Sin and spiritual apathy make
of our souls fertile soil where doubt can thrive uncontested. Both separate us
from divine inspiration. When we severe ourselves from divine guidance, we are
left with only our natural abilities to combat the supernatural powers of the
adversary. Presented with such a scenario, my children would declare, “Game
over!” Without the heavenly help provided to us by a loving God and Savior, we
are doomed to failure. When it comes to finding truth, nothing in this world
can compensate for a lack of divine guidance. As President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
told a group of historians, “Those who disregard the reality of heaven will
ultimately find themselves on the wrong side of history.”[1]
While sin and spiritual apathy are different, they produce the same result – a
loss of the Spirit.
Sin
Dims Our Spiritual Vision
Sin is the “willful disobedience of God’s commandments.”[2]
As the Savior’s half-brother James proclaimed, “to him that knoweth to do good,
and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”[3]
It was made clear to the Prophet Joseph Smith that when we sin and then
“undertake to cover our sins…the heavens withdraw themselves” and “the Spirit
of the Lord is grieved.”[4]
Make no mistake about it, there are eternal laws which, when broken, bring
consequences. Most often those consequences revolve around a withdrawal of the
Spirit. We cannot afford to buy into the world’s notion that God “will justify
in committing a little sin.”[5]
Sin
blinds us. It causes us to walk “in darkness at noon-day.”[6]
We may still see with our natural eyes, but our spiritual sight becomes dim. We
can even reach a degree of spiritual darkness where we see as evil things we once
saw as good. I have witnessed the almost inexplicable phenomenon of a person
who once loved the Lord, His Church, and His servants, transform into one who
disbelieved in God, saw the Church as corrupt and fraudulent, fought against
the Brethren, and attempted to sway others to leave the Church also.
Inevitably, when the full story of these precious souls comes to light, it frequently,
but not always, includes committing sin somewhere along the way. “If you keep
not my commandments,” said the Lord, “you shall walk in darkness.”[7]
To a
certain degree, the Prophet Joseph Smith experienced spiritual darkness on one
occasion. David Whitmer described the incident:
One morning when [Joseph Smith] was getting
ready to continue the translation, something went wrong about the house and he
was put out about it. Something that Emma, his wife, had done. Oliver and I
went up stairs, and Joseph came up soon after to continue the translation, but
he could not do anything. He could not translate a single syllable. He went
down stairs, out into the orchard and made supplication to the Lord; was gone
about an hour—came back to the house, asked Emma’s forgiveness and then
came up stairs where we were and the translation went on all right. He could do
nothing save he was humble and faithful.[8]
Joseph obviously
had not committed a grave sin, but whatever it was that got him “put out” was
enough to dim his spiritual capacity. Our individual disobedience, if left unchecked
through faith on Jesus Christ and repentance, can likewise darken our spiritual
vision. The scriptures testify on more than one occasion of “a light which
shineth in darkness,” but “the darkness comprehendeth it not” [9]
– a most unhappy and unfortunate circumstance for our doubting friends and
loved ones who need to see “things as they really are.”[10]
In a letter
published January 22, 1834, Joseph Smith and other leaders wrote, “There is a superior
intelligence bestowed upon such as obey the Gospel with full purpose of heart,
which, if sinned against,” leave us “naked and destitute of the Spirit of God.”[11]
Let us fully embrace the “superior intelligence” that God so generously bestows
on us and strive to avoid sinning against it. Happily, while the Prophet taught
that “God does not look on sin with allowance,” he further declared that, “when
men have sinned, there must be allowance made for them.”[12]
That allowance is made available through the atonement of Jesus Christ[13]
and it includes the doctrine of repentance, which restores our spiritual sight,
dispels the darkness, and permits the Holy Ghost to return as our “constant
companion.”[14]
Spiritual
Apathy Obstructs the Channels of Spiritual Communication
Spiritual
apathy is best described as a lack of diligence in spiritual matters. While sin
commonly involves things we do that we
shouldn’t, spiritual apathy largely constitutes things we don’t do that we should. However, it is crucial to realize that the
spiritually apathetic experience the same consequence as the sinner – a loss of
the Spirit. In Lehi’s vision of the tree, the people who apathetically
“wandered off,” experienced the same outcome as those who deliberately “fell
away into forbidden paths” – both “were lost.”[15]
I know
a man who characterized his conversion as a rigorous study of Church doctrine,
discussions, pondering, and praying. Later in his life he became somewhat
apathetic and slackened in his enthusiasm for consistent, ponderous gospel
study. With the devious help of anti-Mormon literature and the subtly eroding
influence of non-religious friends, his tenacity in Church activity waned. Doubt
naturally followed his spiritual apathy. Insightfully, he realized that he was
using his doubt about the Church to justify his inactivity. He erroneously
reasoned, “If the negative things I hear about Joseph Smith are true, I don’t
need to be faithful to the Church or my calling.”
Once he
realized what he was doing, he began anew his rigorous study of the gospel.
Before long, he felt a refortification of his testimony and was able to see the
fallacy of the anti-Mormon literature. As an active member today, he will tell
you that his testimony of the truth did not come as a flash – all at once – but
rather from small internal feelings of assurance here and there along the way
as he studied broadly, reasoned things out, pondered, prayed, and received
spiritual confirmations.
Both sin
and spiritual apathy damage the channels of divine communication. Our
“iniquities have separated” us from God, declared Isaiah, and “have hid his
face from” us “that he will not hear.”[16]
They have “withholden good things from us” affirmed the prophet Jeremiah.[17]
The venerated King Benjamin explained
that we withdraw ourselves “from the Spirit of the Lord, that it may have no
place in [us] to guide [us] in wisdom’s paths” if we “transgress and go
contrary to” the will of the Lord.”[18]
President
Henry B. Eyring described the anesthetizing effect that sin and spiritual
apathy inflict upon us:
“I have heard the boast of a man who walked away
from the Church slowly, at first just ceasing to teach his Sunday School class
and then staying away from Church and then forgetting tithing now and then.
Along the way he would say to me: “I feel just as spiritual as I did before I
stopped those things and just as much at peace. Besides, I enjoy Sundays more
than I did; it’s more a day of rest.” Or, “I think I’ve been blessed temporally
as much or more as I was when I was paying tithing.” He could not sense the
difference, but I could. The light in his eyes and even the shine in his
countenance were dimming. He could not tell, since one of the effects of
disobeying God seems to be the creation of just enough spiritual anesthetic to
block any sensation as the ties to God are being cut. Not only did the
testimony of truth slowly erode, but even the memories of what it was like to
be in the light began to seem to him like a delusion.”[19]
The best
thing we can do when doubt about the Church stems from our being entangled[20]
in sin or spiritual apathy is to remember the Savior, whose “soul has been made
an offering for sin”[21]
and who “taketh away the sin of the world.”[22]
The almost unfathomable promise God gives us is “that every soul who forsaketh
his sins…shall see my face and know that I am.”[23]
There is something quite miraculous, almost inexplicable about remembering the
Savior often in our lives. As we do so, there seems to be a return of the
Spirit accompanied by a yearning to study God’s word. This in turn inspires and
urges us to pray. Prayer draws us closer to God who endows with a desire to
obey his commandments, which in turn grants us a greater portion of the Spirit.
This cyclical pattern leaves little room for doubt to spawn.
When
our loved ones doubt, we must find a way to lovingly ask them to assess whether
or not their doubt is the result of sin or spiritual apathy. This is a delicate
matter and will require our most charitable selves. It must be done devoid of a
judgmental attitude. We cannot afford to practice “unrighteousness in judgment”[24]
at a time when they need spiritual nurturing. We are admonished to “execute
true judgment” while simultaneously “shew mercy and compassions.”[25]
God “looketh on the heart”[26]
of His children when judging and when our children or friends experience doubt,
we must do the same. They will need our genuine sympathy, our finest
affections, and our loving support as they strive to forsake sin or overcome
spiritual apathy in order to reclaim the gift of the Holy Ghost. It will be
worth our every effort to help them succeed in this endeavor for there are few
things more spiritually refreshing than a return of the Spirit.
[1] “Seeing Beyond the
Leaf,” address at the BYU Church History Symposium, Salt Lake City, March 7,
2014.
[3]
James 4:17.
[4]
Doctrine and Covenants 121:37.
[5] 2
Nephi 28:8
[6]
Doctrine and Covenants 95:6.
[7]
Doctrine and Covenants 95:12.
[8] Teachings of Presidents of the Church:
Joseph Smith, p. 116.
[9]
John 1:5; Doctrine and Covenants 6:1; 34:2; 45:7.
[10]
Jacob 4:13; Doctrine and Covenants 93:24.
[11] Teachings of Presidents of the Church:
Joseph Smith, p. 321; originally published in Evening and Morning Star, April 1834, p. 152.
[12] Teachings of Presidents of the Church:
Joseph Smith, p. 428.
[13]
Isaiah 1:18; Matthew 26:28; Mosiah 14:12; Doctrine and Covenants 27:2.
[14]
Doctrine and Covenants 121:46.
[15] 1
Nephi 8:23, 28.
[16]
Isaiah 59:2.
[17]
Jeremiah 5:25.
[18]
Mosiah 2:36.
[19] Henry B. Eyring, “A
Life Founded in Light and Truth,” Ensign July 2001
[20]
Doctrine and Covenants 88:86.
[21]
Mosiah 15:10.
[22] John
1:29.
[23]
Doctrine and Covenants 93:1.
[24]
Leviticus 19:15.
[25]
Zechariah 7:9.
[26] 1
Samuel 16:7; see also Jeremiah 17:10.
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