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
Conference
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, 43; Mark
4:23; Luke
8:8; Luke
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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