Category: Wisdom

Be Wise in the Days of Your Probation

~ Richard Rowley

“Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask, with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God. See that ye are not baptized unworthily; see that ye partake not of the sacrament of Christ unworthily, but see that ye do all things in worthiness, and do it in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God; and if ye do this, and endure to the end, ye will in nowise be cast out. (Mormon 9:28-29)

Questions:

-Is it tempting to consume the precious gift of mortality on lusts?

-Is it common to live with motivations higher than satisfying material pleasure separate from striving to serve the true and living God?

For a free copy of the Book of Mormon please go to https://www.ComeUntoChrist.org/site/book-of-mormon

They Will Not Seek Wisdom

~ Richard Rowley

After his people had gone through a long period of suffering, King Limhi reflects on the effects of straying from God’s counsel.

“O how marvelous are the works of the Lord, and how long doth he suffer with his people; yea, and how blind and impenetrable are the understandings of the children of men; for they will not seek wisdom, neither do they desire that she should rule over them! Yea, they are as a wild flock which fleeth from the shepherd, and scattereth, and are driven, and are devoured by the beasts of the forest.” (Mosiah 8:20-21)

Questions:

-How much suffering could be avoided if the people of the earth earnestly sought, and lived by, the counsel of the living God of peace?

-Where can God’s counsel be found? Do you believe that the Book of Mormon is part of God’s counsel to mankind?

All Things Must Be Done in Order

~ Richard Rowley

King Benjamin teaches the importance of service to others but cautions against trying to do more than one is capable of. Ordering one’s life, in accordance with God’s commandments, will allow one to provide greater service.

“…For the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may walk guiltless before God—I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants. And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.” (Mosiah 4:26-27)

Questions:

-How is serving others related to retaining a remission of sins?

-Can we stay close to Christ and His atoning power if we are not following His example in how we treat others?

O Be Wise: What More Can I Say?

~ Richard Rowley

Jacob teaches what it means to be spiritually wise.

“Behold, will ye reject these words? Will ye reject all the words which have been spoken concerning Christ, after so many have spoken concerning him; and deny the good word of Christ, and the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and quench the Holy Spirit, and make a mock of the great plan of redemption, which hath been laid for you? Know you not that if you will do these things, that the power the redemption and the resurrection, which is in Christ, will bring you to stand with shame and awful guilt before the bar of God? And according to the power of justice, for justice cannot be denied, ye must go away into that lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever, which lake of fire and brimstone is endless torment. O then, my beloved brethren, repent ye, and enter in at the strait gate, and continue in the way which is narrow, until ye shall obtain eternal life. O be wise: what can I say more?” (Jacob 6:8-12)

Questions:

-Do you believe the Spirit testifies of the reality of Christ’s redemptive power to every person’s heart that hears of Him and His Father’s plan of salvation?

-How serious are the consequences when the testimony of the Spirit is quenched?

-Was Jacob speaking to a group of people who were saturated in opportunities to receive the Spirit (a social environment where the testimony of Christ was a constant presence)?

-Would someone who had far less exposure to the testimony of the Spirit be open to the same depth of consequence as those to whom Jacob was speaking?

-As you read the scriptural message above, what thought processes lead you to quench the Spirit? What thoughts lead you to receive the Spirit? Can you feel the ebb and flow of the Spirit in proportion to your openness to the message versus the thoughts that close your heart to the message?

-Did Jacob believe in a literal lake of fire and brimstone? Or, is he using a metaphor for representing eternal spiritual loss?

The Wisdom and Praise of the World is Foolishness before God

~ Richard Rowley

Jacob testifies that those who humbly seek God’s influence and saving power in their lives will receive it, while those who embrace the wisdom and praise of the world will shut themselves off from God.

“…Whoso knocketh, to him will the [Lord God] open; and the wise and the learned, and they that are rich, who are puffed up because of their learning, and their wisdom, and their riches—yea, they are they whom he despiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility, he will not open unto them. But the things of the wise and the prudent shall be hid from them forever—yea, that happiness which is prepared for the saints.” (2 Nephi 9:42-43)

Questions:

-How can the fact that God loves all his children be reconciled with Jacob’s message that He despises those who are “puffed up” in the wisdom and praise of the world? Is it a case of God hating the sin but still loving the sinner? It is that He despises what they are doing to themselves and others by treating mankind’s wisdom and praise as being the most important?

-Have you experienced the Lord opening the doors of his love and wisdom to you?

-How does one go about knocking in order to seek these blessings from the Lord?

-Will seeking the Lord’s light and wisdom fail if one does not do so in the depths of humility?

When They are Learned They Think They Are Wise

~ Richard Rowley

Jacob teaches that “wisdom” separated from the counsel of God is, in fact, foolishness.

“O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish. But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God.” (2 Nephi 9:28-29)

-How does the devil use pride to tempt well-educated people into relying on their own knowledge rather than seeking greater knowledge and wisdom from God?

-How does learning (spiritual and secular) give one greater capacity to serve God if he or she remains humble and teachable?

Teachings of Latter-day Prophets, Seers, and Revelators:

“If members of the Church would place more confidence in the word of the Lord, and less confidence in the theories of men, they would be better off. I will give you a key for your guidance. Any doctrine, whether it comes in the name of religion, science, philosophy, or whatever it may be, that is in conflict with the revelations of the Lord that have been accepted by the Church as coming from the Lord will fail. It may appear to be very plausible; it may be put before you in such a way that you cannot answer it, it may appear to be established by evidence that cannot be controverted, but all you need do is bide your time. Time will level all things” (Joseph Fielding Smith, The Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, Oct. 1930, 155-156).

“The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means ‘hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.’ It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us.

Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God’s. When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of “my will and not thine be done.” As Paul said, they “seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.” (Philip. 2:21.)

Our will in competition to God’s will allows desires, appetites, and passions to go unbridled. (See Alma 38:12; 3 Ne. 12:30.)

The proud cannot accept the authority of God giving direction to their lives. (See Hel. 12:6.) They pit their perceptions of truth against God’s great knowledge, their abilities versus God’s priesthood power, their accomplishments against His mighty works.

Our enmity toward God takes on many labels, such as rebellion, hard-heartedness, stiff-neckedness, unrepentant, puffed up, easily offended, and sign seekers. The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren’t interested in changing their opinions to agree with God’s.” (Ezra Taft Benson, “Beware of Pride,” 4)