Day 342 Rend the Veil of Unbelief with a Broken Heart

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus tells his followers that they are the salt of the earth, and in the same sentence offers a warning that savorless salt is good for nothing. Join me in an attempt to be Savory Salt as I share each day one verse of scripture and one small thought. Perhaps this small daily emphasis can lead to greater savor in your life and ultimately you and I can be savory salt.

Hello, my friends and family, wherever you're listening from. Thank you for joining me and know that I'm cheering for your every success. How do you and I see the great and marvelous things that the Lord showed to the prophets of old?

Welcome to day 342 on our 365-day journey through the Book of Mormon together. Today, you're going to be reading Ether chapter 4, verses 12 through 19. You will finish that chapter, and Ether chapter 5, which kind of tells us that there are going to be witnesses to this record.

For those of you that are familiar with the Book of Mormon and go all the way back to the beginning of Savory Salt, you're going to see that there were indeed witnesses—three witnesses—to the plates and to the Book of Mormon itself. And so that's an interesting chapter to dive into. Our verse for today, however, goes back to the beginning as I asked: How do we participate and see in these great and marvelous things that the Lord has shown the Brother of Jared?

Well, the Lord actually gives us an answer to that. Our verse for today is Ether chapter 4, verse 15. It says, "Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief, which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you, yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath redeemed you.

Remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel." I love this one because this is one of those two-sided coins where we get a loving side and also kind of a prick side where it's like, "Hey, you remember, you've got to do your part as well." The very beginning starts out with us rending the veil of unbelief. Now you and I as believers, we may sit here and say, "Wait a second, I believe I need to rend the veil." And yet there's an interesting pull here as we go through this list to look and realize: your awful state of wickedness, the hardness of your heart, the blindness of your mind. I don't think the Lord's saying that in a harsh way necessarily, so much so as it's an opportunity for us to see where we stand before the Lord.

Are our hearts pure as we seek to understand the mysteries of God? And if we were to understand them, what would we do with them anyway? I believe it was President Oaks that spoke to this when someone asked him about a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

I might be wrong. I need to look this one up. President Oaks, I believe, said it would be like going before the Lord and saying, "Heavenly Father, I fully intend to change my life when I find out this information and when I understand it better through revelation." I fully intend to act upon the things that I know.

This isn't about learning the mysteries of God just to know them. That would be like casting the pearl before the Lord. Instead, this is an opportunity for us to say, "I want to change my life.

What can you further teach me, Lord, to do so, so that I can increase in my knowledge and thus become a greater light to this world and a better tool in thy hands for the restoration of the gospel and the building up of Israel?" And that when we approach it with that level, I think then we call upon the Lord with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And at that stage, are qualified and able to be able to behold some of the mysteries that God would have unfolded unto us. That one's a deep one, but it's worth thinking on.

That's all for today, my friends. Remember that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. Keep it small, keep it simple, and always seek to be savory salt. I'll be here tomorrow and I hope you are too.