Hear, Hearken, and Search

Mormon wrote, “Therefore, blessed are they who will repent and hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; for these are they that shall be saved” (Helaman 12:23). As is usually the case in the scriptures, the requirements for salvation described here are very simple: repentance and hearkening to the voice of the Lord. To hearken implies both to first hear and then second to heed. We first must learn to hear the Savior’s voice and then we must learn to follow what He requires of us. The importance of the need to hearken to the Lord is highlighted by the fact that the very first word of the Doctrine and Covenants is hearken. He said, “Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the voice of him who dwells on high, and whose eyes are upon all men; yea, verily I say: Hearken ye people from afar; and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together.” Here in this introductory verse to all the revelations of our dispensation, the Lord invited us twice to hearken and once to listen. This is consistent with the emphasis of President Nelson and many of the leaders of the Church encouraging us to Hear Him as Joseph Smith was invited in the Sacred Grove. So the most important question for each of us is, do I hear Him and and heed Him? As Mormon taught, our salvation depends on it.

               This first section of the Doctrine and Covenants emphasizes that we can all hear Him and ultimately we all must hear Him eventually. The Savior declared, “For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated” (v2). He further said, “And the voice of warning shall be unto all people…. Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth, that all that will hear may hear” (v4,11). All of us, every inhabitant of the earth, will hear the voice of the Lord at some point. But I believe the question is whether we will hear it willingly now or whether it will be too late when “the rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow” as they hear it to their condemnation. And no matter who we are, we can hear the voice of the Lord now, for “all that will hear may hear.” He is “no respecter of persons” (v35). None of us is exempt—the voice of the Lord is to us too, for the Lord wants all of us to hear and also “that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world” (v20). We are to not only hear but ultimately to speak the word of the Lord if we desire.    

               So what do we do to hear Him? Perhaps one of the keys is what the Lord instructed us to do in this revelation: “Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:37). It takes searching; searching the scriptures and the prophets, searching in prayer and searching in our hearts. We must search with real intent, and as we do so with our ears listening, surely His voice will be unto us.