This scripture is in 1 Nephi 2:16:
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.
Just a little preface for those who may not be familiar with this scripture. Nephi’s father, Lehi had just had a vision that was difficult for his family to understand. In this example, Nephi turns to the Lord rather than to science, other men, etc. to learn the Lord’s mysteries. As a result, the Lord visits him and softens his heart. This experience serves as a building block for the rest of Nephi’s life as one reads through the Book of Nephi and sees how strong Nephi is in the Lord throughout his life.
As I read over this again this morning I thought about my own life. What are the “mysteries” that I’ve experienced and what are some that I’ve seen others struggle with? Examples include: is there a God? Which church is true? Is the Book of Mormon true? The Bible? Why am I sick? What job should I take? Who should I marry? What school should I go to? Why do we have temples and what is the meaning of what we do in temples? How can I experience God’s love? How can I love my enemy? How can I trust in something I can’t see (Jesus, God, etc.)? Why did I lose my job? Why don’t I feel happy?
I could go on, but the point is that “mysteries” to me are basically anything we don’t understand (which is about 99% of life!). Since there are so many things in life that are incomprehensible, that makes it even more important to turn to the Lord.
In the very next verse (1 Nephi 2:17) Nephi describes how we can know the mysteries of God, which is through the power of the Holy Ghost. Other scriptures state that the Holy Ghost will “teach us all things,” and by the power of the Holy Ghost we’ll “know the truth of all things.”
Receiving an answer and recognizing the answer from the Lord through the Holy Ghost may not come all at once. It didn’t for Nephi, but eventually the Lord visited him and said in 1 Nephi 2:19:
Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart.
Notice that the Lord didn’t simply give Nephi an answer, but it was because Nephi was:
1. Humble (i.e. didn’t rely on the philosophies of men and science but relied on the Lord)
2. Never gave up (he didn’t just ask once and call it good and then blame the Lord for not answering. He diligently sought)
3. He had faith (he believed the Lord would answer him)
I encourage all of us to follow Nephi’s pattern when we have a question or do not understand something whether it be gospel or spiritually related or something else in our lives such as our children, job, friends, spouse, or anything else.
One thing I’d like to add in conclusion. Although we can apply this formula to virtually any question we have in our lives, these scriptures are specifically referring to the “mysteries of God.” People ask questions such as “Was Joseph Smith really a Prophet?” “Is the Book of Mormon a true Book?” “Did Jesus really exist and atone for the sins of the world?” “Is there a God?” “How do I recognize answers to prayer?” “Why does God allow bad things to happen?”
Whatever questions we are asking ourselves, I hope we can apply these principles in our lives and turn to the Lord rather than man or science. I don’t know much about God’s mysteries and many of life’s mysteries, but the little I do know has been revealed to me through the Holy Spirit when I follow this pattern to know the mysteries of God.
Grace for Grace 
9 comments
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April 1, 2008 at 1:46 am
Stephen M (Ethesis)
I like the focus you put on what the real mysteries are. Too bad people manage to miss them altogether, looking past the mark.
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April 1, 2008 at 4:00 am
Bryce Haymond
I might also add that anciently people often referred to the ordinances of the temple as the “mysteries” of God. The initiates were known as the mystes. I’ve blogged on this:
http://www.templestudy.com/2008/01/19/searching-for-the-mysteries-of-godliness/
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April 1, 2008 at 11:29 am
Jay and Susan
Good article Aaron, I completely agree with you. I find it interseting that Nephi did trust his earthly father, and had the faith to first trust and beleive in his words because he was young, but he didn’t stop there. We can’t just rely on what we have been taught by our fathers, mothers, or anyone else. We must have the faith and sincerely search, ponder and pray about the mysteries of God. I agree there may be some mysteries which we will never understand in this mortal life, but we must have the faith through the peace of the Holy Ghost that all is well, and in a due time we will understand. But so many of the real mysteries are completly comprehensible if we will only put forth the effort with faith. Too many of us let ourselves get hung up on issues rather than searching the real truth, and then pursusing forward with patience, putting our faith and trust in God. All will be well (maybe not always easy) in the Lord’s own due time, if we will allow it.
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April 1, 2008 at 2:19 pm
focus
Great post with wonderful and meaningful words…..I shared this with friends and family. Thank you for sharing with all of us………..
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April 4, 2008 at 5:01 am
Mormon Heretic
I agree that we should each find out the mysteries of God. However, I think many people are intellectually and/or spiritually lazy, and would prefer to have someone just tell them the mysteries of God. Many of us (especially me) are like Laman and Lemuel, and say “God maketh no such thing known to us.”
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April 6, 2008 at 10:42 pm
ama49
#5
Thanks for your comments…it sounds like a confession to me…you may want to check out my other post on confessing : )
All kidding aside, I think we’re all guilty of not praying enough, but we can always acknowledge this and try to do better.
thanks for your thoughts.
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April 6, 2008 at 10:43 pm
ama49
#1
Thanks for your thoughts…what do you mean exactly by “missing the mark?”
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April 11, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Eric Zacharias
Yes, as the Christian faith testifies, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things NOT seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
HOWEVER, by just saying “I will believe it because it has been spoken to me” discounts the possibility that the devil himself may have spoken these things to you.
After all, did not Eve and then Adam believe the word spoken to them? Yes; and they bought into it, because the one who said it seemed good. In doing so, however, they failed to believe God. The result was an eternal death which Jesus had to reverse by his own suffering and death.
My point is, we must square everything in Scripture on what God has intended for us to receive. Eve and Adam were people who had eternal life. They exchanged it for a lie. Those who would follow God must follow the gift of God — for that is what GRACE meants. In all Scripture, God points us to Jesus himself: (speaking to his critics, Jesus said,) You study the Holy Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life; (agreeing with them, he continued by saying) these [Scriptures] are the ones that testify about ME. Let’s agree that the mystery of God — salvation, redemption– begin and end with Jesus Christ himself.
With that in mind…
Where is Jesus in your article? Nowhere. The mysteries of God begin and end with Jesus; St. Paul speaks of his church being the keepers of the mysteries of God. A Christian hears the Word of forgiveness, spoken by the pastor, and is forgiven; a child is baptized into Christ and is clothed with Christ himself; a Christian will partake of the Lord’s Supper and receive the body and blood of Christ, “for the forgiveness of sins.” What is going on here? The Christian is taking on the blessings of God, for the sake of (and by virtue of) what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross.
How is that? That is a mystery: God conveys grace (unmerited mercy and love) through the process of hearing the Word of Christ (forgiveness! yeah!!!); grace, through faithful administration of the sacraments (literally, “the mystery”) of Baptism (“the washing and renewing only God accomplishes); grace, through the Lord’s Supper (where, again, we are nourished by eating and drinking Christ, our living Lord).
The trust which any Christian has (Old Testament or New) will be based on what is founded in Christ. (For a thorough look, see the people of faith, listed in Hebrews 11)
Blessings to you in Christ,
Eric
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April 11, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Eric Zacharias
Let me add that Paul knew the term “mystery” was loaded to the max. There were “mystery religions” all throughout the Greek and Roman world. Paul wrote the Church at Colossae, warning them to steer clear of the religion that is patently false, but hold to the teaching that is based on Christ (which is true)
In Colossians 2 we encounter Paul’s teaching about the error that had invaded the church in Colossae. He alluded to it earlier, but this is his most direct discussion of the deceivers who had infiltrated this young church. Paul says, “Let no one delude you with persuasive argument.” At times we find very powerful the persuasion to give away what we have in Christ and grab something else; we are attracted by the mystery behind the door on the stage, by tantalizing possibilities. Let’s briefly take a tour of chapter 2 to identify these deceivers. Paul says in verse 4:
I say this in order that no one [and he has some specific people in mind] may delude you with persuasive argument.
Verse 8 says:
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
It wasn’t just delusion that these people were advancing; they were taking the Colossians captive. There were bad motives behind what they were doing. These deceivers were going to deliberately and selfishly take for themselves the life, hope, energy, and joy of these young Christians. They were going to use these Christians for their own ends if they were allowed to.
Verse 16 describes some of the ways phony religion operates when it takes over a life:
Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—
The people who sell the deception behind the door on the stage end up becoming supreme in the lives of those who listen to them. They have taken people captive and have begun to run their lives. What starts as the promise of something exotic, wonderful, and enriching becomes in fact a form of slavery. Time and again you see young believers who have been caught up in these kinds of deceptions lose their freedom and hope as they become more and more frightened, more under the thumb of those who are selling the deception, and more judged or restricted by them.
In verse 20 he says:
If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”
There is an accelerating loss of life. Fewer and fewer things are acceptable, more and more phony rules and ridiculous prohibitions apply. People’s lives become reduced, filled with fear, and hemmed in.
Summary: There are many things that look good and holy, but which turn out merely to be philosophies of life. Like a facade, they pretend to be a solid house, but is no place you’d want or be able to live. Beware of moralism; beware of dreams and visions; beware of ceremonies that are only “ordinances” borne of legalism; beware of geneologies. All of these things seem noble in and of themselves; they may even seem like godly “mysteries.”
What does Paul suggest, then? He is saying beware of those who would take you captive, delude you, use you, in the long run enslave you, promise you what is not possible, misrepresent the world, fascinate you, and destroy you. But does Paul then give their teaching in detail to help us combat these deceptions? No, he goes back and talks about Christ. The answer is Jesus! It is when we are certain of his greatness, overtaken by his magnificence, more deeply in love with him, that we are best defended against any alternative. Verses 9-10:
For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority….
In him God has come and joined the human race. There is no other answer. In him you have partaken of this fullness, you have been made complete, and you have been given everything you need. He is the head over all rule and authority. These are great reminders of what he has already taught in chapter 1 about who Jesus Christ is. Verses 11-15:
…and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.
UNION WITH CHRIST
That is a wonderful encapsulation not only of who Christ is but what he has done and what happens to us. We are with him on the cross; we are baptized into his death, burial and resurrection. We have a circumcision made without hands on our hearts, not just outwardly or physically. We rejoice with him, overthrowing the power of principalities and everything arrayed against him. That is who we are in Christ.
Blessings –and full forgiveness & redemption! — in Christ,
Eric Zacharias
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