I am aware of and sense a great deal of frustration within the body of Christ specifically dealing with our expectations and belief that there is “something” more, there is something that we are missing or lacking. As a people our observations and perceptions have lead us to the understanding that the Christian life, that we are currently living, has not brought to fruition all that our expectations have desired, our hopes dreamed of, of our time and efforts expended. Yet, at the same time as we look outside of the body of Christ we see nothing worthwhile there either to draw us and our efforts towards satisfying that hunger and so we continue along the same paths that have lead us to where we are in our walk today. Hence the frustration… knowing that there is more yet unsure exactly about how to proceed. Having read our scriptures, and at least seen the promises in print; the hope and desire for a better world, a Godly inspired and fostered way of life has found its way into our mindset. Now I say mindset because the fruit of our lives, the full extent thereof, does not bear the same evidence as the hope that the scriptures generate. As such Zion ever remains a hope within our hearts but … just out of our reach. The “Endowment” merely a dream. Just exactly what we need to do, specifically, is not so clear; the answers, seemingly generic in nature, are not of much help, too general. After all I do believe that we view ourselves in a favorable light, seeing ourselves as good or Godly people. At the same time we have a difficult time seeing where or what is causing our separation from God, a face to face encounter. In trying to take an honest, seeking, circumspect look at our situations, I have reached the conclusion, that, generally speaking, we have justified our situations in life, what we have done, and why we are doing so. We have interpreted scripture and believe that how we have interpreted it is correct. We have seen the hand of the Lord at work within our lives, testimonies of God at work, prayers answered, gifts given. Most of us don’t really know what it is in our life that we need to change and repent of. Still, the hunger remains….
With these concerns and the condition of the church (i.e. the people, including myself) ever on my mind, heart, and in my prayers, I seek out counsel, wisdom, insight and direction continually. I question God, I study the word, and I search for the truth. Times have not always been easy. The answers not always received in the timing I desire. The lessons learned have not been without price. Yet, God is still leading, calling us each into closer relationship both with Him and each other.
With these thoughts giving some background, I humbly present to you that which God shared with me on the night of January 1, 2002.
I retired early because of a late night the night previous and facing an early start the next day. I prayed as is my wont with thanksgiving in my heart for the blessed day spent, a new year ahead, challenges to be faced, the church, and for the many people on my personal prayer list. I went to sleep easily. Sometime during the course of the night the Lord began to speak to me. It was very clear and simple, easy to be understood. I felt as if I was awake, very alert, attentive. He gave and expounded somewhat to me three (3) words: Confront. Confess. Concentrate. The experience was so very plain and vivid that, even though I keep paper and pencil right by the bedside for just such occasions, I did not believe that I needed to write it down because I could easily remember it. Not so! When morning broke all I remembered was that I had had a beautiful experience with the Lord.
Not wanting to loose whatever it was that had been shared with me I approached the Lord in prayer asking that it be brought back to my memory if it was within His will. Oh, boy… almost at once He began to open up my mind once more to the message given and the simplicity of the direction that was given, was joyous to my soul.
First off I am of the firm belief that we do not keep the commandments of God the way we ought to, i.e., “thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment. And the second is like this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:35-36. Otherwise we would see the fulfillment of God’s promises to us. “The work of preparation and the perfection of my Saints go forward slowly, and Zionic conditions are no further away nor any closer than the spiritual condition of my people justifies; but my work shall not fail, neither will my promises, for the foundation of the Lord standeth sure.” Doctrine and Covenants 140:5c-d. And finally I do believe and know that God is waiting on us not we on Him. “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.” Romans 8:19. And the primary reason I believe that we do not keep them the way we ought to is because we do not necessarily understand how to, with the secondary reason because we resist doing so. “For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, for ever and ever; unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and puts off the natural man…” Mosiah 1:119-120. I do believe that it all comes back to these two fundamental commandments.
This captures the essence of my testimony of what the Lord shared with me that evening mainly, Confront, Confess and Concentrate. It easily can be broken down into the three categories and each treated separately knowing that they are but part of the whole…
Confront…
I was told during the course of the message that we need,
as individuals and as the church, to confront
the sin that exists within our lives.
Webster defines confront thusly: 1) to face especially in challenge: oppose, 2) to cause to meet: bring face-to-face; to meet face-to-face: encounter.
In order for us to do so we must recognize sin for what it is and all of its facets. Recognition is critical if change (repentance) is going to be effective. Now sin is not going to stand right up in front of you, jump up and down waving its arms and identify itself as such. Blatant sin we can see and identify and most if not all of us avoid that fairly easily. But sin is sin. There is no such thing as a “little white lie” compared to an out and out “bold face” one, in God’s way of looking at things. Psalms 18 beginning in verse 19 is interesting in this regard…
“…He (God) delivered me, because he delighted in me. The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. For I have kept the way of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me. I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity. Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.”
Sin brings about separation period. Therefore the need to study God’s word. A renewed study with the intent of finding out where each of us as individuals falls short. We need to ask ourselves important, probing questions. Questions like, “How does this scripture apply to me”? Questions searching for greater understanding on the applicability of scripture. For instance, What constitutes keeping the Sabbath Day holy? Questions like, “I know that this is the way that we have always done things or interpreted scripture, but, is it right”? Then examining our lives in light of the answers and see where we stand in Gods view. Peter, James and John were taken to the mount of transfiguration because they asked sincere, searching questions. I believe we can be taken there as well.
In Paul’s letter to Timothy, he and as well as we, are admonished to, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15.
It is how God views things that becomes very important to us, not popular nor public opinion, not science, nor even tradition. Sometimes our own interpretation gets in the way, historical precedent, sometimes pride….
Remember, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Heaven and earth must pass away, but one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, until all be fulfilled.” Matthew 5:19-20.
Everything in God’s word is important to us. After all Christ gave us the instruction to, “live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4.
“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. For everyone who doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he who loveth truth, cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest.” John 3:19-21.
Timothy was also told that he was to be, “nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine… to meditate upon these things… take heed unto thyself…. (because) the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (and) all scripture given by inspiration of God, is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 1 Timothy 4:6,15,16 and 2 Timothy 3:15-17.
Now because we have not yet “arrived” there is much to learn and even more to do. The first step will be to confront our sin. The question is…. Are you willing?
Secondarily we need to confess it (our sin). Confession, that is a topic that typically we as Restorationists avoid. I do not necessarily understand why but I suspect that it is because we identify confession with Catholicism or perhaps fear. We ought not do that because the doctrine itself is scriptural, as we shall see. Perhaps it is the methodology that ought to be questioned.
Confession deals with accountability, ownership. Many are the individuals who have prayed, “Lord forgive me of my sins.” While I acknowledge the desire behind this prayer it is in all truth an empty prayer, meaningless. It does nothing towards changing our lives because we have not identified where it is that we have sinned and as such we will continue in the same path of life as before. If you don’t know where it is that you are sinning in your life ask God to reveal it to you and if you have asked with a sincere heart, really wanting to know, God will reveal it to you.
We need to “wake up”, so to speak, and acknowledge our sinful ways. This does a couple of things for us. One, confession sets in motion the first steps towards repentance. Two, it is a verbal public acknowledgement of specific sins that I (we) have in my (our) life and at the same time enlists the prayerful support of others. In a sense it helps to establish a support group of believers. We are to have our hearts knit together in love, interceding for and doing what we can to enable the sinner to overcome. It helps, by making our sins “public”, to hold us accountable for our actions (that is if we would allow them to) giving us that “external” influence, so to speak, not to commit the same sin over again.
I would have us to remember Achan (Joshua 7). His “private” sin stopped dead in its tracks the progress of the kingdom and had a detrimental affect on the entire nation of Israel. Likewise your (and my) sin is in no way really private. “Every sin that a man committeth is against the body of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 6:18. It is having an adverse effect upon the church and spiritual condition of the people, not even taking into consideration what it does to us individually.
Now let’s look at a few scriptures… by the way, there are many dealing with confession…
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us form all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:8-9.
Not knowing or being willfully ignorant of our sins is one of the adversary’s ways of keeping us in our sin.
“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13.
“And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord.”
2 Chronicles 29:16.
Now you might ask what does this have to do with confession. Well, let us look. It is the types and shadows that this portrays that gives us the insight. We are the temple of the Lord. “What! Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you.” 1 Corinthians 6:19; D&C 90:5f. So we are asked to go into the inner most part of our temple (the hidden parts of our life) and cleanse it, to bring it, the sin, out (confess it and repent of it). Now the priests brought out the uncleanness into the court of the house of the Lord. This is significant. They did not bring out the uncleanness and hide it. Rather, the uncleaness (sin, that which defiled the temple), was brought into the courtyard where all might see… it was made public.
“Wherefore, I command you again to repent, lest I humble you by my almighty power, and that you confess you sins….” D&C 18:2k.
“Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remembereth them no more. By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins. Behold, he will confess them and forsake them.” D&C 58:9c-d.
“But remember that on this, the Lord’s day, thou shalt offer thine oblations, and they sacraments, unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy brethren, and before the Lord.” D&C 59:2h.
“Go; and whoever transgresseth against me, him shall ye judge according to the sins which he has committed. If he confess his sins before thee and me, and repenteth in the sincerity of his heart, him shall ye forgive, and I will forgive him also.” Mosiah 11:137-138.
Tell someone else my sins!! Oh, my!! What would they say? What would they think? I mean really, bare my dirty linen before the congregation!!? Well, my brothers and sisters, if we cannot then it is indicative of even more problems within the body that need to be identified and repented of. Typically speaking we do not even set aside a portion of our services to do this very thing and it is something that we ought to begin doing. Let us not let pride hinder the methodology that God has provided from accomplishing the desired end.
“And it came to pass that Alma went and judged those that had been taken in iniquity according to the word of the Lord. Whoever repented of his sins and confessed them, he was numbered among the people of the church; and those that would not confess their sins and repent of their iniquity, the same were not numbered among the people of the church, and their names were blotted out.” Mosiah 11:143-144.
Finally, we need to concentrate on the Lord none else. Focus. What others are doing or not doing too easily distracts us and that in and of itself is a sin. Concentration will allow us to avoid the distractions because they really do not matter… God is in control. Concentration will let us concentrate on the beam in our own eyes. Nephi prayed that he would even shake at the appearance of sin. 2 Nephi 3:53. Without a focus on God will not be able to do that. Concentration is actually commanded.
“And if you eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you, and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things. 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.” D&C 85:18.
I like Webster’s definition of “single”: unaccompanied by others, lone, sole; of or relating to or involving only one person; exclusively attentive; unbroken, undivided; designed for the use of one person only.
Single minded- having one driving purpose or resolve: determined, dedicated.
“The light of the body is the eye; therefore when thine eye is single, they whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil (not single minded), thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore, that the light which is in thee be not darkness. If thy whole body therefore is full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle lighteneth a room and doth give the light in all the room.” Luke 11:35-37.
Do you see the implication behind these scriptures for both we as individuals and pertaining to us as a body? There is darkness within the body, there is sin that needs identifying and purging. We need to learn how to love God and love all others as ourselves and then be about doing it. We have been double minded.
“For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” James 1:7-8.
Hence the “spiritual wall” that we have run into, seemingly halting our growth and resulting in the frustration that we are experiencing. God indicated to me that it will be necessary for us to “go back to the beginning so to speak”. Begin studying anew, sincerely questioning each scripture and looking under the guidance of the Holy Spirit as to how it is applicable to us. We can expect resistance to this, we can expect a battle. But we must do so honestly, both with ourselves and with God if anything is going to change. Not deceiving ourselves, nor justifying why we are doing what we are.
“And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received, which vanity and unbelief hath brought the whole church under condemnation. And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all; and they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent…” D&C 83:8 a-b.
Do you see the resemblance between Achan and ourselves? It is uncanny. He broke the command of God by partaking of that which they had been told not to. He involved others by hiding that which he took in the middle of his tent. By his actions 30 lives were lost initially. By sinning, by his family aiding and abetting that sin they too lost their lives. All of Israel was effected. The sin had to be removed completely. It is no different with us.
“For it is required of the Lord, at the hand of every steward, to render an account of his stewardship, both in time and in eternity… Let no one deceive himself that he shall not account for his stewardship unto me.” D&C 72:1c and 118:4c.
“And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years (all the years of our life up to this day) in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.” Deuteronomy 8:2.
In conclusion I share this testimony and resultant expostulating with you in all humility asking that you would consider it thoughtfully and prayerfully, studying it out for yourselves and finally asking God if there is any truth contained within that which I have shared. The truths are of God… the rest is of me. That which is of me I would beg your forgiveness and ask for your ministry. Of that which is the truth, then my prayer would be, that both as individuals and as the church, we may act upon the insight God has given. This to the end that we might sanctify our lives by Christ Jesus, establish Zion in our lives, witness the Kingdom of God on the earth, that all the world might see that which we have to share… the fulfillment, in us of that which we saw contained in our scriptures bearing fruit in our lives….
Your servant,
Doug Virgil