Binding Satan and listening to Wisdom

There is a desire among us to become of one heart, and we've had some false starts. There has been rebelliousness, compulsion, contention, a lack of charity, among other things in our efforts to obey the direction of the Lord in agreeing to a statement of principles. As a disclaimer, I have also witnessed the opposite in some individuals and that has been inspiring to me. If we truly will become One people, we have a lot of work to do. Thankfully, the Answer and Covenant has given us specific direction. Below is some of this direction with a particular focus on Wisdom.

Bind Satan

First things first, we must bind the spirit of accusation within ourselves.

You have sought to recover the scriptures because you hope to obtain the covenant for my protective hand to be over you, but you cannot be Satan and be mine. If you take upon you my covenant, you must abide it as a people to gain what I promise. You think Satan will be bound a thousand years, and it will be so, but do not understand your own duty to bind that spirit within you so that you give no heed to accuse others. It is not enough to say you love God; you must also love your fellow man. Nor is it enough to say you love your fellow man while you, as Satan, divide, contend and dispute against any person who labors on an errand seeking to do my will. How you proceed must be as noble as the cause you seek. You have become your own adversaries, and you cannot be Satan and also be mine. Repent, therefore, like Peter and end your unkind and untrue accusations against one another, and make peace. How shall there ever come a thousand years of peace if the people who are mine do not love one another? How shall Satan be bound if there are no people of one heart and one mind? Answer and Covenant p.2

It would be a smart and charitable thing for us to check ourselves before we say a word in opposition to another. We must look within, explore our motives behind doing so (Do we feel a need to be right? Do we dislike something about the other person? Do we have a spirit of anger, fear, or contention stirring us up against another?). If we can identify any motivating factor that is not godly, we have to bind that within ourselves before we can correctly understand the truth of the matter, and deal justly with one another.

This is difficult to do. I do know through my own struggles how difficult it is, and also how possible.

Take Counsel from Wisdom

Something else we need to do is take counsel from Wisdom. I hope I am the only person who has had to ask, what exactly is Wisdom, and how do I receive its/Her counsel? It would be great if everyone already has that figure out. Lately, we've been given a few clues as to the answer:

I commend your diligent labor, and your desire to repent and recover the scriptures containing the covenant I offer for the last days. For this purpose I caused the Book of Mormon to come forth. I commend those who have participated, as well as those who have offered words of caution, for I weigh the hearts of men and many have intended well, although they have spoken poorly. Wisdom counsels mankind to align their words with their hearts, but mankind refuses to take counsel from Wisdom. Answer and Covenant p.1

It should be noted that wisdom here is capitalized, and is describing a title. From this quote, we understand that mankind in general refuses to counsel with Wisdom. We also learn that if we did, both our words and our hearts would be in alignment. Likewise, we are also told in the following quote that we are honoring the word with our lips, but our hearts are corrupt:

The Book of Mormon was given as my covenant for this day and contains my gospel, which came forth to allow people to understand my work and then obtain my salvation. Yet many of you are like those who reject the Book of Mormon, because you say, but you do not do. As a people you honor with your lips, but your hearts are corrupt, filled with envy and malice, returning evil for good, sparing none, even those with pure hearts among you, from your unjustified accusations and unkind backbiting. You have not obtained the fullness of my salvation because you do not draw near to me. Answer and Covenant 

Our first clue to identifying wisdom, is that it is more than knowing something and being able to recite it. It reaches into our hearts and unifies it with our words.

A Connection to the Holy Ghost

I'm going to backtrack a bit and discuss a curious thing. The disciples spent days alongside Jesus during His mortal ministry. They learned truth from Him, and yet for some reason, the one sent to baptize them with fire, did so after His resurrection. I've wondered why would He wait until He was gone to do this?

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive, for the Holy Ghost was promised unto them who believe after that Jesus was glorified). Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the Scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David and out of the town of Bethlehem where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him. And some of them would have taken him, but no man laid hands on him. RE St. John 6:9

The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen, to whom also he showed himself alive after his sufferings by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. And being with them when they were assembled together, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, Ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." RE Acts 1:1-2

Recently we were given further clarification on this and Wisdom through the newly revealed Testimony of St. John.

During the last day of the feast, Jesus proclaimed to the throng, If any man thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Anyone who believes on me, as the scripture promises, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (he was speaking of the Holy Spirit, which believers were promised. Following Jesus’ resurrection, Divine Wisdom was promised to fill believers). Newly Revealed Testimony of St. John chapter 6:9

As Luke 5:10 and Matthew 6:3 tell us, Wisdom is feminine in nature. I suspect now, that the gift of the Holy Ghost (which is tied to Divine Wisdom in the quote above), was withheld by Christ until after His resurrection to signify the different roles at play. He first came to declare the Word of the Father, and after He left and the seeds were sown, the nourishing work of the Mother took over.

So what makes the difference the work of the Father and the work of the Mother?

You pray each time you partake of the sacrament to always have my Spirit to be with you. And what is my Spirit? It is to love one another as I have loved you. Do my works and you will know my doctrine; for you will uncover hidden mysteries by obedience to these things that can be uncovered in no other way. This is the way I will restore knowledge to my people. If you return good for evil you will cleanse yourself and know the joy of your Master. You call me Lord and do well to regard me so, but to know your Lord is to love one another. Flee from the cares and longings that belong to Babylon, obtain a new heart, for you have all been wounded. In me you will find peace and through me will come Zion, a place of peace and safety. Answer and Covenant

And how do men come unto me? It is by faith, repentance, and baptism, which bring the Holy Ghost to then show you all things you must know. Answer and Covenant

It is by DOING what we've been taught. By doing, we then can receive wisdom.

I have this idea in my head that once the Father's Word (or knowledge) is delivered, the Mother then steps in to nourish that Word until it bears fruit, much like a mother's body nourishes her unborn and newly born child.

We have symbols of a Father and Mother in the sky. There have been some that have felt a need to worship Mother. The sun, like Heavenly Father, delivers light to us. The moon, also delivers light, but her light is a reflection to us of the sun's light. She does not generate a different light but harnesses and uses the Father's. You could say they are the same light, One. I want to suggest that true worship of Mother is achieved by receiving the light of the Father, and being obedient to it, and that doing so will result in Divine Wisdom or knowing "my doctrine" and uncovering "hidden mysteries."

By understanding this, I believe we can better rectify mankind's mistake within ourselves of not receiving counsel from Wisdom. By understanding this, hopefully we can better align our words and beliefs with our hearts. By doing this, we can recognize the difference between our own wisdom, and Divine Wisdom that comes of something more than having heard the Word and agreed with it. It requires doing, and it requires the understanding we will also receive through the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

Love one another

If we listened to the counsel of Wisdom, we would be doing that which the Father instructed us to do by loving one another. If we obeyed to first two great commandments, loving God, and loving each other, we could be one people, and God would not be ashamed to claim us.

You pray each time you partake of the sacrament to always have my Spirit to be with you. And what is my Spirit? It is to love one another as I have loved you. Do my works and you will know my doctrine; for you will uncover hidden mysteries by obedience to these things that can be uncovered in no other way. This is the way I will restore knowledge to my people. If you return good for evil you will cleanse yourself and know the joy of your Master. You call me Lord and do well to regard me so, but to know your Lord is to love one another. Flee from the cares and longings that belong to Babylon, obtain a new heart, for you have all been wounded. In me you will find peace and through me will come Zion, a place of peace and safety. Answer and Covenant

I descended below it all, and know the sorrows of you all, and have borne the grief of it all and I say to you, Forgive one another. Be tender with one another, pursue judgment, bless the oppressed, care for the orphan, and uplift the widow in her need for I have redeemed you from being orphaned and taken you that you are no longer a widowed people. Rejoice in me, and rejoice with your brethren and sisters who are mine also. Be one. Answer and Covenant

It Takes All of Us 

I have a confession to make. Even though I knew the source of the covenant was God. I was leery of joining it because of these words:

If you take upon you my covenant, you must abide it as a people to gain what I promise. Answer and Covenant

I was afraid of being bound to everyone else's success or failure in keeping this covenant. I recognize that the only control I have is over myself, and hated the idea of relying on everyone, people I don't know, to make this work. Despite my fears, I did realize I had to be willing to give it a try, and I am. I hope to not be the cause of failure for anyone else.

Did you realize we have to rely on each other that much???? There's a lot at stake here.

Each of you must equally walk truly in my path, not only to profess, but also to do as you profess. Answer and Covenant

It comes down to every single one of us. Equally. We each must do this for ourselves. That is how we abide it together. That's what we've agreed to. 

So, let's go forward with all that is required of us with these things in mind.

I am willing.