Ammon, son of King Mosiah and a Nephite missionary, was at the conclusion of a years-long mission to the Lamanites when he spoke the words of this verse. With the wisdom resulting from years of spiritual discipline and physical sacrifice, Ammon provides us a comment worthy of careful study. It contains steps which, if taken, lead to promised results.
The steps are: 1) repent, 2) exercise faith, 3) do good works, and 4) pray. The promise which follows taking these steps is extraordinary. As with any formula in scripture, we can use the promise to determine if we have taken the required steps. If someone has repented, exercised faith, done good works and prayed, they will know they have done so successfully because they will then:
- know the mysteries of God
- reveal things which never have been revealed
- bring thousands of souls to repentance
The “proof” this was a valid theory was to be found in the lives of the Nephite missionaries - the Sons of Mosiah - and the results of their years-long mission to the Lamanites. They had taken the steps, and then received these blessings. Their record is in the Book of Alma, beginning with Chapter 17 and running through Chapter 26. This verse appears at the end of the successful missionary service.
While Mormon was abridging the record of his ancestors, he also saw our day. This, abridgement was intended to be an instructive history from his people to guide us as we live out our own history. This particular verse was no doubt chosen to inspire and help us realize there is a promise linked to principles. Joseph captured the formulaic way these things get expressed in a verse from the Word of Wisdom: “Given for a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints.” (D&C 89: 3.) That is, where any principle is given to us, and then linked to promises, even the weakest of all the Saints should be able to see the link between the principle and the promise. If you want it, then follow the principle. Further, this is arranged so everyone should be able to understand it. The results are guaranteed for all. It is not hidden.
We are going to discuss the steps or principles we are invited to follow, and the promised results. This will enable us to see how the teachings in this verse can revolutionize the lives of all who are willing to follow the formula.
The list begins with “repent[ance].” Repentance means change. It requires believers to turn away from the world and toward God. It is the change in life which follows from seeing things in a better, truer light. There is another, higher way to live available to everyone. But to move upward, people must make changes in their lives to incorporate more light and truth. By living a higher way, you are repenting. This process is not a single event. It does not happen once. It should happen over and over as we increase the light in our lives.
Christ captured the essence of repentance in the Sermon on the Mount. He said: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” (Matt. 5: 6.) Repentance begins by wanting to be more in harmony with God. It involves hungering and thirsting for something better. Done correctly, there is an eager willingness about repentance. Too often we associate it with guilt and being shamed into changing. The Gospel is more positive than that. It presumes the repentant soul is intrigued by what Christ offers. Those who most fit the model are they who drop their nets, abandon their fishing ships, and follow Christ as He strolls along the shoreline asking for followers. There is an ease and alacrity to repentance which we should not miss. It is not dreadful. It is not guilt. In fact, it is unlikely guilt alone could ever get anyone to repent in the way the Gospel requires. Inexperienced teachers often resort to guilt and shame as a substitute for preaching the Gospel in a way that invites interest. Their inexperience should not leave you feeling guilty or shamed. See the Gospel for what it was meant to be: an exciting, even thrilling invitation to reconnect with the Living God. Reconnecting in this way requires repentance. Or, in other words, it requires you to change and leave some things behind.
The Adversary is probably delighted with our traditional, narrow view of repentance. We associate it almost exclusively with stopping something. “I need to repent” most often is an expression for “I need to stop doing that.” In that sense repentance is exclusively “deduction” or “subtraction.” In the real sense of the word, however, repentance is “additive” and “positive.” It is the process of growing and receiving new information, new outlooks, and new positive behavior into your life. It is discovery filled with wonderment and joy. If you view repentance only as “stopping,” then you need to repent and begin “starting.”
The next step is to “exercise faith.” In the libraries of materials written about faith, there are few works as succinct and correct as The Lectures on Faith. I wrote in my first book, The Second Comforter, that the Lectures should be read every year. They are that good. Since I’ve discussed the subject of faith before, I won’t repeat it here. I would commend the discussion in The Second Comforter to you.
The formula requires you to “exercise” faith. Although we bypass the subject of what “faith” is; it is important to talk about how to “exercise” faith. By paring these words together, the implication is that it requires activity. There is action taking place. It is not something we “have” but something we “do.” Faith should be engaged and actively used. The examples found in scripture are almost exclusively tied to a faithful person using faith to benefit or serve others. In that sense, faith is directly connected to charity and compassion. Christ’s greatest exercise of faith came as He ministered to and healed others. Included within His great acts of faith is the Atonement itself. Through it, He pressed Himself beyond human endurance. He persisted in the face of opposition and even rejection. He exercised faith as He willingly sacrificed His life while the lament, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15: 34) came from His broken and battered body. He endured that great sacrificial act for others. He did it through pure love for all mankind. He did it to serve and bless those who would rely on His merits to make up for the lack of their own.
When it comes to exercising faith, we must follow Christ’s example and do something. We must get out of our closets where we have been praying, and start administering relief to the hungry, poor, naked, homeless, imprisoned and sick. Christ spoke about exercising faith with this parable:
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (Matt. 25: 34–40.)
In each of the foregoing examples, Christ is trying to give His followers an incentive to help their fellow man. He is calling us to “exercise faith” by seeing people in need as a living symbol of Him. Anyone who does will connect with Him. Their faith will grow. Their lives will change. They will have profound experiences which cannot be gained otherwise. Ultimately, they will be able to see Him in the faces of those whom they serve. Through this process they gain charity, or the pure love of Christ.
This process is as natural as growing an apple tree from an apple seed. You plant the right kind of seed and you will grow the tree which comes from that seed. If you plant the seed for the tree of life, you will gain eternal life. There is no magic involved. But there is a great mystery which unfolds inside you through the process. As will be seen later in this chapter, the steps discussed here naturally produce the promised results which flow from these actions. Ammon is just pointing out the obvious and inevitable.
The next step is to “do good works.” In case there are those who are of the mistaken belief they might “exercise faith” without benefiting others, this addition makes the matter clear. You must do something good if you are following Christ. Good works are linked to helping others. Unless someone is benefiting from the work you do, there is not much good in it. Christ also spoke about the necessity of “good works.” He said: “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 5: 13–16.) Christ is telling you to become a beacon of light. Significantly, you are warned against becoming a candle which calls attention to itself, however. Rather, your “good works” should call attention to “your Father which is in heaven.” Self-serving good works accomplish nothing. Donating a building, and then putting your name on it, does not glorify your Father in heaven. For all such acts done “to be seen of them: .. ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.” (Matt. 6: 1–2.) Quiet acts of charity, done in anonymity, are the good works spoken of here.
Just as it is hard for a rich man to enter into heaven, it is similarly hard for those whose “Christian service” is on public display to gain any heavenly reward. Leaders whose every act is the subject of public acclaim and adoration, have certainly been given their reward. They have the chief seats here. They ought to expect a more distant view of the congregation in the afterlife. Only a fool would try to gain acclaim for every charitable act. And only a foolish and darkened man would seek to have his name honored in mortality for his charity, leaving nothing for the Lord to acclaim in the afterlife because it truly was done for Him. Your good works must be preserved for Him. To accomplish that, you must act in secret. When you do, you develop a private relationship with Him that will endure through all eternity.
The concluding step is to “pray.” You need to talk with Him. Unless you have a dialogue going with Him, He is not able to unfold the promises which follow. Prayer, in this sense, requires a dialogue. It is a conversation with heaven. It is not just a private soliloquy. Christ put this failing into an amusing light using a self-righteous Pharisee: “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.” (Luke 18: 11, emphasis added.) Christ’s example puts the Pharisee at prayer “with himself.” God is not mentioned, except as an object to be used to justify the Pharisee’s self-righteousness. Those who use God as the tool with which to manipulate, control or condemn others will always find they are praying “with themselves.” God does not participate in a dialogue with such people. (Except on those rare occasions when He comes out in judgment responding to their condemnation. Even then it is not a dialogue, but a rebuke.)
Prayer as used here involves seeking for and obtaining light from God. It is developmental and ennobling. When done properly it leads naturally to the promises which follow.
Now let’s turn to the promised results of these steps. These promises are so wonderful they are intended to tempt us all to try.
There are three promises. The first is you will be able to “know the mysteries of God.” What more could be desired? It is a false, even damning suggestion that you should not seek to know mysteries from God. They must be learned. But they are not always permitted to be taught. When it comes to the mysteries of God, we have been commanded to seek to know them. Oliver Cowdery was told to be careful about sacred things, but to seek after the mysteries of God: “Trifle not with these things; do not ask for that which you ought not. Ask that you may know the mysteries of God.” (D&C 8: 10–11.) Alma taught us there is a relationship between our desires and obedience and how greatly we gain understanding of God’s mysteries. He even related the failure to know God’s mysteries to damnation. He wrote:
It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him. And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full. And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell. (Alma 12: 9–11, emphasis added.)
We are required to “seek” and “ask” and “knock.” We’ve discussed this at length in The Second Comforter and will not repeat that discussion again here. For our more limited purposes it is enough to know following the steps outlined will inevitably result in knowing mysteries.
As discussed above, doing charitable acts for others is necessarily tied to knowing mysteries. Some things are learned only by those who live them. Charity opens the doors to understanding things so subtle, so refined, it is not possible to comprehend them while living a coarse life. Charity to others softens the heart into increasing sensitivity. Those willing to walk in that path get to feel, and see, and ultimately comprehend things reserved only for them. It is a natural, even inevitable process. The verse sets it out as a formula. The formula works. The wisdom and experience necessary to have composed this verse was well beyond the capacity of the young Joseph Smith in 1829 when he translated the Book of Mormon. This is ancient wisdom, from a seasoned prophet of God. Joseph only translated wisdom which came from others.
The second promise is you will be able to “reveal things which never have been revealed.” There is an order within the Church which needs to be discussed as a part of keeping this promise in perspective. That order limits who can receive revelation for the whole Church. As the commandments put it: “And thou shalt not command him who is at thy head, and at the head of the church; For I have given him the keys of the mysteries, and the revelations which are sealed, until I shall appoint unto them another in his stead.” (D&C 28: 6–7.) That is to say, only one person in the Church holds the keys to mysteries which are sealed. It is out of harmony with the modern commandments for any person to claim the right to unilaterally determine they hold the prerogative of announcing new commandments or revelations for the Church. That belongs to the President of the High Priesthood; who is the President of the whole Church. However, while carving out this limitation, Oliver was also instructed in the verses before these:
Behold, I say unto thee, Oliver, that it shall be given unto thee that thou shalt be heard by the church in all things whatsoever thou shalt teach them by the Comforter, concerning the revelations and commandments which I have given. But, behold, verily, verily, I say unto thee, no one shall be appointed to receive commandments and revelations in this church excepting my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., for he receiveth them even as Moses. And thou shalt be obedient unto the things which I shall give unto him, even as Aaron, to declare faithfully the commandments and the revelations, with power and authority unto the church. And if thou art led at any time by the Comforter to speak or teach, or at all times by the way of commandment unto the church, thou mayest do it. But thou shalt not write by way of commandment, but by wisdom; (D&C 28: 1–5, emphasis added.)
Oliver was not the Church President. Yet he was told to write words of wisdom and insight, through the Comforter or Holy Ghost. This did not upset the order of the Church, and is included within the revelation setting out that order. The order envisions there will be others who will provide inspired insight within the Church. Other, similar statements appear in D&C 88: 77 (“And I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom.”); D&C 88: 118 (“And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.”); and D&C 109: 7 (“And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom, seek learning even by study and also by faith;”); among other places. Everyone holding the Priesthood is commanded “this is an ensample unto all those who were ordained unto this priesthood, whose mission is appointed unto them to go forth—And this is the ensample unto them, that they shall speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost. 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.) Anyone who holds priestly authority is commanded to preach and teach others.Similarly, anyone who holds this authority was foreordained to this responsibility. “And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.” (Alma 13: 3, emphasis added.) They were foreordained to preach, teach and instruct.
When anyone defers to others and refuses to share inspired insights, they fail to discharge a duty imposed upon them from before the foundation of the world. Beyond that, all members of the Church, male and female, young and old, are included in the obligation to teach. (See D&C 88: 122, among other places. We should all remember, too, the Sister Missionaries are sent by the Church as official spokeswomen, set apart to teach on behalf of the Church.)
There is no contradiction here in the promise of this verse and the order of the Church. The duty to teach one another is not limited to a single person or office, but spread broadly throughout the Church. Therefore, the promise Ammon makes to anyone following the steps that they will be able to “reveal things which never have been revealed” does not contradict the established order within the Church. Rather, it supports it. Revealing things which have never been revealed is not limited to writing new commandments for the Church. Brother Hugh Nibley was a great restorer of ancient lost wisdom. He was a professor at BYU, and a Gospel Doctrine teacher in his ward. He never presided over either the Church at large, or any significant local portion of it. Yet his writings certainly revealed things which had not hitherto been revealed to the Saints.
Wonderful new insights into the Gospel are revealed by inspired writers and poets both within and outside the Church. Nowhere is there a commandment given precluding new insights for anyone other than the Church President. It would be foolish even to contemplate such a proposition. How could anything new be learned, any new discovery made, any invention developed, or any progress for mankind be obtained if God insisted one man alone receive all newly revealed truths? Just asking the question is to expose its silliness. Therefore, you should not be concerned about any prohibition if you are moved by the Holy Ghost to reveal new knowledge, just as Ammon has promised will occur in this verse.
The third and final promise of the verse is to “bring thousands of souls to repentance.” In the case of the sons of Mosiah, they physically went preaching the Gospel from city to city. They reactivated, converted or called to repentance thousands of people in a face-to-face process. We may wonder if a similar promise is possible today. Can each of us who take these steps bring thousands of souls to repentance?
This verse extends the promise to us all. But it does not limit us to use only a face-to-face method of accomplishing the promise, in a similar way. The promise is fulfilled by those who write, whose words affect thousands. The promise is fulfilled by those who testify even in small gatherings, whenever their inspired words are repeated. Profound truths spoken even in private resonate and can eventually reach thousands. The promise is fulfilled by those who serve as missionaries, whose converts continue to convert others and thousands are brought into the Church. The promise is fulfilled by faithful fathers and mothers who leave a legacy of faith for their children, grandchildren, and greatgrandchildren who will number into the thousands within a few generations. The promise is fulfilled by the lives and legacies of all those who meet the criteria of this verse. It is not limited to a few of the Saints whose image is broadcast worldwide. Indeed, more often than not these broadcasts never reach people until after they have first been converted.
There are more of those who fulfill this promise, including yourself, than you may imagine. The promise is to the least of the Saints, and not to the greatest. It is the least of the Saints who bring converts to the Church. Once they are there, the greatest who sit in the chief seats may have occasion to speak to them in broadcasts or in large conferences. But converts come to the truth through contact outside these events with people like yourself.
This verse, like most of the work of the Church, is written to and fulfilled by the rank and file members. Leaders preside at a level increasingly distant from the rank and file, as Church growth continues to swell. You cannot rely upon or look to Church leaders, alone, to perform these promises. It is left to you to take up the task. The leaders have so little contact with the members at this point, they cannot possibly influence the conversion process, except indirectly. You are the one who will be directly involved. Even so great an office as the Quorum of the Twelve only interfaces with the rank and file members for about twenty minutes on a television screen every six months. They spend their time teaching and interfacing with other general Church officers and leaders. These other general leaders, taught by the Twelve, teach Stake leaders. The Stake leaders teach local leaders. And the local leaders teach you and me. Although, the Twelve may be venerated, respected and celebrated as great men, they are distant from the neighbor, coworker, relative and friends you should be speaking with about the Gospel. Ammon’s promise was given to you. It can and will be fulfilled by you if you take the steps he outlines. No matter how great the management of the Church, conversions are the result of individual lives being influenced directly by other individuals. You must start the process now, in your own life.
The Book of Mormon has placed you into the direct line of these unfolding promises. You should realize you are there. Then you should take up the challenge and do the work devolving upon you. As you do, you will receive these promised blessings.