Mysteries of God Will Shall Be Unfolded Unto Them

This week in our Come, Follow Me study (and in the previous weeks) Nephi has made mention of the "mysteries of God".

In 1 Nephi 10:19 it says "For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them..."

For some reason this phrase has been a throughline in my adult life.  I CRAVE to know the mysteries of God.  I pray to have them unfolded unto me.  I think that's one reason why I loved studying Spiritual Gifts in 2019, they had a sense of mystery and yet I knew God would enlighten me if I did the work. 

While I was reading this scripture it reminded me of an experience I had a little while back.

When I was twenty-four years old, I was called to be the Relief Society President of the family ward where my husband and I lived. During my almost four years of service, the bishopric changed and one of our dear friends was called to be the Bishop in his early thirties.

I had the opportunity to serve with him for a handful of years.  He was the Bishop who released me as Relief Society President and called me to be the Young Women’s President in about the same breath.  Over the course of serving with him for many years I learned so much as he shared deep doctrine and principles that shaped and molded my testimony.  During one ward council he shared about the ancient temple tabernacles in the Old Testament and talked about the purpose of the walls, the inner rooms and the altar.  In another ward council he shared about the principle of the wagon wheel and how we can be centered to work together and with each of our spokes we can also go to the outer ring and work together.  In a private on-on-one meetings with me he would pull out well used scriptures and share doctrines that would guide my service for the women of the ward.

On one particular occasion we were discussing a pressing matter, he reached for his scriptures and by memory he went to a section of the bible to find some context and doctrine for our conversation and plan to move forward. I remember privately voicing in my head, “Bishop Mercer is a scriptorian.  He knows so much and I could never know that much about the scriptures or church doctrine.”  My mind was trying to make sense of his knowledge that rivaled retired scripture seekers, and it was foreign to me and seemed out of my reach, at least at my age.  My testimony was strong, but simple and Bishop Mercer would blow my mind on scriptures and their meanings.  In that very moment, I felt the spirit lovingly say to me, “He has access to the exact same set of resources you do.”

Instantly, I honored the work he had put in to understanding gospel doctrine in a new way, and from that point forward I wouldn’t let educated Sunday School teachers or deep doctrinal discussions discourage me from learning more and growing in my faith.  I remembered the resources that God has given all of us and started to use them in deeper and more personal ways.  As I read the scriptures and searched conference talks I found answers to questions that perplexed me.  From time to time I’ve been guided to learn and go deep on specific gospel principles from faith to fasting, and happiness to spiritual gifts.

That experience in the Bishop’s office changed me.  

I’m also reminded that God doesn’t work in comparisons.  Satan does, however.  If he can get you to believe that you’re not knowledgeable enough or can’t know the principles of the gospel as well as someone else, he wins. 

As you study and learn in Come, Follow Me; do so KNOWING that God wants to teach you and unfold unto you the mysteries of God.  Also do so without comparison.