Seek, Ask, and Knock

Brother Milton Camargo in the most recent general conference invited us to consider the Savior’s invitation to the Nephites: “Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened” (3 Nephi 14:7-8). Though these three invitations—to ask, seek, and knock—are all part of the same process of turning our hearts to the Lord, each can be seen as a different action. To ask is to turn to Him in prayer and to seek to hear His voice as we focus our thoughts on learning His will for us. Brother Camargo suggested, “Asking seems simple, and yet it is powerful because it reveals our desires and our faith. However, it takes time and patience to learn to understand the voice of the Lord.” After we ask sometimes we must diligently seek in order to receive the answers we desire. As the Lord said to Oliver Cowdery, “You have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me” (Doctrine and Covenants 9:7). After we have asked we must do all that we can to discover the right course of action: “Seeking implies mental and spiritual effort—pondering, testing, trying, and studying…. When we seek, we are humbly acknowledging that we still have much to learn, and the Lord will expand our understanding, preparing us to receive more.” We seek perhaps most importantly through the words of the scriptures as we try to find answers and learn more fully what He has already revealed. And of course these two actions are intertwined—we ask and seek repeatedly as we try to learn the Lord’s will for us, and no matter how long we must search our attitude should be like that of Moses: “I will not cease to call upon God, I have other things to inquire of him” (Moses 1:18).

            So what does it mean then to knock? Brother Camargo said this: “To knock is to act in faith. When we actively follow Him, the Lord opens the way before us.” He quoted the hymn suggesting that we must “wake up and do something more than dream of [our] mansion above. Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure, a blessing of duty and love.” In other words, after asking and seeking, even if we aren’t sure we have the answers we need, we can “knock” by moving forward in faith and acting as best we know how. I remember as a missionary being given this advice, “If you don’t know what to do, do something.” In other words, if you have asked and sought for guidance on what to do or whom to visit or where to find people to teach the gospel, and that guidance for the time hasn’t come, that doesn’t mean you should sit down and keep waiting for it! In that case it might literally mean to go and knock on some door, even if you don’t feel you know which one that should be. To get up and go knock doors—literally perhaps for the missionary and figuratively for us more generally—is to show the Lord faith and trust that He will guide you in His time. The scriptures promise that doors will then be opened to us. Paul who went forth in faith all over the world said this of his labors, “A great door and effectual is opened unto me” (1 Corinthians 16:9). Joseph was told in one revelation that “an effectual door shall be opened” where he was at in what he was doing at that time (Doctrine and Covenants 100:3). To Thomas B. Marsh the Lord said, “Go ye, and I will be with you; and in whatsoever place ye shall proclaim my name an effectual door shall be opened unto you” (Doctrine and Covenants 112:19). If he would go then the Lord would open him. The Twelve all received this promise: “Let the residue continue to preach from that hour, and if they will do this in all lowliness of heart, in meekness and humility, and long-suffering, I, the Lord, give unto them a promise that… an effectual door shall be opened for them, from henceforth” (Doctrine and Covenants 118:3). If they would leave to preach the gospel He would open the way for them. While these relate specifically to missionary work, surely the application is general: as we seek to go forth and act in faith—figuratively knocking on doors—the Lord will open up an effectual door to us in His time. As we ask the Lord in prayer, diligently seek answers through the scriptures, and then go forth and act in faith the best we know how, the Lord will guide us to do what He needs us to do.