Discerning the Signs and Anti-Signs: Part 10

11/2/2023

Part 1: Discerning the Signs and Anti-Signs
Part 2: Discerning the Signs and Anti-Signs
Part 3: Discerning the Signs and Anti-Signs
Part 4: Discerning the Signs and Anti-Signs
Part 5: Discerning the Signs and Anti-Signs
Part 6: Discerning the Signs and Anti-Signs
Part 7: Discerning the Signs and Anti-Signs
Part 8: Discerning the Signs and Anti-Signs
Part 9: Discerning the Signs and Anti-Signs

Getting Lost in the Bright Neon Las Vegas Lights

My favorite color is orange. On my desk is an egg-shaped palm stone of polished carnelian; it glows with a burnt red-orange hue. It is so clear, in fact, light passes through it like crystal.

For whatever reason, I find the color calming. But I also love bright neon orange (I have many T-shirts from Walmart in that color; if you ran into me at Costco, chances are I'll look like a big pumpkin).

Just seeing someone peeling an orange (and smelling it) makes me happy.

But did you know that neon colors are relatively new? Neon paints have only been around for the last 100 years.

Just think: during the entire history of the world, 99.9% of the population never had the thrill of seeing neon colors. How drab the world must have been.

Living in the atomic age as we do, in the 21st century, there's a tendency to believe we have "seen it all."

But let me suggest that we have barely scratched the surface of this universe's mysteries.

Discernment: Seeing Colors in a Colorblind World

The gift of discernment allows us to see truth and "things as they really are" (Jacob 4:13). As opposed to things as they seem.

This is the great gift and promise of God, to endow us with the power to pierce the veil (i.e., things as they seem) and to behold Him as He really is (see Ether 12:19).

People think that parting the veil is the hard part. If only! Even more difficult is trying to share the things we've discovered with others (I mean, Ezekiel's wheels and rainbows are a good example).

Jesus had a gift to communicate spiritual truths; He used parables and pithy sayings to teach profound realities.

But it was hard for Him to see his disciples abandon Him over "hard sayings" and spiritual cannibalism (John 6).

Anyway, our naked eyes perceive only the superficial ― the top layer of skin; the temporal topography of our mortality ― whereas the things of God lie beneath the surface, invisible to our "natural eyes."

Ye cannot behold
with your natural eyes,
for the present time,
the design of your God.

(D&C 58:3)

See? (Pun intended.) No, that's the point: We do not see; our natural mind stares out the window as if it were night with no street lamps, only able to pick out the occasional flash of headlights from passing cars.

The irony, of course, is that our natural eyes render us spiritually blind.

The opposite of natural eyes is the "eye of faith." The scriptures speak about parting the veil "with an eye of faith" (Ether 12:19); this is the way we see God and become His witnesses.

The veil shall be rent
and you shall see me
and know that I am―
not with the carnal
neither natural mind,
but with the spiritual.

(D&C 67:10)

Where can we find a spiritual Geiger counter to measure the invisible? What can we use as a spiritual microscope to peer beneath the veil?

The Science of the Spirit

The gift of discernment makes us spiritual scientists. No lab coat required.

Back in 1795, scientist Henry Cavendish (who must have been bored or something) decided to remove all of the oxygen and nitrogen from a container of air.

He discovered something hidden in the jar after it had been emptied of air.

Today we call it argon ― one of a handful of noble gases (not sure what makes them so "noble," but I do know some people who put on aristocratic airs).

The tricky thing about scientists is they are rarely content; they always want to dig deeper. Explore further. So Cavendish heated the argon and, lo and behold, he discovered another noble gas: neon.

Well, more than 100 years after Cavendish's discovery, in 1910, a guy named George Claude had the "bright" idea to pump neon gas into a lamp bulb, which produced an eye-popping red-orange light.

The rest is history.

We are surrounded by spiritual matter; we are awash in it ― and yet our natural senses do not discern it.

How, then, do we gain the gift to spiritually "see" (and wouldn't that make us all seers who have this gift)?

Of all the eyes we have ("eyes" referring to how we perceive and understand reality) ― such as the eye of reason and the eye of knowledge ― there is one eye that is better than any other for perceiving and understanding the things of the Spirit.

The eye of faith.

Notice "eye" is singular in this instance. It is not our "eyes" of faith. Why is that? Well, because our "eye" must be single:

If your eye be single
   [wait for it . . . ]
to MY glory,
your whole bodies
shall be filled with light,
and there shall be
no darkness in you;
   [watch what comes next]
and that body
which is filled with light
comprehendeth ALL things.

(D&C 88:67)

Thus we see, as is so often the case when it comes to spiritual gifts, that the gift of discernment is a companion to the gift of faith; they are inseparably connected.

By which we can infer that the reason we are so bad at discerning is because we have, in fact, very little faith.

But please don't take that last statement as a dis; even someone as great as Peter was admonished by the Lord himself:

O thou of little faith,
wherefore didst thou doubt?

(Matt. 14:31)

I don't read those words as a put-down; I read them as saying, "I am with you; just believe. Trust in my love; I've got you, Peter."

Shield of Faith

My shield of faith is neon orange (Ephesians 6:16). What's yours?

One of the best defenses we have against deception in these times is our faith in Christ (and, of course, our love for our fellow-man).

I believe one of the reasons the Lord withholds so much from us is because our faith is fragile ("weak" - see D&C 86:6), and so we are unable to accept the "greater things" of God into our current understanding of reality.

Which is to say, anemic faith stunts all the other gifts, hardening our hearts, for God works "according to [our] faith" (2 Nephi 27:23).

So a lack of discernment is likely a symptom of a lack of faith. A mustard seed in Melchizedek's hand grew into a translated city of holiness; but the same mustard seed in King Noah's hand bore the fruit of decadence, luxury, captivity and death.

What are you doing with your mustard seed?

And, if I may, despite appearances and ample affirmations to the contrary, there is ― in reality ― very little faith found on the earth at this time (I have it on good authority).

And if it so be
that they will not believe
these things,
then shall the greater things
be withheld from them.

(3 Nephi 26:10)

By this we learn that for our discernment to grow, our faith must expand; we need to keep an open mind (when I hear "Think Celestial," I think, "If we knew what Celestial really was, there'd be a lot more shaking in our boots and far fewer memes about it on Facebook).

You see, the key is NOT to "Think Celestial"; it is to Live Celestial (by which I mean, to abide in Christ's grace).

What Does it Mean to "Live Celestial"?

Christ's voice (his word) is what inflates our feeble faith, making it stronger than mountain roots and deeper than ocean floors.

His words (the voice of God) breathe confidence into our anxious hearts, causing us to believe all things and to hope all things.

To Live Celestial, it requires us to believe that "with God, all things are possible."

5 Comments

11/4/2023 12:52:48 am

I enjoy learning about when someone learned something new. So often such discoveries are rejected but in this case we now have neon lights!

I’ve often contemplated a quote by Joseph Smith where he said something about not being able to teach the people all that he could because “they would fly apart like glass” if it was something new. (Sorry I didn’t look it up so I’m going from memory.). So, they limited what they could be taught.

I also often think about about “thinking outside the box”. What does that even mean? It sounds like trying to stop being limited on what I can be taught.

Then I started contemplating Jesus’ question to the Brother of Jared before taking away to show him great visions. “Believest thou the words that I shall speak?”

What a challenging question. Was he going to show and teach him things contrary to what he believed? Things he had been taught from childhood? Things he has relied on as true all his life?

I finally thought that maybe every thing I’ve ever been taught is a lie. Current events, history, ancient history, religious teachings, etc, etc .

I know that’s a unique way of looking at the world for me but it tore down every box I’ve been trapped in thinking and believing. It’s been liberating in a way. And it opened up new channels for divine tutoring.

Tim Merrill

11/6/2023 03:27:24 pm

Hi L, your comment deserves its own post; you've beautifully articulated the challenge we face, thinking "outside the box" (or, in my Taco-Bell-infused-trance, Outside the Bun).

I like how you took us to JS's quote ("fly apart like glass") and the Brother of Jared (Ether 3), which makes the point better than I could.

I've noticed lately there's increased tension between Camp No. 1 (stick to the Bible, the word of God, and nothing but) and Camp No. 2 (use the Bible, the word of God, to invite more light and truth). I am glad you're firmly in Camp No. 2, because we have way more fun firesides (spiritual s'MOREs)! Love, Tim

Ruth

11/5/2023 01:47:46 pm

So a lack of discernment is likely a symptom of a lack of faith. A mustard seed in Melchizedek's hand grew into a translated city of holiness; but the same mustard seed in King Noah's hand bore the fruit of decadence, luxury, captivity and death.

What are you doing with your mustard seed?

Wow.

11/6/2023 03:11:36 pm

Ruth, I am glad you received this statement in the spirit I intended; I worried it might come across sounding harsh, but I didn't mean to shame anyone or imply anyone's faith is lacking (I am not a good judge, which is probably why I don't wear robes on the bench, but instead choose to practice law in the trenches as an attorney).

What I hoped to communicate was the faithful way the Lord shepherds our future when we trust Him (i.e. Melchizedek); as opposed to King Noah (too soon?) who used the tools at his disposal to serve himself (of course, I've never had an entourage of priests or apostles at my beck and call, so maybe I shouldn't knock it 'till I try it!).

Anyway, faith hope and charity are like master keys for discerning the Spirit; the light of possibility, of better things to come, of a loving God who encircles us in the might of His peppermint breath, whispering, "Believe." Thank you! Tim

Clark Burt

11/9/2023 04:56:20 am

I have thought a lot about this post and how much awaits us. But do we have what we have because we don't want more? I love this:

I believe one of the reasons the Lord withholds so much from us is because our faith is fragile ("weak" - see D&C 86:6), and so we are unable to accept the "greater things" of God into our current understanding of reality.

Which is to say, anemic faith stunts all the other gifts, hardening our hearts, for God works "according to [our] faith."

This series has caused me to think more about the gift of discernment and what I thought it was. Doesn't the gift of knowledge help us discern good and evil? Why is this gift separated apart from the others?

Discerning the Signs and Anti-Signs: Part 10

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Discerning the Signs and Anti-Signs: Part 10

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