As Jesus spoke before the multitudes, one of the most memorable aspects of his teachings was the simplicity of what he proclaimed. For example, in His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructed "And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not though away."
Pretty simple, right?
Well, a few things. I've noticed that amongst this simplicity and straight-forwardness, we (or at least I) wish for something a little more hard and complicated than this. I start to think "Okay, Heavenly Father, I understand that. Now, show me the real, hard stuff." I really need to learn my lesson. The Chosen People of the Old Testament also started to feel this way. They noticed how easy it was to understand it, and they began to ask Heavenly Father for harder things. They wanted a challenge. Heavenly Father knew that that wasn't the correct way to go, but He gave them what they asked for, anyway. In response to their prayers, God sent the prophet Isaiah, and along with that, he gave many dreams and visions to His chosen Prophet. Now, I'm fairly sure that most of us have had experience with these visions that Isaiah was blessed with (see the latter half of 2nd Nephi in the Book of Mormon, and also the Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament of the Bible.) They are extremely confusing, and at least for me, I sometimes understand a little part here and there, but the majority of things taught and spoken are just way over my head. It seems like we have now come to dread reading those passages.
I don't mean to put words in God's mouth, but I believe that those verses are two-fold. First, I believe they were a form of rebukement for those early Saints. I think that God's thoughts were along the lines of "okay, you prayed for harder things. Here you go. Now you are going to be held accountable for knowing the doctrines and principles within those chapters. Good luck." And that brings me to the second part of that decision. Those doctrines and principles that I mentioned, the ones that are hidden deep within the visions of Isaiah, are so sweet and pure and wonderful. If we honestly, and diligently seek for those gold flecks of understanding, I know that we will be blessed. In the small instances where I've had a flash of understanding, though brief, I have glimpsed the glory of such wonderful teachings. I know that there's more to those accounts than just "Oh, he had a weird dream." They are absolutely filled to the brim with such amazing truths, I know they are. I know with all my heart that if we want to know what's in there, and we actually try to understand, then the Lord will grant us that understanding.
Lessons to learn from this story? First, don't wish for something that you don't have. Heavenly Father knows exactly how to take care of His Children, just trust Him. He knows exactly what He is doing. Second lesson? Some things are worth working for. Those things, if we work for them, we will treasure them more than anything else, because we know how hard it was to get them. We will hold them in such high esteem, and hold them so dear to our hearts.
I know with all my heart that this church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church here on the Earth today. I know that God lives, and I know that He loves me. He loves you, more than anything. I love the Lord my God, and I love my dear Father who dwells in Heaven. I love this Gospel with all my heart, and I say these things in the sacred name of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, amen.
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