Saturday, December 10, 2016

LIsten to His Voice-He shall come

3 Nephi 1:12
He Shall come-Listen to His voice
What
 12 And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord aall that day; and behold, the bvoice of the Lord came unto him, saying:

Why
Nephi prayed mightily because his people who were righteous were about to be destroyed by the wicked disbelievers because the prophecy of Jesus' death had not yet happened.

Pattern
Enos 1:4
4  And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.
Alma 5:46
46  Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me.

Alma 20:2
2  And the voice of the Lord came to Ammon, saying: Thou shalt not go up to the land of Nephi, for behold, the king will seek thy life; but thou shalt go to the land of Middoni; for behold, thy brother Aaron, and also Muloki and Ammah are in prison.
Hel. 13:3
3  But behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, that he should return again, and prophesy unto the people whatsoever things should come into his heart.

Joseph Smith received revelation when he asked upon countless occassions. Beginning with James 1 :5-6
 5 aIf any of you lack bwisdom, let him ask of God, that cgiveth to all men liberally, and dupbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
 6 But let him aask in bfaith, nothing cwavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

Christ
He spoke to Nephi in this verse. (the bvoice of the Lord came unto him, saying: )

Conference
OCTOBER 1996 Listening to the Voice of the Lord
Of the Second Quorum of the Seventy
And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God” (Deut. 28:1–2).
The admonition to listen attentively to the word of the Lord has been repeated in all dispensations. In His earthly ministry, the Savior frequently declared these words: “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt. 11:15; see also Matt. 13:9, 43Mark 4:23Luke 8:8Luke 14:35). He also taught that “he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life” (John 5:24).
The preface the Lord gave to the Doctrine and Covenants, which we know as section 1, begins by saying, “Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the voice of him who dwells on high, and whose eyes are upon all men; yea, verily I say: Hearken ye people from afar; and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together” (D&C 1:1).
King Benjamin began his powerful sermon with these words: “You that can hear my words which I shall speak unto you this day; for I have not commanded you to come up hither to trifle with the words which I shall speak, but that you should hearken unto me, and open your ears that ye may hear, and your hearts that ye may understand, and your minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to your view” (Mosiah 2:9).
This admonition to open our ears to listen does not always receive the same response. While some people indicate a willingness to listen attentively and to be obedient to the words of the Lord, others seem to close their ears, not wanting to hear nor to obey. There are others who are close their ears, not wanting to hear nor to obey. There are others who are slow to hear but who eventually do listen and become obedient. For all of these people, the result of their attitudes concerning the voice of the Lord will bring into their lives consequences which, in many instances, may be of an eternal nature.
An example of those who close their ears can be found in chapter 15 of 1 Samuel when Saul, who had been anointed king over Israel, set aside the counsel and warnings of the prophet of the Lord and tried to justify the error of his ways. Samuel the prophet reproved Saul and taught him that “to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” He then indicated to Saul the consequences of his attitude: “Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king” (1 Sam. 15:22–23). From the example of Saul we learn that pride is a great obstacle in listening to the voice of the Lord.
In summary, the voice of the Lord may be received by listening to the Lord’s servants, studying the scriptures, and being prompted through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. And for those who not only hear but those who hearken to the Lord’s voice, the Lord calls them “mine elect,” “for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts” (D&C 29:7).
I believe that our ability and our willingness to hear can be increased and that our ears can be opened to hear clearly the voice of the Lord. In section 136, verse 32, we find a guideline which will help to do this: “Let him that is ignorant learn wisdom by humbling himself and calling upon the Lord his God, that his eyes may be opened that he may see, and his ears opened that he may hear” (D&C 136:32). Through humility and prayer we can develop and improve our capacity to be attentive to the words of life which will bless our lives and the lives of our families.
Apply
Pray hard and listen hard with real intent. He will answer our prayers if we listen and we are blessed to have prophets and apostles to reveal His words to us. We can also receive personal revelation every day for guidance if we are humble and ask.
James 1:5  5 aIf any of you lack bwisdom, let him ask of God, that cgiveth to all men liberally, and dupbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
 6 But let him aask in bfaith, nothing cwavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

Hymns
Joseph Smith's first Prayer

Children
A child's Prayer






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