Faith
Dear Elder Peterson,
In the last 3 letters, I discussed how to recognize angels speaking to you through the veil by the power of the Holy Ghost and how to speak back to them. I also pointed out that if you learn to do this you will learn to be able to commune with others through the veil. I also provided you with a few examples of what that is like. I encourage you to continue to pay attention to the sound of your own voice in your head so that when unseen angels minister to you through the veil and give you inspired words or ideas you will know that it is not your own and be able thank them and speak to them.
As missionaries, angels will speak to you by the power of the Holy Ghost often, if you are listening. You need to learn to expect and pray for this. While writing this letter, I was intending to discuss a new topic, however, the spirit tells me that I need to discuss this topic further. It will be invaluable for you while on your mission and throughout the rest of your lives.
Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost just as you or I might speak by the power of the Holy Ghost. Anything that is spoken by the power of the Holy Ghost is the words of Christ, whether you are speaking by the power of the Holy Ghost to others or an angel is speaking by the power of the Holy Ghost to you.
“2 Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost?
3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.” – 2 Nephi 32:2-3
(Speaking about missionaries…)
“2 And, behold, and lo, this is an ensample unto all those who were ordained unto this priesthood, whose mission is appointed unto them to go forth—
3 And this is the ensample unto them, that they shall speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost.
4 And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.” – D&C 68:2-4
It is essential that you not only learn to recognize the power of the Holy Ghost but to have it and speak with it. If you do not, then you cannot do your job as a missionary. This is because without having the Holy Ghost and speaking by its power, your words are not God’s message to the people you are speaking to. If you are not speaking by the power of the Holy Ghost, then what you are saying is not of God.
“17 Verily I say unto you, he that is ordained of me and sent forth to preach the word of truth by the Comforter, in the Spirit of truth, doth he preach it by the Spirit of truth or some other way?
18 And if it be by some other way it is not of God.” – D&C 50:17-18
In each interaction with others, you must seek to first hear/know what the Holy Ghost wants you to say to the person. The message may have nothing to do with the church or the book of Mormon or any pre-planned discussion topics, and that is normal because God has prepared His own message according to His wisdom and their needs. If you first seek to know His words, then the message will always be His words. When His words are spoken by the power of the Holy Ghost, they become “the power of God to the convincing of men”.
“21 Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men.” – D&C 11:21
To have the power of God to the convincing of men, we must have two things. 1) His words or message and 2) the Holy Ghost.
Pay close attention to this next point, because almost everyone gets it wrong and teaches it incorrectly. If you do what everyone is teaching you to do, then you will struggle to have the spirit, be visited by angels and experience the blessings of the Gospel.
Here is the point: In order to have the spirit, you must have faith in Christ and the goodness of God and not rely on your own goodness and worthiness. We do not receive the Holy Ghost based on our own righteousness but by our faith in Christ and his goodness. We do not earn the Holy Ghost by being perfect, but we receive it by faith in Christ and his love and mercy toward us unworthy creatures. If you are trying to gain the spirit or perform miracles or be ministered to by angels by being worthy or by obeying the laws/rules of the church, then you will fail because these blessings and experiences do not come by worthiness, but by faith. Here are some scriptures that help to teach this.
“1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.
5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
6 Even as Abraham believed (faith) God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.” – Galatians 3:1-11
Just as we receive a remission of our sins through faith in Christ, before we did the good works of the redeemed, so too do we retain a remission of our sins by faith in Christ regardless of our works. King Benjamin tell us that if we want to “always retain a remission of our sins” we must always “remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures”. This tells us that we retain a remission of our sins by faith in Christ EVEN though we are “unworthy creatures”, not based upon our goodness, but on His.
“11 And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.
12 And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.” – Mosiah 4:11-12
If you begin to believe that you are a worthy creature and have earned the Holy Ghost by your own merits, then pride has crept in and the spirit will withdraw and you will be left to yourself. But by faith in Christ and His goodness we receive the spirit, access to the ministering of angels and the power to do miracles. Mormon gave us a brilliant discourse on how faith enables us to be saved, be ministered to be angels and to experience miracles.
“25 Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ.
26 And after that he came men also were saved by faith in his name; and by faith, they become the sons of God. And as surely as Christ liveth he spake these words unto our fathers, saying: Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you.
27 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men?
28 For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him will cleave unto every good thing; wherefore he advocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens.
29 And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men.
30 For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness.
31 And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfil and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.” – Moroni 7:25-31
Pause here and realize that YOU are a chosen vessel of the Lord being spoken about in verse 31. Angels will declare the words of Christ to you so that you may bear testimony of him to others who do not yet have faith. Just like King Benjamin received a message from an angel and then taught and converted his entire nation. This is your job as a missionary. You cannot do your job without receiving the word of the lord from angels ministering to you.
Angels office “is to call men unto repentance”. They do this “by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.” They need chosen vessels of the Lord to do their work. You are their mouths. You must team up with them to do your part of the job. This requires faith. First, faith in Christ and his atonement to forgive you even when you are unworthy and don’t deserve it. Second, faith that you are a chosen vessel of the Lord, (even when you are a poor vessel like Jonah was), Third, faith that you can receive the messages God wants you to hear. And Fourth, faith that you can deliver the messages by the power of the Holy Ghost.
You cannot do your job without strong faith because without strong faith, you will not be worthy of the Holy Ghost or the visitation of angels. Your faith in Christ must be greater than your faith in the power of your sins to prevent you from having these experiences.
So, the way God intends to work is that angels speak the words of Christ to the vessels of the Lord who have the spirit and can hear His voice. Then those vessels of the Lord take that message and share it with the “residue of men” so that they too may learn to have faith in Christ and thereby receive the Holy Ghost. (Picking up again where we left off in Moroni 7.)
“32 And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father, the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men.
33 And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.
34 And he hath said: Repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and have faith in me, that ye may be saved.
35 And now, my beloved brethren, if this be the case that these things are true which I have spoken unto you, and God will show unto you, with power and great glory at the last day, that they are true, and if they are true has the day of miracles ceased?
36 Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?” – Moroni 7:32-36
Here comes another really important part that you should pay close attention to. Mormon tells us that if we are not experiencing miracles and being visited and taught by angels, then it is because we lack faith. Then he tells us that if we lack faith enough to be visited by angels, then we lack the faith to be saved by Christ and all is vain or wasted. If you are not being ministered to by angels, then you are living as if their had been no redemption made. And, if you lack faith to be saved, “then ye are not fit to be numbered among the people of his church.”
“37 Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain.
38 For no man can be saved, according to the words of Christ, save they shall have faith in his name; wherefore, if these things have ceased, then has faith ceased also; and awful is the state of man, for they are as though there had been no redemption made.
39 But behold, my beloved brethren, I judge better things of you, for I judge that ye have faith in Christ because of your meekness; for if ye have not faith in him then ye are not fit to be numbered among the people of his church.” – Moroni 7:37-39
I know for myself that the words of Mormon are true. I have been ministered to by angels more times than I can count and when I take to time to do so, I am ministered to daily, just as you can and should be.
Earlier, I told you that the words of Christ and the power of the Holy Ghost together give us the power of God to the convincing of men. Angels speak the words of Christ by the power of the Holy Ghost and tell us all things that we should do. This all comes by faith, not works. The works will follow the faith but faith does not follow the works. If you correctly learn what I have attempted to teach you by the spirit given in this letter, then you will become like Nephi who had such great faith that angels ministered to him daily and the power of God to the convincing of men was so great in him that the wicked were angry with him because it was impossible to disbelieve his words. And he performed many miracles by faith.
“16 Therefore, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds—went forth among them in that same year, and began to testify, boldly, repentance and remission of sins through faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.
17 And he did minister many things unto them; and all of them cannot be written, and a part of them would not suffice, therefore they are not written in this book. And Nephi did minister with power and with great authority.
18 And it came to pass that they were angry with him, even because he had greater power than they, for it were not possible that they could disbelieve his words, for so great was his faith on the Lord Jesus Christ that angels did minister unto him daily.
19 And in the name of Jesus did he cast out devils and unclean spirits; and even his brother did he raise from the dead, after he had been stoned and suffered death by the people.
20 And the people saw it, and did witness of it, and were angry with him because of his power; and he did also do many more miracles, in the sight of the people, in the name of Jesus.” – 3 Nephi 7:16-20
Please realize that this is your calling, to be like Nephi. You can only do it by faith. I have faith in you and your ability to apply these things in your life as you serve our Father in the name of Christ. I promise by the spirit that as you begin to seek you will find according to your faith. As your faith builds, so to will your ability to hear the angels, and speak with power.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
With love and faith,
Uncle Philip