2 Nephi 27

(August 8, 2013)
I have to wonder what the response of the general Church membership would be if President Monson came out tomorrow and brought forth the sealed portion to the world.  I think that, at first, most members of the Church would be excited for this new information.  But I think that it would prove to be a stumbling block for many of them, for as they read it they would find that many of their preconceived notions were unsupported or directly contradicted by the additional scripture.  It is the same mentality that causes many to turn away from the Book of Mormon now.

While discussing this hypothetical, a tangent might be interesting.  I had a relative who was a wonderful person.  But late in this person’s life, they developed mental problems associated with old age, and while in this condition this person returned to some habits brought about through the time before their conversion that were not in harmony with the Lord’s teachings.  This caused me a great deal of fear in myself – am I holding on to my faith through force of will and would I lose that faith if I lost my mental faculties?

From that time forward, I have tried to condition myself such that I would hold on to my faith and habits even if I lost my memory.  It is that preparation in advance that ties this back to the original point.  If we want to be a people who will accept the sealed portion of the plates when they are revealed, don’t we need to be preparing to be such a people today?  Don’t we prepare for that by bending our wills to the revelations we do receive every six months in General Conference?