life because of our doubt and unbelief? It seems kind of mind-boggling actually, but if the Brother of Jared and others could use faith to see past that block, then it sort of makes sense.

Now, I'm not saying it is easy, of course. The Brother of Jared was the one who believed enough that he forged stones for the Lord to make into lights... without electricity or other modern explanation that we know of. I think it is hard to ask God to do something that seems impossible... but even some of those external miracles are easier than the internal ones. Hard to really believe sometimes, in our own forgiveness, worthiness, chance at redemption. Hard to believe in happiness when you aren't feeling it. Hard to believe that we can change, when we haven't so far. Hard to believe in hope, in good things happening, and in that happy ending. I think maybe because we hit that wall thinking that we can't get past our own limitations, and then somehow psychologically believing that God can't help us get past them either because if part of it is up to us, it is bound to fail. ... Isn't that exactly what "the dark veil of unbelief" is about though? Hopelessness and darkness that drags us down to desperation and survival mode rather than being able to set our sight higher in order to see the possibilities and promise of the future?

God can accomplish external AND internal miracles, the beginning of which is just speaking to us through our own storm clouds sometimes... parting the veil just enough so that we can see a spark of hope, or get a glimpse of a future where things are better. Enough to encourage us to move forward, towards that light.

Today, let's believe in God and in his miracles. Whatever faith we can muster, even the smallest amount, let's use it to aim towards the light--to improve, to find the something better that God has prepared for us. Let's encourage each other as well. Let's talk about the goodness and the potential that we see in others, because we can't always see it in ourselves, and we all need that boost from time to time, another thing to encourage us towards hope and light and everything that God has waiting to give to us, when we are able to believe in it.