"Upon My Rock"

Here is the first half of Jesus’ concluding statement of His doctrine from 3 Nephi 11:39: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.” If you want to be upon the Lord’s rock, you have to build upon His doctrine. What exactly is His rock? Matthew 16 contains critical information about it:

13 ¶When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Did you catch that? Did you see the similar language? The rock is not Peter. That would be idolatry. Peter is a man, after all, and the Nephites wouldn’t have had access to him. The rock must be constant and equally accessible by all of God’s children in every generation of time. Otherwise, God would be a changeable God.

The rock is revelation. It is the pure knowledge that comes from the Father, just like the knowledge that the Father gave to Peter. Not coincidentally, such revelation is promised earlier in 3 Nephi 11. Verse 35 promises that if you believe and follow the doctrine, the Father will bear record to you of Jesus through fire and the Holy Ghost. 2 Nephi 31:17 lets you know that it is the fire that actually causes the remission of sins. This is the rock that you must stand on.

"This Is Not My Doctrine"

There is only one place in all of scripture (that I am aware of) where the Lord specifically states that something is not His doctrine. Right after baptism is explained in detail in 3 Nephi 11, the Lord says:

28 And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been.

29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.

30 Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.

"I Bear Record of the Father", part 4

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

John 1:1-5 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” This is another witness that Jesus Christ truly is the light that fills everyone, including yourself. His light that shines in you is a witness and a testament to you of the Father because Christ was with the Father in the beginning. In other words, it is one more way that Jesus bears record of the Father. I find it significant that one of Jesus’ titles is “the Word”. When you think of “the Word”, you might think of the scriptures. Jesus is scripture because He will reveal everything about God to you. How do you access this Scripture, this Bread of Life, this Word of God? You can read the word of God (the written scriptures) to learn about the Word of God (Jesus Christ).

In D&C 35:20-21, the Lord gives an interesting explanation of the purpose of scriptures when He says, “the scriptures shall be given, even as they are in mine own bosom, to the salvation of mine own elect; For they will hear my voice, and shall see me, and shall not be asleep, and shall abide the day of my coming; for they shall be purified, even as I am pure.” The scriptures will help save you by teaching you to hear the Lord’s voice. It’s as if the scriptures are a divinely-ordained communication device, akin to a urim and thummim. When used properly, the scriptures will even help you see the Lord and be purified by Him. That is salvation (John 17:3; Ether 3:13). Use the scriptures as they were intended. If you are not learning to hear the Lord’s voice, you might not be using the scriptures correctly.

There is still another source that will help you become acquainted with the Lord.

"I Bear Record of the Father", part 3

Part 1 | Part 2

I want to use the scriptures to show the practical ways in which you can access the Light of Christ, which is Jesus’ record of the Father that He gives to everyone. Many times in scripture the Lord says that He is “the light which shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not.” (John 1:5; D&C 6:21; 10:58; 34:2; 39:2; 45:7; 88:49). How do you make sure you comprehend that light and become enlightened by it? Take a look at D&C 88:

 62 And again, verily I say unto you, my friends, I leave these sayings with you to ponder in your hearts, with this commandment which I give unto you, that ye shall call upon me while I am near— 

 63 Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 

 64 Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name it shall be given unto you, that is expedient for you; 

 65 And if ye ask anything that is not expedient for you, it shall turn unto your condemnation. 

 66 Behold, that which you hear is as the voice of one crying in the wilderness—in the wilderness, because you cannot see him—my voice, because my voice is Spirit; my Spirit is truth; truth abideth and hath no end; and if it be in you it shall abound. 

 67 And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.

That last verse describes exactly what you need, according to the Doctrine of Christ discussed in this blog. If you want to “be filled with light”, you need to do what the preceding verses say. You probably notice that those verses are describing prayer. How should you pray and how often? The following scriptures will give you an idea.

"I Bear Record of the Father", part 2

Part 1

If Jesus bears record of the Father through the Light of Christ, how do you use it? What do you need to know before you can use it? In Moroni 7, Mormon gives an excellent sermon on the Light of Christ. I believe an extensive quotation is necessary.

 5 For I remember the word of God which saith by their works ye shall know them; for if their works be good, then they are good also. 

 6 For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing. 

 7 For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness. 

 8 For behold, if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God. 

 9 And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with real intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such. 

 10 Wherefore, a man being evil cannot do that which is good; neither will he give a good gift. 

 11 For behold, a bitter fountain cannot bring forth good water; neither can a good fountain bring forth bitter water; wherefore, a man being a servant of the devil cannot follow Christ; and if he follow Christ he cannot be a servant of the devil. 

 12 Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to sin, and to do that which is evil continually. 

 13 But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God. 

 14 Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil. 

 15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night. 

 16 For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. 

 17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him. 

 18 And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged. 

 19 Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ.

"I Bear Record of the Father"

In one of the opening declarations of His doctrine, Jesus said, "I bear record of the Father" (3 Nephi 11:32). You must ask yourself when and how this happens. If this is part of the Doctrine of Christ - the only doctrine that can save you - it could be critical that you understand every part of it. The scriptures show that this witness from Jesus Christ happens sooner and more often than you might think.

Moroni 7:16 says, "For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man…" D&C 84:45-46 confirms this. “For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ. And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world…” (See also D&C 93:2) Literally everyone in the world has access to this Spirit or Light of Christ.

How is this possible? D&C 88:6-7 gives a clue. “He [Jesus Christ] that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth; Which truth shineth. This is the light of Christ…” This is the same process that Alma 7:11-12 describes. “And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind…he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people…and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.”

As the Lord descended below all things and suffered all things, He comprehended all things. He learned how to help literally everyone in every possible circumstance. It’s not just a nice thing to know that Jesus went through everything you have. The knowledge that He gained in going through all those things for you does not go to waste. There is a reason that “light” and “knowledge” often go together in the scriptures and in the temple. The Light of Christ transmits the knowledge that Christ gained and it can guide you from moment to moment. In all the ways that the Light of Christ guides you, He bears record of the Father (John 5:19; 8:28).

The Light of Christ is one of the principal effects of the Atonement. D&C 18:11 says that the Lord "suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him." Without the Light of Christ it would probably not even be possible for you to repent. Do not let the Light of Christ go to waste. It can enlighten you continually. Bask in it and use it to repent.

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

"Ye Must Repent"

The all-encompassing theme of the Doctrine of Christ is the commandment to repent. That commandment specifically shows up three times in the few verses where Jesus lays out His doctrine in 3 Nephi 11. Numerous other verses of scripture attest to the primary importance of repentance  (Mosiah 18:20; Mosiah 25:22; Helaman 13:6; D&C 6:9; D&C 11:9). Judging by the importance of this critical component of the Doctrine of Christ, it is seems imperative that you understand it.

But first we must begin by explaining what repentance is not. Repentance is not a checklist of five steps. You might need to recognize what you did wrong. You might feel bad about it. You might find yourself "confessing" to someone. You might provide restitution to a victim. You might end up promising to never do something again. As tempting as may be to turn repentance into a formula, true repentance can't become a list of items that we memorize and check off in sequence.

Repentance is simply turning to God. I'll quote two very good definitions for repentance. The LDS Bible Dictionary says, "The Greek word of which this is the translation denotes a change of mind, a fresh view about God, about oneself, and about the world. Since we are born into conditions of mortality, repentance comes to mean a turning of the heart and will to God, and a renunciation of sin to which we are naturally inclined."

Wikipedia says, "In Biblical Hebrew, the idea of repentance is represented by two verbs: שוב shuv (to return) and נחם nacham (to feel sorrow). In the New Testament, the word translated as 'repentance' is the Greek word μετάνοια (metanoia), 'after/behind one's mind', which is a compound word of the preposition 'meta' (after, with), and the verb 'noeo' (to perceive, to think, the result of perceiving or observing). In this compound word the preposition combines the two meanings of time and change, which may be denoted by 'after' and 'different'; so that the whole compound means: 'to think differently after'. Metanoia is therefore primarily an after-thought, different from the former thought; a change of mind and change of conduct, 'change of mind and heart', or, 'change of consciousness'."

Turn to God, for He has the answers that you seek. Let Him change your mind and your heart. In other words, repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand (i.e. very close in proximity - Luke 17:20-21).