Today's Favorite Verse: Jacob 7:13-14

Today's Favorite Verse: Jacob 7:13-14

"And it came to pass that he said unto me: Show me a sign by this power of the Holy Ghost, in the which ye know so much.

And I said unto him: What am I that I should tempt God to show unto thee a sign in the thing which thou knowest to be true? Yet thou wilt deny it, because thou art of the devil. Neverthless, not my will be done; but if God shall smite thee, let that be a sign unto thee that he has power, both in heaven and in earth; and also, that Christ shall come. And thy will, O Lord, be done, and not mine."

This is a story of the first anti-Christ in the Book of Mormon named Sherem. He is a learned man with much flattery and he is turning people away from believing that there will ever be a Christ to come. He seeks out Jacob to challenge him. Jacob says that the spirit of the Lord poured into his soul, and he is did confound Sherem in all his words.  I would have loved to have heard those powerful words.

Yet, Sherem then makes the great mistake of asking for a sign. I can just hear the mocking tone of his voice to Jacob saying "In which ye know so much". Jacob replies that he will not tempt God to show him a sign. It will only be by God's will if he is to be smitten. No sooner does he say that then Sherem falls to the earth. He is nourished for 3 days. Then he calls to the people to be gathered together, which he then denied the things he had taught them of there being no Christ. He confesses the Christ, the power of the Holy Ghost and the ministering of angels. He is afraid he committed the unpardonable sin for lying to God, and denying the Christ. Then he dies. Once he dies peace and the love of God is restored into the land.

What have I learned? That staying humble and open to the spirit will allow the Lord to fight our battles. The spirit will give me the words to confound my enemies. I also learned that you never mock or tempt God. The sign you ask for will be given to the damnation of your soul. The only sign God gives those that mock him will be to demonstrate his great power by effecting their physical body. That way it is personally undeniable to them. 

When I sat and pondered on that I realized that the witness of the spirit to a believer is to their physical bodies too. It can come as thoughts, feelings, impressions, it can be stronger as a burning in the bosom, or deep sense of comfort and peace. I just can't list all the ways a believer feels the spirit. But, as I thought about it, it makes perfect sense that God would use the physical body of the unbeliever that tempts him in such a powerful way. The problem is that effect will remain with them for life, for God will not be mocked. I think Jacob is right for not wanting to be found guilty of tempting God either, just to show Sherem a sign. Jacob wasn't mocking God but you don't tempt him either. 

Day 241 Tami Fitzgerald Harris