This post is prompted because I know the Lord wants the following witnesses to be heard and considered. One of these witnesses is a good friend of mine who has received the Lord and has given me permission to share the experiences they had. The other I don’t have more than an acquaintance with, but because of the powerful witness I received of the truth of the message I sought permission and obtained it in order to share their testimony. Both of these witnesses have beheld the face of the Lord. Here’s the witness from the first:
“I am not an Example.
I am not an example because I am more righteous or perfect or more virtuous. I am not. I am utterly unworthy of any heavenly attention as to myself and am certainly not worth any earthly attention. I only share my experience so that others may know that no matter how low you are, Christ will save you if you let Him.
Christ’s work is to save you. He is good at what He does. Let Him work with you. Be patient and teachable as a little child. Children do not have all the preconceptions and false traditions we have. Try to read the Book of Mormon without any preconceptions about what it means. I know that is very hard to do. I still have weaknesses. We all do. We are given weaknesses to humble us. Let yourself be humble.
I have no stewardship to reveal anything to any member of the church. I am not a presiding authority, and therefore nothing I share would be of any force to anyone. I believe I had stated that clearly, but I do so again just to be clear.
The Lord has asked me to share these thoughts here, but only in the capacity as a friend and fellow seeker, and not by way of commandment or revelation. So while I am under an obligation to post, no one else is under any obligation beyond what they are persuaded by the Holy Ghost. The only tool I have is testimony and persuasion. I do not consider myself an expert, special, more righteous, or anything other than an ordinary LDS guy.
My only goal in writing here is to increase faith in Christ. I believe the preeminent doctrine worth talking about is the Doctrine of Christ — Faith, Repentance, Baptism, taking the Holy Ghost as your guide until Christ manifests Himself to you. Christ is real and employs no servant at the gate. 2 Nephi 9:41 O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate;
(2 Nephi 9:41) “O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name.”
If my words have caused anyone to have less faith in Christ, then I beg for your forgiveness and ask you to ignore me. Of all my mistakes, which are many, it yet remains that I experienced what I did. To echo Joseph’s words — I know it and I know God knows it.
I do not fault nor accuse anyone for disbelieving me. Christ is the only one worthy of belief. Believe in Him. Seek after Him. He has promised that He will come to you. Please do not be satisfied with anything less than His literal presence.
(John 14:23) – “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
(D&C 130:3 – John 14:23)—”The appearing of the Father and the Son, in that verse, is a personal appearance; and the idea that the Father and the Son dwell in a man’s heart is an old sectarian notion, and is false.”
Please do not stop casting out unbelief until the Angels come and Christ manifests Himself. These things are absolutely necessary for your eternal salvation. Christ has a work to do that no earthly man or program can provide. There is no servant at the gate. There is no substitute for conversing with the Lord through the veil.”
Here’s a witness from the second;
“The first time I was in the presence of the Lord, I was hiding in my little boy’s bedroom closet so I could pray privately (yes, sometimes it requires hiding in the closet for this mom to find quietude). I went to the Savior to tell Him that I had done all that I understood would bring the gift of His presence into my life, and that I wanted to know Him. I asked what more I needed to do and told Him that I would do it if it would allow me to know Him in this life. I knelt as low as I could, and prayed with my entire soul – as I had done many times before, and I imagined myself at His feet and spoke to Him as if He were there. I sought Him and I EXPECTED Him, and He did come to me that night.
I testify to all who read this, that He is filled with so much love and patience for us. He WANTS us to be bold and passionate about not just following Him, but knowing Him. He IS the greater Comforter. He IS our advocate and our friend.
He is not scary and does not “punish” with cruelty, but mourns for all who have not yet embraced Him and allowed Him to abide with them. He seeks us, but He cannot and will not force us to let go of this world and this flesh, and be converted unto Him.
Start talking with Him people! KNOW Him! He will come to you if you labor to know Him, but we cannot get to know Him and expect Him to come to us and be our comforter and companion, if we do not SEEK to know Him. Thirty minutes of prayer in a day is barely giving acknowledgement; my young son might feel very neglected if I only spent thirty minutes each day with him. This desire should fill our every thought and action. If it doesn’t, you can work toward that. Just like serving others helps US love THEM, seeking the Lord and seeking to serve Him helps us to love and come to know Him. It gives us the opportunity to be received by Him. But we first should seek to know Him. He wants so badly to know us all, but we cannot do that if we only give him as much time as we give the toilet or other superficial or low-ranking activities in our day.
Don’t make knowing the Lord an afterthought; LABOR to know Him, and you will.”
I want to thank you both Daniel and Jules for allowing me to share your witness. My heart is full because of the experiences the Lord has given you permission to share so others may come unto Him and have a similar experience. May God bless you always!
The Awakening Site 