The Spiritual Mind
Our interactions with God can range from small intuitions to powerful visions, and even face-to-face visitations. Very few will experience the latter, but everyone experiences small and subtle promptings from the Spirit of God. I suspect most of us miss many of the quiet communications because we are distracted by worldly concerns or noise.
The verses of Section 67 in the Doctrine and Covenants I will focus on today are 10-13. They read, “And again, verily I say unto you that it is your privilege, and a promise I give unto you that have been ordained unto this ministry, that inasmuch as you strip yourselves from jealousies and fears, and humble yourselves before me, for ye are not sufficiently humble, the veil shall be rent and you shall see me and know that I am—not with the carnal neither natural mind, but with the spiritual. For no man has seen God at any time in the flesh, except quickened by the Spirit of God. Neither can any natural man abide the presence of God, neither after the carnal mind. Ye are not able to abide the presence of God now, neither the ministering of angels; wherefore, continue in patience until ye are perfected.”
Today, I want to discuss at least two things that modern mainstream Christianity gets completely wrong, as well as some things it gets right. I don’t fault them for the things they misunderstand because they believe doctrinal revelation ceased with the death of Christ and his original apostles. You could argue that the idea of revelation ceasing is problematic as well, so let’s consider it three major things they struggle with.
The first story that illustrates one of the doctrinal problems is the account of the woman at the well. In the context of the conversation about worshiping God, Jesus states, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” Christian theology uses this statement to say that God is immaterial. Of course, that is problematic because if we are to worship him in spirit, we would also have to be immaterial. What Jesus meant was that worship is a spiritual matter. We don’t have to be in a particular place or engage in specific practices to worship the Father.
One of the many contradictions in the biblical texts is that “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” And, “No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.” However, there are over 150 instances of God’s appearance in some form to people in the Bible.
The verses in Doctrine and Covenants mentioned above clarify how this happens. It is not our natural eyes, but spiritual ones, that allow us to see God. One more caveat: these interactions are limited. We can see God, but not all of his glory, and remain in the flesh on the earth.
The effect of this knowledge is that it gives us hope. Having access to a personal relationship with the Father and his son, Jesus Christ, removes an unnecessary barrier placed in our way by the Christian Creeds. The idea that God is immaterial and unknowable limits access to God and understanding of His nature, making it impossible to understand ourselves. If we don’t understand those things, we can never reach our true potential.
So, how do we develop our spiritual mind and prepare it to see God? How can we be “quickened by the Spirit of God” to “abide in the presence of God”? In the last General Conference, we were instructed to “let virtue garnish our thoughts unceasingly” so we could be comfortable in the presence of God. Romans 8:6 states, “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Consistent efforts to control our thoughts and focus are the key. The last part of Doctrine and Covenants 67:13 says, “wherefore, continue in patience until ye are perfected.”
When we make a conscious effort to crowd out carnal thoughts and actions in our daily lives, we become spiritually minded and prepare ourselves for being in the presence of the Savior.