I like to think I know what I need. And want. This inclination to think on our own is good, and it appears early in life — look at my 3-year old granddaughter that tells me “I can go up that rocky hill.” I find it curious that our strong desire to be in control and follow our own voice is not the path to ultimate joy, happiness, and a life with God in that glorified city of Zion. I recognize that what I wrote sounds strange.
Yes, we make choices. We choose how to react in every situation each day. But am I listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit or is it my voice or the minions of the adversary?
I’ve been reading the book, Journey to the Veil
(since I wasn’t following John Pontius’ blog or unblog where he first recorded his experiences.) I don’t think it’s a book to read if you haven’t had some trials in life. No growth without trials. But if you’ve had troubles, this book will open your eyes to the blessings of all the crap that has happened in your life. I can be thankful for a lot of things that have happened to me that were extremely difficult. And I must keep this in mind for the present trials. No complaining, no murmuring. There is purpose in this refining process, if I will just follow the right voice.
I feel compelled to be more obedient to the voice of the Spirit because I want to be a citizen of Zion before the plagues and earthquakes compell me to be obedient. And I want to hear the Lord’s voice more clearly. The fact that I have temporal problems makes me want this more. I think the Lord has been trying to show me that he will provide for me and that I can’t really lean on the arm of flesh. And that He will provide. Everytime I see the way clear, some big rock falls in my path. I must be thankful for this process.
Of course, the world and all the motivational books will teach you otherwise. It’s mystical to believe that if you follow the Lord’s voice everyday, you’ll be happy and on the right track. I guess that’s the purpose of the veil — the great forgetting of our life before this one — so we can learn to hear His voice. Or not. There are so many distractions in this world.
There’s a lot of good counsel in this book, “Journey to the Veil.” It confirmed one of my beliefs — that the temple teaches us how to converse with the Lord through the veil — in this life. It’s not just when we die — not just to pass by the angels after death. It’s for now. I realize not everyone believes that. But I do.
The Removal of the Two Witnesses and the Destruction of the City, about 1255 -1260, J. Paul Getty Museum
The Ark and the Mercy Seat, illustration in “Treasures of the Bible” by Henry Davenport Northrop, published by International Publishing Company, 1894
The Mercy Seat, illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible
The Ark of the Covenant (with The Budding Staff), by the illustrator of ‘Speculum humanae salvationis,’ Germany (?), circa 1400-1500, colored pendrawing on paper, manuscript “Den Haag, MMW, 10 C 23”, at the Museum Meermanno Westreenianum, The Hague
Joshua passing the River Jordan with the Ark of the Covenant, artist Benjamin West, 1800, oil on wood
