There is Only Safety in the Lord

By Greg Christiansen

“Therefore, if a man bringeth forth good works he hearkeneth unto the voice of the good shepherd, and he doth follow him; but whosoever bringeth forth evil works, the same becometh a child of the devil, for he hearkeneth unto his voice, and doth follow him.” – Alma 5:41

My favorite part of the cartoon movie “The Emperor’s New Groove” might be when—in the midst of an important decision—Kronk is standing there, holding a knife, and talking to his shoulder angels. Humorously, the angel of darkness is there ready to go with his pitchfork while Kronk has to call the attention of the angel of light who was busy getting his hair done. Then the three of them have a little conference to make a decision about what to do, while everybody else just sees him talking to himself.

Such scenes in film and in literature help to portray the true concept that in this world of opposition there are generally three voices which speak to us. Our own voice, the voice of God, and the voice of the adversary. Often these voices manifest as thoughts in our mind, or perhaps as feelings in our heart, and it is left to us to discern whose voice is whose. We have to use our agency to determine which voice we are going to listen to. Choosing who to listen to can be a test of our hearts. Ultimately, what is it that we desire? To do good and to serve the Lord and His children, or to serve ourselves?

Christ faced such a test when He entertained Lucifer in the desert, just before His ministry began. Lucifer tempted the Lord with bread, and with wealth, and tried to prompt Him toward feelings of pride. If the Lord’s heart was set upon Himself, then such temptations might have swayed Him, yet His heart was pure, and so the devil could have no power to persuade Him.

Though most of us have never stood face to face with the devil like that, we know what it is like to have to discern the whisperings of the Spirit from the other voices that speak to us. It is not always easy, and sometimes the other voices can be so loud that it may seem at times that the Lord is not speaking to us at all. Then we have that moment where we find that quiet place and experience the beautiful clarity of the Spirit as it speaks to us, and we feel its comforting and joyous warmth. We may even be moved to tears in such wonderful moments. In those moments, the voice of the Spirit is obvious. Still, most of the time it can be more difficult to discern.

Discerning voices is important, and it requires effort on our part. Such discernment is a gift that we can develop, so that it gets easier over time. As Joseph Smith taught, “by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ Jesus” (Teachings: Joseph Smith, 132). Indeed, it is our privilege to grow in our ability to receive personal revelation, and to commune with the Lord directly. As Brigham Young taught, “If you want the mind and will of God … , get it, it is just as much your privilege as of any other member of the Church and Kingdom of God. It is your privilege and duty to live so that you know when the word of the Lord is spoken to you and when the mind of the Lord is revealed to you. I say it is your duty to live so as to know and understand all these things” (President Brigham Young (1801–77), Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young (1997), 68.).

Essentially, we should all be aspiring to become prophets, as Moses desired for his people. The Savior made the promise that such is possible for each of us, saying, “He that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day” (D&C 50:24). Line upon line. Precept upon precept.

Yet I wonder if we have a false assumption about how this works with people who have spiritual gifts relating to prophecy. We have seen many people in this world that have been blessed with the gift of visions, and of hearing, and of dreams, and so forth. Perhaps sometimes we have falsely assumed that such people no longer need to discern which of those three voices is speaking to them, as they have visionary gifts and so it should be more transparent to them.

However, the scriptures teach us that such is not the case. As Moses experienced on the mount, his ability to personally see the Lord also meant that he had the ability to personally see Lucifer, and it was thus necessary for him to be able to discern between the two. He had to discern based on what each experience felt like, not what each one looked like. Essentially, the reality is that such gifts equally open you up to both sides, and your ability to discern the one from the other becomes more important, not less important.

In layman’s terms, what this means is that if you have the gift of dreams, for example, it does not mean that all of your dreams will be coming from God. The law of opposition will continue to have its effect, and you will be prone not just to inspired dreams, but your dreams will also at times be influenced by the adversary, or may also be the machinations of your own heart. There will still be three voices which speak to you.

The scriptures support that such is true for visionary gifts. By the mouth of Ezekiel, the Lord said, “And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the Lord have not deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel” (JST Ezekiel 14:9). Here the Lord seems to be speaking of someone who has a prophetic gift, yet has been deceived by it. They did not accurately discern the source of their vision or prophecy. The Lord then declared that those who followed after that prophet would share in his punishment, which means that they also were accountable to discern the message and not to simply assume that it came from God. Ezekiel identified that this was a heart problem. Many in Israel had idols in their hearts.

Similarly, the scriptures also seem to teach us that visionary experiences can sometimes be produced by our hearts, when you are someone with a visionary gift. The prophet Jeremiah had an understanding of this concept. In one place, he identified that this was possible with our dreams. While speaking of false prophets, he said, “neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed” (Jeremiah 29:8-9). He seems to be speaking of people who are having dreams of their own making, and yet who believe that the dream came from God. Boyd K. Packer gave us a similar warning about listening to the Spirit. He said, “While we may invite this communication, it can never be forced! If we try to force it, we may be deceived” (Boyd K Packer, “Reverence Invites Revelation,” Ensign, Nov 1991).

Indeed, it is our great privilege to take our questions to the Lord, and to implore in mighty prayer for answers, and to pour out to Him the many desires of our hearts. Yet we must wait upon Him for the answers, and we must discern where those answers are coming from.

Elsewhere, Jeremiah taught about the concept of visions being produced by the heart, rather than coming from the Lord. He said, “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you” (Jeremiah 23:16-17). Here he teaches that it is possible for visionary experiences to come from our hearts, rather than from the Lord. It seems that at a time when Jeremiah and other true prophets were warning the people of destruction, there were false prophets telling the people they would “have peace.”

Ultimately, the point to be made here is that we must always do our best to discern the source of any revelation, whether it is revelation that we are receiving or revelation shared with us by others. Even those with advanced gifts may receive revelation from God, from the adversary, or from their own heart. At the same time, we cannot go too far in the other direction, dismissing true prophecy just because there is false prophecy. Rejecting all prophecy is not safe ground. We must learn to discern. 

We need only look to the examples of Laman and Lemuel to learn the importance of discernment. Their father Lehi claimed many revelations from the Lord which had a major impact on them, leading them down an extremely unusual course as a family. One of Laman and Lemuel’s criticisms of their father was that he was a “visionary man” who had led them away from their comfortable and prosperous life “because of the foolish imaginations of his heart” (1 Nephi 2:11; See also 1 Nephi 17:20). They seem to quite plainly have borrowed their language from the warnings of Jeremiah. In other words, they were quoting the Lord’s recognized authority in order to attack the revelations of their father.

It stands to reason that they rejected the revelations of their father because their hearts were set upon the things of the world. They wanted to be back in Jerusalem, enjoying their former life. Nephi explained that another contributing factor was “they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them.” They had not dedicated sufficient time and study to doctrine. They had not developed a personal relationship with God. For that reason, they could be quoting Jeremiah to attack their father without realizing that they were listening to the voice of the adversary despite the fact that they were quoting a true prophet. Ultimately, this should teach us that it is not enough to listen to the words of those in authority. The ability to quote a prophet is not the same as having a personal understanding of the truths of God.

Lehi’s wife Sariah also faced a challenge in discernment, as her confidence in her husband wavered when she feared for the lives of her sons after they were sent back to Jerusalem. Nephi explained, “She also had complained against my father, telling him that he was a visionary man” (1 Nephi 5:2). It is of note that her complaint was about his spiritual gifts, and it is easy to reason that she was feeling some doubts as to whether or not his visions had come from God. Perhaps she also was influenced by Jeremiah’s warnings. There is an important lesson to be learned from her complaints against Lehi as well. True revelation can try our hearts, and can bring about challenging and painful experiences which might motivate us to reject the truth simply because it is difficult for us to bear. Accepting truth can often require sacrifice, challenge our traditional beliefs, and even invite severe persecution.

Yet the Lord will always sustain His prophets, and the truth of their words will bear themselves out in the end when they are faithful. When Nephi and his brothers returned from Jerusalem with the brass plates, having accomplished a seemingly impossible task, it was a great witness to Sariah, who said, “Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath commanded my husband to flee into the wilderness” (1 Nephi 5:8). Her newfound conviction is a testament to the struggle of faith that she had gone through. Discernment can be a struggle, because what our hearts want and what the Lord wants are not always the same, and the adversary can be persuasive in manipulating us because of the desires of our hearts.

It is our ever present duty and struggle to align our hearts with the will of the Lord, so that we might be better able to discern His voice from the other voices.  Ultimately, we cannot escape the necessity of learning to discern the voice of the Lord from the other voices that constantly bombard us. We cannot simply be content to follow someone who has been appointed over us, thinking that there is safety in being a dedicated follower of an appointed leader. Though it is important to sustain our leaders as they seek to do righteously, if we make them our foundation then what shall we do in the day when challenging times arrive, when it is no longer easy to follow the Lord’s appointed servants. What shall we do in that day if we have not learned to discern the voice of the Spirit? Or what shall we do in the day when our leaders are suddenly absent, and we are left alone to determine the course before us? How shall we be guided, if we have not learned to hear and recognize the voice of God?

If we do not learn to discern truth for ourselves, we will continually be like “children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine” spoken to us by whatever authority figure we have placed our trust in (Ephesians 4:14). We will have surrendered our agency to them, empowering them to guide our futures and our beliefs. Yet the guide for our lives was never meant to be anything other than the very word of God, as depicted by an iron rod in Lehi’s dream. Men can go astray, but the words of God will never fail us, if we can but hear them and will but hearken to them.

No matter our gifts, we must always strive to discern by the Spirit, until the day comes when we are one with God. There is only safety in following the Lord, for He is the true and faithful Shepherd who will lead us to green pastures. He is the only sure foundation upon which we can build. “Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God” (1 Chronicles 22:19).