Real Intent
Last week, I wrote about the nature of reality regarding what we choose to believe. There is great power in belief to the point of physiological changes in ourselves and others. The miracles the Savior performed had their foundation in faith and intent. Jesus used miracles to convince others that he was the promised Messiah. Those who sought him demonstrated their faith with purpose and intention to obtain the desired blessing or miracle. I think the woman with the issue of blood is the perfect example of what I want to discuss today because her miracle did not require an action by Jesus; it was all her. Of course, Jesus knew what had happened after the fact and explained how her faith had made her whole.
As we embark on the path to truth and salvation, most of what we discover comes from our actions. Indeed, the Savior invites us to come to him, ask, and knock. We have to initiate the process by first desiring an outcome, followed by moving towards the truth and stepping away from doubt and fear. The more we want something, the more we pursue it. Often, we have to psych ourselves up because our desires are not immediately forthcoming. The greater the price we pay in obtaining something, the more we value it. Some of our greatest treasures come at the expense of giving up lesser ones.
As we go through life, our priorities change. Children want childish things, adolescents don’t know what they want, young adults want to change their world, and mature adults seek comfort and stability. Unfortunately, none of those things provide us with what we need regarding lasting benefits. Like I said last week, what we believe produces tangible results. If faith is at the root of everything, then it is incumbent that we have confidence in things that move us beyond present circumstances.
Just as faith and belief in God and eternity will expand us, pursuing worldly things will limit us. When you encounter the divine, you realize you are more than you thought. To illustrate, I will tell you something that happened to me as a young missionary. Before I served, I had never spoken in front of the congregation in a public church meeting. I had spoken too much in classes because I was a bit of a jerk, much to the frustration of Sunday School teachers. My companion and I were invited to speak in a Sacrament meeting in my first area in Hastings, New Zealand. We spoke, I thought, quite unremarkably. I talked about love using some quotes from scripture and some other books. Two weeks after that meeting, a young woman in her mid-twenties approached me and said that the talk I had given had changed her life. In turn, that comment profoundly changed me. I knew that God had used me for his purposes. It made me confident that he could do it again, so I committed to making myself available to him for that purpose. That is why I write these messages each week. I do not know if it makes a difference in someone’s life, but I keep doing it if it does. My intention is that maybe something I say will matter to someone. A side benefit is that it helps me immensely.
Having real intent is different from having a passing interest. Life is full of interesting things. I have many (my wife would say too many) things that interest me. Some interests that have captured me over the years are drawing, music, woodworking, machining and welding, stonework, technology, high-end audio, ceramics, writing, philosophy, psychology, and religion. I have become proficient enough at some of them to make a living. I am good at all the things I pursue with real intent. Because I have so many interests, I have only mastered some of them. Some of my talents are God-given gifts that I cannot take any credit for. However, I can improve them if I intend to do so.
What all this is leading up to is a familiar concept to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints concerning learning the truth of the Book of Mormon. There is a promise in the introductory pages and at the end of the book. The introduction says, “We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost.” The promise at the end of the book says, “Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
The certainty of these promises is based on three main things after reading the Book of Mormon. Ponder, pray, and receive. However, qualifiers are added to each action. Pondering requires knowing something of God’s dealings with people over the ages and reflecting upon how merciful he deals with His children. Praying in this specific invitation is more than saying or thinking words in the direction of heaven. It requires a sincere heart and real intent. Too often, those who investigate the church or read the Book of Mormon are curious about it and do not intend to change their beliefs. They generally have no spiritual manifestations regarding whether it is true or not. But everyone who follows the formula as outlined will have a powerful spiritual experience that will confirm the truth to them.
I want to relate an experience concerning the power of the Book of Mormon that I witnessed on my mission, which illustrates that reading it is not a prerequisite to feeling the spirit of the book.
On a hot summer day in Hastings, New Zealand (I was in the area for 13 months of my mission), my companion and I were knocking on doors. It was getting close to dinner time, and we decided to return to our flat once we finished the street. The next to the last house did not answer, so we moved on to the last house on the road. That house had a huge, angry dog that prevented us from knocking on the door. As we turned back, a young lady pulled into the driveway of the previous door we had knocked on. She drove an orange Volkswagen Thing (yes, that is the name of a car they made). We approached her, and she was very friendly and outgoing. You could say her fun personality matched her car.
We spoke for a minute or two and offered her a copy of the Book of Mormon. She said she already had one given to her by a friend in a neighboring town. Jane and her partner Brian had attended an open house at the church about six months prior. During the months following the open house, they had the Book of Mormon in their home but had not opened it. However, she told us that ever since they had received the book, their home had felt different. We asked if we could talk to her about it, but she was in a hurry and couldn’t at the time. We set up an appointment and returned a few days later.
To make a long story short, Brian and Jane got married and baptized. The point of the story is that the Book of Mormon has a spirit about it that attracts and prepares those who read it to accept the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. God knew the intentions of Jane and Brian, so he manifested the spirit to them. Most of us have to work at it a bit harder. We must demonstrate great faith and real intent to receive an answer.
The promise of the Book of Mormon is sure. If the formula is followed, it will result in a spiritual manifestation. The most important thing is the knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. That is my testimony.