I woke early, reached over to my ipod and turned it on (via my ihome). Nibley was speaking. This is often a ritual for me, in the morning or late at night to relax and get my mind off the things of the world. Sometimes it is in the middle of a restless night.
This morning Nibley was speaking — it was his paper called On the Sacred and The Symbolic. It is mainly about the temple. But this part caught my ear and reminded me of the challenges we face. It was the part about our purpose here on earth — to be left on our own — to see what we are going to do.
“There have been many manifestations in the temples, but one does not expect them as the order of the day. Heavenly visitors have always been few and far between, for the purpose of our being here is to test us when we are left on our own.”(Hugh Nibley, On The Sacred and The Symbolic).
This makes sense only when you believe that God is your Father, that you have a history before your mortal, physical birth, and you have a future after this earthly life.
In that sense, it makes sense.
Otherwise, what’s the test for?
You have to believe that you have been tutored in the presence of a heavenly family before you were left on your own. And why we can’t remember that life, but have only feelings of deja vu, makes it a difficult test. For some reason, the lessons we learn here, that of finding our faith, walking by faith, and using our faith, is a necessary skill.
As a parent I understand, as a child, there are some days I wish I could just have my Father fix it for me. But, I cannot do everything for my kids; they are better and stronger when they do it themselves.
I get it.
We see a person’s true character when they are left on their own. Some people will find they failed in this test of character, though they achieved an earthly status and had a good time. God wants to see what we do on our own, without heavenly manifestations. And in doing this, we become refined, and at some point, we see the Lord.
