Rend That Veil of Unbelief

As I read Ether 4 this morning, I was struck by Moroni’s emphasis on faith and belief. He described how he recorded the supernal revelation given to the brother of Jared, “and there never were greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared” (v4). Those things that were revealed to him, though, are kept from us until we have the kind of faith that he had. Moroni recorded this promise of the Lord: “And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are” (v7). When we truly sanctify ourselves and believe like the brother of Jared believed, we can have the kind of revelation that he had. But we have to be able to say to the Lord like he did and truly believe it: “And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man…. Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to show forth great power…. Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie” (Ether 3:4-5, 12). The brother of Jared’s faith was so great that he could not be kept back from the presence of the Lord, and the Lord’s promise is that if we can exercise that level of faith we too can have the kind of manifestation he had.

                The rest of Ether 4 continues to encourage us to cast out our unbelief and truly believe in the Lord. Moroni recorded these additional words of the Savior: “And he that believeth not my words believeth not my disciples;… But he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear record” (v10-11). If we believe we will have the manifestations of the Spirit—faith precedes revelation from Him. The Lord continued, “And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will not believe my words will not believe me—that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world” (v12). We show that we believe Him by believing His words, and if we believe Him we will believe that He is the embodiment of light, life, and truth. I love the invitations to cast away our unbelief that followed: “Come unto me, O ye Gentiles, and I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief. Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief” (v13-14). Whether we are of the house of Israel or Gentiles, the only thing holding us back from His great revelations and manifestations is our own unbelief. The Savior then gave us this powerful invitation: “Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you—yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel” (v15). I have thought a lot about this verse, particularly because the first thought is not finished: “When ye shall rend that veil of unbelief… then shall the great and marvelous things which have which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you”—the phrase ends there and there is no corresponding verb to the subject of “great and marvelous things.” What shall these great things do? The implication is, I believe, that they shall be revealed to us; i.e. I think we understand by the words that He meant: “Then shall the great and marvelous things… be revealed to you.” Perhaps it is fitting, though, that the Lord didn’t finish this thought or that Moroni didn’t record it. For the whole point of the chapter is that there are spiritual things hid from us, and we can only find them if we will exercise the kind of faith that the brother of Jared had. We must rend our own veil of unbelief to find out what those great and marvelous things will do. The story of the brother of Jared and this testimony of Moroni invite us to cast away unbelief and begin to really believe in Jesus Christ so that His revelations will no longer be held back.