Ether 3-5

I remember reading Ether 3 as a missionary in the MTC getting ready to go to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. I was inspired by the brother of Jared's experience and I thought that maybe I could develop that kind of faith to where I could not be kept within the veil. I think I imagined I would have an experience similar to the one the brother of Jared had.

Ether 3:10-13

...Lord show thyself unto me.

And the lord said unto him: Believest the words which I shall speak?

And he answered:
Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou are a God of truth, and
canst not lie.

And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you.

It seems so easy. All you have to do is believe what God will say. Of course we all know that God doesn't lie, so who wouldn't believe him. That is what I used to think, but this morning as I contemplate this, I realize that I am kind of a skeptic. Who could imagine what God might say, it could be something that we might think is completely insane, or more likely, it could be the things that we already know. The things we are taught every Sunday.

This got me asking myself if I really believe the gospel. I'm pretty sure I believe in God and Jesus about 100%. Similarly I believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Bible and the Book of Mormon are true books of scripture. But what does it mean to believe God. Do I keep his commandments like I believe that they really came from him? Or would I be more obedient if he came down with a voice of thunder and told me what to do (not likely to increase obedience over the long run, and most often we do not have witnesses like this until after we are already obedient).

If God appeared to me and told me I should cut my hair would I believe him. If he told me that I shouldn't watch certain movies, some of which were my favorites, would I believe him. If he told me that I should go to bed at a certain time everyday, would I believe him. Maybe the only way to measure whether or not I believe him is if I would actually do these things. In this way obedience becomes a measuring stick of belief. Likewise, wickedness is an symptom of unbelief.

Ether 4:15 and 16

Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind... yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit...

...then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by me servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people.

Not only wickedness but hardness of heart and blindness of mind are results of our unbelief. Now to an extent most of us suffer from unbelief. Otherwise why would we do the things that we know we are not supposed to do. I guess the question to ask ourselves is how do we cast off our unbelief. In the end this is going to have to be a personal decision for each of us. To exercise faith and choose to believe. No matter what it is we choose to believe in it takes faith and a choice. All belief is faith based, whether we choose to put our faith in God or in man.

To help us believe, God has provided that there be always two or three witnesses. In Ether 5
Moroni talks about the witnesses to the Book of Mormon.

Ether 5:3

And unto three shall they be shown by the power of God; wherefore they shall know of a surety that these things are true.

I find it an important distinction that the plates were not just shown unto them but were shown unto them by the power of God. I think their knowing of a surety probably had more to do with the power of God than with the seeing of the plates. None of these three witnesses ever denied their testimony, though some of them struggled to overcome their own personal unbelief. I am a descendant of Martin Harris who was one of the three that saw the Nephite record, and though I have not seen the original plates as he had, I have read the book that has been translated from them, and I know as he knew, that the Book of Mormon is true. Having that knowledge doesn't mean that I am free from unbelief. I still must strive daily to believe God's promises and commandments and live accordingly.