Answers from the Savior

After the chief priests asked Jesus where He got his authority and He got them to admit they could not tell where John go his authority, the Savior said, “Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things” (Mark 11:33).  I remember once seeing a set of scriptures in a missionary apartment that had a few words next to this verse that said something to the effect of, “Never say this!”  The writer was I think suggesting that since we can tell people where we got our authority to preach the gospel and baptize, we always should.  For some reason I’ve remembered that, and I don’t think I agree.  Sometimes I think our answer should be like the Savior’s; in other words, it is not our job to answer every question to the world about our faith, especially when those who are asking the questions (like the group of Jewish leaders in this story) have no intention of really understanding the answer. 

         But more than that, I think that Jesus did not give answers easily—even to faithful disciples—in order to help develop their faith.  Just as simply telling someone that we have authority from God will likely not convince them of it, we must seek and search and ask in order for answers to really come into our heart.  For example, when Christ came to raise Lazarus from the dead, He met Martha who was mourning the death of her brother.  She expressed her faith in Him and said, “Whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee” (John 11:22).  Christ knew that He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, but He was more concerned about helping her understand eternal truths than He was with directly addressing her request.  He told her that He would raise her brother again, but she didn’t understand and He didn’t clarify.  Instead He said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.  Believest thou this?” (John 11:25-26)  For a brief time Martha did not know what Jesus was going to do; and she likely thought that Jesus was only going to raise Lazarus at the Resurrection.  And yet because of the way He taught her here, I have to think that after He raised Lazarus, His powerful witness to Martha were forever etched on her soul.  Because He did not answer her directly, when she did have her answer about her brother’s mortal life, she had learned in her soul much more about eternal life.  The Lord does promise to give answers to those who seek, and in the end it is in that process of seeking and preparing to receive what the Lord has for us that changes us.  Answers do not usually come easily and they may not come at all if we are not willing to be changed by them.  These sobering words from the Prophet Joseph invite us to spend more time preparing for knowledge from the Lord: “I have tried for a number of years to get the minds of the Saints prepared to receive the things of God; but we frequently see some of them, after suffering all they have for the work of God, will fly to pieces like glass as soon as anything comes that is contrary to their traditions: they cannot stand the fire at all” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 517).